View from Aleppo: 'Syrians are angry with the West' over lack of earthquake aid
Pakistani brothers released after being held for 20 years without charge at Guantanamo Bay
Two Pakistani brothers held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay military prison for two decades were freed by U.S. officials and returned home on Friday, officials said.
China calls for ceasefire in Ukraine, is accused of playing double game
Expecting another deluge, cyclone-hit NZ orders more evacuations
‘I beg your mercy’: Weinstein asks for leniency as he’s sentenced after rape conviction
British-based chemical company found liable for Beirut port blast
One hundred per cent ‘preventable’: Report raises questions about train safety at Ohio toxic crash site
More bodies found in China mine collapse, dozens remain missing
Britain to call for fighter jets to be sent to Ukraine at special G7 meeting
Eyes of the world are on Ukraine as it marks the one-year anniversary of war
A note from London: After a year of war in Ukraine, we must not look away
‘Lagging behind:’ Rishi Sunak urged to follow European Commission’s TikTok ban
Gallery: The best photos from around the world
Meagre harvest: Brits told to eat turnips as supermarkets ration fresh fruit, vegetables
Pro-Kremlin accounts buying up Twitter blue-check verifications: report
Is anyone winning Putin’s war in Ukraine – and how might it end?
The year I learnt to hate. Damn you, Vladimir Putin
From breakfast at the Fairmont Hotel to hiding in a shelter as missiles rained down
Gunman kills 3, including reporter covering initial shooting
Tennessee law restricting drag is the 1st of many such proposed bills in the U.S.
Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill on Thursday prohibiting drag performances in front of children, in public or private venues, putting the state at the forefront of a Republican-led effort to limit drag in at least 15 states in recent months.
Harvey Weinstein gets 16-year sentence for rape, sexual assault in Los Angeles trial
A Los Angeles judge on Thursday sentenced Harvey Weinstein to 16 years in prison after a jury convicted the former movie producer of the 2013 rape and sexual assault of an Italian actor and model. She sobbed in court as Weinstein appealed to the judge and maintained his innocence.
Overheated wheel bearings a focus, U.S. agency says in 1st report on Ohio train crash
The U.S National Transportation Safety Board, in a preliminary report on the Feb. 3 train derailment in eastern Ohio, said on Thursday its investigation will focus on the response to the accident, including venting and burning of vinyl chloride, as well as other rail car design and company inspection issues.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried gets a dozen charges in unsealed indictment
A new indictment against FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried containing 12 charges was unsealed on Thursday in Manhattan federal court.
Major U.S. winter storm cancels flights, closes roads and schools
Brutal winter weather bringing snow, dangerous gusts of wind and bitter cold settled over much of the northern U.S. on Wednesday, shutting down roadways and businesses and leading to flight cancellations.
Under-equipped and under fire, Haiti's police await delayed shipments of Canadian armour
Haiti's small police force lacks the armour it needs to fight well-armed gangs. Haiti ordered armoured vehicles from a Canadian manufacturer — all 18 were supposed to be delivered by end of 2022. While Haiti awaits delivery, its police officers are getting killed in the streets.
At least 11 Palestinians killed, dozens injured in Israeli raid in West Bank
Israeli troops on Wednesday entered a major Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank in a rare, daytime arrest operation, triggering fighting that killed 11 Palestinians and wounded scores of others.
A brutal drought in the U.S. southwest has triggered a bitter fight over water
Tunisia’s president calls for halt to sub-Saharan immigration amid crackdown on opposition
Kais Saied claims migrants are part of campaign to make country ‘purely African’ in move critics say is to distract from economic crisis
Tunisia’s president, Kais Saied, has told a meeting of security officials that migrants are part of a wider campaign to change the demographic makeup of the country and make it “purely African”.
The president’s comments come alongside an extensive crackdown on critics and opposition figures in a campaign that human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have labelled a witch-hunt.
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Tens of thousands of refugees flee from Somaliland clashes
Somalis arrive in Ethiopia from disputed town of Las Anod, where at least 82 people have died in fighting
More than 60,000 Somali refugees have fled to Ethiopia after an escalation in fighting in the town of Las Anod, in the Sool region, where tensions between local people and the governing Somaliland authorities have been building for weeks.
The UN said the refugees had arrived in part of Ethiopia that had been badly hit by drought after five consecutive failed rains, and that many people were sleeping in the open, or sheltering in schools and other public buildings.
