Opposition leader says party would change current system, in which PM has final say on who gets jobKeir Starmer has said Labour would make sure the BBC chair is independently appointed after Richard Sharp’s resignation following his failure to declare that he had helped Boris Johnson get a loan.The Labour leader suggested the party would reform the system, in which the prime minister currently has the final say on who gets the job. Continue reading...
Overhaul of constitution would include allowing Shavkat Mirziyoyev to stay in powerPolls have closed across Uzbekistan, ending a day of voting in the central Asian nation in a constitutional referendum that could allow President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to remain in power until 2040.Voting stations closed at 8pm (3pm GMT), after being open for 12 hours. The Election Commission has to announce the result within 10 days. Continue reading...
Mark Harper and Labour MP back ‘homage of the people’, but republicans say it ‘holds people in contempt’A cabinet minister has said he “hopes people do” swear the proposed oath to the king on the day of his coronation, as republicans described it as “an offensive and tone-deaf gesture that holds the people in contempt”.The transport secretary, Mark Harper, said he would be swearing the oath, to be known as a “homage of the people” and pointed out that MPs already “pledge allegiance to his majesty” on taking their seats. Continue reading...
FCDO asks any British nationals hoping to leave war-torn country to reach airport in Port Sudan by noon local time on MondayThe government has announced plans to carry out an additional evacuation flight from Sudan on Monday, after previously suggesting that efforts to bring British nationals out of the war-torn country had concluded.In a statement on Sunday, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) urged any UK nationals still hoping to leave Sudan to make their way to the airport in Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast, by noon local time (11am BST) on 1 May. Continue reading...
by Zeinab Mohammed Salih in Khartoum, and Ruth Michae on (#6BABC)
UN refugee agency ‘extremely concerned’ about effect on ‘fragile’ region, as evidence emerges of widespread destructionFighting has erupted in Sudan’s Darfur region – including the use of heavy weaponry, and attacks on civilians and essential healthcare infrastructure – escalating a crisis now in its third week that was sparked by two rival generals.Across the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, the sound of gunfire echoed through the streets throughout Sunday and airstrikes hit its twin city Omdurman. Continue reading...
Invoice for ex-PM’s time at Kent mansion when foreign secretary is thought to include sums for missing bathrobes and party businessLiz Truss is disputing part of a £12,000 bill sent to her by the Cabinet Office relating to her use of the grace-and-favour Chevening house while she was foreign secretary.The bill mostly covered hospitality but also included missing items, such as some bathrobes, and dates back to last summer when she was fighting the Conservative leadership campaign against Rishi Sunak. Continue reading...
Local man aged 24 arrested in Bodmin on multiple charges following knife attackA man has died and seven others were left injured after a stabbing near a nightclub in Cornwall.Police were called to Castle Canyke Road in the Victoria Square area in Bodmin at 3.15am on Sunday after reports of a person with a knife and multiple people with suspected stab wounds. Continue reading...
Investment managers join call for companies to pay real living wage across entire supply chainsMany of Britain’s largest employers must do more to increase pay for workers struggling with the cost of living crisis or face votes against pay increases for executives, investment managers have warned.Peter Hugh Smith, the chief executive of CCLA, an investment manager for the pensions of charities and church organisations, said many employers were failing “to do the right thing” and meet the “basic standard” of paying workers a living wage. Continue reading...
by Caroline Kimeu in Shakahola forest and Malindi tow on (#6BA7H)
More than 100 bodies have been unearthed since church leader was arrested on suspicion of luring his followers to their deathsTwo years ago, Issa Ali’s mother took all her belongings and left her family to join followers of the charismatic church leader Paul Mackenzie Nthenge in the Shakahola forest in south-east Kenya.“He told them that’s where Jesus’ second coming will happen,” the 16-year-old said. Continue reading...
Tax Justice Network says monarch can lead push to revamp laws allowing ‘industrial scale avoidance’ totalling £152bn a yearKing Charles has been urged to call for the breakup of the “UK’s network of satellite tax havens” through which an estimated £152bn worth of tax is avoided every year, according to campaigners.Tax Justice Network, a coalition of researchers and activists campaigning against tax avoidance, are today calling on King Charles to use his reign as monarch to call for a revamp of laws that allow industrial scale tax avoidance in the UK, the crown dependencies and the British overseas territories. Continue reading...
