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Removal of ads on eBay and Etsy comes as new survey reveals more people now regard the toys as racistOnline retailers have removed listings for the sale of golliwog dolls amid new evidence that more people now regard the toys as racist.Collectors have continued to trade golliwog dolls on eBay and Etsy under the less offensive label “golly dolls”. On Wednesday afternoon, eBay listings included a “vintage golly soft toy” in with a starting bid of £14.99 and a “collectible plush golly by Lesser & Pavey” with an upper bid of £36. Continue reading...

Two Cyprus-based individuals alleged to have aided Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov among those targeted

Is the Duchess of Sussex staying home because of Archie’s birthday? Some say it points to a failure in negotiationsThe “Will they? Won’t they?” question of whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would attend has hung over King Charles’s coronation for months.Even after the couple was formally invited by email one month ago, reply there came none, with the deadline reportedly passing last week, and organisers said to be increasingly impatient. Continue reading...

Nearly 28,000 people arrived via sea route in first quarter, Frontex says, as UN decries deadliest period since 2017Three times as many people sought to reach the EU across the Mediterranean in the first three months of 2023 compared with a year before, the bloc’s border agency has said, as the UN’s migration arm decried the deadliest first quarter since 2017.Overall, the EU agency, Frontex, reported 54,000 irregular crossings into the bloc via all routes in the first quarter of the year, up a fifth from 2022. Continue reading...

Equity union welcomes increased funding while continuing to oppose move being imposed on ENO chorusThe English National Opera is set to receive £24m in public funding to support its move to a new base outside London while continuing to stage performances at the London Coliseum, its West End residence for more than 50 years.The opera company had its general public funding cut from £12.8m a year to zero in November as part of a drive by Arts Council England (ACE) to divert money outside the capital, reflecting the government’s levelling up agenda. Continue reading...

Gina Cass-Gottlieb calls for a prohibition on unfair trade practices to protect Australians from ‘manipulative practices’

Exclusive: New minister for housing is ‘very motivated to just push through’ with ‘desperately needed’ developments

Welfare debt reform means citizens are no longer ‘guilty until proven innocent’, says government services minister Bill Shorten

Former shadow minister says ‘what’s the point of doing this if it’s not going to shift the dial on the ground?’

People waiting for breast cancer result and heart surgery for their child question why government isn’t doing moreThe four-day strike by junior doctors across England will result in an estimated 350,000 appointments, including operations, being cancelled.The action follows years of pay erosion and deteriorating working conditions in the health service. According to the British Medical Association (BMA), junior doctors’ pay has fallen by 26% in real terms over the past 15 years. Continue reading...

Britain has been criticised for loading cost of accommodating refugees on to overseas aid budgetThe UK is spending proportionately more of its overseas aid budget on housing refugees than most other major aid donors, new figures from the OECD show.The figures, published on Wednesday, show that the only two countries spending more than the UK in absolute terms on housing refugees in their home countries are Germany and the US, but their total aid budgets are much larger than the UK. Continue reading...

Report says revenues raised from a gradually imposed fuel tax could be used to transition to low-carbon fisheriesThe EU lavished up to €15.7bn in fossil fuel subsidies on its fishing industry over the last decade, but campaigners are now calling for those funds to be redirected towards decarbonisation.Fuel tax exemptions for the fishing industry save so much money that they could pay the salaries of 20,000 fishers every year – or pay for 6,000 new energy reduction and decarbonisation projects, according to a new analysis. Continue reading...

Female bear that killed Andrea Papi close to mountain village last week attacked a father and son in 2020A bear that killed a 26-year-old man while he was jogging in the woods close to a mountain village in northern Italy has been identified as a 17-year-old female that had previously attacked two people.Andrea Papi, whose funeral was taking place on Wednesday, was the first person in Italy to be killed in a bear attack in modern times. Continue reading...