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Patients dying as Nigerian cash crisis hits health services before election
Many pregnant and critically ill people unable to pay for health services after botched attempt to replace currency
Several people have died and the lives of pregnant women and critically ill patients have been put at risk after a botched attempt to replace Nigeria’s currency in the buildup to Saturday’s general election left countless people unable to pay for treatment.
Health bosses have warned of a “dire” situation for those who cannot access care in the country, where riots sparked by severe cash shortages have spread in recent weeks.
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Robert Mugabe’s son charged in Zimbabwe for damaging cars at party
Son of late authoritarian ruler arrested over damage worth £10,000
The eldest son of Robert Mugabe, the late authoritarian ruler of Zimbabwe, has been arrested for allegedly causing damage worth $12,000 (£10,000) to cars and other property at a party in an upmarket neighbourhood of Harare over the weekend.
Robert Mugabe Jr, 31, spent a night in a local police station and then briefly appeared at a court in Harare, the capital, on Monday.
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Kenyan senator targeted by online threats after period poverty protest
Gloria Orwoba attended a senate meeting in a suit stained with red dye as part of her campaign for free access to menstrual products
A Kenyan politician has become the subject of a vicious online hate campaign after she protested against period poverty by sitting through a senate meeting in clothing stained with fake menstrual blood.
Senator Gloria Orwoba was asked to leave halfway through the session after her fellow parliamentarians requested the speaker eject her for supposedly violating the house’s “dress code”.
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Brazil floods: death toll rises to 48 as landslides and looters prevent aid reaching survivors
Dozens missing in south-eastern São Paulo state as rescue crews search for bodies in the rubble of homes
Search and rescue teams raced to find dozens of people that remained missing after heavy rains devastated coastal areas of Brazil’s south-eastern São Paulo state, as the official death toll rose to 48.
“We are currently working with a tally of at least 38 missing people,” the São Paulo governor, Tarcísio de Freitas, told reporters on Wednesday, as weather forecasters cautioned more rain was on its way.
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Brazil: flooding and landslides kill dozens in São Paulo state
Cities cancel carnival festivities as rescue workers search for victims and clear roads
At least 36 people have died and dozens are missing after torrential rain brought flooding and landslides to coastal areas of south-east Brazil over the weekend as the country geared up for its annual carnival celebrations.
Rescue efforts continued in São Paulo state on Monday as more than 500 workers searched for victims, cleared roads and tried to reconnect isolated communities.
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Weather tracker: world braces for sudden stratospheric warming event
SSW phenomenon is linked to polar vortex, an area of low pressure across the North Pole. Meanwhile, Argentina has been gripped by a heatwave
There has been keen interest over recent weeks in the much-anticipated sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event, which only began this week but is now well under way. The SSW phenomenon is linked to the polar vortex, an area of low pressure across the North Pole that forms within the stratosphere during autumn, as temperatures plummet in the absence of solar radiation.
SSW events are very common and occur two in every three winters. It remains unclear how climate change will affect these events in the future. As the vortex develops during autumn and into winter, westerly stratospheric winds increase in strength. But in the event of a SSW episode, stratospheric temperatures rise rapidly in the space of only a few days, leading to the weakening or even reversal of these winds. The zonal mean winds at 10hPa pressure – about 30km high – turned to an easterly direction on 15 Wednesday February, significantly displacing the polar vortex away from the North Pole. The vortex and zonal winds are forecast to stay much weaker than normal for the remainder of February and into the first half of March.
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Queensland to trial GPS tracker for child offenders – as it happened
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- Australia to send drones to Ukraine and expand sanctions against Russia
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Coles and Woolworths take responsibility for soft plastic
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has provided an update on soft plastics after the sole soft plastic recycler, RedCycle, collapsed last year, saying supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths have agreed to take on responsibility for the soft plastic they sell.
What I did at the time was get the big supermarket giants around the table. I said to them, you’ve got to take responsibility for the soft plastics that your businesses are generating.
I’m very pleased today to tell you that the taskforce set up with the supermarkets has come to a conclusion and Coles and Woolies will take on responsibility for the tonnes of soft plastic that has been piling up in warehouses.
