by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6W2W8)
Exclusive: NHS England has dramatically increased recruitment of workers from states with critical medical staff shortagesBrexit has left the NHS increasingly dependent on doctors and nurses from poor red list" countries, from which the World Health Organization says it is wrong to recruit.The health service in England has hired tens of thousands of health staff from countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe since the UK left the EU single market at the end of 2020. Continue reading...
Indonesia's 1,700m Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted for 11 minutes on Thursday, causing ash cloud but no damage to nearby villages on the island of Flores
Conservation charity is also pausing some projects because of labour costs stemming from the autumn budgetThe National Trust has frozen all but essential recruitment and is pausing some projects as it faces a 10m jump in labour costs this year as a result of higher employment costs stemming from last autumn's budget.The conservation charity, which looks after 500 historic houses, castles, parks and gardens, as well as 780 miles of coastline and 250,000 hectares of land, said the extra costs were the result of changes to employers' national insurance contributions and an increase in the legal minimum wage, which both come into force next month. Continue reading...
Western Forest will cover 2,500 hectares across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset and BristolA new Western Forest is to be created across a swathe of the west of England from the Cotswolds to the Mendips, the government has said.The project, one of the government's promised national forests, will create 2,500 hectares (6,200 acres) of woodland by 2030 across five priority areas in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Bristol, with plans to plant 20m trees by 2050. Continue reading...
Exclusive: energy secretary says 2050 target is imperative, and accuses opposition of betraying of future generationsThe government is absolutely up for the fight" over net zero, Ed Miliband has said, as he accused the Conservatives and Reform of a total desertion and betrayal" of future generations by failing to tackle the climate crisis.After a turbulent week for Labour in which it has been charged with abandoning its values by slashing disability benefits, the energy secretary sought to focus attention on the party's plans for the green energy transition. Continue reading...
by Patrick Butler Social policy editor on (#6W2R4)
Actors including Stephen Fry and Brian Cox criticise plan that will remove support for more than 1 million peopleAn array of high-profile celebrities including Sir Stephen Fry, Brian Cox and Stanley Tucci have criticised the government's 5bn cuts to disability benefits, calling the plans shameful" and a stain on this country".They joined the UK's biggest food bank network, Trussell, in urging ministers to rethink the planned changes, warning they risked pushing even more disabled people into poverty and reliance on charity food handouts. Continue reading...
David Norris, whose parole hearing is due, denied guilt after being jailed for the 1993 murder in south-east LondonOne of Stephen Lawrence's killers may now accept he was involved in assaulting the teenager, according to a report by the Parole Board.Lawrence, 18, was murdered by a gang of racists in south-east London in 1993, but only two of his killers have faced justice. Gary Dobson and David Norris were jailed for life in 2012. Continue reading...
UltraViolet attacks Trump administration for reportedly influencing Romanian officials to allow him to fly to FloridaA prominent women's justice organization launched a campaign on Thursday to have the accused rapist and human trafficker Andrew Tate extradited from the US.The group, UltraViolet, also attacked the Trump administration for reportedly influencing Romanian officials to allow Tate to fly to Florida last month.This story was updated on 20 March 2025 to correct that the women's justice group is attempting to have Andrew Tate extradited, not deported; Tate is a US citizen and cannot be deported. Continue reading...
Over 30 demonstrators accuse campus officials and police of wrongful arrests and negligence during demonstrationsMore than 30 pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) sued campus officials and several law enforcement agencies, alleging civil rights violations, wrongful arrests and excessive force during demonstrations last year.A lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles superior court outlines the violence and significant injuries that UCLA Palestine Solidarity Encampment members experienced at the hands of police and counterprotesters from April to June of 2024. Continue reading...
Major cuts nearly inevitable' as Mayor Karen Bass warns no department is too precious' to pass over for reductionsBattered by the aftermath of historic wildfires and worsening economic conditions, the city of Los Angeles is projecting that it will face an estimated $1bn shortfall in its budget next year, which is likely to result in major cuts to city services.Next year's nearly $1bn budget gap makes layoffs nearly inevitable", city administrative officer Matt Szabo told the city council on Wednesday. We are not looking at dozens or even hundreds of layoffs, but thousands." Continue reading...
Union says Labour-run council could end industrial action with decent rate of pay', but town hall says offer is fairTalks aimed at ending a strike by waste collectors in Birmingham have ended without a breakthrough.Members of the Unite union in the city launched an all-out strike on 11 March in a long-running dispute over pay, leading to rubbish piling up and bins remaining unemptied for weeks. Residents have complained that rats are rummaging through the waste, leading to fears over public health.
