Kevin Hollinrake, responding to urgent question about Post Office scandal, says evidence was not available at time of prosecutionsRishi Sunak is facing a revolt by Tory MPs later today when the Commons votes to give the economic activity of public bodies (overseas activities) bill a third reading. The vote will take place early in the evening, after MPs have debated the finance bill. Aubrey Allegretti from the Times says around a dozen Conservatives will refuse to vote for the bill.Rishi Sunak faces his first rebellion of the new year later today.
Alan Bates, who inspired ITV drama, welcomes blanket acquittal proposalThe man who inspired the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office has described the government's plan to grant a blanket acquittal for thousands of post office operators convicted in the Horizon IT scandal was a positive step forward" but said there is more to be done.Alan Bates, who ran a post office in the seaside town of Llandudno, north Wales, told the BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that more work was needed to ensure those impacted by the scandal receive adequate compensation. Continue reading...
Zelenskiy said that Putin would not stop at Ukraine but would attack other neighbours unless allies joined forces to stop himThe UK's Ministry of Defence has published its latest defence intelligence update.It states that Russia has accidentally discharged two aerial munitions on two separate occasions in the past week" and that Russian forces continued propensity for munition accidents" are likely exacerbated by inadequate training" and crew fatigue". Continue reading...
Japanese company's Horizon IT system caused accounting errors that were blamed on subpostmastersPressure is mounting on the government to review more than 2bn in new contracts awarded to Fujitsu since a court ruling in 2019 found its Horizon IT system caused accounting errors that were blamed on more than 900 subpostmasters who were then wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office.The Japanese company, which continues to hold the prestigious status of being a key strategic supplier" making more than 100m annually from government work despite the scandal, has won 101 new contracts worth 2.04bn since the landmark legal ruling. Continue reading...
This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereAdam Bodnar, Poland's justice minister, has outlined the legalities around the Mariusz Kamiski case on social media.Polish president Andrzej Duda said today that he would not rest until the politicians Mariusz Kamiski and Maciej Wsik are freed from prison.I will not rest in the fight for a fair and just Polish state. I will not rest until Mariusz Kamiski and his colleagues are free. I won't be scared. I will act legally, in accordance with the Constitution and the law - as before. Continue reading...
Philip Jacobs was originally named only in the credits of Attenborough and the Giant Sea MonsterThe BBC has finally name-checked the man who found the prehistoric star of David Attenborough's latest documentary after a barrage of complaints that he had been airbrushed" from the programme.There was outrage that Philip Jacobs, who discovered the 150m-year-old fossilised pliosaur during a beach walk in Dorset, was only fleetingly mentioned in the credits of Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster rather than in the main body of the much-lauded show. Continue reading...
Ex-president and Republican frontrunner claims he is victim of political persecution in remarks after court hearing in WashingtonThere will be bedlam" in the US if criminal cases deny Donald Trump a White House return, said the former president who incited the deadly January 6 attack on Congress but who is the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination this year.I think they feel this is the way they're going to try and win, and that's not the way it goes," Trump told reporters, referring to Joe Biden and Democrats, after a court hearing in Washington DC on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Rapper says I vow to be more mindful going forward' after image of shaven-headed, tattooed people was used on artwork for single Gas Me Up (Diligent)The Mercury prize-winning British rapper Skepta has apologised after artwork for his single Gas Me Up (Diligent) was criticised on social media for having unintentional but palpable allusions to the Holocaust.The artwork features a group of people in matching overcoats with shaved heads, and the words gas me up" tattooed on the head of one of them, perceived as reminiscent of the head-shaving, tattooing and gas chambers used in Nazi death camps. Gas me up" is slang for hyping someone up or praising them. Continue reading...
Pennon, which owns South West Water, Bristol Water and Bournemouth Water, has bought SES Water in a 380m dealThe owner of South West Water, one of the UK utility firms fined for illegal sewage dumping last year, has bought Sutton and East Surrey (SES) Water in a deal worth 380m.Pennon, which also owns Bristol Water and Bournemouth Water, has confirmed the acquisition of the supplier, which has 745,000 customers across parts of Kent, Sussex, Surrey and south London. Continue reading...
