A surge in claims for pension credit will make thousands more people eligible for the payments and other benefitsRachel Reeves has been warned that her cut to pensioner winter fuel payments risks saving hundreds of millions less than anticipated, in a new blow to her attempts to close the hole in Britain's finances.The chancellor and her Treasury team are already re-examining parts of a plan to crack down on non-dom tax status over concerns that it may not raise any money. Continue reading...
Thanks to the city's famously rainy climate, trees suffering in the south can be moved, says the Royal Horticultural SocietyThe climate is changing British gardens everywhere. Well, almost everywhere. The Royal Horticultural Society has modelled how global heating will affect its property until 2075 and discovered that summers will be hotter and drier in all its gardens - except in Manchester.Greater Manchester's renown as a rain trap - there is even a website tracking rainfall, called Rainchester - means that the RHS Bridgewater garden in Salford is being earmarked for species that thrive in a cooler, wetter climate. Continue reading...
Economically illiterate' Defra letter sent to anti-sewage groups cites 2018 report commissioned by water companiesLabour used economically illiterate" analysis paid for by water companies in order to argue against the nationalisation of the sector, the Guardian can reveal.In an official letter recently sent to anti-sewage groups, civil servants cited a paper by the Social Market Foundation as a reason to avoid nationalisation as part of its review of the sector. The report from 2018 was commissioned by United Utilities, Anglian Water, Severn Trent and South West Water. Continue reading...
It follows a weekend of wild weather in NSW, where SES responded to 270 calls including two adults and a baby stranded in flood waters near Tweed Heads
Officials expect death toll to rise as flood waters inundate Kathmandu after highest rainfall since 1970Flooding and landslides caused by continuous rainfall have killed at least 101 people in Nepal while 64 people are missing, officials have said.
Mechanical thrombectomy can save a patient from permanent disability or death, but its availability depends on where they liveMost stroke patients in England suitable for treatment that can save them from serious disability or even death cannot access it, new figures reveal.It is estimated that at least 10% of stroke patients can benefit from a treatment known as mechanical thrombectomy. Under the procedure, a wire and stent is manoeuvred towards the brain to pull out the clot blocking the blood flow. The treatment reduces the adverse effects of a stroke and in the best outcomes a patient could walk out of hospital the next day. Continue reading...
by Maya Yang, Tom Ambrose, Yohannes Lowe, Hamish Mack on (#6R2SK)
This blog is now closedNumerous reports have said that Hezbollah's long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of Israel's strikes on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Friday evening. There has been no official confirmation of whether Nasrallah was killed in the strikes or not.The Israeli Defense Forces said the military carried out a very accurate" strike on Hezbollah headquarters, but did not mention Nasrallah's name. Media outlets quoted Hezbollah sources as saying he was alive and well" but the Iran-backed militant group haven't yet made an official statement.The Syrian Arab republic strongly condemns all these continuous crimes, and renews its affirmation that the Israeli terrorist entity's insistence on shedding blood and committing all kinds of war crimes and crimes against humanity that are blasphemy, will lead the region to a dangerous acceleration that is impossible to predict its consequences. Continue reading...
Rescue services say they saved 27 of the 84 people aboard the vessel believed to have come from MauritaniaNine people are confirmed drowned and at least 48 are missing after a boat carrying migrants capsized off Spain's Canary Islands overnight, rescue services said on Saturday, the latest in a series of such disasters off the west coast of Africa.Sea rescue teams said in a statement they had answered a distress call off El Hierro, one of the islands in the Atlantic archipelago, shortly after midnight. They managed to save 27 of the 84 people on board. Continue reading...
Residents of Lebanon's capital flee their homes and seek shelter as the death toll from Israel's airstrikes risesGunshots fired into the air, women wailing in the streets, the ever-present buzz of drones and the distant thud of Israeli airstrikes: this was the sound of mourning in Beirut on Saturday. Hassan Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for 32 years, was dead, killed in an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the day before.For many in Lebanon, his killing had been unimaginable. But Israel's war with Hezbollah had long surpassed what was previously thought possible. Pagers had exploded in hands, walkie-talkies blew up in belts and Israeli warplanes killed hundreds in half a day. The death of Nasrallah was one more blow to the Lebanese psyche, already struggling to grasp soaring death tolls and, for some, the loss of their home overnight. Continue reading...