Today is the anniversary of the full scale invasion by Russia of Ukraine and we mourn those lost. We continue to condemn Russia’s illegal and immoral war and we stand with Ukraine. The government is demonstrating that by what we are doing in addition to what we have provided so far. We are providing additional defence capability, uncrewed aerial surveillance and I have issued more sanctions against Russia overnight, against 90 people and organisations which take our sanctions to in excess of a thousand. It is a heavy sanctions regime against a government which has chosen to engage in an illegal and immoral war, breaching sovereignty and the UN charter, which is why we have to stand against Russia.
What I would say is that Russia is a permanent member of the UN security council. It has a special responsibility to ensure that international law, including the UN charter which protects everyone’s sovereignty, is protected. This war, waged by Mr Putin, is an attack on sovereignty and an attack on the UN charter. We would urge China to do all it can to not only not escalate this conflict but to end it.
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Bird flu: 11-year-old girl in Cambodia dies after being infected
Case is the country’s first known human infection with H5N1 strain since 2014, health minister says
An 11-year-old girl in Cambodia has died after being infected by a strain of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, the government says.
It was the first known human infection with the H5N1 strain in the country since 2014, the health minister, Mam Bunheng, said in a statement on Thursday.
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Harry Styles required to provide the story of his life for New Zealand census
Five-yearly data drive to be conducted on 7 March, the same night as the singer’s Auckland show
Harry Styles will have to take part in the 2023 New Zealand census, which aims to capture the country as it was on the same night as his only show in the country.
The census is conducted every five years and requires everyone in the country, including overseas visitors, to take part. This year it happens to be held on the night of the British pop star’s Auckland show on 7 March.
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North Korea test-fires four missiles to show ability to launch nuclear attack
Strategic cruise missiles hit a target after travelling 2,000km, says state media, to demonstrate ‘war posture’ of nuclear force
North Korea test-fired four strategic cruise missiles during a drill designed to demonstrate its ability to conduct a nuclear counterattack against hostile forces, its state media said.
The exercise on Thursday involved an apparently operational strategic cruise missile unit of the Korean people’s army, which fired the four Hwasal-2 missiles in the area of Kim Chaek city, North Hamgyong province, towards the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula, the news agency KCNA said. Other units conducted firepower training at hardened sites without live firing.
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At least six killed in open-pit coalmine collapse in north China
Mining company operating in autonomous region of Inner Mongolia has history of safety violations
At least six people have died and dozens more are missing after an open-pit coalmine collapsed in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region in north China.
One of the walls of the mine caved in at about 1pm local time on Wednesday, burying workers in tonnes of rocks and sand. Another collapse occurred five hours later, forcing the rescue operation to halt. The search resumed on Thursday morning, with fireengines, SUVs, bulldozers and rescue dogs being mobilised from across the province.
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‘Political propaganda’: China clamps down on access to ChatGPT
Leading tech firms reportedly ordered to remove workarounds allowing access to US-based service
Chinese regulators have reportedly clamped down on access to ChatGPT, as Chinese tech firms and universities push forward with developing domestic artificial intelligence bots.
ChatGPT, the popular discussion bot created by US-based OpenAI, is not officially available in China, where the government operates a comprehensive firewall and strict internet censorship. But many had been accessing it via VPNs, and some third-party developers had produced programs that gave some access to the service.
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Indigenous prisoner spent less than an hour in medical unit after emergency, Victorian coroner told
Inquest hears Michael Suckling struggled with drug addiction, back pain, mobility issues and significant weight gain in prison
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A First Nations man who died in a Melbourne prison was the subject of a “code black” medical emergency two days earlier, but spent less than an hour in a healthcare unit before being returned to his cell, an inquest has heard.
Michael Suckling, 41, died on 7 March 2021 at Ravenhall Correctional Centre in Melbourne’s west from an enlarged heart.
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Murray-Darling Basin plan in chaos as Victoria and NSW oppose further water buybacks
Both states are behind on their commitments and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says South Australia is being left ‘high and dry’
A meeting of water ministers has descended into acrimony over the final stage of the $13bn Murray-Darling Basin plan, with Victoria and New South Wales joining forces to oppose further buybacks of water and demanding two more years to deliver.
The fiery meeting in Sydney ended with little progress.
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Queensland to trial GPS trackers for child offenders as young as 15 in Toowoomba
Expansion to include 15-year-olds is part of a suite of measures to crack down on youth crime, including making breach of bail an offence for children
The Queensland government has announced a trial that will see GPS trackers used on children as young as 15 in Toowoomba, a week after residents vented their frustrations at a youth crime forum in the city.