Winchester court told licensing regime endangers lives' after man admitted causing death by careless drivingThe family of a couple killed when their car was hit by an 80-year-old motorist who failed to see them have called for elderly drivers to face retests.Michael Hamburger, a businessman from Alton, Hampshire, pulled out directly in front of Roger and Christine Barton although he had an unobstructed" 500-metre view of oncoming traffic. Continue reading...
Ecuador's president has declared a state of internal armed conflict". How did the country find itself in the grip of armed gangs? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. At about 2pm local time yesterday, a live news broadcast on an Ecuadorian TV channel was interrupted by a group of masked men carrying guns, grenades, and dynamite. The intruders pointed guns at employees and made them lie on the floor. Don't shoot, please don't shoot!" one person shouted. One of the attackers said the attack was the result of messing with the mafias". The TC Television broadcast continued for at least 15 minutes. Then the signal was cut off.Some 13 gunmen were later arrested, and the hostages taken to safety. The astonishing scenes in the city of Guayaquil were part of a series of audacious coordinated attacks by members of Ecuadorian gangs that have killed at least 10 people. They follow the escape from prison of the country's most feared gang leader, Adolfo Macias, and new president Daniel Noboa's subsequent declaration of a state of emergency. And while the situation is evolving rapidly, it appears to represent a declaration of war on the country's fragile democratic institutions.Post Office Horizon scandal | The former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells is to hand back her CBE over the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of staff, with over 100 more potential victims having come forward in recent weeks. Vennells said on Tuesday she was truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters and their families".Israel-Gaza war | The British government has accepted that Israel as an occupying power had a legal duty to provide basic supplies to the people of Gaza. David Cameron, the foreign secretary, told MPs that Israel should remove barriers on the delivery of humanitarian aid that were risking real, widespread hunger".Climate crisis | 2023 has smashed the record for the world's hottest year by a huge margin. The planet was 1.48C hotter in 2023 compared with the period before the mass burning of fossil fuels ignited the climate crisis, scientists have said.Child protection | Boys are watching violent porn on their smartphones then going on to attack girls, police have said, as new data showed children are now the biggest perpetrators of sexual abuse against other children. Overall, the data shows a quadrupling of sexual offences against children.US news | A group of men belonging to a Hasidic Jewish community in New York were arrested on Monday amid a dispute over an illegal tunnel secretly dug into the side of a historic synagogue, which has since been closed. Action by law enforcement after the tunnel came to light led to a brawl with those who had created the passageway. Continue reading...
Girls as young as 16 arrested in shops, classes and markets in Kabul by the Taliban, who labelled them infidels' for wearing bad hijab'Girls as young as 16 have been arrested across the Afghan capital, Kabul, in the past week for violating the Taliban's hijab rules.The girls - who were detained in shopping centres, classes and street markets - were accused of spreading and encouraging others to wear a bad hijab" and wearing makeup. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Leonard Farruku's former roommate was offered no support after being relocated to another room without belongingsThe man who was found dead on the Bibby Stockholm barge after it was suspected he had killed himself lay undiscovered for up to 12 hours, his former roommate has claimed.Speaking publicly for the first time since Leonard Farruku, 27, an asylum seeker from Albania, was found dead in a shower room on the barge last month, his roommate urged the Home Office to stop using it to accommodate those seeking refugee status.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. Youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org. 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...
by Lorenzo Tondo in Palermo and Uki Goñi in Buenos A on (#6HQTH)
Lt Col Carlos Luis Malatto fled Argentina in 2011 and will be tried in Rome for premeditated killing of eight people in last military dictatorshipA judge in Rome has ordered Lt Col Carlos Luis Malatto, a former Argentine army officer accused of murder and forced disappearances during Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship, to stand trial in Italy for the premeditated killing of eight people.The former military officer is accused of crimes against humanity in Argentina, but he fled the country in 2011 and had been living in a tourist village in the province of Messina, Sicily. In a letter to the court of appeal in the Argentine state of Mendoza, Argentine prosecutors alleged that Malatto actively participated in various detention procedures and is one of the most infamous perpetrators" of the dictatorship for his participation in interrogations under torture". Continue reading...