State department turns down special request to supply city of Tijuana in drought-affected north for first time everThe United States has refused a request by Mexico for water, alleging shortfalls in sharing by its southern neighbor, as Donald Trump ramps up a battle on another front.The state department said on Thursday it was the first time that the United States had rejected a request by Mexico for special delivery of water, which would have gone to the border city of Tijuana. Continue reading...
Actor suggests she may have been intentionally smeared but no one has to forgive me' after recent controversyKarla Sofia Gascon has described herself as less racist than Gandhi" and insisted no one has to forgive me for anything" as she returns to the public eye after the emergence of offensive social media posts widely thought to have torpedoed the Oscar hopes of her film Emilia Perez.The Spanish performer, who became the first transgender woman to be nominated for a best actress Oscar, was dropped from the film's campaigning materials by its studio, Netflix, and criticised by colleagues and prominent politicians after the series of old racist and Islamophobic tweets came to light. Continue reading...
Samuel Jarrett-Coker, 61, who arrived from Sierra Leone as a child, had sought to resolve immigration status since 1980sThe Home Office has granted a man who has lived in the UK since he was a child the right to remain under the Windrush scheme after a battle of almost 50 years.Samuel Jarrett-Coker, 61, arrived in the UK at the age of 13 in 1976 from Sierra Leone on the diplomatic passport of his brother, who was 20 years older than him and worked in the country's embassy in London. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#6W2GP)
As Trump seeks to withdraw the US from European defence, Keir Starmer is trying to develop closer ties with the UK's neighboursDonald Trump's isolationism and Vladimir Putin's menace leaves post-Brexit Britain in a delicate position. While the combination of US disengagement from Europe and the reality of Russian aggression has forced a reappraisal of security across the continent, Britain's half-in, half-out status makes for complications.The prime minister, Keir Starmer, wanted to showcase Britain's credentials as a European military leader on Thursday, first with a visit to the Barrow shipyard where nuclear submarines are built and then to look into a meeting of 30-plus military heads, mostly from Europe, as they discuss how to create a post-war stabilisation force for Ukraine. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#6W2FM)
Witness to defamation claim against the Guardian says the director requested she bend over till genitalia were visibleAn actor was embarrassed and horrified after Noel Clarke pressured her into an exposing and vulnerable position" in a film scene and then shared the footage with others on set, the high court has heard.Mila (not her real name), the seventh of Guardian News and Media's (GNM's) oral witnesses to Clarke's defamation claim against the publisher, said the former Doctor Who star directed her to bend over in a nude scene until her genitalia could be seen. Continue reading...
Police Scotland says former first minister not charged in party funding inquiry as husband appears in court for embezzlementNicola Sturgeon is no longer under investigation as part of the police case looking into alleged mishandling of Scottish National party funds.Police Scotland said the former Scottish first minister would not face any charges after her former husband, Peter Murrell, appeared for a private hearing at Edinburgh sheriff court on a single charge of embezzlement on Thursday. Continue reading...
by Kim Willsher in Paris and Deepa Parent on (#6W2DM)
Diplomats now working to secure release of two more citizens after backpacker Olivier Grondeau finally freedFrance is stepping up efforts to secure the release of two more of its citizens in Iran after Tehran freed a French man imprisoned for more than 880 days.News that Olivier Grondeau, arrested in Iran in October 2022 and sentenced to five years on charges of spying, had returned to France was announced by Emmanuel Macron. Macron gave no details of the negotiations leading to his release, though it came on Nowruz, the Persian new year, when Iran has released prisoners in the past. Continue reading...
by Jennifer Rankin in Brussels and Miranda Bryant Nor on (#6W2DP)
Show of unity marred by Viktor Orban refusing to back declaration of support for UkraineEU leaders - apart from Hungary's Viktor Orban - say they are ready to increase pressure on Russia through further sanctions, as summit talks exposed a geographical divide on rearming Europe.Meeting in Brussels, the bloc agreed it was ready to levy further sanctions on Russia and strengthen existing measures after talks with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who joined by video link. Continue reading...
All nuclear power plants belong to the people of Ukraine,' Zelenskyy said at a press conference in Norway. This live blog is closedSwedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson said he was cautiously optimistic" about the progress made on Ukraine, but was growing frustrated with Russia's ifs and buts" on ceasefire, adding it was up to Moscow to prove it" that it is serious about ending the conflict.He also pointed to later talks in the UK with army chiefs and planners as an important part of discussions on how Europe can support any future peace agreement. Continue reading...