Politician cites cruel and unnecessary policies' as she lambasts prime minister's managerial and technocratic approach'A Labour MP has resigned from the parliamentary party after criticising Keir Starmer's cruel and unnecessary" policies and lambasting the prime minister's managerial and technocratic approach" to politics.In a furious letter announcing her decision, Rosie Duffield, the Canterbury MP, said she felt relief in making the decision. She said the row over freebies handed to Starmer and his top team demonstrated that sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice are off the scale". Continue reading...
Incident at London's National Gallery came just hours after other members of group jailed over similar protestThree protesters have been charged with criminal damage and will appear in court after soup was thrown at two Vincent van Gogh paintings on Friday.Just Stop Oil activists poured soup over two paintings in the National Gallery, London, just hours after other members of the group were jailed for damaging the gold frame of the artist's Sunflowers painting. Continue reading...
Residents from Michoacan to Oaxaca evacuate after storm ravages Pacific coastline, bringing floods and landslidesResidents in south-western Mexico on Saturday evacuated from homes flooded by the remnants of Hurricane John that ravaged the Pacific coastline for a week, bringing deadly floods and landslides that left 22 people reported dead.In Guerrero, the worst-hit state and one of Mexico's poorest, 18 people were killed, according to local media, many due to mudslides that crushed houses. To the south, local media reported three deaths in Oaxaca, and a young boy died in a river to the north in Michoacan state. Continue reading...
Former prime minister's claims about wanting to seize Covid vaccines being held in the EU may have been a joke'Senior Tories have cast doubt on Boris Johnson's claim that he seriously considered invading the Netherlands to seize vaccines during the pandemic, saying the story had obviously been overblown and re-heated to boost sales of his memoirs.The former prime minister says in his new book, Unleashed, that he asked senior members of the armed forces about the possibility of conducting an aquatic raid" on a warehouse in Leiden in March 2021 in order to get hold of 5m doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine which he believed the EU did not want to be exported to the UK. Continue reading...
Schools that are part of the Harris Federation accused of taking too long to help staff get UK teaching qualificationTeachers recruited from Jamaica to work for a major chain of academy schools in London have spoken of their devastation" on finding out that they are being paid thousands of pounds a year less than English-trained recruits with similar levels ofexperience.The Harris Federation, England's second largest academy chain, with 54 state-funded schools, has been recruiting from Jamaica in recent years, bringing teachers to the UK who are attracted by higher salaries than they can earn in the Caribbean. Continue reading...
by Pjotr Sauer and Kate Connolly in Berlin on (#6R2Y7)
Reports of dissenters working for 4 a day on onion plantation owned by Saxony state parliament AfD member Jorg DornauMidway through Nikolai's shift sorting onions alongside other political prisoners in a warehouse in western Belarus, a tall and bald foreigner entered the building.He arrived in a car with German license plates. Then he came over and greeted us warmly," Nikolai*, recalled in an interview with the Observer. Continue reading...
Former PM likens Keir Starmer to a bullock having a thermometer unexpectedly shoved in its rectum' in UnleashedPlanning military incursions into the Netherlands, likening himself to ancient Greeks and comparing Keir Starmer to castrated bulls: the serialisation of Boris Johnson's forthcoming memoir kicked off in characteristic fashion this weekend.Excerpts from Unleashed, which will be released on 10 October, have been published in the Daily Mail on Friday and Saturday, and the Mail on Sunday is due to reveal more. Continue reading...
