Financial institutions have cut ties with hedge fund set up by Brexiter and Conservative party donorOdey Asset Management is closing down, five months after allegations of sexual misconduct made by junior female members of staff against its founder Crispin Odey threw the hedge fund into turmoil.The business said on its website: Odey Asset Management [OAM], including Brook Asset Management and Odey Wealth, will be closing. Fund managers and funds have moved to new asset managers." Continue reading...
Democracy activist hasn't enjoyed any direct sunlight for over four years' and his children fear their father risks being left to die in a Chinese prison
Unknown number of people held in building in Warabi after suspected shooting at nearby hospitalA suspected gunman has taken an unknown number of people hostage in a post office in Japan after an apparent shooting in a nearby hospital.The city's authorities said: At approximately 2.15pm today (05.15 GMT), a person has taken hostages and holed up at a post office in Chuo 5-chome area of Warabi city ... The perpetrator is possessing what appears to be a gun. Continue reading...
Some of the 200 British or dual nationals in strip tell of life amid Israel's attack and the communication blackoutWhen Musheir El-Farra climbs into bed in Gaza each night, he cannot get the sounds of people screaming out of his head.Since last week, the British civil engineer has been plagued by memories of an Israeli bomb attack on a residential block in Khan Younis in which, he said, 16 of his relatives were killed. Continue reading...
by Serena Solomon in Auckland with agencies on (#6G06B)
New Zealand Justice Evangelos Thomas criticised failures of safety audits given obvious risks' that led to 2019 fatal eruptionA New Zealand court has found the owner of White Island/Whakaari, the offshore volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people, guilty on one charge of breaching workplace safety laws.On Tuesday, Auckland district court ruled Whakaari Management Limited (WML), the holding company of landowners Andrew, James and Peter Buttle, had not met its obligations to visitors to the volcano. Continue reading...
More than 70 flood warnings issued across the UK with the Met Office warning of rainfall of up to 100mm in some areasFlooding has been reported in parts of Northern Ireland ahead of the arrival of Storm Ciaran on Wednesday, as police urged people against travelling and officials issued weather warnings for areas across the UK.The Met Office has issued an amber warning for rain, the second highest level, for much of the south-eastern part of Northern Ireland. The warning covers Counties Antrim, Down and Armagh. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#6FZTH)
Parents say government's planned review has too short a timeframe and will not be sufficiently rigorousBereaved parents whose children have killed themselves while at university have criticised thegovernment's planned review of student suicides in England, describing it as a slap in the face" for families.The higher education minister, Robert Halfon, announced the national review earlier this year amid mounting concern over student mental health and a series of suicides that attracted widespread coverage in the media.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#6FZQ3)
Identity of firearms officer NX121, which had been protected by a court order, can be revealed next yearThe Metropolitan police officer charged with murder after Chris Kaba was shot dead can be named by the media, a judge has ruled.The identity of the firearms officer known only as NX121 had been protected by a court order. Continue reading...
