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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Hotel claimed Jerelle Jules was sent out-of-date and incorrect grooming policy banning ‘unusual hairstyles’A black job applicant who was told his hair was against the employee grooming policy of the Ritz has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

MP Bridget Archer said she had ‘much respect’ for the former shadow Indigenous Australians minister’s ‘courage and integrity’

Foreign secretary James Cleverly names new leader of UK intelligence agencyAnne Keast-Butler has been announced as the new director of GCHQ, becoming the first woman to lead the UK’s intelligence, cyber and security agency.Currently serving as the deputy director of MI5, she succeeds Sir Jeremy Fleming in a scheduled change at a time when the intelligence services are heavily focused on the security threat from Russia and China. Continue reading...

Non-dom tax status of Akshata Murty called into question in latest ad criticising Tories’ record

Accused becomes one of youngest children to be prosecuted for murder in Britain in about 30 yearsA 12-year-old boy will stand trial for murder, accused of killing the Sheffield social worker Marcia Grant by running over her with her own car.He becomes one of the youngest children to be prosecuted for murder in Britain in about 30 years and will stand trial in August or October. Continue reading...

Review launched into operations in Afghanistan as men and women told not to go to work at least until MayThe United Nations has launched a review of its operations in Afghanistan and asked all Afghan staff not to come to work at least until May after the Taliban barred its female staff from working.The UN said last week that the Taliban, who swept to power in 2021, had communicated that Afghan women would not be able to work for the global organisation. Taliban officials have not commented on the order. Continue reading...

Gallery’s decision follows investigation which claims white workers interfered in the making of artworks by black artists

This blog is now closed.

UN rights chief voices concern over sentencing of Ding Jiaxi and Xu ZhiyongThe UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, has said he is “very concerned” after China sentenced two prominent human rights lawyers to more than a decade each in jail.Xu Zhiyong and fellow campaigner Ding Jiaxi were convicted of subversion of state power after closed-door trials and sentenced to 14 and 12 years respectively. Continue reading...

Ultra-fast delivery pioneer will cease trading on Friday and lay off more than 400 staff

Figures suggest fewer misconduct allegations are being referred than under previously discredited regimePolice officers in England and Wales accused of violent and sexual misconduct are less likely to face disciplinary action under the revamped complaints system than the previous discredited regime, figures suggest.An investigation by the Guardian and BBC Radio 4’s File on 4 programme found that only 8% of the 22,000 allegations scrutinised by local forces under the new system were referred for possible disciplinary proceedings in 2020-21, whereas 10% of the 21,000 allegations investigated under the old regulations were referred in the same year. Continue reading...

‘Swap to stop’ scheme comes despite increasing alarm about rise in young people vapingMinisters are to urge 1 million smokers to swap cigarettes for vapes, despite increasing alarm about the rise in young people vaping.Under the new “swap to stop” scheme, vape starter kits will be offered to almost one in five of all smokers in England as part of the government’s “smoke free” drive. Continue reading...

More than 17,000 troops are involved in the Balikatan drills, which follow days of military exercises around Taiwan by ChinaThe United States and the Philippines have launched their largest combat exercises in decades in waters across the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, a move that is likely to inflame Beijing.The annual drills by the longtime treaty allies called Balikatan – Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder – will run up to 28 April and involve more than 17,600 military personnel. The drills will include live-fire exercises and a boat-sinking rocket assault. Continue reading...

China’s president, Xi Jinping, is often the subject of internet memes that compare him to the children’s characterTaiwanese are rushing to buy patches, popularised by air force pilots, that depict a Formosan black bear punching Winnie-the-Pooh – representing China’s president Xi Jinping – as a defiant symbol of the island’s resistance to Chinese war games.China began three days of military drills around Taiwan on Saturday, a day after the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, returned from a brief visit to the United States, where she met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy despite Beijing’s warnings. Continue reading...