Annastacia Palaszczuk did not appear at the forum last Wednesday, but spent Friday morning meeting with victims of crime in the regional centre.
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Students who protested at Malcolm Turnbull event say they have been suspended for a semester
Two University of Sydney students claim they were prevented from talking to media or friends during a months-long investigation
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Two university students involved in a protest against former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull say they’ve been suspended for a semester after a months-long investigation which they claimed they were gagged from talking about to media or friends.
Maddie Clarke and Deaglan Godwin, students at the University of Sydney, claimed the institution was attempting to “crack down on activism” by suspending them both for half the year, with their punishments only confirmed after classes returned this week.
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Frank Zumbo tells court cultural misunderstanding led him to demand ‘thank you kiss’ in exchange for gift
Former office manager for then Liberal party member Craig Kelly has pleaded not guilty to 20 charges, including sexual touching and indecent assault
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Frank Zumbo has told a court it was confusion and a cultural misunderstanding that caused him to demand a hug and a “thank you kiss” from a young female staff member to whom he had given an envelope full of cash as a birthday present.
Zumbo and the woman, who worked in the office of the then federal MP Craig Kelly, were alone in a car, in a car park, beneath Tom Uglys Bridge late at night after a dinner.
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Victoria announces shortened duck hunting season amid review of ‘increasingly contested’ practice
Despite calls for a ban, the season begins on 26 April and will run for about a month less than it did last year
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The Victorian government has announced a parliamentary inquiry into the future of duck hunting, while allowing a shorter season to go ahead this year.
The Game Management Authority (GMA) on Friday confirmed the season would begin on 26 April and end on 30 May, with a bag limit of four birds a day.
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Russia-Ukraine war live: year of ‘invincibility’ ahead, says Zelenskiy; Nato chief dismisses China intervention on peace talks
Ukraine president hails ‘year of our invincibility’; Stoltenberg says China ‘doesn’t have much credibility’ over failure to condemn invasion
In joyful news: the Ukrainian football team that has not played in their home city since 2014, qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League on Thursday with coach Igor Jovicevic hailing the win at French side Rennes as a “victory for Ukraine.”
AFP reports that Shakhtar defeated Rennes 5-4 in a penalty shootout after their playoff had ended 3-3 on aggregate and then went to extra-time.
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Zelenskiy vows to push for victory on first anniversary of Ukraine invasion
President strikes tone of grim defiance in video address as he recalls ‘longest day of our lives’ on 24 February 2022
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has pledged to push for victory this year as Ukraine marks the sombre first anniversary of the Russian invasion, an event the president called “the longest day of our lives”.
Funerals for the recently killed took place across the country alongside church services to commemorate the fallen, in a grim reminder of the relentless attrition of the continuing war.
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Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 366 of the invasion
Ukraine fears Russia intends to mark anniversary of invasion with new attacks on key cities; western officials estimate Russia’s military casualties at nearly 200,000
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Grief and defiance in Kyiv on first anniversary of war in Ukraine
Houses have been destroyed, lives uprooted and loved ones lost but despite this terrible toll, Ukrainians remain upbeat
Liudmyla Bikus recalled how she had tried to dissuade her son Andrii from joining the army. That was in March, weeks after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, one year ago today. “Andrii told me: ‘Mum if I don’t go then who will?’” Bikus said. She added: “He was a golden boy. The best son, husband, father and brother. He wanted to defend his country and his family.”
Andrii was quickly dispatched to the eastern front. Less than three months later he was dead, fatally wounded on 6 June near the city of Lysychansk. A Russian shell landed on top of his artillery position. He was taken to hospital and died from blood loss on the operating table. Eight men from his company perished in the same lethal strike.
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Welby calls for just peace between Russia and Ukraine on war anniversary
Archbishop says Russia cannot be treated like Germany after first world war, nor Ukraine forced into unjust compromise
The archbishop of Canterbury has said an end to the war in Ukraine cannot lead to Russia being treated like Germany after the first world war.
Justin Welby, writing in the Daily Telegraph as Ukraine marks the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion, also said Kyiv must not be forced into a “Munich agreement-like compromise”, a reference to the doomed settlement that failed to prevent the second world war.