Opposition leader says Tory government has ‘unforgivable’ record as he defends claim PM does not want to see child abusers jailedKeir Starmer has personally stood by Labour’s attack ad that accused Rishi Sunak of not wanting to see child abusers jailed, and denied it was playing on racist tropes about grooming gangs.The Labour leader said he believed it was accurate to say Sunak did not believe “adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison”, based on the “unforgivable” record of the Conservative government. Continue reading...
by Mark Brown North of England correspondent on (#6BA43)
Sightseers at Charles Jencks’s giant sculpture Northumberlandia are being asked to stick to its pathsEven with a broken ankle, eight-year-old Jack Bell can’t resist barrelling up the steep incline of the naked goddess’s left breast.Neither can his two friends, and the person in charge, Jack’s mother, Laura Bell, admits this is a regular occurrence and, with a child’s natural urge to climb, there’s not much she can do about it. Continue reading...
American visitors to the UK have risen sharply in number – and it may be because they are choosing to mix business with leisureIt’s the travel trend that never quite took off. Ever since American trader Ben Hockett made millions during the 2008 global financial crisis by trading online from an Exmouth pub, travel marketers have tried to sell the concept of mixing holidays with work.But now blended travel – or “bleisure”, as it was known in the 00s heyday of portmanteau neologisms – seems to be having a moment. Continue reading...
Keir Starmer needs to convert poll leads to council clean sweeps to show his party is on the road back to powerMuch of England goes to the polls on Thursday in local elections that will set the political tone going into the summer. The balance of power ought to be clear: Labour holds double digit poll leads, and is favoured on every issue by voters who report exasperation with the government and eagerness for change. Yet the mood in Westminster is more uncertain – Labour fears, and the Conservatives hope, that the tide can still turn before the general election arrives.The task for Rishi Sunak in his first electoral test is clear. The tide is against his party, so he needs to set the bar low and hope disaster is at least averted. It does not help that his party are more exposed than usual with this year’s contests mainly on blue-leaning territory. Yet the Conservatives also have a weaker than usual starting position, thanks to the electoral wipeout they suffered in 2019, when nearly all of the seats being contested were last fought. The 2019 contest took place in the dog days of the May government, with Nigel Farage’s Brexit party surging in the polls. It was a disaster for the Tories, with more than 1,300 seats lost, but meltdown then means less exposure now. The Conservatives are defending fewer vulnerable seats and may even recover ground in some quarters. Every defence against the tide and unexpected gain will be seized upon as a sign of resilience. Continue reading...
Coastguard agency says fire was extinguished and all 60 passengers were evacuated safe and wellPassengers on a ferry to Orkney had to be evacuated and taken ashore by lifeboat after the vessel ran aground in what was described as “a major incident”.All 60 passengers, including three children and a baby, were said to be safe and well after the incident in Scapa Flow on Saturday evening. Continue reading...
President says island is only receiving two-thirds of the petrol it needs as queues outside gas stations stretch milesThere was a time when International Workers’ Day was marked in Cuba by parades involving millions of people marching through Havana’s Revolution Square. Many came out of conviction, some because they were pressured, others to enjoy the party.This Monday, however, the square will be empty, after the Cuban Communist party cancelled this year’s celebrations due to gasoline shortages that are crippling the island’s economy. Continue reading...
Consumers are being ‘misled’ into believing dairy cattle graze in fields, says animal rights campaignSome of the UK’s biggest food firms are accused of misleading consumers after buying their milk from intensive industrial dairy units despite using images to promote their products that show cows grazing in green fields.Tens of thousands of dairy cattle in England are kept in hangar-style sheds with no or very limited access to pasture. They will typically be milked three times daily, often on large electronic rotating milk parlours, producing up to 32 litres of milk each day. Continue reading...
Labour leader ‘could not believe what he was reading’ when he saw letter saying Jewish, Irish and Traveller people not subject to racismKeir Starmer says he could not believe what he was reading when he first saw the letter that Diane Abbott wrote to the Observer suggesting that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people were not subject to racism for “all of their lives”.Abbott, who was Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow home secretary, wrote that although people “with points of difference” suffer prejudice, they had not suffered the same racism as black people. Continue reading...
Government to extend powers to target fakes and fraudstersCold calls offering financial products will be banned as part of a government crackdown on fraud following evidence that millions of people are being targeted each week.Once the ban is in force, anyone being offered phoney cryptocurrency schemes or fraudulent insurance can assume they are a scam. Continue reading...
The symbol of antisocial behaviour is back in the limelight as one London borough outlaws itIt’s not hard to spot a hoodie in Romford in east London – hooded tops have become almost as ubiquitous as jeans around the UK. So a new rule banning anyone from putting up their hoods in the town centre’s shopping areas has not gone down well with some.“It’s the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” says Mohamed Amraoui, a 24-year-old prison officer. Continue reading...