Prime minister says the so-called coalition of the willing' needs to be ready to react right away amid talks between the US and RussiaNigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has defended politicians who get involved in entertainment TV.In an article for the Daily Telegraph, he hit back at Kemi Badenoch, who used an interview with the paper earlier this week to dismiss Farage as just a reality TV phenomenon.Having appeal doesn't mean that people want you running their lives. That's one of the things that we need to make sure that we remind people.This isn't I'm A Celebrity or Strictly Come Dancing. You don't vote for the person that you're enjoying watching and then switch off when the show's over.Anyway, it's not as though I'm the first politician to have been prominent in the media. Ronald Reagan combined his early political activities with a film and TV career for 20 years, until the 1960s. When he announced in the 1970s that he wanted to become the US President, everybody said he was a B-Movie actor who stood no chance. These days, American conservatives look back on this two-term leader with a slight sense of awe in terms of his achievements.And what about Donald Trump? He was a well-known New York property developer from the 1970s onwards but it was his massive success with the reality to show The Apprentice from 2004 that put him in a position where he could win the nomination for the Republican Party.Kemi Badenoch has a problem. Most members of the public have no opinion of her. Even fewer know what she stands for. I have an idea for her. She could appear on a reality TV show herself. A spell in the I'm a Celebrity... jungle would be perfect. I'll gladly give her some tips if she wants to sign up for the next series. Continue reading...
by Amy Sedghi (now); Tom Ambrose and Hamish Mackay (e on (#6W221)
Israeli military says it is conducting ground activities in northern Gaza Strip as health ministry reports 85 people killed by Israeli attacks overnightThe resumption of airstrikes has sent Palestinian residents again fleeing for their lives from homes they had begun to reinhabit among the ruins of the devastated territory.Some Palestinians who tried to use the Salahuddin road said they saw cars come under fire from Israeli troops advancing towards Netzarim, reports Reuters. The fate of the passengers in the vehicles was unknown. Continue reading...
Two other prisoners also plotted to attack far-right activist, who is challenging his segregation at jailA lifer" in the prison holding Tommy Robinson planned to kill the far-right activist while two other prisoners plotted to attack him to gain kudos and notoriety", the high court has been told.Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is seeking to bring a legal challenge against his segregation from other prisoners, which he claims is having an impact on his mental health. Continue reading...
Warm weather brings blue skies - and pollution warnings and high pollen countThursday has become the hottest day of the year in the UK so far as temperatures topped 20C.The Met Office said images showed plenty of blue skies across the UK, although high cloud in the west is making the sunshine hazy here" and in the sunshine across the south, temperatures have already reached 20C in a few spots". Continue reading...
Staffers at US Department of Education say severe cuts in the name of efficiency are having the opposite effect: You can't even quantify the loss'The education secretary, Linda McMahon, presented sweeping reductions at the US Department of Education as an efficiency drive, hailing firings and funding cuts as a significant step toward restoring the greatness" of the country's schools system.Staff inside the department disagree. Continue reading...
Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick's efforts to promote the tech CEO on Fox News backfired amid national protestsDonald Trump's commerce secretary told Americans to buy stock in Elon Musk's electric car company, only for shares in Tesla to keep falling.I think, if you want to learn something on this show tonight, buy Tesla," Howard Lutnick told Fox News on Wednesday. It's unbelievable that this guy's stock is this cheap. It'll never be this cheap again." Continue reading...
Former Moscow office of Herbert Smith Freehills made six payments totalling 3.9m to sanctioned banksHerbert Smith Freehills, the elite global law firm based in London, has been fined by the British government after its former Moscow office made millions of pounds in payments to sanctioned Russian banks.The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), said it had imposed a penalty of 465,000 on HSF Moscow, which was a subsidiary of HSF London until its closure in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...
People gather at city hall and students march in anger after arrest of Ekrem mamolu, a likely opposition candidate for presidencyOutside Istanbul's city hall on Wednesday night a mass of protesters gathered in the freezing air to defy a city-wide ban on gatherings. A banner bearing a portrait of the Istanbul mayor, Ekrem mamolu, giving a speech alongside the words sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation" covered part of the facade of his now vacant office.In dawn raids that morning police had detained mamolu, the only contender seen as capable of defeating Recep Tayyip Erdoan in presidential elections. For many residents of Turkey's largest city, the arrest symbolised how far the state was willing to go to remove a perceived threat to the incumbent president. Continue reading...
