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Unicef UK found they were over twice as far from target of 75% of pre-schoolers reaching good level of development'Children in the most deprived areas of England are less likely to achieve good developmental goals by the age of five, according to the aid agency Unicef UK, which has urged ministers to lift the two-child benefit cap.A report by the UN agency mapped every local authority area across England measuring its level of deprivation and a range of early childhood health and educational outcomes such as oral health, weight and A&E attendance. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Common Wealth report argues debt, pollution and underinvestment justify process known as special administrationMinisters could bring water companies into public ownership for minimal cost through a process designed to safeguard vital public services when the companies running them are failing, a thinktank report has argued.According to the report by Common Wealth, ministers could use a process known as special administration to take over a company like Thames Water and, rather than transfer it to another private company, keep it under permanent public ownership. Continue reading...

Organisers say move to Co-op Live as part of 50th anniversary plans honours city's legendary music heritageIt has been one of the high points of London's music calendar for almost half a century, but the Brit awards has confirmed it is ditching the capital and moving to Manchester next year.The celebration of British music will be held at the Co-op Live arena in 2026 and 2027 - its 50th anniversary - as part of plans to invigorate" the show, organisers said. Continue reading...

Chancellor still at negotiating table on Sunday as Home Office demands more cas

Tonight's winners have so far included Purpose and Buena Vista Social Club and actors Sarah Snook and Kara YoungBest performance by an actor in a leading role in a play

UK government declined to conduct Wales-specific impact assessment for plans, despite calls from first ministerDisability benefit cuts planned by the UK government will disproportionately impact the lives of people in Wales, campaigners have said.Research released by the data analytics company Policy in Practice last week estimated that 190,000 people - 6% of the population - could have their incomes slashed by up to 60% by the end of this parliament if eligibility for personal independence payments (Pip) is tightened as proposed in a March green paper. Continue reading...

Launch comes as charities call on UK government to ban destructive' fishing industry practice in protected areasStephen Fry and Theo James are to star in a darkly satirical short film about bottom trawling, a controversial industrial process that drags heavy fishing nets across the seabed, killing everything in its path.Bottom Line, launching on World Ocean Day (Sunday), is by the ocean conservation charity Blue Marine Foundation. Before the United Nations Ocean Conference, Blue Marine Foundation, Only One and Oceana UK are calling on the UK government to impose an immediate ban on bottom trawling in all UK marine-protected areas. Continue reading...

Mark Carney declined to answer if he believed Indian PM had a role in murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh NijjarCanada's prime minister, Mark Carney, has defended his decision to invite India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, to the upcoming G7 summit in Alberta, despite the conclusion of Canada's federal police's that the murder of a prominent Sikh activist in British Columbia was orchestrated by the highest levels" of the Indian government.Carney declined to answer reporters' questions over whether he believed Modi had a role in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar - a killing on Canadian soil that shattered relations between the two countries. Continue reading...

Video footage shows animal charging past cars, with the council later saying it was in police carePedestrians in Birmingham were left questioning whether the statue guarding the Bullring shopping centre had come to life when a bull was spotted running loose on the city's streets.Video footage shared online on Friday morning showed a large black bull with white horns charging around streets in east Birmingham. The bull could be seen galloping past cars on a road near a roundabout and running along pavements. Continue reading...

Former footballer will take title of sir and wife Victoria will become Lady BeckhamDavid Beckham will be awarded a knighthood next week as part of King Charles's birthday celebrations, according to reports.Beckham has been in line for a knighthood for more than a decade after playing more than 100 times for England and becoming well known for his charity work, much of which is focused on improving the lives of underprivileged children. Continue reading...

Dairy is the country's largest export industry, but recent figures from Stats NZ show domestic butter prices have surged 65% and people are getting desperateNew Zealanders are driving cross-country for hours in pursuit of cheap butter while some are ordering it from Australia or even churning their own cream, as the country battles sky-high dairy prices.Despite dairy being the country's largest export industry, recent figures from Stats NZ show domestic butter prices surged 65% in the year to March, pushing the average price for 500g to $7.42 (3.30) - that's up about $3 from this time last year. Continue reading...

