No dates announced for industrial action, but stoppages could begin as soon as 8 April, says PCS union
Border Force staff at Heathrow have voted to strike in a dispute over shift patterns.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said 600 of its members, who carry out immigration controls and passport checks, voted 90% in favour of strike action.
Continue reading...Judge says Arvind Kejriwal can be held until next Thursday, as his party’s leaders condemn accusations as politically motivated
An Indian court has ruled that Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, will be kept in custody for six days after his dramatic arrest on corruption charges.
Kejriwal, the top elected official for the Indian capital, was taken in by police on Thursday night as part of an investigation into an alleged scam involving kickbacks for alcohol licensing deals.
Continue reading...International Organization for Migration believes those discovered ‘died in process of being smuggled through the desert’
A mass grave containing at least 65 bodies has been discovered in south-west Libya this week, the UN migration agency said on Friday.
A spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the mass grave was uncovered by Libyan security forces.
Continue reading...Josep Borrell, high representative for foreign affairs, says ‘all responsible will be held to account’ after attacks on energy infrastructure
After Russian strikes targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Ukraine’s grid is getting urgent assistance from Poland, Romania and Slovakia, national grid operator Ukrenergo said, Reuters reported.
Russia regards itself to be in a state of war due to the West’s intervention on Ukraine’s side, the TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, Reuters reported.
Continue reading...Kyiv says the country’s largest dam and hydroelectric plant were hit as Moscow unleashed 88 missiles and 63 drones
More than a million Ukrainians have been left without power after Russia launched one of its largest missile and drone attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure to date.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 88 missiles and 63 Iranian-made Shahed drones. Of them, 37 and 55 respectively were shot down, but others hit the country’s largest dam and caused blackouts in several regions, and killing at least five people.
Continue reading...Draft resolution put before UN represents important tonal – but not substantive – shift for White House
After months of vetoing other UN security council resolutions in an effort to defend Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the US has in recent weeks gone on to the diplomatic front foot in New York, drafting and tabling its own resolution that was put to a vote on Friday before being vetoed by Russia and China.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the resolution would send “a strong signal”. But what was that signal precisely?
Continue reading...Labour presses foreign secretary as human rights groups seek judicial review of government’s refusal to ban arms exports
The shadow UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, has urged David Cameron to publish the Foreign Office formal legal advice on whether Israel is breaching international humanitarian law in Gaza.
Lammy’s move comes as two human rights groups have been given permission for an oral hearing to seek a judicial review of the government’s refusal to ban arms exports to Israel.
Continue reading...Reports of exorbitant cost of basic vegetables, as well as oil and flour, come amid warnings that Gaza is on the verge of famine
People living in Gaza are facing exorbitant food prices as more than 1 million residents of the Palestinian territory face famine.
Since Israel’s invasion in October, it has become common for Gaza’s displaced population to share pictures of their shopping baskets and document how high prices have risen amid food shortages.
Continue reading...Washington fears loss of bases in Niger would risk the country following its neighbours and falling under Russian hegemony
US policymakers are scrambling after the ruling military junta in Niger cancelled a mutual security pact that could lead to American forces being expelled, stirring fears of a loss of vital influence to Russia in west Africa.
In a setback for Washington’s counter-terrorism strategy against jihadist groups in the region, Niger announced last weekend that it was revoking the pact, which had been in force since 2012. There are about 1,000 US military and civilian personnel in Niger.
Continue reading...Last-minute decision on Tuesday’s match leaves football bodies searching for alternative venue
North Korea has abruptly cancelled its 2026 World Cup qualifying match with Japan next week, leaving organisers frantically searching for an alternative venue.
North Korea reportedly decided it would no longer host the match, which had been scheduled for next Tuesday at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, a day before the teams met in Tokyo on Thursday in the first of their two Asian qualifying Group B qualifiers.
Continue reading...Eight-episode series based on Liu Cixin novels triggers accusations of ‘Americanisation’ of a Chinese story
Netflix’s big-budget adaptation of Three-Body Problem, a series of novels by the Chinese author Liu Cixin, has divided opinion on Chinese social media.