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BA owner returns to profit as travel bounces back from Covid
IAG makes £1.1bn in 2022 on ‘sustained leisure demand and markets reopening’
British Airways’ owner bounced back to a €1.25bn (£1.1bn) profit in 2022 and said the figure could almost double in the year ahead as leisure and business travel recovers further from the coronavirus pandemic.
International Airlines Group (IAG), which ran up losses of almost €11bn through 2020 and 2021 as Covid damaged the aviation industry, said revenues almost tripled to €23bn last year as the lifting of restrictions fuelled a holiday and travel boom.
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Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza after militants fire rockets in wake of West Bank raid
Region braced for escalation in violence as attacks from both sides follow deadliest Israeli army raid in decades in Nablus
Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip have exchanged fire just hours after the deadliest Israeli army raid in decades killed 11 Palestinians and wounded more than 100 more in the occupied West Bank, leaving the region braced for an escalation in violence.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said early on Thursday morning that it carried out airstrikes on two military sites operated by Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the strip, after the launch of six rockets from the blockaded enclave towards southern Israel.
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Israeli troops kill 11 in West Bank raid
Palestinians decry ‘massacre’ after daytime operation in Nablus that Israel says targeted three militants
Israeli troops killed 11 Palestinians, including a teenager, and wounded dozens more, in a raid on a city in the occupied West Bank city that threatens further bloodshed.
The daytime operation targeted three militants who were near the centre of the old city of Nablus, the Israeli military said. All three wanted men were killed along with seven others, including a 72-year-old man. Palestinian officials said at least 103 people were injured, with many of them sustaining gunshot wounds.
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Shamima Begum loses appeal against removal of British citizenship
Special immigration appeals commission decides revocation of her citizenship was lawful
Shamima Begum, who left Britain as a schoolgirl to join Islamic State (IS), has lost an appeal against the decision to remove her British citizenship.
Describing it as a case of “great concern and difficulty”, the special immigration appeals commission (Siac) ruled that although there was “credible suspicion” that Begum was trafficked for sexual exploitation, the decision was ultimately one for the home secretary.
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Death toll from latest earthquakes in Turkey reaches eight
Casualties relatively low since few remain in region devastated by twin earthquakes two weeks ago
The toll from two earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday – two weeks after powerful quakes killed more than 47,000 people – has risen to eight, with up to 300 recovering from injuries and up to a dozen buildings toppling on both sides of the border.
The widespread anxiety and panic sparked by the latest tremors has rattled a region that is still coming to terms with the devastation caused earlier this month.
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Thousands dead, millions displaced: the earthquake fallout in Turkey and Syria
Death toll of 47,000 expected to rise and WHO says 26 million people need assistance across both countries
The figures are unfathomable: 47,000 people dead, thousands of others missing, millions homeless. In minutes, two massive earthquakes that rocked Turkey and Syria turned entire cities into mounds of rubble. Two weeks later, the scale of the devastation is still being unearthed. The true impact will not be fully understood for decades.
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Turkey hit by two more powerful earthquakes two weeks after disaster
Three killed and 213 injured, government says, after quakes of 6.4 and 5.8 magnitude shake southern province of Hatay
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake and a second measuring 5.8 have hit Turkey’s southern province of Hatay, terrifying those left in a region devastated by twin earthquakes two weeks ago.
Turkey’s interior minister, Süleyman Soylu, said that at least three people were killed and 213 wounded by the latest quakes, after a large government hospital in the city of İskenderun in the north of Hatay province declared it was evacuating patients.
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War in Ukraine defining new world order, says thinktank
Poll reveals west more united but gulf growing with countries such as India that do not subscribe to post-cold war view
Almost a year after Russia’s war against Ukraine started, it has united the west, according to a 15-country survey – but exposed a widening gulf with the rest of the world that is defining the contours of a future global order.
The study, by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank, surveyed opinions in nine EU member states, including France, Germany and Poland, and in Britain and the US, as well as China, Russia, India and Turkey.
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Bangladesh shuts down main opposition newspaper
Campaigners fear media crackdown under PM Sheikh Hasina after suspension order upheld
The only newspaper of Bangladesh’s main opposition party has stopped publishing after a government suspension order was upheld, stoking fears about media freedom in the south Asian nation.
Campaigners and foreign governments including the US have long expressed worries about efforts by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, to silence criticism and what they see as creeping authoritarianism.
