The fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has died aged 85, his Chanel label has said. As one of the most prolific and admired designers of modern times, Lagerfeld’s influence on the fashion industry is unparalleled. Known fondly in fashion circles as “the Kaiser” thanks to his German heritage, he was famously uncompromising in his design vision, once declaring: “Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants.”

In January he missed the Chanel haute couture show in Paris, fuelling speculation about his health. According to reports, he was admitted to the American hospital in Paris on Monday night. The cause of death is not yet known. The designer Donatella Versace posted a photograph of herself and Lagerfeld on Instagram, writing: “Karl your genius touched the lives of so many, especially Gianni and I. We will never forget your incredible talent and endless inspiration. We were always learning from you.”(theguardian)…[+]

Ireland’s permit scheme for migrant workers on its fishing trawlers breaches international human rights law, four UN special rapporteurs have said in a warning letter to the Irish government. The four UN rapporteurs – on modern slavery, trafficking in persons, racial discrimination and human rights – joined together to issue an exceptional rebuke to the Irish government, saying they had received information that the permits were making migrants from outside the European Union vulnerable to modern slavery and serious abuse on Irish fishing vessels.

The scheme was introduced in 2016 following a Guardian investigation that uncovered widespread exploitation and alleged trafficking of workers from Asia and Africa on to Irish trawlers. In an effort to give undocumented workers better protection, the government set up an emergency taskforce, which introduced permits under an “atypical workers’ scheme” (AWS) to work in its fleet. But visas under the scheme required employers to apply for them and tied migrants to individual bosses, leaving them vulnerable to unscrupulous operators.(theguardian)…[+]

Students who think they can get away “unscathed” when their fights move out of the school compound and into public spaces may need to think again. Education Minister Anthony Garcia says the Ministry is collaborating with the Ministry of National Security and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service to come up with a “strategic” initiative that will treat with students who fight in public “in the same way that persons out of uniform would be treated”.

He said as security and vigilance in schools has been ramped up, instances of disobedience have migrated outside of the school. “…they will be addressed and dealt with accordingly,” Garcia warned in a statement on Monday. “It must be noted that while the Ministry of Education is responsible for a student while in uniform and will maintain the responsibilities associated, students who engage in and inflict physical harm on to another person can and will face the accompanying penalties that come with such actions,” he noted.(Trinidad Express)…[+]

A Swedish student who livestreamed her protest against the deportation of an Afghan asylum seeker last year has been found guilty of violating Sweden’s aviation laws and fined £250. Elin Ersson, 22, avoided a prison sentence at the Gothenburg district court, where she was sentenced to a fine of 3,000 Swedish krona.

Last July, she broadcast her attempt to prevent a Turkish Airlines flight from leaving Göteborg Landvetter airport on Facebook. A 50-year-old Afghan, asylum seeker and convicted criminal, who was being deported from the country, was onboard. After Ersson refused to take her seat, several other passengers – including members of a football team – joined her protest and the asylum seeker was removed from the plane, to applause from passengers. The video went viral has been viewed millions of times around the world.The protest has had a mixed reception in Sweden, where attitudes have hardened towards immigration. The government has sharply reduced the number of asylum seekers and brought the country’s asylum regime in line with the rest of the EU. Sweden took in 370,000 people in the five years to 2016, but received 21,500 asylum applications last year, down from a peak of 163,000 in 2015.(theguardian)…[+]

The east London schoolgirl who left the UK to join Islamic State has compared the Manchester Arena bombing to airstrikes by the western allies that killed non-combatants in Isis-held areas. Shamima Begum, 19, says she wants to return to Britain and is asking for “forgiveness”, having given birth to a son on Saturday while in a refugee camp in Syria.

A debate has broken out about whether Begum, who travelled to Syria in 2015 aged 15, should be allowed to return to Britain having joined Isis, which has claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks on the UK. The Manchester Arena attack in May 2017 killed 22 people after a suicide bomber detonated a device packed with shrapnel at the end of a pop concert.

In the latest of a series of interviews she has given while in the camp, Begum told the BBC she had regrets about the Manchester attack: “I do feel that is wrong. Innocent people did get killed,” she said. “It’s one thing to kill a soldier, it’s fine, it’s self-defence. But to kill people like women and children, just like the women and children in Baghuz who are being killed right now unjustly by the bombings. It’s a two-way thing really.”(theguardian)…[+]

Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Regional Director for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO), is visiting Belize from February 18-22 to meet with Prime Minister of Belize Dean Barrow, Minister of Health Pablo Marin, and other high-level officials. Dr. Etienne’s working meetings with Belizean officials are expected to focus on PAHO’s technical cooperation with Belize and the Director’s vision for universal health and sustainable development. Her visit will also include courtesy visits with the Minister of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Wilfred Elrington.

PAHO has been working with Belize and its member countries to advance the goal of “universal health” ever since ministers of health from throughout the Americas collectively endorsed that goal in 2014. The framework for these efforts is known as the primary health care (PHC) strategy, a strategic approach to developing, organizing, and financing health systems and services that are equitable, sustainable, and centered on people, families, and communities.

