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Former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro faces allegations he ran a criminal group while in government

Nigel Farage reveals convert to party as former chancellor says UK has reached a dark and dangerous chapter'Zahawi says he accepts that the Conservatives are to blame for some of the problems facinng the country.Since leaving parliament, I have been reflecting on the successes and failures of my old party's time in government, and I rue the timidity, even at times the weakness, with which we try to deal with the problems of the country.My analysis is that a huge culprit is the over-mighty bureaucratic inertia that now dominates and runs the country, that has taken control of swathes of the economy and, with barely a shrug of the shoulders, restricts the individual liberty of each and every one of us.So it is time for another glorious revolution to get us back to a fully sovereign parliament.Britain needs Reform.My own party, and by definition to some extent me personally, should share some blame for the continuation of the Blairite constitutional vandalism and our failure, to coin a phrase, to take back control from the rich powers of the unelected bureaucracy. Continue reading...

Internet blackout hampering efforts to verify if violent crackdown has blunted movement's momentum

US president repeats his desire for the territory; EU defence commissioner says attempt to take Greenland by force would mark end of NatoMeanwhile, EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius warned that it would be the end of Nato if the US took Greenland by force, as he stressed that EU members would also be under obligation to come to Denmark's assistance, Reuters reported.I agree with the Danish prime minister that it will be the end of Nato, but also among people it will be also very, very negative," commissioner Kubilius told Reuters at a security conference in Sweden.Now, maybe another president would feel differently, but so far I've been right about everything." Continue reading...

Journalists call on homeland security officials to reduce law-enforcement confrontations as tensions flareAfter a year in which US journalists faced a dramatic increase in violence from law enforcement, news organizations and advocacy groups have recently tried to better protect reporters through outreach to the Department of Homeland Security.Over the last four months, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a collection of New York news outlets have sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security attempting to open dialogue to reduce confrontations between law enforcement officers and journalists at protests, especially over efforts to deport alleged undocumented immigrants. Continue reading...

Police said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt, and that the driver had been detainedLos Angeles police responded Sunday after a person drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with marchers demonstrating in support of the Iranian people, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver.The U-Haul truck, with a window and side mirrors shattered, was stopped several blocks away and surrounded by police cars. Helicopter footage from the Los Angeles news outlet KABC showed officers keeping the crowd at bay as demonstrators swarmed the truck, throwing punches at the driver and thrusting flagpoles through the driver's side window. Continue reading...

Kristi Noem says that more officers are being deployed amid protests in several citiesHe has warned he is considering very strong" military action over the regimes crackdown on protesters.Possible actions for the US include military strikes, deploying secretive cyber weapons against Iranian military and civilian sites, placing more sanctions on Iran's government and boosting anti-government sources online, sources say. Continue reading...

South East Water blames cold weather and Storm Goretti for problems, with schools and libraries closed for dayA major incident has been declared after 30,000 homes in Kent and Sussex were left without water.People in areas including Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury and Maidstone have been without water for as long as five days. Continue reading...

Zahawi is the most senior former Conservative to join Nigel Farage's party

Sadiq Khan says public health' approach has made the capital one of the safest cities in the western worldLondon's murder rate has dropped to its lowest in more than a decade with police in the capital and the mayor saying it is now one of the safest cities in the western world.The figures come as those on the radical right criticise the city for having a crime problem, hoping to gain politically from such claims being believed. Continue reading...

Canada's PM seeks to smooth over past ructions in relationship with China as trade war takes its tollDuring the final stretch of Canada's spring election campaign, Mark Carney told a debate audience that China was the country's biggest geopolitical risk". He pointed to its attempts to meddle in elections and its recent efforts to disrupt Canada's Arctic claims.When Carney's government plane touches down in Beijing this week, it will be the first time a Canadian prime minister has been welcomed in nearly a decade. The trip, undertaken amid the rupturing of global economic and political alliances, reflects a desire by Ottawa to mend a broken relationship with a global superpower that uses its vast and lucrative market to both woo and punish countries. Continue reading...