Only 941 of 29,000 exploited migrant workers reported finding new employer through multimillion-pound schemeLess than 4% of exploited care workers have reported finding new work in a multimillion-pound government scheme designed to rematch them with new employers.Analysis by the Work Rights Centre found just 3.4% of the 28,000 exploited migrant care workers signposted to a service to find them new jobs had reported being rematched with a new employer, while 131,000 social care vacancies remain unfilled. Continue reading...

About 90% of UK shoppers rely on reviews and CMA says people can now have greater confidence in what they buyAmazon has promised to do a better job policing fake reviews and to crack down on sellers using them to boost product ratings after an investigation by the UK competition watchdog.Ending the scourge of fake reviews is a priority for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) due to the influence they have over consumers. Continue reading...

Fire services responded to 211 ebike and e-scooter fires in 2024 as London film brigade warns of growing riskA record number of fires involving ebikes and e-scooters were reported in the UK last year, prompting renewed warnings over the dangers posed by lithium-ion batteries.New government figures show that fire services responded to 211 such incidents in 2024 - a slight increase from 207 in 2023, but a dramatic rise from just two recorded in 2017. Continue reading...

Alain Berset acknowledged growing criticism of the 75-year-old treaty, but said any changes must also respect our core values'The European convention on human rights (ECHR) must adapt while continuing to uphold its core values, the head of a European rights council has said.Alain Berset, the secretary general of the Council of Europe (CoE), acknowledged growing criticism of the 75-year-old treaty, but said reform should be approached with care and rooted in shared democratic principles. Continue reading...

Music mogul warned to desist from looking and nodding at jury during sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trialThe judge in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean Diddy" Combs threatened to remove the music mogul from court for looking and nodding at the jury during testimony on Thursday.The court also heard from a woman, under the pseudonym Jane" and who previously dated Combs, as she began testifying about feeling obligated" to take part in freak-offs" with other men. Continue reading...

The self-described British Muslim patriot' can take a lot of credit for Reform's recent success - but will his decision to leave make a difference?Delivered without warning in a 54-word tweet, Zia Yusuf's announcement that he was standing down as Reform UK's chair has seemingly come out of the blue.For close watchers of Nigel Farage's party in recent times, however, the departure of the man largely credited with professionalising" its operation before last year's general election performance and last month's local election breakthrough is not a shock. Continue reading...

US president casts doubt on peace efforts as German chancellor urges him to increase pressure on Moscow

Speaking at an SXSW London event, the actor outlined his desire to ignite the cinema experience for a new generation across the continentIdris Elba has spoken of his ambition to create the African Odeon" - a chain of cinemas to ignite the cinemagoing experience across the continent.Elba was speaking at an event at SXSW London in which he spoke to host Clara Amfo in a session called Creativity as Capital for Change. In remarks reported by the Hollywood Reporter and Screen, Elba said: There's a crazy number across the entire continent - less than about 3,000 cinemas, actual cinemas that you and I have grown up with. I would love to be able to tackle some of that, because I believe that the cinema experience that we all have gone through should be experienced by a new generation. I don't think it should all be on a phone." Continue reading...

Conservative party urged to draw a line' under the Liz Truss era and never again endorse her as candidateStride stresses the need for politicians to consider policy carefully, saying this is harder in the era of social media.Our modern digital world has many advantages, but in some ways it has ushered in the death of what we might call the age of thoughtfulness.By which I mean the careful consideration of arguments in order to establish the truth.We must accept that for too long governments of both colours have failed to free us from this malaise.For my party to find a path back to regaining trust, we must show that we are serious about listening to people and creating a better future underpinned by a credible plan.The fact is, for a large swathe of the population, our economy simply has not been working for them for some considerable time.Incomes have stagnated. Many feel that the system only works for the benefit of others, for large corporations or people from other countries, but not for them and their families. Continue reading...

For some reason, Stride used his first keynote speech as shadow chancellor to discuss the abject failure of his partySome things in life you just don't see coming. Like a lottery win. Like Spurs winning a European trophy. You can now add to those two: Mel Stride getting a full house for one of his speeches. Not even standing room was available.This just doesn't happen to Mel. Normally you can book him a broom cupboard and there will still be plenty of space. His reputation for never saying anything of interest precedes him. Just not today. Maybe it was a slow news day. Maybe the refreshments on offer at the Royal Society of Arts were top dollar. Continue reading...