Dr. Etienne will also participate in a meeting of PAHO’s representatives in Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. That meeting will define strategic, programmatic and managerial approaches for the Organization’s national and subregional technical cooperation. It will also focus on repositioning public health for the 21st century and will include a presentation by the Minister of Health Pablo Marin. During her visit, Dr. Etienne will be accompanied by PAHO/WHO Chief of Staff Dr. Merle Lewis and PAHO/WHO Representative in Belize Dr. Noreen Jack. The Director will visit the Matron Roberts Polyclinic, one of the health centers that provides comprehensive health care as part of an integrated service network. The Director is also scheduled to participate in the launch of the Belize Human Resources for Universal Health Strategic Plan 2019-2024, which aims to increase the number of health care professionals…[+]

A Russian flag was hung briefly from scaffolding on Salisbury Cathedral, almost a year after the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with novichok in the city. The flag was taken down on Sunday after cathedral staff were made aware of it. It is thought someone climbed the scaffolding and put it there overnight.

The first anniversary of the nerve agent attack on Skripal, 67, and his daughter Yulia, 33, who were discovered collapsed on a park bench in the city centre, will fall on 4 March. Two men identified as suspects for carrying out the attack, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, went on Russian state-funded TV in September last year to claim they had travelled to Salisbury as tourists, to visit its cathedral.

Jo Broom, a Conservative councillor for the St Martin’s and Cathedral ward of the city, said: “My initial reaction was one of huge shock and disbelief that someone would think this was in any way a good thing to do. If it was a joke, it was in very poor taste. Particularly when we are going into the first anniversary of the novichok attack, and are trying to move forward and look to the positive.”

Angry Salisbury residents called the act “disgusting” and “insensitive” after Dawn Sturgess, 44, died from novichok contamination when she used a perfume bottle containing the nerve agent in June last year. One posted on social media: “It is in poor taste. Remember an innocent victim, Dawn Sturgess, lost her life because of it. I am sure her grieving family, especially her young daughter, do not find this amusing.”(theguardian)…[+]

Protesters from the environmental action group Extinction Rebellion have disrupted London fashion week in an attempt to urge the British Fashion Council to declare a climate emergency. A group with a banner saying “rebel for life” blocked the road outside Victoria Beckham’s show at Tate Britain for about half an hour on Sunday, holding up Mercedes cars provided for the event.

Demonstrators, wearing black to mourn the lives of those devastated by environmental destruction, then formed human roadblocks outside venues at West Aldwych and Temple to challenge “business as usual” and highlight the spiralling throwaway culture in the UK’s clothing market. Extinction Rebellion said members of the public expressed support for their aims. One man told the group: “Even if I disagree with your methods, I do agree with the core principle.”Both lanes of traffic were blocked nearby the main catwalk venue at 180 Strand in central London, and there were plans to create gridlock and prevent staff from moving between show venues throughout Sunday, the third day of London fashion week; during which designers such as Vivienne Westwood will showcase their latest collections.(theguardian)…[+]

Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will pay an official visit to Barbados on Tuesday, March 19, as part of a Caribbean tour. During the visit, they will participate in several events, including a parade and wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in National Heroes Square and a reception at which they will be able to interact with a cross-section of Barbadians.

The Prince will also visit the Nidhe Israel Synagogue, observe a demonstration on this island’s hurricane preparedness mechanisms and meet teams involved in responding to recent natural disasters across the region. He will learn more about the work of the Prince’s Trust International on the island, a charity which he founded in 1976, and meet some of the beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, The Duchess, who is President of the Women of the World Festival, will attend an event for Barbadian women of influence and pay visits to the Derrick Smith School and Vocational Centre and the Maria Holder Diabetes Centre. Commenting on the upcoming visit, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said: “We welcome this visit by Their Royal Highnesses to our home. It serves to buttress the relationship that we have as a member of the Commonwealth, of which Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the head. Indeed, it demonstrates the continued links the Royal Family has maintained with Barbados over the years.(Barbados Nation)…[+]

The UK’s most senior counter-terrorism officer has said that Shamima Begum, who left the UK to join Islamic State as a 15-year-old, had “potentially criminalised” herself as her family considers court action to stop the government blocking her return to Britain. Government and counter-terrorism officials are still considering what to do after Begum, now 19, was discovered in a Syrian refugee camp after fleeing Isis’s last stronghold and said she wanted to return to Britain.

Neil Basu, assistant commissioner for counter-terrorism at Scotland Yard, told the Guardian the case should drive home the need to report those youngsters being radicalised, rather than let them ruin their lives after falling for terrorist propaganda.In 2015, Begum left with two school friends from their home in Bethnal Green to join Isis in Syria. She said this week that she did not regret her decision to go to Syria, but that she was nine months pregnant and wanted to come home to “live quietly with [her] child”.(theguardian)…[+]