James Scott Rhys Anderson was charged with terrorism and mercenary activities' after capture in Kursk in NovemberA British citizen captured while fighting alongside the Ukrainian army has been sentenced in Russia to 19 years in prison on charges of terrorism and mercenary activities".James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, was captured by Russian forces last November while fighting on Ukraine's side during its cross-border offensive in Russia's Kursk region. Continue reading...
Changes to sentencing guidance will also apply to mothers of children under one year oldPregnant women should not be sent to jail unless it is unavoidable", according to new sentencing guidelines.The guidance, published on Wednesday by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, has been hailed by campaigners as a huge milestone. It outlines a raft of new measures to stop criminals who are pregnant or mothers of children under one year old being imprisoned. Continue reading...
by Amy Sedghi (now) and Martin Belam (earlier) on (#6VPN3)
Lt Gen Eyal Zamir says that mission to defeat Hamas is not accomplished' amid deadlock over ceasefire negotiationsAn Israeli rights group says Israel demolished a record number of Palestinian homes in annexed East Jerusalem last year, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Comments follow report alleging that estate agency company's junior staff faced inappropriate behaviourThe chief executive of Foxtons has admitted that the company has more to do" on workplace culture, after a report alleging that junior employees at the real estate agent had faced unwanted touching and other forms of harassment.Guy Gittins, who started his career at Foxtons in 2002 and returned as chief executive three years ago, said that the company remained steadfast in our commitment to an inclusive, professional and respectful culture", as it reported its full-year results for 2024. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#6VPPP)
Virginia Laparra spent two years in prison after reporting her suspicion that a judge leaked sealed details of a caseA Guatemalan anti-corruption prosecutor forced into exile after being pursued by the country's conservative elite has said that leaving the country was the only way to save her life but was only a little bit less than death".Virginia Laparra, 45, spent two years in prison for allegedly abusing her position after she reported her suspicion that a judge had leaked sensitive details from a sealed corruption case to a colleague in 2017. Continue reading...
Canada and US said they would take 48 people held in Thai detention, according to officials, but Bangkok said to have feared upsetting ChinaCanada and the US offered to resettle 48 ethnic Uyghurs held in detention in Thailand over the past decade, sources have said, but Bangkok took no action for fear of upsetting China, where most of them were covertly deported last week.Thailand has defended the deportation, which came despite calls from United Nations human rights experts, saying that it acted in accordance with laws and human rights obligations. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: Pjotr Sauer explains Russia's response to the new Trump administration following a fraught week in global relationsGood morning. In his address to Congress last night, Donald Trump recited a letter from Volodymyr Zelenskyy offering to return to the negotiating table - and warmly welcomed the tone of discussions his administration has held with Russia. We've received strong signals that they are ready for peace," he said. Wouldn't that be beautiful?"That was not the first sign of Trump's faith in Vladimir Putin's promises - but it served to underline what is surely the most radical US foreign policy shift in a generation. Whether parroting Kremlin talking points on Zelenskyy's democratic credentials, making false claims that Ukraine started the war or cutting off vital military aid to Kyiv, the US president has created a dynamic that would have scarcely been believable six months ago.Killed women count | Nearly one in 10 of all women who died at the hands of men in the UK over the past 15 years were mothers killed by their sons, a report reveals. The statistics have led to calls for the government to take specific action to tackle matricide.Tariffs | Justin Trudeau has claimed the aim of a dumb" trade war launched by Donald Trump is to usher in the complete collapse" of the Canadian economy and make it easier for the US to annex Canada. Leading stock market indices fell sharply, with the US benchmark S&P 500 losing all its post-election gains, as the US slapped 25% taxes on Canadian and Mexican goods and hiked tariffs on China.Scams | An organised network operating from the former Soviet state of Georgia has scammed thousands of savers from the UK, Europe and Canada out of $35m (27m) after they fell for fake celebrity adverts on Facebook and Google. The scheme was revealed in a leak of call centre data covering more than 1m recordings.Gaza | Arab leaders have endorsed a $53bn (42bn) plan to rebuild Gaza under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA), in a rushed attempt to present an alternative to Donald Trump's idea for a property development-style plan. The Arab League presented the plans at a summit in Cairo.Media | Failings in the making of a documentary on Gaza are a dagger to the heart" of the BBC's claims of trustworthiness and impartiality, the corporation's chair has said, as he indicated that figures inside the corporation had fallen short in their handling of the film. Continue reading...