Extraordinary fear' takes hold at universities as Trump campaign threatens investigations or loss of federal fundsThe Trump administration's unprecedented pressure campaign on American higher education - which is forcing major universities to bow to its demands or risk investigations and the loss of millions of dollars in federal money - is so far facing little pushback from the schools affected.That campaign escalated earlier this month, when the US government cancelled $400m in federal contracts and grants to Columbia University. In a subsequent letter, representatives of three federal agencies said they would reconsider that freeze only if Columbia agreed to conditions including more aggressively disciplining students who engage in pro-Palestinian disruptions, planning comprehensive" reform of the school's admissions policies, and placing one of school's area studies departments under academic receivership" - meaning under the control of an outside chair. Continue reading...
Questions raised about whether Jitesh Gadhia's attendance at discussion between Accord Healthcare and government was within Lords rulesA peer attended a meeting where a healthcare company of which he is a director lobbied a government minister, raising questions about whether this was within the rules of the House of Lords.Jitesh Gadhia, an investment banker and City financier, is a non-executive director of Accord Healthcare. He attended the online meeting along with two Accord executives, according to official records, in 2021, when he was already on the board of the company. Continue reading...
by Henry Belot, Jordyn Beazley and AAP on (#6W222)
NSW police have launched an investigation after a comment on TikTok referencing 2019 Christchurch massacreGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNew South Wales police are investigating an alleged Islamophobic social media comment targeting Lakemba mosque in Sydney's west, with the state premier calling the post truly disgusting".The mosque in Sydney's west was targeted by a comment invoking an Australian man's terrorist attack in New Zealand in which 51 worshippers were murdered during prayers.Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Continue reading...
This blog is now closedIsraeli government does not have a lot of palatable options' - SharmaThe Liberal senator and former ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma was up on ABC News Breakfast earlier to discuss the latest strikes carried out by Israel on Gaza.If any of us were in their position, we would be single-mindedly focused on the return of our loved ones. I can understand that. This is a politically contentious issue in Israel, there's no walking away from that, but I don't think the government has a lot of good choices.Continuing the ceasefire was not going to lead to the release of further hostages, at least according to the mediators involved in the talks. Hamas had basically said they weren't planning on returning any more. As I said, in that situation, the Israeli government does not have a lot of palatable options. Continue reading...
More than 12,800 stores shut in 2024, down on 2023, but extra costs expected to take toll this year, study suggestsThe UK's high streets are expected to empty out at a faster pace this year as extra costs imposed on businesses by Rachel Reeves are blamed for shops closing and a slowdown in chain store openings.The rate of store closures is forecast to rise again as a result of the chancellor's tax-raising budget last October, after a slowdown to 10 a day last year from 13 a day in 2023, according to research. Continue reading...
Activists in world's third-largest democracy warn the legal changes signal a return to military dominance in civilian affairs that characterised Suharto yearsIndonesia has ratified controversial changes to its military law allowing armed forces personnel to hold more civilian posts, a move that analysts fear could usher in a resurgence of the military in government affairs.Activists in the world's third-largest democracy have criticised the revisions, warning they signal a return to Indonesia's New Order" era, when the country was led by former authoritarian ruler Suharto, who stepped down in 1998. Continue reading...
Police say officers were responding to 999 call at time of collision in Acocks Green on Wednesday eveningA man has died after a collision involving a police car and a pedestrian.Birmingham police said the incident happened near the junction of Yardley Road and Florence Road in Acocks Green, Birmingham, just before 7pm on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Small group of hardened young offenders' also added to increase according to new data released before Allan government's Tough Bail Bill' goes before parliament
Nearly half of female entrepreneurs surveyed by Cherie Blair Foundation do not have regular internet accessThe cost of a mobile data package is all that is holding back many female entrepreneurs in developing countries, according to recent research.While social media marketing is reported to be crucial by female business owners who have access to it, 45% of women in business in low- and middle-income countries said they did not have regular internet access because of the expense and connection issues. Continue reading...
About 70 pages of director's handwritten notes for the New Wave classic were found after more than 60 yearsThe only known script for Jean-Luc Godard's seminal New Wave film Breathless (A Bout de Souffle) will be auctioned later this year after coming to light for the first time in more than 60 years.About 70 pages of Godard's handwritten notes and synopses of some of the most famous scenes, including the movie's dramatic opening, were discovered in the estate of the celebrated producer Georges de Beauregard. Continue reading...
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