by Mark Brown North of England correspondent on (#6J73X)
Police urge mother to come forward after baby found at Three Horse Shoes pub in Oulton on SundayA newborn baby girl has been found dead in the toilets of a pub in West Yorkshire, police have said. Officers have appealed for the baby's mother to contact them or seek medical help and stressed that her welfare and safety is a priority.If the mother does not want to talk to police then she should consider talking to health staff, a senior officer said on Monday. Continue reading...
Airline has been in a dispute with sites such as Lastminute and Opodo, which it describes as pirates'Ryanair has lowered the top end of its estimates for profits this year after a number of online travel agents abruptly removed flights from the Irish airline from their websites.The removal is part of a long-running spat between Ryanair and online travel agents such as Kiwi, Lastminute and Opodo, which the airline describes as pirates" because of alleged scamming" by charging customers higher fees. Continue reading...
Coroner in Matthew Wickes inquest raises concern over awareness and curiosity' of academic staff around mental healthA coroner has issued a warning to Southampton University over the awareness, understanding and curiosity" of academic staff around the mental health of students after a student killed himself on the day his exam results were due.Christopher Wilkinson, the senior area coroner for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton, said interruptions to academic work and to the rhythms of normal student life during and after the pandemic had had a significant impact on mental health.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...
Exclusive: testimonies describing malnourishment and disease to renew pressure on government to repatriate dozens of Britons, many of them childrenBritish mothers held in a prison camp in north-east Syria fear that they may die in detention after an alarming" deterioration in living conditions.Their testimony - revealed in a series of WhatsApp messages seen by the Guardian - will place fresh pressure on the UK government to repatriate them and their children. Continue reading...
by Daniel Hurst Foreign affairs and defence correspon on (#6J713)
Helen Clark's call comes as Albanese government minister says halt in donations to refugee agency by more than 10 countries should be as short as possible'
In today's newsletter: The head of the British army has hinted at a future citizen's army - so is Britain fighting fit? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.As Russia's war in Ukraine grinds on and the prospect of a Trump presidency becomes more likely, military leaders in the UK and across Europe have been warning that peacetime may be coming to an end.Councils | Angela Rayner has accused the Conservatives of cynically applying a sticking plaster" to council finances to get through the next election, as local authority leaders warn that more will go bust next year. The shadow communities secretary said Labour was under no illusions" about the financial mess it would inherit in local councils if it gained power.Policing | Officers in a police force that bungled the investigation into a suspected racist killing, allegedly went on holiday, dined and partied with suspects arrested over the attack, the Guardian has learned. The new claims come on the 25th anniversary of the death of Jay Abatan, 42, who was attacked outside a Brighton nightclub in January 1999.Labour | The former Conservative donor who chairs Iceland supermarket, Richard Walker, has publicly backed Keir Starmer to be the next prime minister, saying the Labour leader understands how the cost of living crisis has put an unbearable strain" on families.Middle East | Three US servicemen have been killed and more than 34 injured after a drone attack on a US service base on the border of Jordan and Syria. Joe Biden blamed Iranian backed militia mainly based in Iraq for the despicable" attack and vowed revenge.Vaping | Ministers are to ban disposable vapes as part of a UK-wide drive to curb youth vaping. The government is also seeking to make vaping less appealing to children by restricting sweet and fruity flavours, introducing plain packaging and making displays less visible in shops, under newly announced powers. Continue reading...
Scheme to help African economies aimed at curbing illegal migration from continentThe Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, is poised to announce her grand plan for Italy in Africa as she strives to position her country at the forefront of European cooperation on the African continent in return for curbing illegal migration.The so-called Mattei plan, named after Enrico Mattei, the founder of the oil company Eni, will be presented in Rome on Monday to a host of leaders from Africa and Europe, including the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#6J6Z1)
Mick Whelan warning comes as overtime ban begins before week of rolling strikes in England from TuesdayTrain drivers will keep striking to raise the profile" of their dispute after half a decade without a pay rise, the Aslef union has warned, before another week of rolling strikes across England.Aslef's general secretary, Mick Whelan, has said he believes that the government will make renewed efforts to see train companies use controversial new anti-strike laws, despite the union forcing a climbdown this time round. Continue reading...