President boasted about efforts to slash federal workforce and reorient foreign policy as Democrats protested from chamberDonald Trump on Tuesday declared that his administration was just getting started", boasting in a marathon address to Congress that his efforts to slash the size of the federal workforce, reorient US foreign policy and escalate a risky trade war marked the beginning of the most thrilling days in the history of our country" as Democratic lawmakers protested with placards that read lies" and false".America is back," Trump declared, opening the his primetime speech to a joint session of Congress, the first of his second term and the longest in American history. Republicans broke into a boisterous chant of USA". Continue reading...
In official Democratic reply, Elissa Slotkin tells citizens to take active role in holding lawmakers accountableMichigan senator Elissa Slotkin followed Donald Trump's record-long joint congressional address on Tuesday by focusing on the risk of a declining democracy, directly challenging citizens to take an active role in holding elected officials accountable - herself included.The first-term Democratic senator, who represents a state won by the president, explained how preserving democracy requires constant, active participation from voters. Continue reading...
Proposal focuses on emergency relief and long-term economic development under Palestinian Authority administrationArab leaders have endorsed a $53bn (42bn) plan to rebuild Gaza under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA), in a rushed attempt to present an alternative to Donald Trump's idea for a property development-style plan.Trump's suggestion involved a relocation of the Palestinian population that has been widely criticised as effectively endorsing ethnic cleansing. Continue reading...
by Kiran Stacey Political correspondent on (#6VPDZ)
International development committee warns of the potential damage cuts may cause in letter to the PMA cross-party group of MPs has written to Keir Starmer expressing deep concern" about cuts to the UK's aid budget, as ministers brace for a potentially stormy debate on Foreign Office spending on Wednesday.The international development committee warned of the damage the cuts may cause in a letter to the prime minister written by its Labour chair, Sarah Champion. The move will undermine the UK's soft power and have dire consequences" for the world's poorest, it claims. Continue reading...
Four days of events planned in Britain to commemorate eight decades since end of second world war in EuropeFor the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day the Cenotaph will be draped in union flags and there will be a military procession and flypast as well as a new installation of about 30,000 ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, it has been announced.Four days of commemorations will begin on the bank holiday Monday of 5 May in tribute to the millions of people across the UK and Commonwealth who served in the second world war. Continue reading...
Where the US president sees a convivial leader an ocean away, Europeans see a tyrant on its borders breaking all agreementsIn the Four Quartets TS Eliot wrote humankind cannot bear very much reality".At moments in history like these, when there is simply too much head-spinning change and too many postwar assumptions being ripped from their moorings, it sometimes appears too much for any human to absorb, let alone offer a response. Continue reading...
by Kiran Stacey Political correspondent on (#6VN95)
PM tells MPs that Kyiv will need money and weapons even after a peace deal as US considers stopping supportWestern countries must keep military aid flowing to Ukraine, Keir Starmer has warned, amid reports that the US president, Donald Trump, is considering stopping US support to Kyiv altogether.The prime minister told MPs on Monday that Ukraine would need money and weapons from allied countries even after a peace deal, as he also urged the US to provide security guarantees that go beyond its proposed minerals deal. Continue reading...
Kyriakos Mitsotakis says protests over train disaster emphasise the need for safe and modern' transport systemThe Greek prime minister has vowed to upgrade the country's railways as his embattled government braces for a vote of no confidence after huge protests over a 2023 train crash that killed 57 people.Two days after hundreds of thousands took to the streets in fury over the response to the disaster on its second anniversary, Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledged that not enough had been done to build a safe and modern" transport system, saying the largest protests in recent history had emphasised the demand for action. Continue reading...
Experts say young men and boys with strong sense of grievance' are idolising' shooters involved in US massacres. They are also falling through the gaps of UK terrorism lawsOn the morning of 13 September, 18-year-old Nicholas Prosper was arrested while walking on a residential road in Luton. Minutes before, he had murdered his mother, younger brother and sister, shooting them dead in their family home.Neighbours called police after hearing gunfire coming from the flat in Leabank tower, on Luton's Marsh Farm estate, and officers found Prosper shortly afterwards on Bramingham Road. Later that day, searches of the area uncovered a loaded shotgun and more than 30 cartridges hidden in a nearby bush. Continue reading...
Israel had agreed partial troop withdrawal by 9 March, but start of second phase of truce hits impasseTalks aimed at maintaining the ceasefire in Gaza hit an impasse in Cairo on Saturday , over whether the truce should advance to a second phase.A Hamas official said the multilateral negotiations in the Egyptian capital had made no progress on Friday, and there was no evidence the talks had resumed on Saturday, the last day of the ceasefire's first six-week phase. Continue reading...