Lawyers for Abu Zubaydah accused British intelligence services of providing questions to his CIA interrogatorsThe UK has settled out of court by paying a substantial sum" to a Guantanamo Bay detainee who was suing the government for its alleged complicity in his rendition and torture, according to the inmate's legal team.Lawyers for Abu Zubaydah have accused the British intelligence services of providing questions to his CIA interrogators to put to him while they were torturing him at a string of CIA black sites" around the world where he was held between 2002 and 2006. Continue reading...

Retailer to allow one-click purchases' through assistants such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, beginning in US

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Backed by actor Sally Phillips and MPs across parties, group raises concerns about overhaul of provision in EnglandKeir Starmer is being urged not to diminish the legal rights of children with special educational needs by a new national campaign backed by the actor Sally Phillips and a cross-party group of Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs.The group Save Our Children's Rights claims the prime minister is considering taking our legal rights away" as part of the government's overhaul of special educational needs and disabilities (Send) provision in the forthcoming schools white paper for England. Continue reading...

Appeal, now in its final few days, raising funds for organisations trying to stop rise of hatred across UK

Ructions within festival board over Palestinian-Australian academic's inclusion began in October, email reveals

Senior politicians have tabled bill that would force UK banks to make affordable finance more accessibleSenior Labour backbenchers are urging the government to introduce legislation forcing UK banks to expand affordable lending to small businesses and low-income neighbourhoods.The former minister Gareth Thomas has tabled a 10-minute rule bill - a type of private member's bill - echoing the US Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Continue reading...

Complaint against Cecile Desprairies over Nazi collusion novel alleges that resentment permeates the entire work'The Polish poet Czesaw Miosz is famously credited with the line: When a writer is born into a family, the family is finished." In contemporary European literature, a book these days is often the beginning of a familial feud. With thinly disguised autobiographical accounts of family strife undergoing a sustained boom across the continent, it can increasingly lead to family reunions in courtrooms.Such was the case with the French historian Cecile Desprairies, who on Wednesday was sued for defamation by her brother and a cousin over the depiction of her late mother and her great-uncle in her 2024 novel La Propagandiste. Continue reading...

MPs to return next week to debate new racial vilification offence, hate preachers' crackdown and gun buyback

In the face of Nigel Farage, flag-waving and a longstanding housing crisis, some Glaswegians are taking on anti-immigration rhetoricSelina Hales has a thing about pineapples. She is talking in a quiet office, set aside from the bustle of Refuweegee, the charity she founded 10 years ago, and the walls are festooned with tissue paper cutouts of the fruit, which is an international symbol of hospitality.Refuweegee - its name a combination of the words refugee" and Weegee", local slang for Glaswegian - has expanded exponentially over the decade into an operation that supports hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees in the city every day. Back then, she had a simple idea about making welcome packs, each one including a handwritten letter from a Glasgow resident. One of our very favourite early letters said: Welcome to Glasgow. I like pineapples. What do you like?" Continue reading...

Police allege a 47-year-old imam was assaulted after he and his wife were forced off the road by three people in Melbourne's south-east

Federal government issues recall notice for Volvo EX30 and urges owners to keep charge below 70%

Victorian premier Jacinta Allan announces appeal to support those affected, as authorities warn fire risk could spike again later in month

Reforms come in wake of Bondi terror attack and will allow councils to cut off utilities if groups operate in breach of shutdown order

An outstanding critical voice, his deep knowledge and love of music was evident in everything he wroteThe Guardian's long-serving and much admired classical music critic Andrew Clements died on Sunday aged 75 after a period of illness.Clements joined the Guardian arts team in August 1993, succeeding Edward Greenfield as the paper's chief music critic. His appointment was clinched by a personal recommendation to the editor from the late Alfred Brendel, who argued for Clements to get the job on account of his deep understanding of contemporary music. For the next 32 years, Clements ranged across all fields of classical music in his writing for the Guardian, and often beyond. Continue reading...

Rubina Aminian, 23, struck by bullet from behind after joining Tehran protest from college, says human rights group

Tech giant says ongoing compliance will be a multi-layered process' as UK Labour faces pressure to bring in similar ban for teenagers

Resignations follow withdrawal of more than 70 participants in writers' week after Palestinian Australian author disinvited

Demonstrators recount experiences on the frontlines as protest movement rapidly moves beyond government's control

Observers say if US gets response wrong to Tehran's repression it could end up entrenching regime's position

Crash on Wigan Road in the early hours of Sunday kills drivers of both vehicles as well as two passengersThree teenagers and a man in his 50s have died in a collision between a car and a taxi in Bolton, Greater Manchester, police said.Five injured passengers were also taken to hospital for treatment after the crash on Wigan Road, which took place at about 12.45am on Sunday. Continue reading...