Former PM says leadership candidates must understand that party lost election because it trashed our brand'The Conservatives failed to see the threat from the Liberal Democrats" while focusing too much on the rise of Nigel Farage's Reform UK, Theresa May has said.Writing in the Times on the eve of the party's annual conference in Birmingham, Lady May said the remaining candidates for the Tory leadership could play into Reform's hands" by failing to understand the reasons behind their electoral humiliation. Continue reading...
by Patrick Butler Social policy editor on (#6R2VG)
Once hailed as a philanthropic marvel, Fashion For Relief ran up hefty expenses and left charity partners angryFive years ago, a glitzy charity fundraising gala in the British Museum organised by the model Naomi Campbell was commonly accepted to be a triumph. It was the toast of London fashion week and a powerful showcase for Campbell's philanthropic mission to raise money for young people in poverty.Awash with celebrities (Naomie Harris, Pierce Brosnan, the rapper Skepta and Alexa Chung) and wealthy paying guests, it combined a catwalk show with a charity auction of art (drawings by Matisse, Dali and Tracey Emin, a signed Warhol print), jewellery and luxury watches. Continue reading...
PC Ross Benson accused of smacking the girl, who was known to him, multiple times in 2018A Metropolitan police officer has been sacked and banned from policing after allegedly spanking a 12-year-old girl's bare bottom.PC Ross Benson, of the North West Basic Command Unit, was accused of smacking the girl several times between April and August 2018 when she was aged 12 to 13, and there was an alleged sexual element to his behaviour. Continue reading...
Early years experts warn of lack of staff, playgrounds and toiletsPrimary schools may not have enough space, specialist facilities or staff to deliver the 100,000 new nursery places in England that the government has promised, early childhood experts have warned.Labour is under intense pressure to create enough places to fulfil its promise of 30 hours of free childcare a week for eligible parents of children from the age of nine months to three years from next September - a commitment inherited from the previous government. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#6R2SM)
Richard Fuller's pre-conference remarks echo others who worry candidates have edged right to combat ReformThe new Conservative leader must make sure the party focuses on its traditional base rather than just chasing voters who defected to the likes of Reform, its chair has said before the Tories' first conference since their crushing election defeat.Richard Fuller, the North Bedfordshire MP, who has served as interim chair since the election, will announce details of a review of the loss at the gathering in Birmingham, as well as structural changes to start modernising the party. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#6R2RG)
Magic Notes tool records and analyses face-to-face meetings and suggests follow-up actionsHundreds of social workers in England have begun using an artificial intelligence system that records conversations, drafts letters to doctors and proposes actions that human workers might not have considered.Councils in Swindon, Barnet and Kingston are among seven now using the AI tool that sits on social workers' phones to record and analyse face-to-face meetings. The Magic Notes AI tool writes almost instant summaries and suggests follow-up actions, including drafting letters to GPs. Two dozen more councils have or are piloting it. Continue reading...
by Lorenzo Tondo and Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem and on (#6R2RJ)
Explosions have rocked Lebanese capital again, a day after massive Israeli strike apparently targeting Hassan NasrallahIsrael has launched another series of attacks on Beirut and Lebanon, a day after it carried out a massive strike on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital in an apparent attempt to kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a key ally of Iran.Reuters witnesses heard more than 20 airstrikes before dawn on Saturday. Abandoning their homes in the southern suburbs, thousands of Lebanese congregated in squares, parks and sidewalks in downtown Beirut and seaside areas. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Calls for urgent reform after figures show almost half of donations since 2010 given in last two yearsMPs have declared more than 6m in freebies" since 2010 with the cash price of gifts given almost tripling over two years, analysis reveals, leading to calls for urgent reform.The value of gifts, benefits and hospitality" declared by MPs was 1.3m in 2023, analysis shows, up from 483,507 in 2021. And the amount of gifts increased to 768 from 337 during the same period. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#6R2QZ)
There will be meet our candidates' Q&As, and fringe events - but limited self-reflection at the gathering in BirminghamThe first party conference after a defeat generally tends to be a cross between a wake, an inquest, and a beauty contest for those who believe they have the answers to what went wrong. The Conservatives' gathering in Birmingham is set to be no different - but with a particular emphasis on the third.So what is in store from Sunday for the embattled party faithful and remaining MPs, plus sections of the media and lobbying industry who decide it's worth going along for a look? Continue reading...