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At least four killed as Pakistani Taliban militants storm police HQ in Karachi
Officials say three attackers also dead as police and paramilitary forces clear building in gun battle
Militants launched a deadly suicide attack on the police headquarters of Pakistan’s largest city on Friday, with the sound of gunfire and explosions rocking the heart of Karachi for several hours.
Two police officers, a ranger and a civilian were killed and 14 others wounded, said Murtaza Wahab, a government spokesman in Sindh province, where Karachi is located. Two suicide bombers were killed and at least one blew himself up after entering the police building, officials said.
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India accuses BBC of tax evasion amid Modi documentary row
Country’s finance ministry claims broadcaster has not fully declared its income and profits
India’s finance ministry has accused the BBC of tax evasion, saying that it had not fully declared its income and profits from its operations in the country.
Indian tax authorities ended three days of searches of the British broadcaster’s Delhi and Mumbai offices on Thursday night. Opposition political parties and other media organisations have criticised the searches as an attempt to intimidate the media.
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UN warns of ‘unconscionable’ cuts to Rohingya food rations as donations fall
World Food Programme calls for urgent $125m injection after being forced into axing supplies into Bangladesh refugee camps by 17%
The UN has been forced to cut food rations for Rohingya refugees by 17% and has warned of “unconscionable” further cuts in April as a result of dwindling international donations.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said it needs $125m (£104m) urgently to avoid the further cuts.
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Taliban bans contraception calling use a ‘western conspiracy’
Reports that fighters have threatened those issuing birth control medicines come as Afghan midwives and activists warn of impact on women’s health and rights
Taliban fighters have stopped the sale of contraceptives in two of Afghanistan’s main cities, claiming their use by women is a western conspiracy to control the Muslim population.
The Guardian has learned that the Taliban has been going door to door, threatening midwives and ordering pharmacies to clear their shelves of all birth control medicines and devices.
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SNP leadership nominations to close as Ash Regan joins race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon – UK politics live
Regan is third candidate to be Scotland’s first minister, with Kate Forbes and Humza Yousaf, with nominations closing at noon
Regan has become more outspoken in her opposition to the party’s leadership in recent months, following her resignation in opposition to gender reforms, with her most high-profile backer Joanna Cherry calling for party chief executive Peter Murrell – who is Nicola Sturgeon’s husband – to quit.
Regan has said she will seek to reset relations between the SNP groups at Westminster and Holyrood as leader, attending meetings at the House of Commons and allowing MPs to do the same in Edinburgh.
We need to adopt a far more collegiate approach and deploy all of the talents we have at our disposal properly by appointing the best people to the jobs that best suit their abilities.
If I’m elected to serve, there will be some very important jobs up for grabs in my government, and I want to ensure that only the very best people get them, irrespective of whether I agree with them on everything.
We have to have the very best people advising us, even if they don’t back independence. What’s important is that they have the gifts and the desire to help us make Scotland better.
In recent years, the wider yes movement has become marginalised in the fight for independence. If elected, I intend to change that.
As a party, I don’t think we’ve listened enough to the groups who got us here. I know these people, because I campaigned side-by-side with them throughout the first referendum. The party has effectively dismantled the yes campaign, but I want to reconstitute it once more.
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Police officer shot in Omagh ambush has ‘life-changing’ injuries
PSNI says four men being held and questioned in connection with attack on DCI John Caldwell
A police officer shot in an ambush on Wednesday night in Omagh has reportedly sustained “life-changing” injuries, as four men are held in connection with the attack.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said a 22-year-old man was arrested early on Friday morning in the Coalisland area in connection to the shooting of DCI John Caldwell.
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Labour says government has created ‘perfect storm’ in England’s teaching workforce
Labour analysis shows recruitment down by third outside London compared with 2019
Labour has accused the government of creating “a perfect storm” in England’s teaching workforce, after analysis revealed the scale of the crisis, with teachers old and new quitting the classroom and too few replacing them.
A teacher who qualified in 2010 is 15% more likely to have left teaching within a decade than one who qualified in 2000, according to Labour’s analysis of the most recently available official figures.
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Police arrest four men over shooting of off-duty detective in Omagh
DCI John Caldwell in critical condition after shooting at sports complex with children nearby
Police in Northern Ireland have arrested four men in connection with the shooting and serious wounding of a detective chief inspector, John Caldwell, in an ambush at a sports complex in Omagh on Wednesday night.