Federal opposition leader told audience at Roy Hill mine that parents and teachers should instruct children about benefits of miningPeter Dutton was flown to a party at the Pilbara mine of Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, by another billionaire rich-lister, where he made a speech suggesting parents and teachers talk to children about the positives of the mining sector.In a speech at Hancock Prospecting's Roy Hill mine in November last year, Dutton repeatedly thanked those working in resources. He described the work carried out at Hancock Prospecting's mine as a national treasure". Continue reading...
Alternative to 1km path in Caulfield East has been proposed by the government to the local councilGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAbout 250 trees set to be cut down to make way for a new Melbourne bike path could be spared under a last-minute proposal put forward by the state government after a community campaign.The 1km path, which would connect the new Glen Huntly railway station to other stations, would require the felling of 250 mature trees, including several that are on the council's classified tree register, on Queens Avenue in Caulfield East. Continue reading...
Supporters of the African nation's dictatorial regime have clashed with opponents in the diaspora at similar events in other countriesAustralian federal police and government officials have met representatives of the Eritrean community in a bid to avoid potential violence during a planned cultural festival in Melbourne's western suburbs this weekend.Similar events held in Europe and North America in recent months have ended in violence and arrests, as supporters of the African nation's regime clashed with members of the pro-democracy youth movement Birged Nhamedu.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
Freedom of information request finds more than 1,700 items are absent from collectionsA drawing of Queen Victoria and an aircraft navigational system are among the items missing from museums in England.Freedom of information requests by the PA news agency to museums and galleries that receive public funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) asking for details on absent items from the last 20 years found that more than 1,700 items were absent from collections. Continue reading...
Police data shows 52% of alleged offenders in England and Wales are minors - a situation exacerbated by accessibility of violent porn'Boys are watching violent porn on their smartphones then going on to attack girls, police have said, as new data showed children are now the biggest perpetrators of sexual abuse against other children.Police data shows there has been a quadrupling of sexual offences against children, in what officers say is the most authoritative analysis of offending against youngsters. Continue reading...
Moderates Conservatives push back against amendments seeking to end migrants' legal challengesA damaging row over Rishi Sunak's asylum policy has been reignited after ministers announced that the Rwanda bill will return to the Commons next week.The prime minister came under pressure from rightwing Tory MPs, including Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick, to accept amendments that would limit individual challenges by migrants and prevent the European court of human rights from blocking deportation flights to central Africa. Continue reading...
Men had taken refuge in presidential palace in escalation of standoff between new and previous governmentsPolish police have arrested two politicians convicted of abuse of power who had taken refuge for hours in the palace of President Andrzej Duda, in a dramatic escalation of a standoff between the new and previous governments.Duda had welcomed the members of the former ruling party into the presidential palace as police went to their homes to arrest them. Polish media reported the men were arrested inside the palace. Warsaw police gave no details, saying only that the arrest was in accordance with the court order." Continue reading...
David Cameron urges Israeli authorities to clear barriers to aid deliveries amid risk of widespread hunger'The British government accepted on Tuesday that Israel as an occupying power had a duty under international humanitarian law to provide basic supplies to the people of Gaza.The admission came as David Cameron, the foreign secretary, urged Israel to remove barriers on the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory that were risking real, widespread hunger". Continue reading...
by Kiran Stacey, Rowena Mason and Daniel Boffey on (#6HQ1D)
CEO when hundreds of PO operators were prosecuted, says she will hand back honourThe former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells is to hand back her CBE over the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of staff, with over 100 more potential victims having come forward in recent weeks.Vennells said on Tuesday she would return the award given to her in 2019 as the fallout from ITV's drama about the scandal continues to grow. Continue reading...