Australian broadcaster's Europe correspondent Kathryn Diss and camera operator Fletcher Yeung accused of illegally' crossing into Russia from Ukraine on 31 August
Former prime minister admits in extract from forthcoming book that he discussed possible military operation at height of pandemicBoris Johnson considered an aquatic raid" on a Dutch warehouse to seize Covid vaccines during the height of the pandemic, he has revealed in his memoirs.The former prime minister discussed plans with senior military officials in March 2021, according to an extract from his forthcoming book, Unleashed, published in the Daily Mail. Continue reading...
The Grammy-nominated singer took the plunge with Jeremy Dufrene in waterside outdoor venueIn what some might see as an unlikely union, the Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey has married a swamp tour guide from Louisiana.The Daily Mail obtained exclusive video and photos of the 39-year-old Del Rey's wedding on Thursday to Jeremy Dufrene, 49, in Des Allemands, Louisiana, about a 45-minute drive south-west of New Orleans. Continue reading...
Police watchdog finds boy restrained for longer than necessary by officers involved in stop and search in LondonOfficers who handcuffed and restrained a 14-year-old black schoolboy on the ground during a stop and search in London committed misconduct, the police watchdog has said.PC McCorley Clewes and former PC Benjamin Morgan were among four Metropolitan police officers involved in the stop in Blackhorse Lane, Croydon, on 23 June 2022 at about 5.30pm after reports of a stolen mobile phone. Continue reading...
Far-right president has been battling inflation by imposing steep cuts in spending, resulting in widespread povertyArgentina's poverty rate has soared to almost 53% in the first six months of Javier Milei's presidency, offering the first hard evidence of the far-right libertarian's tough austerity measures are hitting the population.The new poverty rate, reported by the government's statistics agency on Thursday, is the highest level for two decades, when the country reeled from a catastrophic economic crisis, and means 3.4 million Argentinians have been pushed into poverty this year. Continue reading...
US rapper says her visit to indoor market led to her spending two days sweating out' an illnessThe US rapper Azealia Banks has accused Birmingham's fish market of making her ill, comparing it to a Wuhan wet market".In an unlikely intervention, the American star posted on X that city officials needed to do something" about the stalls before comparing the market to the site in China identified as the place where the Covid pandemic most likely began. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#6R2A8)
Advisers to prime ministers are often targets of sniping but being in news is not sustainable for Starmer's chief of staffFor someone who was not even in Liverpool for the Labour conference, Sue Gray was the subject of a remarkable amount of conversation. So what does the future hold for Keir Starmer's chief of staff - and how much is she just a victim of circumstance?The basic facts, as far as they are agreed, are well-aired: Gray is either a much-needed injection of civil service professionalism or a control-freak bottleneck to decisions. Either way, she has been the focus of much briefing to the media, often negative. Continue reading...
Chinatown's renowned Wong Kei prosecuted for food hygiene offences and fined more than 40,000A restaurant in London's Chinatown once called the capital's rudest has been fined more than 40,000 after mice and cockroaches were found in its kitchen.Wong Kei, which has traded on Wardour Street for decades and was once famous for its impersonal level of service", as the online guide to Chinatown puts it, was prosecuted for food hygiene offences and after its owners were found to have falsified documents. Continue reading...
Robert Holden used hidden cameras to film 28 women in bathrooms and bedrooms over a period of almost 15 yearsA depraved and selfish" former councillor who filmed 28 women in bathrooms and bedrooms using hidden cameras over a period of almost 15 years has been jailed for six years and two months.Bradford crown court heard emotional statements from many of the women targeted by Robert Holden, 51, describing how his perverted fetish" had left them feeling violated, disgusted and mortified" and in many cases had wrecked their lives. Continue reading...