Footage appears to show Russian soldiers beheading Ukrainian prisoner of war, with another showing two beheaded servicemen

Kauan Okamoto says Kitagawa evaded justice because victims knew speaking out would end their careersJohnny Kitagawa, one of the most powerful figures in Japanese entertainment, sexually abused multiple boys but evaded justice because his victims knew speaking out would end their pop careers, according to a former protege who has decided to go public with his allegations.Kauan Okamoto, a Japanese-Brazilian singer-songwriter, said Kitagawa had sexually abused him at least 15 times over a four-year period from 2012, when the pop hopeful was aged 15. Continue reading...

Hotel claimed Jerelle Jules was sent out-of-date and incorrect grooming policy banning ‘unusual hairstyles’A black job applicant who was told his hair was against the employee grooming policy of the Ritz has said an apology he subsequently received from the hotel was “disingenuous and lacklustre”.Jerelle Jules, 30, from Hammersmith, west London, had made it to the final round of interviews for a position as a dining reservations supervisor at the exclusive London hotel, when he was sent the company’s employee grooming policy. Continue reading...

Information minister says ‘no basis’ to form interim government, amid claims of February elections being fixedThe Nigerian president-elect, Bola Tinubu, will take office on schedule on 29 May despite court challenges to the election result, the country’s information minister has said.On a visit to the UK to counter claims that the 25 February elections in Africa’s most populous country had been fixed, Lai Mohammed said there was “no basis” for an interim government to be formed until the court challenges could be resolved. Continue reading...

Tropical cyclone set to strengthen to category 4, bringing gusts of 250km/h when it makes landfall between Broome and Port Hedland

Publisher’s defence in case brought by News Corp co-chairman relies in part upon Dominion’s US suit against media giant

Production is at centre of collaboration with west London community affected by 2017 disasterThe National Theatre is to stage a verbatim play based on accounts by survivors and those bereaved by the Grenfell Tower fire almost six years ago as the centrepiece of a long-term collaborative project with the west London community.The play, Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors, is the work of the novelist and playwright Gillian Slovo, who spent five years gaining the confidence of community members and recording their accounts of the disaster in north Kensington which killed 72 people.Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors will be at the National Theatre from 13 July until 26 August. Continue reading...

Pearl is shorter than the standard television remote and about as long as a dollar bill, Guinness World Records saysWhat do you call a chihuahua dog that’s shorter than a popsicle stick and can fit in your pocket? The planet’s shortest living dog, Guinness World Records has announced.Pearl qualified for the title after a veterinarian at the Crystal Creek animal hospital in Orlando, Florida, where she was born, used a special dog-measuring wicket to determine she was just under 3.6in (9.14cm) tall and 5in (12.7cm) long. Those dimensions mean she is shorter than the standard television remote and about as long as a dollar bill, Guinness said in a statement. Continue reading...

Ostrich farm operator Michael Hastings says the two-week-old chicks need specialist care and will be in grave danger

Fantasy prequel to Game of Thrones, starring Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy, being filmed at UK studioProduction has started in the UK on the second series of the Game of Thrones spinoff the House of the Dragon, Warner Bros Discovery has announced.The fantasy drama series is based on author George RR Martin’s 2018 novel Fire & Blood, set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and includes Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy and Paddy Considine returning in their starring roles. Continue reading...

The bereaved, survivors and locals to receive damages relating to 2017 tragedy in west LondonMore than 900 bereaved family members, survivors and local people who were affected by the devastating Grenfell Tower fire have agreed on a settlement of their civil claims arising from the blaze.The fire at the residential tower block in west London killed 72 people in June 2017. Those who took part in the legal claim were represented by 14 firms that have stressed the agreement does not affect the long-running public inquiry, chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, which is looking into the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the blaze. It has yet to publish its report. Continue reading...

Documents appear to list number of western special forces personnel in Ukraine in February and MarchLeaked US military documents indicate that the UK has deployed as many as 50 special forces to Ukraine.The documents suggest that more than half of the western special forces personnel present in Ukraine between February and March this year may have been British. Continue reading...