Tehran issues warning after Donald Trump says US stands ready to help amid crackdown on demonstrations

Former UK ambassador tries to distance himself from financier and says he knew nothing of his sex lifePeter Mandelson has declined to apologise to Jeffrey Epstein's victims for staying friends with the convicted child sex offender, and suggested that as a gay man he knew nothing of the financier's sex life.The Labour peer, who was sacked as US ambassador when details of his support for Epstein emerged in September, gave an interview to the BBC on Sunday, saying he had paid a calamitous" price for his association with the evil monster". Continue reading...

Skilled workers at Leonardo Helicopters fear it will close Yeovil site if Ministry of Defence delays awarding contractThe UK's last military helicopter factory must land a long-awaited order from the Ministry of Defence within the coming weeks to secure about 3,000 manufacturing jobs, industry sources suggest.Skilled workers at Leonardo Helicopters - the Italian owner of the former Westland factory in Yeovil, Somerset - fear the company will follow through on threats to close the facility at the end of March, if the UK military fails to place an order for new helicopters by that time. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Lord chancellor urges MPs to back judge-only trials in thousands of criminal cases in England and WalesThe backlog of nearly 80,000 trials clogging up the court system could be cleared within a decade if parliament agrees to slash the number of jury trials, David Lammy, the lord chancellor, has claimed.In an interview with the Guardian, the deputy prime minister, who is facing a backbench rebellion over the proposals, has urged Labour MPs and the public to back a version of Canada's judge-only trials in thousands of criminal cases in England and Wales. Continue reading...

No more Venezuelan oil or money will flow to the communist-run island after Maduro's fall, says US presidentDonald Trump has told Cuba to make a deal" or face unspecified consequences, adding that no more Venezuelan oil or money would flow to the communist-run Caribbean island that has been a US foe for decades.As Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela and major beneficiary of its oil, braced for potential widespread unrest after Nicolas Maduro was deposed as the South American nation's leader, the US president ramped up his threatening language on Sunday. Continue reading...

Boy born in Bow would go on to play the devoted father and taxi driver in the BBC One soap between 2000 and 2011Derek Martin, who starred as Charlie Slater in EastEnders, has died aged 92.Martin played the devoted father and taxi driver on the BBC One soap between 2000 and 2011, and continued making guest appearances until his departure in 2016. Continue reading...

Campaign groups argue online transactions present real risks to our democracy' as it is hard to trace their true sourceDowning Street has been urged to ban political donations in cryptocurrency by seven senior Labour MPs who chair parliamentary committees.The committee chairs - Liam Byrne, Emily Thornberry, Tan Dhesi, Florence Eshalomi, Andy Slaughter, Chi Onwurah and Matt Western - called on the government to introduce a full ban in the forthcoming elections bill amid concern that cryptocurrency could be used by foreign states to influence politics. Continue reading...

In first TV interview since he was sacked as UK ambassador to US, Mandelson says association with Epstein was terrible mistake' but adds: I was not culpable'Laura Kuenssberg asks Peter Mandelson if he liked Donald Trump when he was the UK ambassador to Washington.Mandelson says he did like Trump, listing off numerous reasons why, but said he did not like all of his language".I like him, yes, I liked his humour, his graciousness...I liked his directness. You knew exactly what he was thinking and where you stood and what he wanted. And how he was proposing to engage, with you. Did I like in all his language? No, I didn't, did I? Did he make me gasp?What's going to happen is there's going to be, another discussion, a lot of consultation and a lot of negotiation.At the end of the day, we are all going to have to wake up to the reality that the Arctic needs securing against China and Russia. Continue reading...

Survey by online health directory Cleanbill finds more than 1,000 clinics switched from private or mixed billing to full bulk billing since start of 2025

Early Rain pastor said to be among those held in sweep that followed arrests of members of other unregistered churchesLeaders of a prominent underground church have been detained in south-west China, according to a church statement, the latest blow in what appears to be a sweeping crackdown on unregistered Christian groups in the country.On Tuesday, Li Yingqiang, the leader of the Early Rain Covenant Church, was taken by police from his home in Deyang, a small city in Sichuan province, according to the statement. Li's wife, Zhang Xinyue, has also been detained, along with two other church members: Dai Zhichao, a pastor; and Ye Fenghua, a lay member. At least a further four members were taken and later released, while some others remain out of contact. Continue reading...

Organisers clarify award cannot be revoked, shared or transferred' after Venezuelan opposition leader's commentsThe organisers of the Nobel peace prize have said it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred" after Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, said she wanted to give her award to Donald Trump.When Machado was named Nobel laureate in October, it was seen as a snub by the White House, despite Machado rushing to dedicate the prize to the US president and his decisive support of our cause". Continue reading...

Children aged two with highest screen use can say significantly fewer words, UK government research findsExcessive screen time is damaging toddlers' ability to speak, the UK government has warned as it prepares to issue advice to parents for the first time on how to manage screen use in under-fives.Research has found that children aged two with the highest screen use - about five hours a day - could say significantly fewer words than those with screen use of about 44 minutes a day. Continue reading...

Heidi Alexander calls for end to violence while Tory leader says she would not have an issue' with regime changeThe UK wants to see a peaceful transition of power in Iran, a cabinet minister has said, after Donald Trump said he could support protesters with military force.As the US weighs the option of military strikes, Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, said she would not be drawn on America's foreign policy towards Iran, where protests have been met with a violent police response. Continue reading...

Thousands of people thought they paid the Dart Charge, but only realised when they got a penalty charge noticeYou have had a long car journey but, thankfully, remember after you get home that you have to pay the Dart Charge, the toll for driving over the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, part of the busy Dartford Crossing over the Thames linking Essex and Kent. You quickly pay on your phone after searching for the website.A few weeks later, however, a penalty charge notice (PCN) arrives and you realise you have been duped. The site you thought you had paid the 3.50 toll through was a fraud and the money went to criminals, while you are left with a 70 fine. Continue reading...

An investigation into violence and sexual harm committed by patients shows how widespread the problem isA Guardian investigation into violence and sexual harm by patients against NHS staff has revealed tens of thousands of alleged incidents reported over the past three years. Here is what we know from the findings. Continue reading...

UN and many western countries as well as human rights groups say that in the absence of a meaningful opposition the election is neither free, fair nor credibleVoters in war-torn Myanmar queued up on Sunday to cast their ballots in the second stage of a military-run election, following low turnout in the initial round of polls that have been widely criticised as a tool to formalise junta rule.Myanmar has been ravaged by conflict since the military ousted a civilian government in a 2021 coup and detained its leader, Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a civil war that has engulfed large parts of the impoverished nation of 51 million people. Continue reading...

In Philadelphia, protesters demanded ICE leave US communities and Trump end warmongering in VenezuelaOn a rainy Saturday in Philadelphia, two separate protests, both with a few hundred people, marched from city hall to the federal detention center. They differed slightly in solutions as well as crowd makeup - white older adults dominated the morning's march organized by the groups behind the No Kings protests, while a more racially diverse crowd swathed in keffiyehs and N95 face masks led the afternoon's, planned by the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter. However, both groups shared a goal: for ICE to get out of American communities and to put an end to Donald Trump's warmongering in Venezuela.From Venezuela to Minneapolis, all we're seeing is a regime that is scrambling, willing to kill its own citizens, willing to kill foreign citizens, to maintain its power," said Deborah Rose Hinchey, co-chair of the city's Democratic Socialists of America chapter. Continue reading...

Award-winning screenwriter tells Desert Island Discs that success has not silenced self-doubtThe award-winning screenwriter Jesse Armstrong has said a writers' room can feel like walking on the moon" when it is working well, but has admitted to experiencing impostor syndrome during his career.Armstrong was behind the hit HBO drama Succession, starring Brian Cox as the global media tycoon and family patriarch Logan Roy, who sets off a power struggle among his four children. Continue reading...