Lifesize replica of 70-metre work was part of sale of late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts's estateIn 1872, a photographer from the South Kensington Museum - now the Victoria and Albert - travelled to France to take pictures of the Bayeux tapestry, the most famous piece of medieval art in the world.Photography was in its infancy and the images of the 70-metre (230ft) work depicting the 1066 invasion of England by William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings, including the killing of King Harold, were produced on glass plates and coloured by hand, a process that took two years. Continue reading...
by Helen Livingstone (now), Maya Yang, Yohannes Lowe, on (#6J6EZ)
This blog has now closed. You can see our full report on the drone attack that killed three US soldiers in Jordan here and our report on western countries' decision to cut funding to UNRWA here. And see all coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and Middle East crisis here.The Israeli army on Sunday said special forces were continuing to engage in intensive battles" in Gaza's main southern city of Khan Younis, where it claimed troops eliminated terrorists and located large quantities of weapons".Strikes were also carried out in central and northern Gaza, it added. Continue reading...
CQC will conduct review into Nottinghamshire Healthcare in tandem with mental health homicide reviewA troubled NHS trust that treated Valdo Calocane for paranoid schizophrenia before he killed three people in Nottingham last year is to be the subject of a special review.Ministers said the review into Nottinghamshire Healthcare foundation trust would help provide answers to the families of Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates, who were killed by Calocane last June. Continue reading...
Piano especially associated with improved mental processes in those over 40, Exeter University research findsPlaying a musical instrument or joining a choir is linked to better memory and thinking skills in older age, research has found.The piano was especially associated with a better brain in those over 40 in the study from Exeter University, which reviewed data from more than a thousand adults and looked at how much experience the people had in participating in music. Continue reading...
Committee calls on government to heed widespread concern and consider a more nuanced inspection systemThe government should stop the use of single-word judgments such as inadequate" or outstanding" in Ofsted's headline grades of schools in England, a committee of MPs has urged.MPs on the education committee said relations between Ofsted and teachers had become extremely strained", with trust in the watchdog worryingly low" in the wake of the headteacher Ruth Perry's suicide last year after a traumatic inspection. Continue reading...
Draft of former speaker's final speech said prime ministers should not give peerages to friends or people with fat bank accounts'Betty Boothroyd wanted to use her valedictory speech in the House of Lords to criticise prime ministers for giving too many peerages to friends and those with fat bank accounts" who had bankrolled the party in power.The former speaker of the House of Commons planned her final speech, in which she also said there was no longer a place for hereditary peers, but was too ill to deliver it. Continue reading...
Plans to make vaping less appealing also to include restricting fruity flavours and introducing plain packagingMinisters are to ban disposable vapes as part of a UK-wide drive to curb youth vaping.The government is also seeking to make vaping less appealing to children by restricting sweet and fruity flavours, introducing plain packaging and making displays less visible in shops, under newly announced powers. The changes are expected to come into effect towards the end of this year or early 2025. Continue reading...
by Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent on (#6J6RT)
Liberal Green party is a close second and goes through to second round, while far-right Finns have been knocked outFinland's former prime minister Alexander Stubb and the country's former foreign minister Pekka Haavisto have progressed through to the second round of the presidential elections, knocking out a rightwing populist candidate.With all votes counted, Stubb, of the centre-right National Coalition party, had won 27.2% of votes, while the liberal candidate Haavisto, a member of the Green party who is running as an independent, had secured 25.8%, election officials said. Continue reading...
Teenager in custody after incident' in seaside town of Littlehampton, as police appeal for informationA 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 51-year-old man was found dead in a street in Littlehampton, West Sussex.Sussex police said an incident" was reported in the seaside town at about 6am on Sunday. The victim, who was from Littlehampton, was pronounced dead at the scene on Gladonian Road, the force said. Continue reading...
Party investigating MP for Edmonton after she said Gaza should be remembered as genocide on memorial dayThe Labour MP Kate Osamor has had the whip suspended while she is investigated for saying Gaza should be remembered as a genocide on Holocaust Memorial Day.The MP for Edmonton in north London is due to meet party whips on Monday after issuing an apology over the message she sent on the eve of the day marking the murder of 6 million Jews during the second world war. Continue reading...
District runoff in Thuringia closely watched to gauge whether huge protests against party have dented supportThe far-right populist Alternative fur Deutschland party has been narrowly beaten in its first electoral test since revelations came to light of its involvement in a plan for the mass deportation of foreigners that has sparked huge protests across Germany. Its candidate lost against a conservative rival in a district administrative election the importance of which resonated far beyond the local area.In a tight second-round runoff in the district of Saale-Orla in the south-eastern state of Thuringia, the AfD candidate, Uwe Thrum, had victory snatched from him by his Christian Democrat (CDU) rival Christian Herrgott by 4.6 percentage points. Continue reading...
