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Families allege Bright Horizons brushed concerns aside allowing Vincent Chan to commit dozens of offencesFamilies of victims of a paedophile are taking legal action against a north London nursery where their children were abused, as they allege a consistent culture of brushing concerns aside".Vincent Chan, 45, is facing prison for molesting girls aged between two and four while working at the now-closed Bright Horizons nursery in Finchley Road, West Hampstead. Continue reading...

Three bishops accuse British government of contributing to culture of impunity' in the occupied territoryThree prominent Church of England bishops have accused the UK government of contributing to a culture of impunity" in which Israel has accelerated its de facto annexation of the West Bank.Guli Francis-Dehqani, the bishop of Chelmsford, Rachel Treweek, the bishop of Gloucester, and Graham Usher, the bishop of Norwich, visited Palestinian Christian communities in the occupied West Bank last week. Continue reading...

Employees of Ukraine's largest private energy firm, DTEK, were travelling about 40 miles from frontline, says policeA Russian drone attack on a bus carrying mine workers in Ukraine's central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region has killed at least 12 people, officials said.The bus was driving about 40 miles (65km) from the frontline, according to police. Images published by Ukraine's state emergency service showed what appeared to be an empty bus, its side windows shattered and windscreen hanging from the front. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Dr Susan Gilby, who won 1.4m bullying payout, says whistleblower protections must be strengthenedPatients are being put at risk by NHS bosses launching sham investigations" into whistleblowers to shut down concerns, a former hospital chief executive who won a 1.4m bullying claim has said.Dr Susan Gilby took over as chief executive at the Countess of Chester hospital in 2018 after it was rocked by the Lucy Letby case. She was awarded the payout - one of the biggest in NHS history - last month after a tribunal ruled she had been unfairly dismissed after raising concerns about alleged bullying and harassment by the chair of the hospital board. Continue reading...

Cherub at landmark church causes ecclesiastical and political uproar with alleged resemblance to Italian PMItaly's culture minister and the diocese of Rome have launched investigations after claims were made that an angel in a landmark church in Rome was restored in the likeness of the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.The resemblance was first flagged by the newspaper La Repubblica, who noted that one of the two angels flanking a marble bust of Italy's last king in the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina now had a familiar, astonishingly contemporary face". Continue reading...

Government has learned lesson' of botched welfare overhauls but MPs say they will not back cost-saving measuresMinisters have learned the lesson" of botched welfare changes and are on a sustained lobbying blitz of Labour MPs over an overhaul of special educational needs, Labour MPs told the Guardian, as they said they would not back measures aimed at saving money.The changes will raise the bar at which children in England qualify for an education, health and care plan (EHCP), which legally entitles children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) to get support. Plans will be reserved for children with the most severe and complex needs, according to sources familiar with the proposals. Continue reading...

Tim Martin makes Sunday Times Tax List top 10, paying 200m while Harry Styles is the highest-contributing celebritySir Tim Martin, Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Erling Haaland and Mo Salah are among the UK's 100 biggest taxpayers, according to new rankings.The billionaire brothers behind gambling giant Betfred, topped the Sunday Times 2026 Tax List. Fred and Peter Done paid 400.1m in tax, about half of which relates to gambling duty from their betting shop empire. Continue reading...

Prosecutors say seven deaths now being looked at in connection with Queen Elizabeth university hospitalThe deaths of seven patients at Glasgow's landmark super-hospital are now being investigated, prosecutors have confirmed.The revelation that another two deaths are being examined after cancer patients, many of them children, contracted infections linked to Queen Elizabeth university hospital's (QEUH) contaminated water supply and ventilation system, comes after Scottish Labour made public further evidence of political pressure being applied to open the campus in April 2015, just before the general election. Continue reading...

Film with a cast headed by Anthony Hopkins tells the story of a supercar marque that began in a small Bologna garageDozens of Maseratis of 1920s and 1930s designs have been built specially for a feature film about the Italian car company's earliest days, with a cast headed by Anthony Hopkins.Maserati: The Brothers tells the story of siblings driven by their love of cars to create an automotive company from scratch. It all began in a little garage in the Italian city of Bologna: in 1914 they founded a sports supercar company that went on to make some of the fastest vehicles on the planet. Continue reading...

This is a blatant and disturbing disregard for the law and for people's security,' digital rights advocate says

Green party leader wants to legalise all drugs, regulate their use and not be the fun police'

Exclusive: Thousands of pounds unlocked to fund more diversity initiatives in diocese of capital

Woman claims she spent night at Royal Lodge and had tour of Buckingham Palace, says lawyerA second woman has alleged that Jeffrey Epstein sent her to the UK to have a sexual encounter with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, according to her lawyer.The woman has claimed she spent the night at the former prince's residence Royal Lodge in 2010, her US lawyer, Brad Edwards, told the BBC. The woman, who is not British, was in her 20s at the time, it was reported.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Israel says residents will be allowed to cross on foot only, with a reported 20,000 Palestinians waiting to leave for medical carePreparations to reopen Gaza's main border crossing into Rafah have begun, though it is uncertain if any Palestinians will pass through it before the day's end, officials have said.Before the war, the Rafah crossing with Egypt was the only direct exit point for most Palestinians in Gaza to reach the outside world as well as a key entry point for aid. It has been largely shut since May 2024. Continue reading...