Shadow secretary for culture calls for root and branch review of top appointmentsMinisters are facing fresh demands to bolster the independence of the process to find the next BBC chair after claims that “cronyism and sleaze” have damaged the role and the corporation’s reputation.The government has been pressed to depoliticise the appointment of the job after the resignation of Richard Sharp, a Tory donor. He quit after an independent investigation found he had failed to reveal critical information about his role in facilitating a loan for then prime minister Boris Johnson when applying for the job. Continue reading...
Staff warn vulnerable children may be harmed as they struggle to find placements after 28 homes given deadline to shut by chainOne of the UK’s largest for-profit care chains has been accused of failing dozens of vulnerable children by shutting 28 residential homes, with staff warning they are struggling to find placements for all the children.Outcomes First Group, which is owned by private equity firm Stirling Square, is planning to close a string of children’s homes across the Midlands and southern England by 5 May. The homes are understood to accommodate more than 60 children, placed in the care of the private group by councils including Bristol, Cheshire and Enfield in London. Continue reading...
Abdalla Hamdok, who resigned in January last year, says conflict could spiral into bigger crisis than Syria, Yemen or LibyaSudan’s former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok has warned that the conflict in the turbulent African nation could deteriorate to one of the world’s worst civil wars if it is not stopped early.More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on 15 April between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his number two Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commonly known as Hemedti, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Continue reading...
Sarra Eljak and Mustafa Abbas missed the last flight as 220km trip to airbase was too dangerous for their childrenA couple who both work for the NHS missed the last UK evacuation flight out of Sudan on Saturday, believing the journey to be “too dangerous”.The doctors must now find an alternative means of fleeing the war-torn country. Continue reading...
by Toby Helm, Politcal Editor, and Michael Savage, Po on (#6B9SS)
Leader pledges a radical, reforming Labour government with aid to first-time buyers and a revamp of tuition fees among the party’s targets• Read more: ‘I want Labour to be the party of home ownership,’ says StarmerKeir Starmer today pledges to lead a radical, reforming Labour government that is bolder than Tony Blair’s on public service reform, as he announces plans to accelerate housing building and get more young people on to the property ladder.In an interview with the Observer before Thursday’s local elections, the Labour leader insists he will more than match Blair for radical ideas on overhauling public services including the NHS. “This will be a bold and reforming Labour government bringing about real change that I hope will be felt through the generations,” Starmer said. Continue reading...
With local polls on Thursday, the Labour leader must convince voters his party can fix the Tories’ mistakes – and make bold, eye-catching pledges• Read more: ‘I’ll be bolder than Blair on public service reform,’ says StarmerKeir Starmer is being shown around the Royal Crown Derby factory in the east Midlands city, and the reasons for choosing the venue are clear. We are days away from crucial local elections on Thursday and the coronation of King Charles III will take place two days later.The visit has been carefully choreographed to convey messages about respect for tradition, and how Labour has changed. A big party media team is up from London and their attention to detail is impressive – reminiscent of New Labour before the 1997 general election. Continue reading...
by Harriet Sherwood and Michael Savage on (#6B9SV)
British subjects asked to form a ‘chorus of a million voices’ and make oath of loyalty while watching serviceMembers of the public watching the coronation on television, online and in parks and pubs will be invited to swear aloud their allegiance to the monarch in a “chorus of millions of voices” to be known as the Homage of the People.People around the UK and abroad will be invited to say the words “I swear that I will pay true allegiance to your majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God”, in a declaration that replaces the traditional homage of peers. Continue reading...
by Zeinab Mohammed Salih in Khartoum, Ruth Michaelson on (#6B9P8)
Nearly 1,900 have been evacuated, says UK government, but final flight has yet to leave KhartoumBritons are feared to have been stranded in Sudan following reports that the country’s armed forces had prevented a number of people from reaching the last rescue flights out of the war-torn country on Saturday.On Saturday night, it was announced that 1,888 people on 21 flights have been evacuated from Sudan – the vast majority of them British nationals and their dependents – but the last flight was yet to leave despite being scheduled to depart at 6pm. Continue reading...
Opinium poll shows slump in personal ratings of Rishi Sunak, with 26% approving of his performance and 44% disapprovingLabour’s lead over the Conservatives stands at a commanding 18 points, according to the last Opinium poll for the Observer before a huge set of local elections.With more than 8,000 council seats across 230 authorities in England up for election on Thursday, the Tories had been hoping that polls would tighten as they attempt to avoid heavy losses in both the red wall of old Labour seats and the blue all – south-eastern seats where, traditionally, they have been strong. Continue reading...