The eight-episode series, 3 Body Problem, was released in full on Netflix on Thursday. It is based on the first book in Liu’s trilogy, an ambitious sci-fi series spanning civilisation from the 1960s to the end of humanity.
Continue reading...UK’s foreign secretary is in Australia alongside defence secretary Grant Shapps for high-level talks with Richard Marles and Penny Wong
The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has suggested the Aukus pact and Nato alliance must get into “the best possible shape” to increase their chances of surviving Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House.
Speaking after high-level talks in Australia, Cameron was careful to avoid criticising the former US president and presumptive Republican nominee for 2024, saying it was “up to America who they choose as their president”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: new role created after Guardian uncovered allegations against company’s security guards
A vast Del Monte pineapple farm in Kenya that supplies most British supermarkets is advertising for a human rights manager to address its “human rights challenges” in the wake of allegations of killings and violence by its security guards.
The job advert says the candidate will need to “develop a detailed action plan to address human rights challenges in the workplace and in surrounding communities”.
Continue reading...Several schools have brought in shorts for cheerleaders at baseball tournament while another positioned teachers between the cheerleaders and spectators
High schools taking part in Japan’s annual spring baseball tournament are taking action to prevent spectators from taking sexualised photographs of female cheerleaders.
The invitational tournament – and a regular tournament held every summer at Koshien stadium near Osaka – are supposed to be a celebration of youthful sporting prowess and a chance for teenage boys from 32 schools around the country to make their mark and perhaps catch the eye of a professional ball club.
Continue reading...Former Manchester City striker taken into custody after court in Brazil ruled he should serve a nine-year sentence for offence committed in Italy
The former Brazil and Manchester City striker Robinho has been arrested by federal police at his home in the city of Santos after a Brazilian court ruled he should serve a nine-year prison sentence for a rape he was convicted of committing in Italy.
The 40-year-old footballer, whose full name is Robson de Souza, was taken into custody on Thursday night after his lawyers failed in their attempt to delay his detention over the 2013 crime, which took place when he was a player for AC Milan.
Continue reading...Kermitops gratus are thought to be among first true amphibians and a key step in transition of life from water to land
After achieving worldwide fame through numerous hit films and TV shows, leading to a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, Kermit the Frog has another accolade: a 270m-year-old fossil named after him.
Scientists have discovered a species of an ancient amphibian ancestor, which they have named Kermitops gratus because of its resemblance to the bright green star of The Muppet Show.
Continue reading...Ukraine could receive the first €1bn of interest on the sequestered assets by early July
EU leaders have agreed in principle to commandeer a large majority of the profits generated from frozen Russian assets and give them to Ukraine.
The proposal could generate €3bn (£2.6bn) this year and the first billion could be released to Ukraine by July, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said late on Thursday at the end of the first day of an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.
Continue reading...An Israeli official denied the claim in an online row with the UK foreign secretary and has since been suspended
David Cameron has accused Israel of demanding the closure of a key aid crossing into Gaza, in a clash with a British-born government spokesperson that has reportedly resulted in the official’s suspension.
In a blistering letter, the UK foreign secretary said aid was not getting into Gaza owing to “arbitrary denials by the government of Israel and lengthy clearance procedures, including multiple screenings and narrow opening windows in daylight hours”.
Continue reading...Aam Aadmi party leader Arvind Kejriwal is held as part of corruption case a month before elections
Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has been arrested in a corruption case, a move condemned by his party as a “conspiracy” by Narendra Modi’s government to target the opposition before next month’s elections.
Kejriwal, who is the leader of the Aam Aadmi party (AAP) and has been Delhi’s chief minister since 2015, was arrested at his home on Thursday night by a dozen officers from the enforcement directorate (ED), an investigating agency under central government control.
Continue reading...Nearly half of Fine Gael parliamentary party endorses 37-year-old as string of potential rivals rule themselves out
The contest to become Ireland’s next prime minister is turning into a one-horse race after the higher education minister, Simon Harris, secured the backing of nearly half his parliamentary party before he had even confirmed he was running.
Within hours of nominations opening on Thursday to succeed Leo Varadkar, whose unexpected resignation as Fine Gael leader and taoiseach shocked the country, Harris had been endorsed by 24 of the party’s 54 TDs (MPs), senators and MEPs.
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