Commission to seek approval from leaders to start talks with UK on visa-free exchanges for 18- to 30-year-oldsThe European Commission has proposed opening negotiations with the UK to allow mobility enjoyed before Brexit to millions of 18- to 30-year-olds in a major concession.It said it would now seek approval from individual EU leaders to start the talks, which could partly eliminate one of the most controversial elements of Brexit, a block on the right to live in one another's countries, albeit for a limited period and with conditions. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Project Timber could see some lenders lose up to 40% of their money under the plansThames Water could be renationalised with the bulk of its 15.6bn debt added to the public purse under radical plans being considered by the government, the Guardian can reveal.The blueprint, which is codenamed Project Timber, is being drawn up in Whitehall and would see Britain's biggest water company turned into a publicly owned arm's-length body. Some lenders to its core operating company could lose up to 35-40% of their money under the plans. Continue reading...
European commission floats opening negotiations with London to allow under 30s in UK and EU the same rights they enjoyed before BrexitCharles Michel, the European Council president, opened today's session.He welcomed Enrico Letta, who prepared a report on the future of Europe's single market for the leaders' consideration. Continue reading...
Alexei Blinovsky reported to have joined unit popular with politicians and VIPs keen to curry favour with the KremlinWhen his wife, a prominent Russian Instagram influencer, was threatened with years of imprisonment over tax evasion charges, Alexei Blinovsky opted for what seemed the most viable means to secure her freedom in Russia today: he joined Vladimir Putin's military campaign in Ukraine.Months earlier, his wife, Yelena Blinovskaya, a former beauty queen turned famous self-help coach, made a last-ditch attempt to escape the country, but was arrested on the border with Belarus and charged with large-scale tax evasion. Continue reading...
Investigation urged into alleged bid to turn Rai into propaganda channel for ruling parties before electionsThe European commission has been urged to investigate alleged attempts by Italy's far-right government to turn the public broadcaster, Rai, into a megaphone" for the ruling parties ahead of the European elections.The appeal from the European Green party came after the Italian parliament's supervisory committee for Rai approved a measure allowing the broadcaster's news channel to televise political rallies in full and without any journalistic mediation in the run-up to the vote in early June. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe South-East Asia correspondent on (#6M4GW)
Military spokesperson says Nobel laureate is among prisoners to be moved out of prison as a precaution during hot weatherMyanmar's detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, according to the military junta.A spokesperson said the measure was taken due to extremely hot weather and that it was trying to prevent heatstroke among all those who need necessary precautions, especially elderly prisoners". Continue reading...
by Eleni Courea Political correspondent on (#6M4AD)
Rishi Sunak suffers blow to his authority as 57 of his own MPs vote against his plan and over 100 abstainA ban on smoking for future generations moved a step closer last night, but Rishi Sunak suffered a blow to his authority after dozens of Conservative MPs voted against it.The House of Commons voted by 383 to 67 in favour of the prime minister's plan to make it illegal for anyone born in 2009 or later to buy tobacco products in the UK. Continue reading...
by Yohannes Lowe (now) and Jamie Grierson (earlier) on (#6M3R6)
Kyiv brings in higher payments for volunteers and new punishments for draft dodgersWe have more in from Agence France-Presse (AFP) on the German chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to Beijing to meet China's president, Xi Jinping (see earlier post at 08.46 for more details).Xi laid out what state media described as four principles to prevent the Ukraine crisis from spiralling out of control and to restore peace". Continue reading...
by Patrick Butler Social policy editor on (#6M3DC)
Labour leader was responding to a question from the BBC about Vivienne Groom, who was prosecuted over breach of benefit rulesKeir Starmer has called for fairer treatment of unpaid carers plunged into poverty after being forced to pay back thousands of pounds - and in some cases facing criminal prosecution - for minor breaches of benefit rules.Last week the Guardian revealed thousands of carers had run up big debts, were given criminal records and forced to sell their homes when chased by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over honest mistakes" that officials could have spotted years earlier. Continue reading...
Met Office says it could not verify if strong gusts in Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire were a tornadoStrong winds and hundreds of lightning strikes have battered much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland with a possible tornado reported in Staffordshire.The Met Office said it could not verify if the strong gusts in Newcastle-under-Lyme were a tornado but added that the winds forecast on Monday morning had some potential" to create one. Continue reading...