Concerns raised over possible misclassification of children as adults as Home Office's new hotel maximisation' policy beginsChild asylum seekers are being forced to share hotel rooms with adults, as the Home Office's new hotel maximisation" programme begins doubling the capacity of refugee hotels by putting two strangers in roomsspaces that were previously single occupancy, a charity has warned.The Refugee Council has warned that frequent misclassification of child refugees as adults at the UK border is exposing them to serious safeguarding risks, with the dangers heightened by the government's new drive to reduce the cost of hotels by introducing a room-sharing policy. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: The home of tennis wants to get bigger so it can compete with other grand slam championships in New York and Paris Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Israel has extended its ground offensive in Gaza, and ordered the evacuation of a key hospital in Gaza City where 14,000 people are said to be sheltering. You can catch up with the latest developments on our liveblog here.Today we're taking you to Wimbledon, where the bosses of the tennis championships have been fighting a decades-long battle to take control of the Capability Brown-designed park next door to add 39 more courts to the tournament.Israel-Gaza | Hamas confirmed it was engaged in heavy fighting" with Israeli troops inside northern Gaza, as besieged residents were again warned by Israel to flee southward. The fierce fighting came as nearly three dozen aid trucks entered Gaza through the territory's southern border on Sunday.Matthew Perry | Hollywood stars have hailed the comedic genius" of Friends star Matthew Perry after the actor's death at 54. Justin Trudeau and Adele were among public figures to speak fondly of actor best known as Chandler Bing in Friends.Asylum | A 23-year-old Nigerian man has made an attempt on his own life in an Essex hotel car park after hearing he was due to be transferred on to the Bibby Stockholm barge, according to a local charity.Housing crisis | Local leaders have warned that England's housing crisis will push many local authorities into bankruptcy. The worst-hit councils are now spending millions of pounds a year to try to cope with an unprecedented and rapid explosion in homelessness caused by rising rents and a shrinking supply of affordable properties.Guantanamo Bay | The UK's intelligence agencies are facing a fresh judicial investigation into allegations British spies were complicit in the CIA's post-9/11 secret torture and rendition programme. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6FZ8J)
Exclusive: Standard of care, exorbitant fees and difficulty getting treatment among 1,982 issues reported in 2022-23Record numbers of patients are complaining to the NHS Ombudsman about poor care, exorbitant fees and difficulty getting treatment from NHS dental services in England.Mistakes by dentists mean some patients are being left in agony - in some cases unable to eat - while others are being landed with huge bills for work on their teeth. Continue reading...
by Daniel Hurst Foreign affairs and defence correspon on (#6FZ7M)
Australian foreign minister's call comes as six former prime ministers issue joint statement expressing solidarity with Jewish and Palestinian communities
Legislation is first step' before phasing out other products, says government, after similar moves in England and ScotlandSeveral single-use plastic products have been banned from being sold across Wales as new legislation comes into force.The Welsh government said the ban would reduce the flow of plastic pollution into the environment by prohibiting the supply of certain products. Continue reading...
Budgets could be overwhelmed as evictions and rising mortgage rates cause homelessness to surgeEngland's housing crisis will push many local authorities into bankruptcy as the increasing cost of emergency accommodation for thousands of homeless families threatens to overwhelm council budgets, leaders have warned.The worst-hit councils are now spending millions of pounds a year - in some cases between a fifth and half of their total available financial resources - to try to cope with an unprecedented and rapid explosion in homelessness caused by rising rents and a shrinking supply of affordable properties. Continue reading...
by Jason Burke International security correspondent on (#6FZ77)
Remarks by rights chief come as civil society groups warn of a rise in antisemitism amid Israel-Hamas warAntisemitism is a deeply ingrained racism in European society" that poses an existential threat to the continent's Jewish community and the fundamental aims of the European Union, an EU official has warned.Michael O'Flaherty, the director of the bloc's agency for fundamental rights, said it was worrying that only a third of the general population considered antisemitism a big problem, when there was no doubt dramatic moments in our societies trigger antisemitic responses". Continue reading...
by Patrick Butler Social policy editor on (#6FZ76)
High house prices, soaring rents and benefit cuts are forcing more and more to seek help from local authoritiesBankruptcy, Ernest Hemingway once wrote, comes gradually, then suddenly. For years, England's dysfunctional housing market was a distant concern for most district councils in the relatively affluent home counties; now, unexpectedly, it is in their faces, out of control and threatening to overwhelm them.Hastings, a coastal district in East Sussex, has warned it could become effectively insolvent this year as the housing crisis rips through. High house prices, soaring rents, housing benefit cuts, a 120% year-on-year rise in evictions, shortages of social housing and a shrinking, volatile, local private rented sector have created a perfect storm. Continue reading...
The opposition is demanding the resignation of prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the transfer of power to a non-partisan caretaker governmentAuthorities in Bangladesh have arrested a key opposition figure from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and sent him to prison after a nationwide strike led to violent clashes with security forces.Media reports said at least three civilians died in the violence, which included an arson attack in the nation's capital, Dhaka, on Sunday. Dozens of others were injured during the strike. Continue reading...
London and England's southern and eastern regions worst affected as higher mortgage rates sap demandouse prices have fallen in every local property market in the south and east of England this year, as higher mortgage rates have weakened demand for new homes, figures have shown.About 80% of markets in the UK registered house price falls over 2023 compared with last year, the property portal Zoopla found. Continue reading...
