Susie Wolff has launched legal action against the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, after a controversial inquiry into her and her husband last year.
The F1 Driver Academy managing director, married to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, found herself at the heart of an investigation into claims of an alleged conflict of interest.
The probe came about after reports claimed other team principals were worried Mr Wolff was benefiting from information shared by his wife.
Two days after the FIA announced its compliance department was “looking into” the allegations, the federation said it “can confirm that there is no ongoing investigation in terms of ethical or disciplinary inquiries involving any individual”.
At the time, Susie Wolff vehemently denied the allegations – calling them “intimidatory and misogynistic”.
In December, Formula 1 and Mercedes – based in Brackley, Northamptonshire – denied the allegations, and days later the FIA dropped its investigation.
Speaking to La Gazzeta dello Sport, earlier this year Mr Wolff said that the initial inquiry caused “great damage” and was “not what you expect from the world of F1”.
He added that his wife’s reputation had suffered even after the investigation was dropped, saying “the bullet can’t go back into the rifle”.
In a statement shared on social media on Wednesday evening, ahead of the upcoming Australian Grand Prix, Mrs Wolff said: “I can confirm that I personally filed a criminal complaint in the French courts on 4 March in relation to the statements made about me by the FIA last December.
“There has still not been any transparency or accountability in relation to the conduct of the FIA and its personnel in this matter.
“I feel more than ever it is important to stand up, call out improper behaviour and make sure people are held to account.
“Whilst some may think silence absolves them from responsibility – it does not.”
Ireland is pledging emergency legislation enabling it to send asylum seekers back to the UK.
More than 80% of recent arrivals in the republic came via the land border with Northern Ireland, Irish justice minister Helen McEntee told a parliamentary committee last week.
Ireland’s deputy prime minister has said the threat of deportation to Rwanda is causing migrants to head for Ireland instead of the UK.
Micheal Martin said the policy was already affecting Ireland because people are “fearful” of staying in the UK.
The former taoiseach told The Daily Telegraph: “Maybe that’s the impact it was designed to have.”
Simon Harris, Ireland’s latest leader, has asked Ms McEntee to “bring proposals to cabinet to amend existing law regarding the designation of safe ‘third countries’ and allowing the return of inadmissible international protection applicants to the UK”, a spokesman said.
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Ms McEntee said she will be meeting UK Home Secretary James Cleverly in London on Monday.
“There are many reasons why we have seen an increase in migration towards Ireland,” she told RTE.
“My focus as minister for justice is making sure that we have an effective immigration structure and system.
“That’s why I’m introducing fast processing, that’s why I’ll have emergency legislation at cabinet this week to make sure that we can effectively return people to the UK, and that’s why I’ll be meeting with the home secretary to raise these issues on Monday.”
People are now “worried” about coming to the UK, Rishi Sunak has said.
He told Sky News: “If people come to our country illegally, but know that they won’t be able to stay here, they are much less likely to come, and that’s why the Rwanda scheme is so important.”
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Are migrants fleeing from UK to Ireland?
Mr Sunak said the comments from Irish politicians show that “illegal migration is a global challenge”.
“[That] is why you’re seeing multiple countries talk about doing third country partnerships, looking at novel ways to solve this problem, and I believe [they] will follow where the UK has led,” he said.
Shadow minister Wes Streeting said it was unlikely a Labour government would bring people back from Rwanda if some are sent there.
“Once people are settled in Rwanda, they’re settled in Rwanda,” he told Sky News, adding it was doubtful that Labour would “unpick that situation”.
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Regarding illegal migration in general, he said it required “putting the money that’s gone to Rwanda into the National Crime Agency so we can have proper cross-border policing to tackle the criminal gangs, speeding up the processing of decision-making, making sure we’ve got serious returns agreements with other countries”.
He had been battling respiratory problems all winter that made it difficult for him to speak at length.
In December, he was due to go to the United Arab Emirates, but pulled out after coming down with flu.
A painful knee ailment makes it hard for him to walk and on Sunday he regularly used a wheelchair, with Vatican News Television cutting away whenever he was helped into a chair to give a speech, or on to his white golf cart.
The Pope acknowledged Venice’s “enchanting beauty” in his homily at a mass before about 10,000 people in the shadow of St Mark’s Basilica, one of the most celebrated churches in Italy.
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But he said the city also faced an array of challenges, including climate change, the fragility of its cultural heritage, and overtourism.
“Moreover, all these realities risk generating… frayed social relations, individualism, and loneliness,” he said.
Venice introduced a €5 charge last week for day-trippers during peak travel periods in an effort to thin the crowds.
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He started the day by flying by helicopter into a women’s prison where the Vatican has set up an exhibition that is part of the Venice Biennale, a prestigious international art show that has never been visited by a pope before.
The pope has repeatedly called for society to rally around the poor and neglected, including prison populations.
“Prison is a harsh reality, and problems such as overcrowding, the lack of facilities and resources, and episodes of violence, give rise to a great deal of suffering. But it can also become a place of moral and material rebirth,” he told inmates and guards on Sunday.
He also addressed a group of young Venetians, urging them not to spend their life glued to their smartphones, but to help others.
“If we always focus on our self, our needs, and what we lack, we will always find ourselves back at the starting point, crying over ourselves with a long face,” he said.
Two Russian journalists could face at least two years in prison after they were arrested on “extremism” charges, accused of working for a group founded by the late Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin are accused of preparing materials for a YouTube channel run by Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which has been outlawed by Russian authorities.
Russian courts have ordered them to remain in custody pending an investigation and trial.
They will be detained for at least two months before any trial begins.
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What happened to Alexei Navalny?
They face a minimum of two years’ jail time and a maximum of six years for alleged “participation in an extremist organisation”, according to Russian courts.
The journalists are the latest to be arrested amid a Russian government crackdown on dissent and independent media that intensified after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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The Russian government passed laws criminalising what it deems false information or discreditory statements about the military, effectively outlawing any criticism of the war in Ukraine.
Mr Gabov, who was detained in Moscow, is a freelance producer who has worked for multiple outlets, including Reuters, the court press service said.
Mr Karelin, who has dual citizenship with Israel and has previously worked for The Associated Press, was detained on Friday night in Russia’s northern Murmansk region.
“The Associated Press is very concerned by the detention of Russian video journalist Sergey Karelin,” the AP said in a statement. “We are seeking additional information.”
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Their arrests come after Forbes journalist Sergei Mingazov was detained on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military on Friday, according to his lawyer.
A number of journalists have been jailed in relation to their coverage of Mr Navalny, who died in an Arctic penal colony in February.