Closure between junctions 9 and 10 will be second of five planned weekend closures on motorwayThe second weekend closure of the M25 will take place between 10 and 13 May, National Highways has confirmed, with a seven-mile stretch of the road between junctions 9 and 10 in Surrey due to be shut.In March a five-mile stretch of the motorway between junctions 10 and 11 was closed for a three-day period, the longest planned closure on the road since it was opened in 1986. Continue reading...
Simon Taylor, who taught between 1990 and 2013, fell in love' with male student who was 16 or 17 at the time, court toldA former English and drama teacher at an exclusive private school engaged in sexual activity with a emotionally vulnerable" pupil after directing him in a play, a jury has heard.Simon Taylor, 78, who taught at Winchester college, fell in love" with the male pupil, inviting him round to his house, where he kissed and cuddled him, the court heard. Continue reading...
The Pakistani citizen - who fled religious persecution to settle in Australia - was working his first day shift as a security guard at Westfield Shopping Centre
The federal court justice Michael Lee gave a two-and-a-half hour oral summary of his judgment that at times strayed into unexpectedly colourful references Continue reading...
Supermodel says her hand got jammed' in a machine at Brighton station for an hour and a halfWith her famous nickname, you might think Twiggy is the perfect person to call on if your sweets get stuck in a vending machine.But the supermodel has told how she once became stuck at Brighton railway station as she tried to retrieve a chocolate bar. Continue reading...
Police were made aware of unlicensed gun after Carroll testified in court she kept a revolver by her bedNew York writer E Jean Carroll has handed over a gun to police that she was keeping, but without a license, during her long legal battles with Donald Trump after she sued him over sexual abuse, according to a new report.Police in Warwick, New York, took possession" of the firearm after discussing the matter with the former Elle magazine columnist, NBC News reported, citing a police report the TV network had obtained. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Failure to do so would betray working-class people, shadow health secretary saysWes Streeting has defended Labour's plans to use the private sector to help cut the NHS care backlog, arguing that a failure to do so would result in a betrayal" of working-class people who cannot afford to pay for care.The shadow health secretary said his approach was a pragmatic but principled one" as he doubled down on his remarks this week about middle-class lefties" whom he said risked putting ideological purity ahead of patient care. Continue reading...
Four women and two girls were injured in attack on memorial service near Euston station in 2023Four men have been jailed after being found guilty of a truly horrific" drive-by shooting outside a London church that injured four women and two girls.The attack on a memorial service at St Aloysius church near Euston station in January 2023, in which a sawn-off shotgun was used, was part of a feud between gangs, Kingston crown court was told. Continue reading...
by Gloria Oladipo (now); Amy Sedghi, Vivian Ho and Ra on (#6M144)
This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereAn assessment conducted by a UN team in Khan Younis after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area, has reported widespread destruction".In an update on its website, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) wrote:Every building they visited - and most of those they observed - had been damaged, and paved roads had been reduced to dirt tracks. They inspected a UN warehouse, four medical centres, and eight schools, and all but one had significant damage."Street and public spaces in Khan Younis are littered with unexploded ordnance posing a severe risk to civilians, especially for children. Our team found unexploded 1,000 pound bombs lying on the main intersection and inside schools.Residents who returned to the area, and some who remained during the fighting, told the team about the dire shortages of food and water and the loss of critical health services due to the destruction of the al-Nasser and al-Amal hospital." Continue reading...
The attack, blamed on a suicide bomber, killed 85 people, wounded 300 and devastated Latin America's biggest Jewish communityA new ruling by Argentina's highest criminal court has blamed Iran for the fatal 1994 attack against a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, declaring it a crime against humanity" in a decision that paves the way for victims to seek justice.That massive blast at the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA), was blamed on a suicide bomber driving a stolen van loaded with explosives. It killed 85 people, wounded 300 and devastated Latin America's biggest Jewish community. Continue reading...
Habibur Masum was subject of three-day manhunt after Kulsuma Akter was attacked while pushing pramA man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a mother who was stabbed to death as she pushed her baby in a pram in Bradford city centre.Habibur Masum, 25, is charged with murdering Kulsuma Akter, 27, who was believed to be his wife, on Saturday. The baby was not harmed in the incident, police said. Continue reading...