Warm weather expected to continue over bank holiday weekend, and sunny day expected for King’s coronationEngland, Wales and Northern Ireland celebrated the hottest day of the year so far on Saturday, and temperatures were expected to rise further over the bank holiday weekend. The Met Office recorded a high of 20.2C in Pershore, Worcestershire.In Northern Ireland, temperatures peaked at 20C at Castle Derg, while in Wales, 19.2C was recorded in Llysdinam. Continue reading...
by Aaron Walawalkar, Eleanor Rose and Mark Townsend on (#6B9N0)
Investigation reveals that at least 440 people appear to have been abandoned in the weeks before the worst Channel disaster in 30 years• Read more: ‘Horror beyond words’: how Channel distress calls were ‘ignored’Hundreds of vulnerable migrants were abandoned to their fates after the UK coastguard “effectively ignored” reports of small boats in distress during the days leading up to the worst Channel disaster in 30 years when at least 27 people died, an Observer investigation suggests.
People fleeing fighting in Khartoum left waiting for days at sparsely staffed crossing after costly and dangerous journeysThousands of people have fled fierce street battles in central Khartoum for Sudan’s borders, waiting for days in the open air to enter Egypt or walking hundreds of miles to cross into South Sudan.Rana Ameen, a 23-year-old engineering student, said she and five members of her family had paid the equivalent of £475 per person to travel to the border crossing with Egypt, almost 600 miles (1,000km) away. Continue reading...
Campaigners commemorate mammal that drew large crowds in Norwegian capital last summer before being put downA bronze sculpture has been unveiled in Norway of the walrus nicknamed Freya, who gained global attention last summer after basking in the Oslo fjord until officials euthanised her.The lifesize sculpture depicts Freya lying on her side on the rocky shore of Oslo’s Kongen marina, not far from where the real 600kg mammal last summer drew large crowds as she chased ducks and swans, and rested on boats that struggled to support her bulk. Continue reading...
Advice comes despite charity’s warning that social media figure is fuelling shocking growth of misogyny in schoolsTeachers are being advised by the government not to discuss social media influencer Andrew Tate, the “king of toxic masculinity”, with pupils – despite schools reporting a rising tide of misogyny and sexual harassment from boys as young as nine.One small charity, Diversify, based in Rotherham, which runs school workshops about inclusion, receives about 25 calls a week from primary and secondary schools across England who want help dealing with sexual harassment and “shocking misogynistic incidents”. Many cite the influence of Tate, who is under house arrest in Romania for suspected human trafficking and organised crime. Tate’s TikTok videos tell boys that a woman belongs to her boyfriend; girls who don’t stay at home are “hoes”; and rape victims must “bear responsibility” for their attacks. Continue reading...
Some women are turning to escort work to meet basic housing costs, charities warnWomen are increasingly being forced to engage in “survival sex” because of the cost of living crisis amid worsening conditions for Britain’s most vulnerable.Charities warn rising costs paired with years of underfunding mean women, including those with trauma and mental health issues, are having to turn to sex in exchange for housing or to meet other basic needs. Continue reading...
Longtime associate Peter Hawkings announced as successor after sale of brand last November to Estée LauderThe American fashion designer Tom Ford is retiring from the eponymous brand he co-founded in 2005, after its sale to Estée Lauder last November.Ford’s longtime associate Peter Hawkings will succeed him as creative director, while Guillaume Jesel becomes chief executive and president, taking over from Domenico de Sole, the brand’s other co-founder. Continue reading...
South Cambridgeshire council plans further 12 months of scheme plus pilot for refuse workersThe first UK council to experiment with a four-day working week is expected to extend the trial after analysis showed it was “overwhelmingly positive” for staff health and wellbeing without denting performance.About 450 mainly desk-based employees of the Liberal Democrat-led South Cambridgeshire council embarked on the three-month pilot in January. They could choose to take Monday or Friday off and were expected to work more productively in the remaining four days. Their pay was not affected. Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent on (#6B981)
Chair says small changes could make big difference to cultural and educational interests on both sides of ChannelAn influential House of Lords committee is urging the government to start working with EU capitals to remove Brexit barriers that block musicians, young people and professionals working easily in Europe.After six months of research and evidence from 40 witnesses the European affairs committee says it has identified 72 areas where small changes could make a huge difference in areas of cultural and educational interests on both sides of the Channel. Continue reading...
The trio attended Bruce Springsteen’s concert and made a last-minute dinner reservation at the Palace Hotel’s Amar restaurantStaff at a Barcelona restaurant were left amazed when a mysterious last-minute booking turned out to be for the former US president Barack Obama along with film director Steven Spielberg and singer Bruce Springsteen.After dining on Thursday evening at the Palace Hotel’s Amar restaurant, the trio posed for a photograph with employees. The picture was posted on Instagram by staff member Pol Perello and captioned: “Pleasures that this job brings you!!” Continue reading...
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