Temperature recorded on Sunday in Kinlochewe in north-west Highlands has provisionally beaten previous record of 18.3CA village in Scotland has provisionally set the UK record for the warmest temperature in January after hitting 19.6C, the Met Office said.The balmy temperature in Kinlochewe in the north-west Highlands was recorded on Sunday. It is likely to have surpassed the previous record of 18.3C in 2003 recorded in the villages Inchmarlo and Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, and Aber, Ceredigion in Wales, which reached the same temperature in 1958 and 1971. Continue reading...
Teenagers were attacked at about 11.20pm on Saturday in Knowle West area, Avon and Somerset police sayA murder investigation has been launched after two teenage boys were killed in a stabbing attack in Bristol that may have been witnessed by passengers on a bus.The boys, aged 15 and 16, were fatally stabbed in Ilminster Avenue in Knowle West, south Bristol, at about 11.20pm on Saturday, Avon and Somerset police said. Continue reading...
Officers confirm there were no casualties reported in incident on Fox Street as they appeal for informationA police investigation is under way to determine the cause of a huge fire in Liverpool city centre.A major incident was declared on Saturday amid fears a disused four-storey building on Fox Street could collapse. Merseyside fire and rescue service (MFRS) said 12 engines helped to tackle the blaze, which had been mostly extinguished by 5pm. Continue reading...
by Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem, and Ruth Michaelson on (#6J6NC)
Countries defunding UNRWA, the main aid distributer in Gaza, accused of collectively punishing more than 2.2 million PalestiniansThe Gaza Strip is facing inevitable famine" because of the decision by western countries to pause funding for the UN's agency for Palestinian affairs after Israeli accusations that 12 of the group's employees took part in the Hamas attack on 7 October last year.Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said famine was imminent" and inevitable", in a comment following the news that the US and nine other countries were suspending additional funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). Continue reading...
Exclusive: Rhianon Bragg, of north Wales, says forewarned is forearmed' as Gareth Wyn Jones is due to be freedA woman who was stalked and held hostage at gunpoint by her ex-partner has warned other women to beware of him as he is about to be released from prison.Rhianon Bragg, who has become a campaigner on domestic violence and gun crime, expressed sadness that she felt she had yet not done enough to protect women from offenders like her, former partner, Gareth Wyn Jones, who was sentenced in 2020. Continue reading...
Labour criticises government dithering', after Vishay deal last autumn to buy chip maker Newport Wafer Fab stalls, putting jobs at riskLabour has criticised dither and delay" from the government over a decision on a proposed takeover of the UK's largest semiconductor facility by a US company, warning that it could lead to further job cuts at the Welsh factory.The fate of Newport Wafer Fab in south Wales has been unclear for nearly two years since the UK government first indicated it had concerns over a 2021 takeover by the Chinese-owned Nexperia firm. The national security concerns related to the ownership of semiconductor technology by a company with links to China. Continue reading...
Claims that overseas students are admitted with lower entry requirements than domestic students deniedUniversities have rejected claims that British students are being squeezed out" by international applicants, including allegations that overseas students are admitted with lower entry requirements than those required for domestic students.University leaders said the claims were mendacious" because the reporting by the Sunday Times ignored figures showing rising numbers of UK students enrolled at Russell Group universities, and unfairly compared entry requirements on non-degree courses with those of mainstream undergraduate courses. Continue reading...
In 2011, no one believed councils would be left to swallow the rising cost of social care unaided. But after funding cuts of 40%, their plight looks increasingly bleak
Three-month scheme to try to tempt back passengers since Covid lockdowns will begin in MarchTransport for London will trial lower, off-peak fares on Fridays on the tube and rail services in the capital to try to tempt back passengers who have stayed at home since the pandemic lockdowns.Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said the trial would begin in March and last for three months. Continue reading...
Study finds that lockdowns and cuts to local services are partly to blameProgress on tackling youth violence in Scotland is slowing as young people struggle to access safe spaces", according to a new report.The study, by researchers at the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, and the Open University, examined the past, present and future of violence reduction in Scotland and found that while incidences of serious violence had dramatically decreased over the last two decades, the reduction has slowed in recent years following Covid-19 lockdowns and cuts to local services. Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian