Pupils in grammar school areas experience little boost in results, while grades among brightest may actually be lowerPupils in English regions dominated by grammar schools experience little or no boost in results compared with counterparts in other areas of the country, while exam grades among the brightest pupils may actually be lower, according to new research.The authors said their evidence suggested there was no case for further expansion of grammar schools in England, and a strong argument for the dismantling of selective school systems that use 11-plus entry exams in areas such as Kent and Trafford. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Fire Brigades Union outlines serious fire and safety concerns' over Bibby StockholmSuella Braverman's stalled plan to house asylum seekers on a giant barge is facing a major legal hurdle after firefighters launched a judicial review claiming the vessel is a potential deathtrap".The Guardian has seen a formal letter sent by the Fire Brigades Union to the home secretary this weekend that outlines serious fire and operational safety concerns" over the 220-bedroom Bibby Stockholm, which is docked in Portland, Dorset. Continue reading...
Administrative hold-ups leave buyers missing best mortgage deals and some owners unable to sellLong delays in registering properties with the Land Registry across Great Britain are causing frustration among homeowners and buyers with some being left out of pocket as a result.Latest figures from His Majesty's Land Registry show that it is taking almost two years for some applications to make changes to the register to be completed. Continue reading...
Spain forward rejects FA chief's claims as categorically false' as the national women's team refuses to play until he resigns Ego above dignity': Rubiales' defiance over kiss shocks SpainThe Spain forward Jenni Hermoso has said she did not consent to be kissed by the Spanish football federation president, Luis Rubiales, as the women's team announced that they would not play until he is removed.Rubiales has faced fierce criticism for days, as well as a Fifa investigation, after he grabbed Hermoso by the head and kissed her on her lips during the Women's World Cup final trophy presentation. Continue reading...
Ministers initially ignored calls by victims' families for inquiry that would be able to force witnesses to give evidenceRelatives of Lucy Letby's victims have welcomed the clearest indication yet that ministers will reverse their decision not to order a full statutory inquiry into how the former neonatal nurse was able to murder seven babies and attempt to murder six more.The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it was ready to bow to the wishes of the victims' families for an inquiry that could compel witnesses to give evidence, while the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said he believed the process should be judge-led. Continue reading...
Proposal by Doug Putman could save 350 stores and 10,000 jobs as union calls for employees to be prioritisedThe Canadian entrepreneur who owns HMV has put in a last-ditch bid to rescue the discount retailer Wilko with a proposal that could save 350 stores and 10,000 jobs.The new bid emerged as union leaders called for Wilko's 12,500 employees to be prioritised, after an earlier offer from Doug Putman was rejected because debt holders could recoup more from a break-up of the business. Continue reading...
Justice department alleges rocket company refused to consider asylum seekers and refugees for jobs because of citizenship statusThe US justice department on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the billionaire Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX for alleged hiring discrimination against refugees and asylum seekers.SpaceX routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status" from at least September 2018 to May 2022, according to the justice department. Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent on (#6E4N7)
Staffordshire police say pair, aged 66 and 33, arrested on suspicion of arson at slanted pubTwo men have been arrested over the fire at the Crooked House pub in Himley, Staffordshire police have said.A 66-year-old man from Dudley and a 33-year-old man from Milton Keynes have been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. Continue reading...
Hotel chain says rooms in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff already fully booked ahead of pop star's summer performancesTaylor Swift fans have already booked out hotels near several of the venues for the UK leg of the Eras tour next summer.The budget hotel chain Travelodge said all of its hotels in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff were sold out for the days around the concerts in June 2024. A number of its hotels near Wembley Stadium - where Swift will perform on six nights in June and August - were also sold out on those dates.
Hopes guidance could help diagnose colorectal cancer faster and cut NHS waiting times for colonoscopiesAt-home faeces tests could spare tens of thousands of people in England and Wales from having to undergo invasive procedures to rule out bowel cancer.It is hoped the move could help diagnose colorectal cancer faster and cut NHS waiting times by reducing the need to refer people for a colonoscopy. Continue reading...
Halifax measures price to income ratio to reveal most and least affordable areas to purchase propertyInverclyde in Scotland is the most affordable place to buy a home in Great Britain, while house prices in Westminster far outstrip workers' wages in central London, a study has found.Falling house prices and strong wage growth have combined to make buying a home in more affordable over the past year, albeit constrained by rising interest rates, according to the UK's biggest mortgage lender. Continue reading...
Traws Eryri route stretches between Machynlleth and Conwy and should take hardy cyclists four or five daysA beautiful but demanding 122-mile cycle route that involves pedalling up the equivalent of Wales's highest mountain more than four times is being opened in the north-west of the country.Stretching between the historic market towns of Machynlleth and Conwy, the Traws Eryri (Trans Snowdonia) route should take hardy cyclists four or five days. Continue reading...
Health agency reports about one in eight teenagers old enough to start college have missed out on free MenACWY vaccinationStudents heading to university should make sure they are vaccinated against four potentially deadly types of meningitis, health experts warned after figures showed many young people remained unprotected.The vaccination, MenACWY, protects against four groups of meningococcal bacteria, which naturally live at the back of the throat in about one in 10 people without making them unwell. Continue reading...
Maritime horror, after Dutch sailing ship Batavia wrecked off western Australia, set TV show in motionThe hit TV reality show The Traitors was originally going to involve a recreation of a real-life murderous mutiny onboard a 17th-century Dutch ship, with programme contestants pushed into the sea when voted out.Jasper Hoogendoorn, who oversaw the programme's development, said the show was inspired by the voyage of the Batavia, a Dutch ship which was shipwrecked off Australia in 1629. Continue reading...
Officials working to identify people found in Alexandroupolis region as firefighters battle second wave of firesThe bodies of 18 people have been found in an area of north-east Greece where firefighters are battling a major wildfire, authorities have said, as a record-breaking late summer heatwave continues to sear swathes of continental Europe.Hundreds of firefighters were struggling on Tuesday to contain dozens of outbreaks, including several burning out of control for several days that have forced widespread evacuations, in the second deadly wave of blazes in Greece in a month. Continue reading...
The studio behind John Wick and The Hunger Games has reinstated the use of masks after several employees tested positive for Covid-19The Hollywood film studio Lionsgate has reinstated its mask mandate as cases of Covid-19 continue to rise.In a company-wide email obtained by Deadline, it was announced that nearly half of the company's employees would need to wear medical grade" face masks again in the flagship offices in Los Angeles. The rule applies except when alone in an office with the door closed, actively eating, actively drinking at their desk or workstation, or if they are the only individual present in a large open workspace". Continue reading...
Local people puzzled over motive for theft of signs on route around a lonely moor in north WalesThe culprit has been called the phantom post snatcher", who for some unfathomable reason has taken to whisking away signs installed to help guide ramblers across a lonely moor in north Wales.The snatcher, or snatchers - there may be more than one - has been pinching way-markers from a remote spot on the 83-mile Snowdonia Slate Trail, putting walkers at risk of wandering off the beaten path in misty weather into the mire. Continue reading...
MoJ policy says such restraints must only be used in emergency scenariosStaff working in children's prisons are to be banned from using techniques that deliberately cause pain, except in emergency scenarios to save life or to prevent life-changing injury.The new Ministry of Justice policy, for England and Wales, which follows a review completed by the now chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor in 2020, will be effective from February 2024. It states that it is never acceptable to deliberately cause pain when a non-painful alternative can safely achieve the same objective". Continue reading...