Voters to choose president and 57 members of congress, with current president's hardline pick Laura Fernandez expected to win first roundCosta Rica heads to the polls on Sunday in an election dominated by increasing insecurity and warnings of an authoritarian turn in a country long seen as a model of liberal democracy in the region.Crime is a big concern for many voters as criminal groups battle to control lucrative cocaine trafficking routes to Europe and the US, casting a shadow on the Central American country famous for its wildlife tourism. Continue reading...

About 20 countries including G7 states in talks on rare earths including calls for US to guarantee minimum priceMinisters from the US, EU, UK, Japan, Australia and New Zealand will meet in Washington this week to discuss a strategic alliance over critical minerals.The summit is being seen as a step to repair transatlantic ties fractured by a year of conflict with Donald Trump and pave the way for other alliances to help countries de-risk from China, including one centred on steel. Continue reading...

Five years after the junta's coup, the civil war devastating Myanmar has reached a turning point. The military is carrying out large-scale counter-offensives across the country to reclaim territory seized by pro-democracy rebels of various ethnic and religious backgroundsIn Tanintharyi, the southernmost region of Myanmar, the local resistance has managed to contain the military. After five years of guerrilla warfare, the revolutionary youth there remain determined to restore democracy through armed struggle.A long, narrow stretch of land at the southern tip of Myanmar, between the Andaman Sea to the west and Thailand to the east, Tanintharyi region is one of the areas where the resistance challenges the military's authority. For decades, the region has been home to an armed rebellion led by the Karen ethnic minority, which operated mainly in the peripheral mountains.Soldiers from the Karen National Union (KNU) inspect the ruins of a Buddhist monastery destroyed by a junta airstrike in Myeik district, Tanintharyi region Continue reading...

Pressure mounts after government said it would publish names of those killed during recent unrestCalls are growing inside Iran for an independent inquiry into the number of people killed during recent protests after the government said it would oversee the publication of the names of the deceased.The highly unusual government move, announced on Thursday, is designed to head off claims that crimes against humanity have been committed and that as many as 30,000 Iranians have been killed. Iran's official death toll released by the Martyr's Foundation is 3,117, including members of the security services. Continue reading...

Some families have lost up to 10,000 after being duped into sending money to fraudsters' bank accountsForeign students attending independent schools in the UK are being targeted by fraudsters seeking to intercept their fee payments, according to new research.Some families have lost up to 10,000 after being duped into sending money to the bank account of a criminal, after receiving a fake email from the school bursar. Continue reading...

Whether in streets draped in anti-drone nets or deep in urban basements, Kherson residents go about their everyday activities with the constant threat of Russian bombingGalyna Lutsenko, a crisis psychologist, is moving busily among a small group of children seated around a table in a basement in Kherson, unique in being Ukraine's only leading city almost directly on the frontline with Russian forces - and one where people live with the daily threat of attack.She dangles a plasticine butterfly on a thread over a playhouse on the table. Her own house in the city, she says, was hit by Russian shelling in 2024, injuring her in the leg and stomach. Continue reading...

Plaintiffs in case say they were lured from Japan, exploited for labour and cut off from families for generationsIt has been more than six decades since Eiko Kawasaki left Japan to begin a new life in North Korea. Then 17, she was among tens of thousands of people with Korean heritage who had been lured to the communist state by the promise of a paradise on Earth".Instead, they encountered something closer to a living hell. They were denied basic human rights and forced to endure extreme hardship. Official promises of free education and healthcare plus guaranteed jobs and housing had been a cruel mirage. And to their horror, they were prevented from travelling to Japan to visit the families they had left behind. Continue reading...

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I quite frankly believe entirely that Sussan Ley has the support of the party room,' shadow health minister Anne Ruston says

This blog is now closed. Find more of our coverage on Jeffery Epstein here

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles last year, features heavily in the latest tranche of the Epstein filesKeir Starmer has said Andrew Mounbatten-Windsor should testify before the US Congress about his links to the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The prime minister, who is in Japan for a meeting with its premier, Sanae Takaichi, was asked by journalists if the former prince should apologise to the disgraced financier's victims and give evidence about what he knew about his crimes. Continue reading...

One dead and six missing as body and life boat from Lily Jean found after its disappearance from Gloucester portThe search for survivors of a commercial fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Massachusetts with seven aboard has been suspended, the US Coast Guard said Saturday.The coast guard had launched a search-and-rescue mission early Friday after receiving an alert from the 72ft Lily Jean about 25 miles (40km) off Cape Ann. Searchers found a debris field near where the alert had been sent along with a body in the water and an empty life raft, the coast guard said. Continue reading...