Maria Kartasheva's in-absentia conviction over blogposts about Ukraine war threatened application for Canadian citizenshipCanada has reversed course after initially blocking a Russian anti-war activist from receiving citizenship because she had run afoul of Moscow's harsh laws criminalizing dissent over the invasion of Ukraine.Maria Kartasheva's plight had baffled immigration lawyers and exposed the confusing reality of Canada's immigration bureaucracy. Last year, the 30-year-old was charged and convicted by Russian prosecutors of violating a law barring criticism of the military. And even though her opinions mirrored Canada's foreign policy, the conviction threatened to derail her application for Canadian citizenship. Continue reading...
Yvette Cooper opens debate that, if passed, would force government to publish confidential documents about costs of Rwanda scheme. This live blog is closedThese posts on X are from Warwick Mansell, who runs the Education Uncovered website, giving his take on Bridget Phillipson's speech. (See 12.23pm.)Returning from @bphillipsonMPs speech on education. Interesting to see room so packed, with quite a few prominent ed figures in audience. Sense of government in waiting, perhaps. Substance also interesting.Lots of angles, which will write about. BP praised Michael Gove's energy and sense that ed was at centre of nat conversation, which had been lost, tho stressed twice she often disagreed with him on detail.Labour refocusing on poverty alongside ed would be back to pre-MG approach.Also interesting to hear Kevan Collins say that big element of his post-covid plan which had been rejected by government had been support for children's social needs, post-pandemic.Really significant dimension,that has got lost? Not seen point about his plan reported before...(?)BP also stressed need for ed to support children's emotional needs, as children's don't learn well if unhappy. Huge issue in cases I follow. Continue reading...
Return of CBE marks ignominious end to career of chief executive during company's pursuit of wrongful prosecutionsThe decision by the former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells to hand back her CBE marks an ignominious end to a career that will be remembered for her organisation's relentless run of wrongful prosecutions against more than 900 subpostmasters.Last year, Alan Bates, the post office operator who led the campaign to expose the Horizon IT scandal and whose story has now been told in an ITV drama, turned down an OBE, making the point that it would be inappropriate" while victims still suffered and Vennells retained her accolade. Continue reading...
Rozina Breen was put forward but rejected by culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, without reasonA row has broken out over the government's role in Channel 4 management appointments after it blocked a minority ethnic woman from joining the broadcaster's board.Rozina Breen, a former senior BBC executive who now runs the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, was put forward as a preferred candidate by Ofcom to take up one five upcoming vacancies as a non-executive director at Channel 4. Continue reading...
by Yohannes Lowe, Rachel Hall and Warren Murray on (#6HPXX)
Fuel facility struck in the city of Oryol, 230 miles south of Moscow and 137 miles from the Ukrainian border. This live blog is closedRussia hit multiple settlements in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region over the past 24 hours, injuring two civilians, the region's governor, Oleh Syniehubov, has said.In the village of Dvorichna, a Russian attack at 17:30 injured a 57-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman, the governor wrote on Telegram. Continue reading...
This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereCongratulations are starting to pour in for Gabriel Attal, the youngest prime minister of France's Fifth Republic.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has appointed the country's 34-year old education minister, Gabriel Attal, as prime minister, French media outlets reported. He is the youngest French PM in modern history and will succeed Elisabeth Borne, who resigned yesterday. Continue reading...
Mistranslation of satellite' to missile' in message causes alarm and confusion days before presidential electionA Chinese satellite launch triggered a nationwide emergency alert in Taiwan on Tuesday days before its presidential election, prompting some alarm and confusion as the English portion of the message erroneously translated satellite to missile".The bilingual air raid alert blasted over loudspeakers and was sent to every mobile phone in Taiwan shortly after 3pm local time (0700 GMT), warning people to be aware". The message said in Chinese that China had launched a satellite at 3.04pm and it had flown over the southern part of Taiwan. The English portion said [air raid alert] missile flyover Taiwan airspace". Continue reading...