Watchdog says policy on prescribed drugs could lead to a medical emergency and endanger livesA watchdog has condemned the Home Office for confiscating life-saving prescription drugs from people it detains.Rules requiring guards to take away prescribed medicines from people at short-term holding facilities (STFHs), where migrants can be detained for up to 24 hours, could lead to a medical emergency and endanger their lives, says the annual report of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for the North East, Midlands and Yorkshire & Humber STHF published on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Shoppers warned to be careful with sales as collapsed budget chain only selling goods in its storesShoppers have been warned to avoid a spate of fake websites attempting to scam bargain hunters by pretending to offer heavily discounted goods from the collapsed budget chain Wilko.Wilko is no longer selling goods online and has stopped all home deliveries or click and collect services after calling in administrators from PricewaterhouseCoopers on 10 August as it ran short of cash. Goods are only available to buy directly in one of its 400 stores. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent on (#6E18K)
Arrangement angers many Pheu Thai supporters and could coincide with former PM's return from exileThe party associated with Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has struck a deal with its former military rivals, a move that could coincide with his return after more than 15 years in exile.The deal announced on Monday has angered many Pheu Thai supporters, as well as those of the reformist Move Forward party that won the most votes and seats in the May general election but whose leader was blocked from taking office. Continue reading...
Canary Islands regional president opens inquiry into fire, while people flee from four Greek villagesAn out-of-control wildfire on Tenerife that has forced thousands to flee was started deliberately, authorities have said, as four more villages in Greece were evacuated in the face of another advancing blaze and more than half of mainland France was on extreme heat alert.As much of southern Europe continues to roast after July was named the world's hottest month on record, the Canary Islands regional president, Fernando Clavijo, said on Sunday that police had confirmed the blaze raging on the Spanish island since Tuesday had been lit intentionally, and had opened three separate lines of inquiry. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent on (#6E0P2)
Exclusive: Officers investigating suspicious' incidents at Countess of Chester and Liverpool women's hospitalsPolice believe Lucy Letby, the nurse convicted of murdering seven babies, may have harmed dozens more infants at two hospitals in the north-west of England, the Guardian has been told.A source with knowledge of the police investigation said detectives had identified about 30 babies who suffered suspicious" incidents at the Countess of Chester hospital where she worked. Continue reading...
Anti-radiation and anti-tank missiles among purchase which will be locked in just days after raucous internal debate at Labor conference over Aukus pact
Exclusive: Consultancy firm ran event at Department of Health and Aged Care in December, days before former PwC partner was banned by tax advice regulator
Detective from force's specialist crime unit says cross-border operation was the result of four years' workThree men have been convicted after a 2m vase stolen from a museum was recovered in a police sting operation.The Chinese Ming dynasty vase was stolen from the Museum of Far Eastern Art in Geneva, in Switzerland in June 2019. Three men plotted to sell it on for hundreds of thousands of pounds, but were caught in a Scotland Yard operation. Continue reading...
Global temperature was warmest on record last month as Britain faced cloudy and wet conditionsAt the start of this week Nasa announced that July 2023 had the highest global temperature recorded for that month since 1880. It was also the warmest month on record.Readers in the UK may find this hard to believe, given the wet and generally miserable conditions in the country that month. Britain received 19% less sunshine and 170% more rain compared with the 1991-2020 average. Continue reading...
Talks in Riyadh declared successful by Tehran after years of hostility between regional rivalsIran's foreign minister has visited Saudi Arabia, the first such trip in years, marking the continuing thaw in relations between two powers who recently have been locked in destabilising competition.The visit by Hossein Amir-Abdollahian comes as the countries have been trying to ease tensions including over Iran's nuclear programme, the Saudi-led war in Yemen and security across the region's waterways. Continue reading...
ONS figures for 2022 also show record proportion of babies whose mothers were born outside UKThe number of babies born in England and Wales in a year dropped in 2022 to the lowest level in two decades, according to official figures.It follows the recent trend of decreasing live births, which had been the case before the pandemic, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Continue reading...