The force has said there was nothing to suggest at the time that the messages were part of a wider patternThe Metropolitan police first had reports of unsolicited messages targeting a number of MPs, staff and journalists in Westminster last year, but officers failed to notify politicians.After the former Conservative MP William Wragg said he was manipulated into giving the personal phone numbers of colleagues to a man he met on a dating app, Scotland Yard said it was working with other police forces, alongside its own investigation, amid concerns many other MPs could have been targeted. Continue reading...
by Martin Belam (now) and Jamie Grierson (earlier) on (#6KZAS)
This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story herePushed on LBC this morning about the timing of the next general election, prime minister Rishi Sunak refused to be drawn, and suggested the country should have its focus on the substance" of issues instead.He told listeners:When I got this job we'd been through a tough time as a country, the pandemic, war in Ukraine, impacts on energy bills. And there was a lot to get on with.I set out five very clear priorities, I'm sure we'll talk about them, to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting list and to stop the boats. Continue reading...
US version of failed immersive event that made headlines is said to include Q&A hosted by comediansThe infamous Willy's Chocolate Experience staged in Glasgow, which prompted angry parents to call police, inspired dozens of memes on the internet and even got a mention in the House of Commons, is to be recreated in Los Angeles.Billed as a celebration of chocolate in all its delightful forms" when it opened at a warehouse in Glasgow in February, it instead made headlines after furious families demanded their money back and the event was abruptly cancelled midway through. Continue reading...
Profits near 2.3bn for supermarket, which is conscious things still difficult for many customers'Tesco has said inflationary pressures in the UK grocery sector have lessened substantially" as it announced plans to make 500m in efficiency savings in the year ahead.As expected, the country's biggest supermarket chain revealed pre-tax profits had soared 159% to almost 2.3bn from the previous year when it incurred high impairment charges on stores, while sales rose 7.4% to almost 61.5bn. Continue reading...
Meeting to discuss PM's key policy overshadowed by reports of lack of housing for deportees or airline to remove them from UKRishi Sunak has welcomed the Rwandan president to Downing Street amid signs that ministers are struggling to find an airline or housing in Kigali to carry out their flagship deportation plan.The meeting on Tuesday was overshadowed by the former home secretary Suella Braverman's criticism of fallen expectations over the policy, which aims to forcibly send people seeking asylum 4,000 miles to central Africa. Continue reading...
Police keeping open mind' over motive after victim discovered with multiple stab injuries in Bayswater propertyA murder investigation is under way after a woman was found dead with a number of stab wounds in her home in west London, the Metropolitan police has said.Officers were contacted on Sunday by friends of the woman, who were concerned about her welfare. Continue reading...
Tracy Menhinick, 52, wilfully ill-treated the boy with medication that affected his developmentA former auxiliary nurse convicted of harming a child with laxatives with devastating" consequences has been jailed for seven years.Tracy Menhinick, 52, was found guilty of wilfully ill-treating the boy in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury on various occasions over a three-year period from 2014. Continue reading...
IDF cyber-intelligence chief Yossi Sariel exposed online by social media activity and accidental government leakThe commander of Israel's military surveillance agency, Unit 8200, is facing fresh embarrassment after it emerged that an extensive digital trail identifying him as a senior intelligence official has been exposed online for years.The Guardian revealed on Friday how Yossi Sariel, whose name had been protected by the Israeli state, inadvertently disclosed his identity online in a security lapse linked to a book published under a pen name in 2021. Continue reading...