Centrica's 10-year agreement with Equinor helps meet almost 10% of the UK's needs - enough to supply 5m homesThe owner of British Gas has struck a 20bn deal with Norway's state energy company to buy enough gas to meet nearly 10% of the UK's needs for the next decade.Under the agreement, Centrica will buy around 5bn cubic meters of gas from Equinor - enough to supply 5m UK homes - every year from this winter until 2035 at the prevailing market rate. Continue reading...

US-backed Israeli logistics group to reopen facilities today after closures following IDF warnings. This live blog is closedRussian president Vladimir Putin is ready to help resolve" the standoff between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear programme, the Kremlin said on Thursday.We have a close partnership with Tehran. And President Putin said that he was ready to use this partnership to help resolve the Iranian nuclear issue," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Continue reading...

Judges rule 9-0 in case where Marlean Ames argued she was denied a promotion because she is heterosexualThe US supreme court made it easier on Thursday for people from majority backgrounds such as white or straight individuals to pursue claims alleging workplace reverse discrimination", reviving the case of an Ohio woman who claimed that she did not get a promotion at a state agency because she is heterosexual.The justices, in a 9-0 ruling, threw out a lower courts decision rejecting a civil rights lawsuit by the plaintiff, Marlean Ames, against her employer, Ohio's department of youth services. Continue reading...

UK footwear brand says it will continue to source bulk of its shoes from Laos and Vietnam through tough times'

More than 2,300 people were arrested on Tuesday after immigration officers were urged to increase enforcement

Deputy press chief Michael Forbes quit after also allegedly photographing women at gym but has faced no chargesNew Zealand's prime minister has suggested introducing new privacy laws after his deputy press secretary was allegedly caught making audio recordings of sex workers without consent.Michael Forbes, a senior aide, resigned after the local news outlet Stuff alleged he covertly recorded audio of sessions with sex workers and secretly photographed women at the gym. Continue reading...

With data showing one in four pupils already get free lunches, institute says short-term benefits over-estimatedThe expansion of free school meals will initially benefit far fewer children in England than claimed, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, as data shows more than one in four at state schools already receive free lunches.The figures from the Department for Education's annual school census show that 25.7% of all pupils now receive free school meals (FSM), up by more than a percentage point compared with last year and nearly double the 13.6% in 2017. Continue reading...

Many see attacks as part of a rise in antisemitism, while others object to conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitismOn the first night of Passover, it seemed like a one off - an arson attack on Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro's mansion. The arsonist, per police, took issue with Shapiro's stance on Israel and Palestine.Then, in late May, outside an American Jewish Committee young professionals' event for young Jews in the DC area to meet young diplomats, two Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed; the shooter yelled, Free Palestine." Roughly a week and a half later, in Boulder, Colorado, a rally in solidarity with hostages held in Gaza was firebombed; the attacker also reportedly yelled, Free Palestine." Continue reading...

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Russia, China, France and the UK all voted in favour of immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire'The United States has vetoed a United Nations security council resolution calling for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" in Gaza while the 14 remaining countries on the council voted in favour.The vetoed resolution also called the situation in Gaza catastrophic", and demanded the immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and its safe and unhindered distribution at scale, including by the UN and humanitarian partners". Continue reading...

Laila Soueif is critically ill after nearly 250 days on hunger strike in protest against her son's imprisonmentThe Egyptian president is refusing to take a call from Keir Starmer, knowing it will be a plea to save the life of the mother of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a famous human rights activist and British Egyptian dual national, it has been claimed.Laila Soueif is in St Thomas' hospital in London with very low blood sugar levels as she suffers from the effect of nearly 250 days on hunger strike. Continue reading...

Music executive claims defamation in suit seeking $20m from the film-makers and distributors of On the RecordRussell Simmons is suing HBO and the film-makers of a 2020 documentary detailing allegations against the music mogul of sexual abuse, claiming that together they defamed him and ignored his version of events.On The Record, directed by Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick, expanded on reporting by the New York Times, the Hollywood Reporter, the Los Angeles Times and other publications on numerous allegations against Simmons. It featured the testimony of several women who claim they were sexually assaulted by Simmons in the 1980s and 90s, when he was at the height of his influence as the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, the hip-hop label behind LL Cool J, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and other top acts. Continue reading...

Advert that highlighted impact on child poverty was deemed to have breached political advertising rulesTransport for London (TfL) has banned adverts from the charity Save the Children calling for the two-child limit on universal credit and child tax credit to be scrapped, deeming them in breach of its bar on political" advertising.The adverts, designed to look like a train departure board, carry the message: By the time you get to work another child in the UK will be dragged into poverty." Continue reading...

Bjorn Ulvaeus tells audience at SXSW London the technology is very bad at lyrics' but has helped him break through creative impassesAfter bringing a blockbuster hologram version of Abba to a purpose-built venue in east London, Bjorn Ulvaeus's next technological exploration is a musical that he's written with the help of artificial intelligence.Ulvaeus, 80, told an audience at SXSW London that he was three-quarters" of the way through writing a new musical which he has created with assistance from AI songwriting tools. Continue reading...

Scheme aims to exploit teachable moment', when someone is wavering between criminality and turning their back on violenceA scheme aiming to turn children arrested for violence away from crime has claimed staggering success, with up to nine out of 10 diverted from further offending, according to a report.Under the scheme, which is funded by London's Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), special youth workers are placed in police custody centres across the capital. Continue reading...

Inquiry focuses on TAVI procedures carried out on elderly and frail people at Castle Hill hospital near HullPolice have launched an investigation into the deaths of heart surgery patients at an East Yorkshire hospital.The investigation is focusing on transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedures carried out on elderly and frail patients at Castle Hill hospital, near Hull. Continue reading...

Firm also blames challenging UK retail trading environment' , with shares falling 7% in early tradingLower-income consumers missing out on wage rises have been blamed by one of Britain's biggest discount retailers for a slide in its sales and profits.B&M, which issued a profit warning in February, said consumers had been more cautious about their spending over the past year. Continue reading...

Threshold over which pensioners are no longer eligible for payment will rise before winter, chancellor says

Lee Jae-myung must tackle US leader's trade war as he attempts to revive Asia's fourth biggest economyTwo years ago, the then South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, serenaded Joe Biden in the White House with an a rendition of American Pie. The foundations of Washington's ties with Seoul, one of its most important allies in the Asia-Pacific, appeared as firm as Yoon's more-than-passable crooning.As he prepares to replace the now-disgraced Yoon, South Korea's new leader, Lee Jae-myung, will have to strike a very different note with Biden's successor in the White House. Continue reading...

BBC says sharp and deeply troubling escalation' this year of Iran targeting families of UK-based BBC Persian journalistsBBC staff in London say their families are being targeted and punished" by the Iranian regime as it intensifies a campaign of intimidation against journalists and media outlets.There have been more than 20 threat-to-life" incidents against people in the UK by Iran in recent years, according to the Metropolitan police counter-terrorism commander. Continue reading...

Minns to propose cut at next health ministers' meeting, joining Victorian government in blaming high excise for organised crime spike

Donald Trump decides to provide different treatment' after trade deal but UK could still face 50% rate if pact faltersThe White House has signalled that the UK will be spared the 50% steel and aluminium tariffs that came into effect on Wednesday, triggering relief among British steelmakers.In a statement, the US president, Donald Trump, said he had decided to provide different treatment" to the UK after a deal that was struck between Washington and London last month - but is yet to be signed. The executive order signed by Trump on Tuesday evening will still raise import taxes for US companies buying from other countries. Continue reading...

The American essayist, playwright and author of books including A Boy's Own Story and The Married Man, has diedEdmund White, the American writer, playwright and essayist who attracted acclaim for his semi-autobiographical novels such as A Boy's Own Story - and who literally wrote the book on gay sex, with the pioneering The Joy of Gay Sex - has died aged 85.His death was confirmed to the Guardian by his agent Bill Clegg on Wednesday. Continue reading...

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Triple murder accused, who denies deliberately poisoning anyone, tells court she dumped dehydrator used to dry foraged mushrooms due to feeling scared' of child protection officers seeing it

Price Tag singer plans to have surgery after performing at Summertime Ball this monthJessie J has said she has been diagnosed with early breast cancer and plans to undergo surgery after her performance at this month's Summertime Ball.The Price Tag singer, 37, said in an Instagram video she has spent much of her recent time in and out of tests". Continue reading...

Independent defeats Gisele Kapterian in Sydney seat although result could still be challenged by Liberals