Eight onboard and two motorists on ground killed as aircraft comes down in ElminaA light plane crashed into a street in Malaysia's central Selangor state on Thursday, killing eight people on board and two motorists on the ground.For now, I can say at least 10 people were killed in the plane crash. Two passing motorists - one in a car and one on a motorcycle - also perished together with the eight onboard the plane," said the local police chief, Mohamad Iqbal Ibrahim. Continue reading...
Dietmar Bartsch's departure comes days after his co-chair of the leftwing party, Amira Mohamed Ali, resignedGermany's ailing leftwing party Die Linke has come another step closer to splitting following the resignation of its parliamentary co-chair amid deep divisions within the bloc.Dietmar Bartsch's departure comes just days after his co-chair, Amira Mohamed Ali, announced she was resigning. Continue reading...
Fire and Rescue New South Wales confirms discovery of the material after it was called to assist Australian Border Force during search of Arncliffe property
The Lib Dems criticise the PM after he suggested some people did not realise the government was still providing bill supportJohn McTernan writes for the Guardian today, calling for Labour to stop being so cautious and make the election a referendum on net zero:Or nearly everything. Labour currently lacks one vital quality: confidence. While heading for a victory bigger than Tony Blair's landslide of 1997, the party appears to be too frightened to fight. Whenever the Tories do something profoundly amoral or un-British - such as telling refugees to fuck off", as their vice-chair, Lee Anderson, recently did - Labour seems scared of going on the attack. Continue reading...
Co-author of Sister Sledge song about inclusion and diversity' condemns move by rightwing SVPThe songwriter and musician Nile Rodgers has asked Switzerland's rightwing populist Swiss People's party (SVP) to cease and desist from using a soundalike" version of Sister Sledge's hit We Are Family in its election campaigns.Ahead of Swiss parliamentary elections in October, the Eurosceptic and anti-immigration SVP on Monday released Das Isch d'SVP (That's the SVP), a song whose chorus directly echoes that of the 1979 Sister Sledge hit composed by Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. Continue reading...
The book would continue the two he wrote with the late Peter Straub, while new stories are due next yearStephen King has suggested that he may write a third instalment of the two-book Talisman series, which he co-wrote with the late Peter Straub. Asked on a podcast if his days of writing epics" were in the past, King replied never say never". Before he died, Peter sent me this long letter and said we oughta do the third one, and he gave me a really cool idea and I had some ideas of my own," he said.Speaking as a guest on an episode of the Talking Scared podcast, King added that the volume - which would follow The Talisman and its sequel, Black House - would be a long book". Continue reading...
Figure fell from 1.15 in 2021 to 1.09, the lowest of any country with a population over 100 millionChina's fertility rate dropped to an estimated record low of 1.09 in 2022, the lowest of any country with a population over 100 million, according to government data.Demographers from the China Population and Development Research Centre, a Chinese government research institution, released data indicating that last year's fertility rate fell to 1.09 from 1.15 in 2021, below Japan's rate for the same time period and only slightly higher than South Korea's, which was estimated to be 0.8. Continue reading...
Government confirms ticket price rises will be delayed until March and will be below retail prices indexRail fare rises in England will not exceed 9% next year and will be delayed until March, the government has said.Ticket costs used to increase in January in line with inflation as measured by the retail prices index over the 12 months to the previous July. On Wednesday the Office for National Statistics revealed last month's RPI rate was 9%. Continue reading...
Christian family accused of desecrating copy of Qur'an, setting off rampage in FaisalabadA Muslim crowd has attacked a Christian community in eastern Pakistan, vandalising several churches and setting scores of houses on fire, after accusing its members of desecrating a copy of the Qur'an.Hundreds of people armed with sticks and rocks stormed a predominantly Christian area in Faisalabad on Wednesday. Images on social media showed smoke rising from church buildings and people setting fire to furniture. Continue reading...