Rivals have accused each other of initiating fire which killed seven peopleSouth Caucasus rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of initiating a fatal clash around the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region which killed seven soldiers.The two neighbours – both formerly part of the Soviet Union – have fought repeatedly over the last 35 years for control of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but home to a mainly ethnic Armenian population. Continue reading...

Sacked chief says he is ‘shocked’ and allegations have been ‘distorted’

Benice Ryley plans to display new dolls despite police investigation into an alleged hate crimeThe landlady of a pub whose collection of golliwog dolls was confiscated by police has assembled replacements, which she plans to display in defiance of a continuing investigation.Last week four Essex police officers and a trainee seized all the dolls on show in the White Hart Inn in Grays as part of an investigation into an alleged hate crime. Continue reading...

Investigation begins after the Guardian reports on complaints against senior figures at business organisationCity of London police have launched an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct at the Confederation of British Industry in the wake of the Guardian’s reports of complaints against senior figures at the organisation.Britain’s most prominent business group is battling to secure its future after more than a dozen women employed by the CBI claimed to have been victims of various forms of sexual misconduct, including an allegation of rape during a staff party. Continue reading...

Death of Freddie Scappaticci, who always denied he was mole, puts question mark over inquiry into his alleged crimesThe man said to be the British army’s most important agent inside the Provisional IRA has died, putting a question mark over the inquiry into his alleged crimes and the role played by security forces.Freddie Scappaticci, a west Belfast former bricklayer who was alleged to have been a top mole known as Stakeknife, died and was buried last week, it emerged on Tuesday. He was in his 70s. Continue reading...

‘Top secret’ document reportedly warned Kyiv faced shortfalls in troops and weaponry and suggested any gains would be modest

Global chief economist at Kroll will join the MPC as an external member on a three-year term from 5 JulyThe Treasury has appointed a financial markets expert to the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, replacing the interest rate-setting panel’s most dovish member as it responds to the worst banking crisis since 2008.Megan Greene, the global chief economist at Kroll, a US private investigations and financial advisory firm, will join the MPC as an external member on a three-year term starting on 5 July. Continue reading...

Durham crown court hears pair knew coins worth an estimated £766,000 came from Viking hoardTwo amateur history enthusiasts have been accused of trying to sell ancient coins from a Viking hoard to representatives of a mystery American buyer who were in fact undercover police officers.Roger Pilling, 74, of Rossendale, Lancashire, and Craig Best, 46, of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, are facing a jury trial at Durham crown court. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed.The RIA Novosti news agency in Russia reports on its Telegram channel that yesterday an unknown drone fell near Belgorod airport. Citing emergency services, it said “there were no casualties, the fence was slightly damaged”.The claims have not been independently verified. Continue reading...

Al-Aqsa mosque closed to non-Muslims and tourists after gunmen who shot at an army post killed by security forcesIsrael has halted visits by non-Muslims and tourists to a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site, as its military said soldiers had shot dead two Palestinian gunmen in the occupied West Bank, as a wave of unrest showed no sign of subsiding.Last week, an Israeli police raid at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, a tinder box in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, triggered rocket attacks from Gaza, south Lebanon and Syria that drew Israeli air and artillery strikes. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed.There’s some anonymous quotes in a New Statesman article [paywall] by Rachel Wearmouth on Labour’s advertising campaign.It gives an insight into both schools of thoughts on the adverts in the party, which have produced criticism and defiance within the party. Continue reading...

OHCHR express concern over fate of missing, unaccompanied children and breach of international lawUN experts have warned the UK government that its treatment of unaccompanied asylum seeker children is increasing the risk they could be trafficked and is breaching international law.A statement from the UN office of the high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR) expressed concern about the fate of the missing children and urged the UK government to do more to protect them. Continue reading...

Maria Giuseppe Scarpulla investigated after claim blood stains on statue of Virgin Mary come from a pigA woman nicknamed “the Saint” has mysteriously vanished from a small lakeside town near Rome where pilgrims have flocked for years to pray before a statue of the Virgin Mary that she claimed shed tears of blood.Maria Giuseppe Scarpulla, originally from Sicily, and her husband reportedly fled Trevignano Romano last week after a private investigator triggered a judicial investigation against her based on his alleged finding that the blood stains on the statue came from a pig. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Incorrect reporting of rental property income and expenses, and failure to declare capital gains are all in the spotlight

Family of Hasan Askree, 53, who was jailed for five years in 2020, say case is a grave miscarriage of justice

Government unlikely to support former Liberal frontbencher’s call to wind back the voice’s power to make representations to parliament and executive government

Rules for Britain’s intelligence services seem strict – but experts say they give too much room for manoeuvreAfter the 9/11 attacks on the United States and the UK intelligence agencies’ embroilment in scandals relating to the “war on terror”, the government published a policy on torture and intelligence, then known as the “consolidated guidance”. The aim was to show the standards to which the UK holds itself and its intelligence agencies.The current rules, “the principles”, which replaced the consolidated guidance, were drawn up after the 2018 apology for Britain’s role in the rendition of a Libyan dissident, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, and his wife, as well as two damning reports published by the parliamentary intelligence and security committee (ISC) in the same year, which found that MI5 and MI6 were involved in hundreds of torture cases and scores of rendition cases after 9/11. Continue reading...

Investigatory powers commissioner has identified non-compliance by intelligence agencies and MoD

Bosses say they are concerned because of a shortage of consultants available to cover for striking staffHospital bosses are worried about keeping patients safe overnight this week because of a shortage of consultants available to cover for striking junior doctors.When junior doctors in England staged their first strike in mid-March in their pay dispute with the government, their consultant colleagues covered for them for the three days involved. Continue reading...

Analysis suggests top-secret documents were first shared on closed gamer chatrooms hosted by DiscordA damaging batch of documents leaked from the Pentagon appears to have been initially shared on the video game chat platform Discord in an effort to win an argument about the war in Ukraine, according to open-source intelligence analysts.The bizarre provenance of the leak may seem unusual but it is far from the first time that a dispute between gamers has sparked an intelligence breach, with the overlapping communities causing problems for military and gaming platforms alike. Continue reading...

Comments come as Joe Biden prepares to fly in to give speech in Belfast to mark 25th anniversary of pact

Attack targeted opening ceremony for office set up by military’s opponents in Sagaing regionMyanmar’s military has killed dozens of people in airstrikes on an event organised by its domestic opponents, in what is feared to be one of the deadliest attacks since the junta seized power more than two years ago.Local independent media reported that the attack on Tuesday morning targeted a ceremony marking the opening of an office set up by the military’s opponents in the village of Pa Zi Gyi, in Sagaing region. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed.Junior doctors have had “absolutely nothing” from the health secretary regarding pay negotiations, the deputy chair of the BMA Council has said. Dr Emma Runswick told BBC Breakfast:We’re not the side with the power here to start negotiations – we’ve been asking for literally months.At any point, Steve Barclay could have entered negotiations with us.We are … working very hard to ensure those emergency services are kept safe, that is our priority, but I’ve also got no doubt that that cover is very fragile, so we are relying on consultants and other staff to cover the work that junior doctors usually do.Junior doctors are a significant part of our medical workforce – up to 40 to 50% of our medical staff – and so that cover is stretched thin in places, so it could be affected by sickness, by absence for other reasons. Continue reading...

Justice secretary acted unlawfully by preventing staff commenting on prisoners’ fitness for releaseDominic Raab could potentially face proceedings for contempt of court after high court judges ruled that he acted unlawfully by stopping prison and probation staff in England and Wales from recommending whether a prisoner was fit for release or transfer to open conditions.The justice secretary made the change to the Parole Board rules last year, claiming they would ensure there would be one “overarching” Ministry of Justice (MoJ) recommendation and avoid conflicting views. Continue reading...

UK business lobby group says conduct ‘fell short of that expected’ of its leader