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...

Lender says ‘no guarantee’ paying ransom would result in destruction of data and doing so ‘would only encourage further extortion attempts’

Warning comes on eve of England’s 61,000 junior doctors beginning four-day actionJunior doctors may keep striking for another year in their bitter pay dispute with the government, despite NHS leaders’ growing alarm about how the industrial action is disrupting patient care.Trainee medics in England could even hold a week-long stoppage to escalate their campaign of industrial action to secure a 35% pay rise from the health secretary, Steve Barclay. Continue reading...

Party will continue to single out PM, after campaign ad last week that led to accusations of ‘dog-whistle’ politicsKeir Starmer will shift his aim this week on to Rishi Sunak’s role in presiding over the cost of living crisis after days of anger over Labour’s crime campaign.The party will continue to single out the prime minister in the minds of voters, claiming “his fingerprints are all over their struggling household budgets”, as part of an attempt to hold Sunak – still seen by some as a change of the Tory old guard – personally accountable for 13 years of Conservative failures. Continue reading...

Callers wait so long that nearly one in five hang up, finds Liberal Democrat commissioned analysisPatients contacting NHS 111 in England are having to wait so long for medical help that they are abandoning millions of calls, with 3.6m ditched in the past 12 months, official figures reveal.The national helpline service is supposed to make it quicker and easier for patients to get the right advice or treatment they need, either for their physical or mental health. It is billed as being open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Continue reading...

Russian opposition figure facing up to 25 years in jail tells Moscow court he stands by all of his political statementsRussian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, who faces up to a quarter of a century in jail on treason charges, has told a Moscow court that he stood by all of his political statements and said his prosecution resembled one of Joseph Stalin’s show trials.Kara-Murza, 41, who holds Russian and British passports, has denied several charges including treason and spreading false information about the Russian army. Prosecutors have requested a 25-year prison sentence. Continue reading...

Messaging on law and order has racist undertones, say critics, and could scupper the party’s efforts to appear to offer a ‘fresh start’The controversy surrounding Labour’s attack advert suggesting Rishi Sunak does not support jailing child abusers dominated the headlines over the Easter break, drawing furious criticism from both the left of the party and the Conservatives.Labour officials have insisted that the shock tactic was helping their message to cut through, putting the Tories’ poor record on crime under the spotlight. But that was not the experience of candidates doing canvassing ahead of the local elections. Continue reading...

Force rebuffs claim home secretary said they should focus on ‘catching criminals’ after items taken from White Hart Inn in GraysEssex police have denied being rebuked by Suella Braverman for seizing a collection of golliwog dolls that were on display in a pub.Officers from the force took several dolls from the White Hart Inn in Grays, Essex, last week as part of an investigation into an alleged hate crime reported in February. Continue reading...

David Crouch to raise daughter of murdered Caroline Crouch in the Philippines, where her grandmother has relocatedAlmost two years after the 19-year-old British student, Caroline Crouch, was murdered by her husband as she lay asleep in the couple’s Athens maisonette, her father says he will concentrate on raising his granddaughter, “who is now without” either parent.Speaking publicly for what he said would be the last time, David Crouch, 79, told the Guardian he would leave Greece to look after Caroline’s daughter, Lydia, who is almost three, in the Philippines, “far away” from her mother’s self-confessed killer. Continue reading...

‘Two large bags of dry paint’ were seized from the campaigners, who jumped over a barrier around the famous dinosaur castTwo Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested after jumping over a barrier surrounding the Dippy the Diplodocus exhibit in Coventry.Video footage captured the campaigners, named by the environmental group as Daniel Knorr, 21, and Victoria Lindsell, 67, jumping over the fencing before being grabbed by staff at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum at around 10am on Monday. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak had earlier urge return to power-sharing government in Northern Ireland; US president Joe Biden arrives on TuesdayOn the tone of the Labour adverts, the former Labour minister and must-read political diarist Chris Mullin has shared his thoughts and a summary of Labour members and activists who have urged the party to take the “higher ground”.Labour is to launch more adverts attacking Rishi Sunak by blaming him for “crashing the economy”, despite criticism from within the party. Continue reading...

After Labour’s targeting of Rishi Sunak, we look back on past ads, some of which have swung electionsThe tradition of the modern political attack ad is often traced back to Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 US presidential campaign, which sought to portray his Republican opponent, Barry Goldwater, as an ill-disciplined warmonger likely to plunge the world into a nuclear apocalypse.The so-called “Daisy” advert, in which a little girl counted as she plucked petals from a flower before a massive nuclear blast filled the screen, delivered a visceral message two months before Johnson won. Continue reading...

Teenager killed and two others wounded during Israeli arrest operation amid escalating tensionsIsraeli troops have fatally shot a 15-year-old Palestinian boy and wounded two other people during an arrest operation in a West Bank refugee camp, as tensions continued to escalate in the occupied territories.Mohammed Balhan was shot in the head, chest and abdomen in the Aqabat Jabr camp near Jericho, according to local Palestinian official Hani Obeidat, who called it an “unjustifiable crime”. A video showed him lying dead on a stretcher in the hospital, his head bandaged and his mother wailing as she leaned over his body. Continue reading...