Three killed in Russian strikes on Volyn; Russia raises interest rates to 12%Three people were killed, several people were wounded and buildings were damaged in a large-scale air-attack on Ukraine's western region of Lviv and the north-western region of Volyn. Many missiles were shot down, but there were also hits in Lviv," city mayor Andriy Sadovyi said, adding that orders were given to evacuate at least one burning apartment building. The barrage came just hours before top Russian military officials and their counterparts from allied countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa gathered outside Moscow for a security conference.The Bank of Russia raised its key rate to 12% from 8.5%. The statement announcing the increase did not mention the rouble, which dropped to its lowest level in nearly 17 months on Monday. The Russian currency was boosted by the central bank's move.Russia fined social media site Reddit for the first time for not deleting banned content" that it said contained fake" information about Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, RIA reported, citing a Moscow court. Reddit joins a list of sites under scrutiny in Russia for failing to remove content that Moscow deems illegal, including Wikimedia, streaming service Twitch, and Google.Three Bulgarian nationals suspected of spying for Russia while living in the UK have been arrested and charged, police have said. The defendants were among five people detained in February after a long-running counter-terrorism investigation. Three of those were then charged with possession of false identity documents, according to the Metropolitan police, which is responsible for espionage cases.Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the president of Ukraine, said Russian athletes should be banned from participating in international competitions after Russian strikes destroyed a sports facility in Dnipro. Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian MP and the leader of the liberal Golos party, also said Ukraine will boycott the Olympic Games if Russia and Belarus participate in the competition.Mali's military leader Assimi Goita said on Tuesday that he had spoken on the phone to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, about the coup in Niger. Putin stressed the importance of a peaceful resolution of the situation for a more stable Sahel," Mali's interim president, Assimi Goita, said on Twitter. The Kremlin said the call was initiated by Mali. The statement added: The parties specifically focused on the current situation in the Sahara-Sahel region and emphasised, in particular, the importance of settling the situation in the Republic of Niger solely through peaceful political and diplomatic means."The US said that Russia would be violating UN resolutions if it reaches an arms deal with North Korea, after the two countries' leaders called for greater cooperation. State department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters: Any kind of security cooperation or arms deal between North Korea and Russia would certainly violate a series of UN security council resolutions."Sweden's government said Tuesday that it would donate to Ukraine ammunition and spare parts for previously donated weapon systems worth over $300m (240m). Speaking at press conference, defence minister Pal Jonson said the military aid package, Sweden's 13th to Ukraine, would include ammunition and spare parts valued at about 3.4bn kronor ($313m/250m).The Ukrainian government is to build new fortifications and military infrastructure in northeast regions that border Russia and Belarus at a cost of nearly $35m, prime minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday.Ukrainian president Zelenskiy visited the south-eastern region of Zaporizhzhia and met troops fighting in the counteroffensive against Russian forces, the president's office said on Tuesday. Zelenskiy was shown in a video with senior Ukrainian soldiers examining a battlefield map at what the president's office said was the frontline command point of the 46th separate airmobile brigade, near the town of Orikhiv.Russia and North Korea on Tuesday advocated closer collaboration including in the defence sector. Moscow and Pyongyang have drawn closer since the Kremlin deployed troops to Ukraine and commenced large-scale hostilities last year, according to AFP. Continue reading...
Joint statement from UN agencies lays bare the effect of violence on the country's food and healthcare systemsMore than 1 million people have fled Sudan to neighbouring states, as people inside the country are running out of food and dying due to a lack of healthcare after four months of war, the United Nations has said.Fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has devastated the capital Khartoum and sparked ethnically driven attacks in Darfur, threatening to plunge Sudan into a protracted civil war and destabilise the region. Continue reading...
Thousands of images from second world war include bomb damage to Old Trafford and troops at leisureBlack-and-white aerial photographs offering a bird's eye view of England as it changed during the second world war are being made available to the public for the first time.The 3,600 images include pictures of bomb damage to Old Trafford in Greater Manchester, as well as other towns and cities. They also show ancient monuments surrounded by anti-tank defences in West Sussex, and troops at play at a US army camp in Wiltshire. Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian