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Desk from Quarry Bank high school had been hidden by staff as teachers considered Lennon a nuisance'A desk used by John Lennon has gone on display after being found in the attic of his former school, where teachers had not wanted to remember the musician because he was a nuisance".Lennon attended Quarry Bank high school in Liverpool between 1952 and 1957, and the name of the Quarrymen, the band that would become the Beatles in their formative years, was inspired by the school's name. Continue reading...

Holding borrowing rates and continuing bond sell-offs were widely expected but an alternative was available

Arts institution seeks to make urgent' savings as it is thought to be facing a shortfall of between 5m and 6mMore than half of the Royal Shakespeare Company's staff are being encouraged to apply for voluntary redundancy as the struggling arts institution seeks to make urgent" savings to plug what is thought to be a shortfall of between 5m and 6m.The cuts are aimed at ensuring that the RSC is best placed to be a leading global theatre company", according to a statement that blamed the budget hole on increasing staffing costs after the pandemic, a decline in public investment and the cost of living crisis affecting takings. Continue reading...

Some have little to no documented experience with vaccines while others have undermined their safetyFive new advisers will join the vaccines committee for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) later this week, the agency and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Monday, in a move that underscores the increasingly anti-vaccine stance of the committee.Some of the new members have little to no documented experience with vaccines, while others have repeatedly undermined the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and other measures to control infectious disease. Continue reading...

Home secretary's remarks about vexatious' claims will have real-life impact on trafficking victims, says Eleanor Lyons

Zack Polanski calls mass privatisation a failed experiment' as report finds it has cost UK households 250 a year moreThe privatisation of the UK's key industries is driving the cost of living crisis, damaging critical public services and making life harder for millions of people, the leader of the Green party, Zack Polanski, has said.Speaking after the Guardian revealed the British public have been paying a privatisation premium" of 250 per household per year since 2010, he described the mass privatisation of UK industry as a failed experiment". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Former poet laureate has reader contrasting pomp and ceremony of banquet with ruins left by warCarol Ann Duffy has written a poem about Donald Trump's state visit to Britain that appears to reimagine the ceremonial banquet as taking place in a bombsite.Duffy, who was the UK's poet laureate between 2009 and 2019, writes of the rocks and rubble" in lines that have the reader contrasting the diamonds of the great and good" with the ruins left by war. Continue reading...

Jensen Huang says UK is too humble' as he announces equity stake in British cloud computing firm NScaleJensen Huang, the co-founder and chief executive of the US AI chipmaker Nvidia, has predicted the UK is going to be an AI superpower" as he announced a new 500m investment in a British firm.Huang, who is due to join Donald Trump at Wednesday night's state banquet with the king, said he was taking an equity stake in NScale, a UK cloud computing company, and predicted it would earn revenues of up to 50bn over the next six years. Continue reading...

Oliver Steadman, 28, also charged with communication offences, say Scotland Yard and Crown Prosecution ServiceOliver Steadman, 28, has been charged with blackmail and communication offences in relation to five victims in Westminster politics, including MPs, the Crown Prosecution Service and Scotland Yard have said.More details soon ... Continue reading...

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Israeli PM's outline of partial autarky and more militarised society stirs up backlash and concern over pariah statusHours before unleashing a ground offensive against Gaza City on Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu braced his country for a future of mounting economic isolation, urging it to become a super Sparta" of the Middle East.The future the prime minister laid out for Israel, of a more militarised society, a partial autarky - or economically self-sufficient country - with limited trade options and relying increasingly on homemade production, has stirred up a backlash among Israelis who are ever more uneasy at the prospect of following him down the path to a pariah state. Continue reading...

Antonio Guterres says he wants to meet Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump at UN next weekWafa, the Palestinian news agency, has been told by medical sources that at least 38 Palestinian people, including women and children, have been killed by Israeli forces since dawn today.As well as facing relentless bombardments, Gaza City, the biggest built-up area of the territory, is being gripped by a famine caused by Israel's restrictions on aid. Continue reading...

IDF says advance aims to dismantle Hamas's grip' as UN report says Israel has committed genocide in territory

The actor, who was cleared of historical sexual assault allegations in 2020, says he has withdrawn as a result of a social media campaign against him

Keir Starmer will have to choose how to spend limited political capital, with most pressing issues ones UK and US do not agree onDonald Trump has repeatedly described Keir Starmer as a good man", distancing himself from the attacks on the UK prime minister mounted by other figures on the US far right such as Elon Musk.One of the many known unknowns, however, of a Trump state visit is what kind of Trump will show up when a microphone is placed in front of him. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Campaigners attack outrageous' situation, saying waters in protected areas should be cleanestSewage is pouring into the rivers inside national parks at twice the rate that is occurring outside the protected areas, it can be revealed.Campaigners described the situation as outrageous" and said rivers and lakes in national parks in England and Wales should be the cleanest and most protected in the country. Continue reading...

East Wiltshire MP says he hopes others follow his path and accuses former party of clinging to defunct institutions'The MP Danny Kruger has defected from the Conservatives to Reform UK, declaring the Tory party is over" and Nigel Farage is the new custodian" of conservatism and the political right's last hope" of governing Britain.Kruger, who represents East Wiltshire and previously served as political secretary to Boris Johnson, said: The Conservative party is over. Over as a national party, over as the principal opposition to the left." Continue reading...

Cybercriminals steal details of potentially millions of people in attack on labels' parent company KeringHackers have stolen data from customers of the luxury fashion group Kering, whose brands include Gucci, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen.Cyber-attackers have stolen data of potentially millions of customers, including the names, phone numbers and email addresses of customers of the fashion group, it has emerged. Continue reading...

US secretary of state, who is visiting Jerusalem, warns of Israeli counter reaction' if allies recognise PalestineThe US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has put the Trump administration's full support behind Benjamin Netanyahu in a visit to Jerusalem, saying Washington's priorities were the liberation of Israeli hostages and the destruction of Hamas.In public remarks standing alongside Netanyahu, Rubio did not mention the possibility of a ceasefire, and did not repeat his earlier criticism of Israel for carrying out an airstrike last week aimed at Hamas leaders in Doha, the capital of another close US ally, Qatar. Continue reading...

Comments follow remarks by Keir Starmer who is under pressure to be more proactive in defence of diversity

Conviction comes as Hakainde Hichilema faces growing criticism for suppressing political oppositionTwo men have been convicted in Zambia of planning to use witchcraft to kill the president, Hakainde Hichilema.Leonard Phiri, a village chief, and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, a Mozambican citizen, were arrested in December after a cleaner reported hearing strange noises. Authorities said they were found to be in possession of a live chameleon and other assorted charms", including a red cloth, an unidentified white powder and an animal's tail. Continue reading...

Former mixed martial arts fighter had vowed to curb immigration to shore up Irish culture' and give power back to the people'The former mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has withdrawn from Ireland's presidential election and complained that nomination rules were a straitjacket" that prevented a true democratic contest.Following careful reflection, and after consulting with my family, I am withdrawing my candidacy from this presidential race," he posted on X on Monday morning. This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one at this moment in time." Continue reading...

Move made on same day as Guardian published interview with ex-aide's mother who criticised Bidzina IvanishviliThe mother of a jailed former aide to Georgia's de facto leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili has had her bank accounts frozen after she publicly accused Ivanishvili of pursuing a vendetta against her son.The prosecutor's office in Georgia acted against Marina Ramazashvili and her husband, Alexander, on the same day that the Guardian published an interview with her in which she criticised the billionaire and called for help from the west. Continue reading...

Parviz Sabeti crafted a low-profile life for his family - but now he faces a $225m lawsuit over atrocities committed in prisons in Tehran and elsewhereNeighbors in the upscale Florida community of Windermere know them as Peter and Nancy, the seemingly friendly retired couple they wave to on morning walks, and who always appear to enjoy visits from their two high-flying grown daughters, one a respected professor of science at Harvard University.Yet behind the high walls of their $3.6m lakefront mansion lies a darker, more closely guarded reality: Peter" is actually Parviz Sabeti, the alleged head of secret police and chief torturer of the former Shah of Iran's pre-revolutionary government, now facing a $225m lawsuit in Florida for atrocities committed in prisons in Tehran and elsewhere. Continue reading...

Korean media say Hyundai-LG workers treated as prisoners of war' over visa issue amid sense of betrayal by Seoul's allyMore than 300 South Korean workers arrived at Incheon international airport on Friday afternoon, ending a week-long ordeal that began with the US Department of Homeland Security's largest ever single-site raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and has left South Korea questioning whether it can trust its closest ally.The 316 Koreans, along with 14 workers of other nationalities, landed shortly after 3pm local time on a chartered Korean Air flight after being detained since 4 September at a Hyundai-LG battery plant construction site in Georgia. Continue reading...

Officials hurriedly remove nearly three decades of finds in high-risk operation'An official in charge of nearly three decades of archaeological finds in Gaza has described how the artefacts were hurriedly evacuated from a Gaza City building threatened by an Israeli strike.This was a high-risk operation, carried out in an extremely dangerous context for everyone involved - a real last-minute rescue," said Olivier Poquillon, director of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF), which housed the relics. Continue reading...

List leaves out oil pipelines and focuses on LNG expansion, mines and nuclear power as it fends off US trade warCanada's Liberal government has said that a liquefied natural gas facility, critical mineral mines, a nuclear reactor and port expansion will mark the first wave of major national projects to turbocharge" the country's economy as it fends off a trade war with the United States.Notably, the list unveiled by the prime minster, Mark Carney, on Thursday does not include any new oil pipelines - projects which have proven to be deeply divisive and politically fractious in recent years. Continue reading...

Far-right ex-president was found to have led a criminal organisation' to try to stay in power

After Russian drones entered Polish airspace, two authors of the UK strategic defence review said Europe would need to build up its defencesBritain should work with Nato allies in developing an integrated air and missile defence system after the incursion of nearly 20 Russian drones into Poland, according to two authors of the UK strategic defence review.Fiona Hill, a former White House adviser, said that Russia was testing the limits" of Europe's defences at a time when the military commitment of the US to Nato was uncertain. Continue reading...

Numerous European countries offer support but some allies dispute whether incident was deliberate attackAn emergency session of the UN security council will convene on Friday at Poland's request as Warsaw seeks to rally support after an incursion into the country by Russian drones on Wednesday.Numerous European allies pledged support for Poland, including a promise by Germany to strengthen its military presence on Nato's eastern flank, but some disputed whether the incursion was a deliberate attack on Poland by Russia and Donald Trump offered little in the way of public support. Continue reading...

On Wednesday night, Charlie Kirk, an influential rightwing activist and Donald Trump ally, was shot dead at a university campus in Utah. The US president immediately blamed the radical left' but failed to mention rising violence against Democrats.This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian's Washington DC bureau chief, David Smith, about the increase in political violence in the countryArchive: ABC News, ABC7, CBC National, CBS News, PBS Newshour, Charlie Kirk, NBC News, Fox News, Turning Point USA, King 5 Seattle Continue reading...

Turning Point USA executive director has died after being shot during event at Utah Valley University

Mr and Mrs Smith writer Francesca Sloane reportedly tapped to bring back A-list cast of hit seriesA third season of award-winning drama series Big Little Lies is now in development.According to Deadline, Francesca Sloane has been tapped to write the first episode and she will also act as executive producer alongside series creator David E Kelley. Sloane is best known for co-creating Amazon's Mr and Mrs Smith series with Donald Glover. Her credits also include writing for Atlanta and Fargo. Continue reading...

Next summer, the star will appear in Stratford-upon-Avon first as Prospero and then alongside Helen Hunt in Chekhov's classicMore than 40 years after his star-making performance as Henry V in Stratford-upon-Avon, Kenneth Branagh is to return to the Royal Shakespeare Company. He will appear in The Tempest and, alongside Oscar winner Helen Hunt, in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard at the RSC next summer.Branagh, 64, began to build a reputation as one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of his generation when he played Henry V, aged 23, in a 1984 season that included roles as Laertes in Hamlet and the King of Navarre in Love's Labour's Lost. The following year he wrote and directed the play Tell Me Honestly for the RSC. Branagh went on to both direct and star in acclaimed Shakespeare productions during an illustrious stage and screen career that has included breaking an Oscars record as the first person to be nominated in seven individual Academy Award categories. The Tempest will mark his first role for the RSC since he played Hamlet in 1992 and 1993 (first at the Barbican in London and then in Stratford), directed by Adrian Noble. Continue reading...

Edi Rama, PM, says digital assistant Diella will make Albania a country where public tenders are 100% free of corruption'A digital assistant that helps people navigate government services online has become the first virtually created" AI cabinet minister and put in charge of public procurement in an attempt to cut down on corruption, the Albanian prime minister has said.Diella, which means Sun in Albanian, has been advising users on the state's e-Albania portal since January, helping them through voice commands with the full range of bureaucratic tasks they need to perform in order to access about 95% of citizen services digitally. Continue reading...

Despite being repeatedly asked, No 10 declines to say the PM was misled' by MandelsonStephen Doughty, a Foreign Office minister, is responding to the UQ about Peter Mandelson.He starts by making the point that it is the anniversary of the despicable" 9/11 terrorism attacks.Keir Starmer must sack Peter Mandelson without further delay - and come clean about what he knew when, and whether he sanctioned blocking the publication of damaging material.

Move seen as effort to win US favour and sanctions relief, as crackdown on dissent continuesBelarus has released 52 prisoners of various nationalities, after a visit by a US delegation to Minsk, in Alexander Lukashenko's latest attempt to balance ties between Russia and the west.Thursday's prisoner release was one of the biggest of Lukashenko's authoritarian rule, and was part of his effort to mend relations with Washington and secure sanctions relief after years of isolation. Continue reading...

Poland is seeking to step up its defences with plans to restrict air traffic in the eastern part of the countryGrynkewich now gets a specific question on Poland.He speaks about how allied command operations worked in this case, with every level doing exactly what they were supposed to do, which was to defend Alliance territory."But when you're when you're an operational commander, and you have a capability and there's an attack or an incursion into your airspace, the cost of the weapon doesn't matter at that moment in time; you're going to use it to defend our population." Continue reading...

Federal health minister last month announced surprise move to shift child foundational supports to new Thriving Kids program from July 2027

State party's deep divisions on show as sexist messages force resignation of director days before annual meeting

Schoolgirl victim tells inquiry she looked into killer's possessed' eyes before he launched attack at dance workshopA teenage girl who was stabbed twice in the Southport attack has described staring into the killer's possessed" eyes and reliving that day like a horror film on repeat".The schoolgirl, who cannot be identified, told the public inquiry into the atrocity that it must explain how knife-obsessed Axel Rudakubana was able to carry out the murders. Continue reading...

Belgian organisers are accused of naked antisemitism' after cancelling performance by Lahav ShaniA Belgian classical music festival has axed a leading German orchestra from its programme over concerns about its Israeli conductor, drawing accusations of antisemitism from Berlin.Flanders Festival Ghent announced it had cancelled a concert by the Munich Philharmonic scheduled for 18 September, citing insufficient clarity over Lahav Shani's attitude to the Israeli government. Continue reading...

Ordeal comes as government considers lengthening the standard qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain

Annual cost of allowance has more than doubled in recent years because of quick turnover of prime ministersMore than 8m of taxpayers' money has been spent on funding the public lives of former prime ministers over the last three decades, a Guardian analysis has found.All former PMs are able to claim up to 115,000 a year - until the end of their lives - in a subsidy to enable them to contribute to public life after they have left Downing Street. Continue reading...

Departure will be huge blow for No 10 as it prepares state visit for the US president

The University of Tasmania apologised, saying staff had met with families and will consider the coroner's findingsHuman specimens were collected, and in some cases publicly displayed, by a museum for decades without the knowledge or consent of families.The University of Tasmania's R A Rodda Museum collected remains from coronial autopsies from 1966 to 1991 for teaching and research purposes. Continue reading...

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Family of Luke Briggs, 35, left utterly distraught' by death in custody following arrest in Hoppers Crossing car park

Genevieve Bell's resignation follows tumultuous period marked by redundancies, proposed course closures and allegations of a toxic work culture

Legislative council voted down a bill that was introduced to comply with an order from the city's top courtHuman rights groups have accused the Hong Kong government of failing to provide the bare minimum" of rights to same-sex couples after it rejected a bill that was introduced to comply with an order by the city's top court.The city's unicameral legislative council (LegCo), on Wednesday rejected the bill by a vote of 71-14 after the second reading, following months of debate in the city between opponents who said it threatened family values and advocates who said the government was out of line with the majority of residents who supported same-sex relationships. Continue reading...