The city's mayor, Sadiq Khan, led the celebrations to observe holy month of Ramadan, now in their third yearPiccadilly Circus has once again been lit up by an installation to mark Ramadan.It is the third year of the annual display, which features 30,000 LED bulbs in the shape of Islamic geometric patterns and symbols hanging over the West End street. Continue reading...
The get-together between the UK prime minister and US president barely made a splash across the AtlanticA quick scan of the UK newspaper front pages and you would be forgiven for thinking it was the diplomatic moment of the century, but a glance at the media on the other side of the Atlantic suggests Keir Starmer and Donald Trump's get-together barely made a splash.Instead, much of the scant coverage portrayed the prime minister as a messenger, bringing an invite for something much more glamorous than a former lawyer from Oxted: the royal red carpet. Continue reading...
by Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent on (#6VJRG)
Rhianan Rudd, 16, was referred to Prevent by her mother after becoming fixated on Hitler', inquest toldA teenager who killed herself after becoming the youngest person in the UK to be charged with terror offences had been groomed online by an American neo-Nazi", an inquest has been told.Sixteen-year-old Rhianan Rudd, who was autistic, had been referred to the government's Prevent counter-radicalisation programme by her mother, Emily Carter, the counsel to the inquest, Edward Pleeth, told the hearing. Continue reading...
UK pharmaceutical companies aim to put executive pay on par with US rivals' but package will depend on share priceThe annual pay of GSK's chief executive could rise to nearly 22m in three years' time as the pharmaceutical company attempts to offer US-style pay packets to top executives.Emma Walmsley's package could increase to a maximum of 21.56m if the company's share price rises by at least 50% and it hits stretching targets, according to its annual report. Continue reading...
by Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent on (#6VJ7Z)
Hilda Jackson and fellow residents partied with strobe lights, glowsticks and drum'n'bass from festival-headlinerIt was a birthday party that would do even the most seasoned raver proud, with strobe lighting, glow sticks and a headline act who has played some of the biggest festivals in the UK.The birthday girl sipped on champagne, while guests helped themselves to free-flowing cocktails from a pop-up bar run by Jagermeister. This was not an Instagram influencer's Ibiza pool party, however - it was Hilda Jackson's 105th-birthday rave in her Derbyshire care home. Continue reading...
Vice-chancellor says large-scale savings are needed but union says university should instead use its wealthThe University of Edinburgh is facing a 140m black hole that demands radical actions including job cuts, according to its vice-chancellor, as it becomes the latest higher education institution to reveal its financial turmoil.Prof Peter Mathieson, the university's leader, told staff that the magnitude of the financial gap that we need to close" amounted to 10% of its annual turnover. Continue reading...
by Australian Associated Press and Natasha May on (#6VH6E)
Strike Force Pearl investigators arrested and charged Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 26, but no charges have been laid against her former colleague Ahmed Rashid Nadir
Malaysia transport minister says firm Ocean Infinity has resumed hunt for the plane, which went missing in one of aviation's biggest mysteriesA new search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been launched more than a decade after the plane went missing in one of aviation's greatest enduring mysteries.Maritime exploration firm Ocean Infinity has resumed the hunt for the missing plane, Malaysian transport minister Anthony Loke said on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Mohamed Amra's arrest ends nine-month manhunt when armed assailants ambushed prison convoy in NormandyA notorious French fugitive who staged a deadly escape that killed two guards last year has been extradited from Romania to France, days after his arrest in Bucharest ended a nine-month international manhunt.Mohamed Amra, nicknamed The Fly", was arrested near a shopping centre in Bucharest on Saturday after being identified by Romanian police, despite having dyed his hair red, possibly to evade detection. The Bucharest court of appeal approved his extradition request on Sunday. Continue reading...
The document contains a series of previously unpublished claims, including 22 from members of the publicThe independent inquiry into what the BBC knew about the former Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood's conduct has been published almost three years after a joint investigation by the Guardian and BBC News.The investigation told the stories of a number of women who accused the 67-year-old of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour.Hounded" a 17-year-old Black woman with phone calls and texts.Invited a girl who was 15 or 16 back to his home following an under-16 night, after she had added him on Blackberry to get information about the event.Contacted a woman who had shared her business card, and appeared agitated when she did not want to meet late at night.Hurled" a can of drink at a woman who was serving in a club.A former BBC staff member told the corporation their son had witnessed Westwood propositioning a 15-year-old girl in a night club in around 2007. The BBC reported the complaint to the Metropolitan police, who took no action.A BBC employee said in 2022 that a guest on Radio 1 had described potential sexual assault by Westwood between 2004 and 2007. They said they had reported it to a more senior employee, but White found no evidence the complaint had been documented. Westwood's lawyers said he was never spoken to about the incident.A student told the review about Westwood referring to her breasts during a 1Xtra DriveTime show in 2010, calling her cuddly" and miming grabbing her breasts, which his lawyers say he strongly denies.A Sun journalist contacted Radio 1 in November 2012 saying they had been given tipoffs about Westwood and inappropriate relations with young girls". A senior figure flagged allegations made about Westwood on Twitter to HR and the corporate investigations team, which decided that no action would be taken without further evidence.White concluded that senior BBC staff did not think Westwood had had sexual contact with 15-year-old girls, but that the issue ought to have been formally raised with him" and the online allegations should have been examined further.Many" BBC employees perceived there to be a close relationship between the controllers and Tim Westwood".Witnesses felt they were unable to complain because of the feeling that ... senior management were likely to side with presenters".Westwood made repeated comments about guests and staff members' bodies, particularly about women's breasts.Until Westwood was removed from the 1Xtra DriveTime show in 2012, the approach appears to have been to raise issues informally ... and, when the situation did not improve, to move BBC staff working on the 1Xtra DriveTime show to other programmes". Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#6VH0V)
EHRC raises issues from tribunal brought by nurse who objected to sharing women's changing room with trans doctorThe Scottish government stands firmly behind" the provision of single-sex spaces, a minister has said after the UK equality watchdog addressed issues raised by an employment tribunal brought by a nurse who objected to sharing a women's changing room with a transgender doctor.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) requested a meeting with Holyrood's health secretary as well as writing directly to Fife health board, which is disputing the claim, to remind" management of their obligations under the 2010 Equality Act. Continue reading...
Church of England plans action against former archbishop of Canterbury and nine others after Makin reportGeorge Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury, is among 10 Church of England clergy who could face disciplinary proceedings over the way the church handled allegations of abuse carried out by the barrister John Smyth.A damning independent report, the Makin review, into Smyth's alleged sadistic abuse of more than 100 boys and young men over decades led to the resignation of Justin Welby as archbishop of Canterbury in November and has sent shockwaves through the C of E. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England editor on (#6VGQP)
Officers had to fire 19 rounds into two dogs to stop incident in Warrington that left victim fighting for his lifeHaving an XL bully is like owning a loaded firearm", police have said after officers had to unload 19 rounds into two dogs to stop a ferocious" attack on an 84-year-old man.The victim, who was left fighting for his life in hospital, was walking along a residential street when he was dragged into a garden and mauled at about 6.40pm on Monday. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6VGM2)
Exclusive: Departure follows meetings with Wes Streeting and unusual criticism from two Commons committeesAmanda Pritchard is standing down as chief executive of NHS England, in a development that will shock the health service.Her departure from the top job follows recent meetings she held with Wes Streeting, the health secretary, to discuss his plans to overhaul the service and her own future role. Continue reading...
Taiwan's coastguard says it cannot be ruled out that it was a grey-zone intrusion by China'Taiwan's coastguard has detained a cargo ship and its Chinese crew after an undersea cable in the Taiwan Strait was damaged on Tuesday, saying it cannot rule out the possibility it was a deliberate grey zone" act.Whether the cause of the undersea cable breakage was intentional sabotage or a simple accident remains to be clarified by further investigation," the coastguard said in a statement. It cannot be ruled out that it was a grey-zone intrusion by China." Continue reading...
New high tempered by dip in number of female CEOs at 100 biggest listed firms to fewer than 10 last yearWomen occupy more than two in five seats on the boards of Britain's biggest listed companies after further progress was made last year, but the number of female FTSE 100 chief executives dipped for a time to fewer than 10, according to a report.The proportion of board positions held by women at FTSE 350 companies rose to a new all-time high of 43.4% last year, up from 42.1% in 2023, according to the government-backed annual FTSE Women Leaders Review. Among the 100 biggest listed companies, the proportion of women in the boardroom was even higher, at 44.7% versus 42.6% in 2023. Continue reading...
The Emilia Perez best actress nominee will be at Sunday's ceremony with Netflix paying for all expenses incurredThe Emilia Perez star Karla Sofia Gascon is reportedly set to attend this Sunday's Oscars after controversy over bigoted tweets.The Spanish actor, who is nominated for best actress, had been removed from the campaign trail by Netflix after resurfaced tweets led to a backlash. Continue reading...
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