Three men, aged 38, 45 and 47, were detained in Omagh and Coalisland, County Tyrone, and were being questioned by detectives at Musgrave serious crime suite, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Simon Byrne, said on Thursday.
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Toxic substances from chemicals firm site found polluting protected river
Guardian investigation reveals ‘extremely high levels’ of toxic effluent in Lancashire river
Toxic substances from the site of a chemicals company have been found polluting a protected river in Lancashire at “extremely high levels”, in what has been described as a “huge concern”, an investigation by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations has uncovered.
More than 700 types of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) were detected in effluent coming from the site of AGC Chemicals’ plant at Thornton Cleveleys, near Blackpool, into the River Wyre which flows into Morecambe Bay.
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Life amid the rubble: UK specialists on their Turkey earthquake rescue effort
After the first quake hit, 77 Britons were deployed to join teams from around the world. Here, some recount their experiences
British search-and-rescue specialists deployed to Turkey after its earthquake on 6 February have recalled the scenes of devastation that they encountered, as the country and its southern neighbour Syria were hit by two more tremors this week.
“If we were still out there [this week], we would have been in those buildings,” said Wayne Ward, a firefighter for Lancashire’s rescue service, and one of 77 British specialists deployed to Turkey in the days that followed the first quake.
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Parts of US see earliest spring conditions on record: ‘Climate change playing out in real time’
Parts of Texas, Arkansas, Ohio and Maryland, along with New York, are all recording their earliest spring conditions on record
Blooming daffodils in New York City. Leaves sprouting from red maples in North Carolina. Cherry blossoms about to bud in Washington. Record winter warmth across much of the eastern US has caused spring-like conditions to arrive earlier than ever previously recorded in several places, provoking delight over the mild weather and despair over the unfolding climate crisis.
In New York, one of several US cities to experience its warmest January on record, spring conditions have arrived 32 days before the long-term normal, which is its earliest onset of biological spring in 40 years of charting seasonal trends by the National Phenology Network.
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Alex Murdaugh admits lying about key detail of wife and son’s deaths
South Carolina lawyer contradicts his previous claims and says he did visit the kennels where his wife and son were later found dead
“I would never intentionally do anything to hurt them. Ever. Ever,” Alex Murdaugh said on Thursday, choking with emotion, as he took the stand to defend against charges that he murdered his wife and son in what prosecutors call a scheme to conceal his financial and addiction problems.
In a startling reversal, however, the once-powerful South Carolina lawyer admitted to lying for 20 months about a key detail in his account of the night that Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were killed on the family’s hunting estate. Contradicting his previous claims, Murdaugh said that he did, in fact, visit the kennels where they were later found dead of gunshot wounds.
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Guantánamo Bay sends two inmates to Pakistan after 20 years
Pair were held for al-Qaida involvement but never charged – their release leaves 32 people detained in prison camp
The US has transferred two brothers from its Guantánamo Bay detention centre to Pakistan, bringing the total number of people held at Guantánamo down to 32, according to the Pentagon.
Abdul Rabbani and Mohammed Rabbani were arrested in 2002. Abdul Rabbani was an al-Qaida facilitator while Mohammed Rabbani was a financial and travel facilitator for prominent al-Qaida leaders, according to the Pentagon’s website.
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Nearly a million across US without power as wild winter storm hits
Firefighter killed in Michigan by power line, while 13 million people under winter weather advisories across the country
Nearly a million people across the US were without power on Thursday afternoon as a powerful winter storm brought bitter cold, stirred up gusty winds and pounded several states with blizzard conditions from coast to coast.
Michigan bore the brunt of power outages on Thursday with more than 820,000 homes and businesses left cold into the evening, as the state faced one of the worst ice storms seen in decades. DTE, one of the largest power providers in the state, reported “extreme amounts of damage” to power infrastructure after ice roughly three-quarters of an inch thick accumulated in some areas.
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Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 16 additional years for LA rape conviction
Disgraced producer was previously convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York and is serving a 23-year term
Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 additional years in prison on Thursday, three months after being convicted of rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles.
The disgraced film producer, whose pattern of predatory behavior galvanized the #MeToo movement, was previously convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020 and is currently serving a 23-year prison term. The new sentence nearly doubles the 70-year-old producer’s remaining prison time.
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