Institute for Government says crumbling' services are far worse than when Tories took power in 2010Britain's public services are stuck in a doom loop" of recurring crises as a result of ministers' short-term policymaking, a thinktank has warned.Public services are performing worse than before the pandemic and much worse than when the Conservatives came to power in 2010, according to the Institute for Government (IfG) annual report on the state of public services. Continue reading...
by Julian Borger and Sufian Taha in Ramallah on (#6FZ18)
Exclusive: Mohammad Shtayyeh calls for a comprehensive, peaceful vision' and ceasefire in GazaThe Palestinian Authority will not return to governing Gaza after the Israel-Hamas conflict without a comprehensive agreement that includes the West Bank in a Palestinian state, the authority's prime minister has said.Israeli civilian and military officials have said their plan for the end of the Gaza war is to have some form of transitional authority rule the territory, perhaps involving Arab states, leading to the restoration of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which was ousted from Gaza in a 2007 Hamas coup. Continue reading...
Guerrero state governor says officials assessing damage after unprecedented 165mph storm hit Mexico's Pacific coastThe death toll from a devastating hurricane that hit the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco last week has risen to 43, the governor of Guerrero state has said.Evelyn Salgado added that electricity had been restored to 58% of Acapulco and that officials had visited 10,000 families there and the nearby city of Coyuca de Benitez for a census to evaluate damages. Continue reading...
Met police say passenger believed to be in his 20s died at scene of incident near Cranford Park interchangeA man has died and three other people were hurt when a car overturned on the M4 motorway.The motorway was closed in both directions on Sunday as police dealt with the incident that happened on the eastbound carriageway near the Cranford Park interchange, west London, at 11.39am. Continue reading...
by Donna Ferguson (now) and Mattha Busby (earlier) on (#6FYPJ)
Claims drone strike or debris from downed drone has caused fire in oil refinery near Black Sea in RussiaOnce a week, Ukrainian parents bring their children to a community centre in Kyiv for canine therapy.Beijing Xiangshan Forum, China's biggest annual show of military diplomacy, started on Sunday, but the name of Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu, initially listed in the forum's agenda as the first guest speaker at tomorrow's opening ceremony, was not on the agenda. Continue reading...
Dr Martyn Pitman claimed retaliatory victimisation after raising morale concerns but tribunal says his manner cost him his jobA doctor has said raising whistleblowing concerns about maternity care at his hospital cost me very dearly" after losing his employment tribunal.Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Martyn Pitman was dismissed earlier this year from his job at the Royal Hampshire county hospital (RHCH) in Winchester, where he had worked for 20 years. Continue reading...
Liam Conlon, son of Keir Starmer's new chief of staff, is standing for the party in Beckenham and Penge in south LondonThe son of Keir Starmer's new chief of staff has announced his plans to try to become the Labour MP for a winnable seat.Liam Conlon, Sue Gray's son, is running in one of south London's newest constituencies, Beckenham and Penge, created after the Boundary Commission review and thought to be a comfortable Labour win. Continue reading...
by Agence France-Presse in Washington DC on (#6FYY8)
Armita Geravand had been in a coma after alleged incident with Iran's morality police' on Tehran metroThe United States has spoken of its deep sadness over the death of a young Iranian girl, Armita Garawand, who had been in a coma after a controversial incident on Tehran's metro.I am deeply saddened to learn that Amita Geravand has died after being beaten by Iran's morality police for not wearing a hijab in public," US National Security advisor, Jake Sullivan, said on X. Iran's state-sponsored violence against its own people is appalling and underscores the fragility of the regime." Continue reading...
Man arrested and eight others taken to hospital after incident in Aldwych in early hours of Sunday morningPedestrians in the West End of London were taken to hospital after a car crashed into a bus stop in the early hours of Sunday morning, with a man in his 20s arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving.Paramedics said that eight of the pedestrians had been taken to hospital - with three people in major trauma centres - after a Range Rover careered off the road in Aldwych, near the Indian High Commission, after a night of Halloween festivities in the capital. Continue reading...