Three accused of violence against Theodore Luhaka in 2017 that left him with permanent disabilitiesThree police officers have gone on trial north of Paris accused of assaulting a 22-year-old footballer in 2017, in one of the most significant cases of alleged police violence against a Black man in France in the past decade.Theodore Luhaka, who had been talking to friends on his housing estate in Aulnay-sous-Bois at the end of the afternoon of February 2017, was stopped as part of a police identity check. He was teargassed, beaten on the face and body, and left with permanent disabilities and incontinence after an extendable police baton perforated his anus. Continue reading...
Companies could be stopped from taking such action, and firms involved in Horizon case may have to pay compensationRules to prevent companies taking private prosecutions in the way the Post Office went after innocent post office operators are being considered by the government.The move is part of a response to the Horizon IT scandal that could also lead to companies involved, including the tech company Fujitsu, being asked to shoulder the financial burden of providing compensation, a cabinet minister indicated on Tuesday. Continue reading...
by Justin McCurry in Tokyo and agencies on (#6HPY1)
Animal welfare campaigners hail decision as historic victory' after years of pressure at home and abroadSouth Korea's parliament has voted to ban the production and sale of dog meat, in a decision campaigners hailed as a historic victory" for animal welfare.The country's national assembly voted overwhelmingly to ban the breeding, butchery, distribution and sale of dogs for their meat on Tuesday, after years of pressure at home and abroad. Continue reading...
The standup comedian and actor has spoken out about his unpopular performance, calling it an off night'Comedian Jo Koy has responded to the backlash over his performance as host for this year's Golden Globes.The last-minute pick for the role received a negative reaction online and reportedly in the room with an unnamed prominent director referring to it as a disaster" and Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson calling his opening monologue a horrid, sophomoric mishmash of lazy jokes". Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6HPCH)
BMA committee intends third ballot in long-running pay dispute, which could allow action until SeptemberJunior doctors intend to hold a fresh strike ballot, which could lead to them continuing to disrupt NHS services across England by staging strikes until September.The British Medical Association's junior doctors committee (JDC) has well-advanced" plans to undertake its third ballot for industrial action in the long-running pay dispute. Continue reading...
EDF, Octopus and Scottish Power given green light by Ofgem to install devices in Great Britain under strict new rulesA trio of energy companies have been given permission to begin force-fitting prepayment meters in customers' homes again if they adhere to strict new rules, ending a near year-long moratorium on the practice.EDF, Octopus and Scottish Power have been given the green light by the energy watchdog, Ofgem, to install prepayment meters under warrant, ending an industry-wide ban which was enforced amid an outcry over the impact on vulnerable customers. Continue reading...
by Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi and Redwan Ahmed in on (#6HNM9)
Turnout reportedly as low as 40% after opposition party called general strike over sham election'Bangladesh's prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has won office for a fifth term, in an election that was overshadowed by a ruthless crackdown on the opposition and low voter turnout.The election commission announced in the early hours of Monday that Hasina's ruling Awami League had won a fourth consecutive term, winning almost 75% of the seats. It will be her fifth term as prime minister as she had previously ruled between 1996 and 2001, before coming back to power in 2009. Continue reading...
The amount of moisture across Victoria at the moment is incredible,' the Bureau of Meteorology saysHundreds of people across Victoria and South Australia have called for help after heavy rain and severe storms lashed the two states.Residents in Victoria's north and north-east were warned to expect rainfall totals up to 200mm when thunderstorms sweep across the state on Sunday and Monday. Continue reading...
Writers' much-needed annual windfall' of up to 6,600 delayed as library in London struggles to restore crippled systemsRichard Osman's cosy crime books The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice, followed by, appropriately enough, Matt Haig's The Midnight Library were the most borrowed library books in the UK this time last year.In February 2023, those authors would have been paid thousands of pounds each from Public Lending Right (PLR) payments - money earned by writers, illustrators and translators each time a book is borrowed. But not this year. Continue reading...
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