Top World News
Sydney trains hit by widespread delays and cancellations on election night
Mar 25, 2023 - World
Transport for NSW urges passengers to make other travel arrangements with disruptions on several lines due to urgent signal repairsNSW election 2023 live news and updates: polls, voting and results updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastSydney’s train network has again been hit by service disruptions with trains not running on a number of lines due to urgent signal repairs.The widespread delays and cancellations have prompted Transport for NSW to warn passengers to seek other arrangements, particularly for anyone travelling to the Rabbitohs v Sea Eagles NRL game at Olympic Park. Continue reading...

Ukrainian top brass stirs the pot with talk of Bakhmut counterattack
Mar 25, 2023 - World
As Russian observers hunt for clues of a spring offensive, Ukraine’s land forces chief suggests an unlikely strategySpring has arrived in Ukraine – with late March temperatures an unreasonably high 17C along much of the frontline in the east. It means it is possible to declare, definitively, that the Russian campaign to knock out Ukraine’s power grid has failed, and whatever happens next in the war, its people will not be frozen out of their homes, as was once feared when the cynical bombing campaign began on 10 October.The reality, of course, was the missile strikes on key infrastructure had been largely abandoned at the end of January, with Russian missile stocks at 10-15% of prewar levels, according to Ukrainian estimates. Moscow’s tactics are changing: Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Kyiv’s military intelligence, said in a TV interview that it appeared military fuel and “logistics systems” were now being targeted. Continue reading...
Your garden should be a multilayer food forest, says RHS horticulturist
Mar 25, 2023 - World
Tom Massey promotes natural ‘forest gardens’ with biodiverse planting to create wildlife havensYour garden should have many layers, like a rainforest, to perform for biodiversity and climate, a leading garden designer has said.Tom Massey, an award-winning horticulturist, said most gardens only have a couple of layers, with a mown lawn, some bushes and perhaps a tree. But adding multiple layers, with intermingled planting, helps to mimic what one may find in a biodiverse forest, with each layer giving benefits for wildlife. Continue reading...

Five care chains thought to make £150m a year for low-rated homes in England
Mar 25, 2023 - World
Council are paying large sums for elderly care homes that are inadequate, need improving and not safe, finds Guardian researchFive of the largest private care chains are taking £150m a year in taxpayers’ money for places in English elderly care homes rated inadequate or requiring improvement, including some that are “not safe”, the Guardian has estimated.The leading earner from public funds is HC-One, a chain of 285 care homes majority-owned by a US private equity company, according to analysis of council spending records. Continue reading...
Rishi Sunak’s accountants urge retention of non-dom status
Mar 25, 2023 - World
Evelyn Partners recently confirmed PM made around £5m in past three years, mostly through investmentsRishi Sunak’s accountancy firm, a wealth management company that argued against removing non-domiciled status, has welcomed the government’s tax breaks for wealthy savers and promises to minimise clients’ capital gains tax.Evelyn Partners signed off on the three-page summary of the prime minister’s tax affairs which Downing Street released this week, showing that Sunak made around £5m in the last three years, mostly through his US-based investment fund. Continue reading...