Russian-controlled power station says drone shot down over roof over reactor number six, which is currently shut downThe head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has condemned a drone strike on one of six nuclear reactors at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. This cannot happen," director general Rafael Grossi wrote on a social media post, adding, No one can conceivably benefit or get any military or political advantage from attacks against nuclear facilities. This is a no go."The Kremlin continues to blame Ukraine for the attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, calling them very dangerous", but a senior Ukrainian intelligence officer has denied Kyiv's involvement. The Guardian is unable to independently verify either account.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Beijing on Monday to display the strength of ties with close diplomatic ally China, amid Moscow's war against Ukraine. Despite its backing of Russia in the Ukraine war, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters Monday that China has an objective and fair position on the Ukraine issue ... We have been actively promoting peace talks and political solutions. China is not a creator or party to the Ukraine crisis, and we have not and will not do anything to profit from it."The US Treasury Secretary has threatened sanctions on China's banks which aid Russia's military capacity, amid Russia's diplomatic visit to China. She told reporters, as she wrapped up four days of talks with China, that any banks that facilitate significant transactions that channel military or dual-use goods to Russia's defence industrial base expose themselves to the risk of US sanctions."The Kremlin has warned that a planned German military presence in Lithuania would escalate tensions. The Nato military alliance and EU member Lithuania, which borders Russia and its ally Belarus, said earlier it would partly finance permanently hosting of 5,000 German troops from 2027.More than 10,400 homes across Russia have been flooded, triggering record water levels in the Ural mountains, Russia's emergency ministry have said. An increase in air temperatures, active snow melt and river openings are predicted," Russia's emergency ministry said. More than 10,400 residential buildings remain flooded in 39 regions." Russia's government declared a federal emergency on Sunday over flood-hit areas, state media reported.A member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) accused of taking money from a pro-Russian media site has denied any wrongdoing. German magazine Der Spiegel and Czech newspaper Denik N reported that Bystron had received money from the portal Voice of Europe, which was sanctioned by the Czech government late last month due to suspected Russian influence. Petr Bystron, a member of the German parliament and an AfD candidate in European parliament elections set for June, has vehemently denied" the allegations, an AfD spokesperson told Reuters.US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday, after four days of talks with China, that she has warned the country's banks and exporters of aiding Russia's military capacity.I stressed that companies, including those in the PRC, must not provide material support for Russia's war and that they will face significant consequences if they do. And I reinforced that any banks that facilitate significant transactions that channel military or dual-use goods to Russia's defence industrial base expose themselves to the risk of U.S. sanctions. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#6KXC0)
Governance adviser says Paul Thwaite could have been offered lower starting salary than predecessor Alison RoseNatWest has been criticised for paying its new boss a salary of 1.2m despite his limited experience" as a chief executive, amid a wider shareholder backlash in the City of London over bumper corporate pay.As the government prepares to sell shares in the bank before the general election, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) warned that Paul Thwaite would be paid the same salary as the bank's former chief executive, Alison Rose, despite lacking her experience as a lead executive. Continue reading...
Oliver Dowden criticises James Heappey and Ben Wallace, saying action is being takenFormer defence ministers are wrong to issue a stark warning that the UK is unprepared for war as a whole-nation endeavour", the deputy prime minister has said.The outgoing defence minister, James Heappey, called on ministers to do more to prepare for conflict just weeks after resigning from his Ministry of Defence (MoD) post, saying the UK has failed to prepare for war. Continue reading...
Si King posts message before Yorkshire motorcycling memorial in honour of late co-presenterThe TV chef Si King has thanked those taking part in a memorial motorcycle ride in honour of the late Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers, saying: He would have loved it."Myers, who was part of the motorcycle-riding cooking duo with co-presenter King, died from cancer in February at the age of 66. Continue reading...
A labour dispute at the historic charity, one of the most bitter the sector has seen, has spilled into the public sphereManagers and unionised staff at a historic arts charity have accused each other of intimidatory and threatening behaviour in one the most bitter labour disputes in the charitable sector in recent years.A long-running row over pay at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) boiled over in recent weeks, with Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) members claiming they are facing a multipronged attack" while management have complained of a malicious campaign aimed at damaging" the charity. Continue reading...
Dina Boluarte has denied wrongdoing after being accused of illicit enrichment in relation to her use of at least three Rolex watches and designer jewelleryPeru's president, Dina Boluarte, has dismissed an investigation into her use of luxury watches as a smoke-screen", denying wrongdoing and saying that the items had been loaned to her, though she admitted to journalists that it was a mistake" to have accepted them.Earlier on Friday she faced closed-door questioning by prosecutors which lasted nearly five hours, amid allegations of illicit enrichment linked to her use of at least three Rolex watches and designer jewellery that appeared inconsistent with her modest monthly presidential salary of about 3,320 ($4,200). Continue reading...
Move comes after Guardian revealed names of powerful men among club's exclusive membershipThe men-only Garrick Club has edged closer to admitting female members, after an emergency committee meeting acknowledged that there was nothing in the club rules to prevent them from joining.The late-night vote on Thursday means that women could finally become members of the club within months, 193 years after the Garrick was founded and following decades of controversy over its discriminatory rules, sources said. Continue reading...
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