Former prime minister Tony Blair paid tribute to Triesman as a vital part of the New Labour movement'Lord Triesman, a former Labour minister and chair of the Football Association, has died at the age of 82. The Labour party said the peer died on Friday night peacefully and at home".The former prime minister Tony Blair paid tribute to David Triesman as a vital part of the New Labour movement". Labour's leader in the House of Lords, Angela Smith, described him as respected and loved by his colleagues for his courtesy, kindness, wisdom, loyalty and generosity of spirit". Continue reading...

Survivors of sexual abuse welcome the monumental shift' in how courts approach sentencing, while others say it could limit defendants' rights

Party picks ward councillor Angeliki Stogia to defend seat as PM and colleagues argue only Labour can beat ReformKeir Starmer has said the byelection in Gorton and Denton will be a referendum on true patriotism" saying Labour is the only party that can defeat the poisonous division" of Reform.The prime minister, during his visit to Japan, said he saw the vote as a two-way contest between Labour and Reform UK, as he criticised Nigel Farage's party. Continue reading...

US president reportedly eyes plot near Memorial Bridge for a large-scale structure named the Independence ArchDonald Trump reportedly wants the arch he is planning to build in Washington DC to dwarf the Lincoln Memorial.The US president envision the planned arch to be a height of 250ft, or significantly taller than the 100ft-tall Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Post reported on Saturday. It would also be significantly taller than Paris's 164ft-tall Arc de Triomphe - but less than half the height than the Gateway Arch in St Louis, Missouri, the world's tallest arch. Continue reading...

The veteran activist called his arrest at Palestine solidarity rally in London an attack on free speech'Peter Tatchell, the activist and campaigner, has been arrested for holding a placard which displayed the phrase globalise the intifada" at a pro-Palestine march in London.Tatchell, who attended a Palestine solidarity march in London on Saturday afternoon, held a sign that read: Globalise the intifada: Non-violent resistance. End Israel's occupation of Gaza & West Bank." Continue reading...

About 190,000 are still without power in the south-east as states scramble to prepare for more winter weatherDozens of people have died in the teeth of a severe winter storm across the US south, with further freezing temperatures, snow and blizzards set to assail the east coast on Saturday.At least 85 people have died across multiple states, according to an Associated Press tally, with frigid conditions and icy roads causing car crashes, hypothermia and other fatal incidents. Continue reading...

Emails between former prince and financier revealed in latest tranche of released documents Epstein files - latest updatesAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor invited Jeffrey Epstein to meet him at Buckingham Palace after the child sex offender was released from house arrest, new documents show.The latest tranche of releases from the US Department of Justice include an email exchange in 2010 between the financier and the then prince. Continue reading...

Despite repair problems, its admirers say Thomas Telford's Menai Bridge is good for another two centuriesWhen Ian Evans's grandfather opened a hardware shop on Anglesey in the 1930s, the Menai Bridge was instrumental in ensuring its success.The wrought-iron chains from the early 19th century had just been replaced with tensile steel, making the suspension bridge stronger and wider. This allowed it to carry heavier freight and the Evans family was able to order bottled gas from the newly established Calor Gas company, bringing widespread energy access to rural Anglesey (Ynys Mon). Continue reading...

Deadly attacks launched day before border crossing due to open as part of ceasefire dealIsrael has carried out some of its deadliest airstrikes on Gaza in months, killing at least 30 Palestinians, some of whom were sheltering in tent cities for displaced people.Despite a nominal ceasefire, the Israeli military struck a police station in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood west of Gaza City on Saturday, killing 10 officers and detainees, the civil defence said. It indicated the death toll could rise as emergency responders searched for bodies. Continue reading...

Nato chief has glibly dismissed prospect of coping without US support, but in the age of Trump the case for autonomy is growingThe Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, was typically blunt when he met members of the European parliament this week. From the dais of the blond-wood committee room in Brussels, he was clear: If anyone thinks that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US, keep on dreaming. You can't. We can't."And if Europe wanted to supplant the US nuclear deterrent, existing spending commitments would have to double, he added - so hey, good luck!" Continue reading...

Flowers and candles laid by VA building in Washington as killing reverberates through nursing communityFor Nolan Lee, it felt like Minnesota in Washington DC on Wednesday night. Despite the most extreme cold in 150 years, about a thousand people gathered in front of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) headquarters, a block from the White House, to remember Alex Pretti and demand an end to funding for US immigration and border agencies.The killings by federal agents of Pretti, an intensive care nurse at a veterans hospital, and Renee Good, a poet and mother of three, rocked Minneapolis and reverberated throughout the nation, with the future of US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) - up for debate as a key funding bill that would increase the agency's spending failed to pass the US Senate on Thursday. Continue reading...

Jacob Leland, who taught Russian, jailed for more than three years for sexually assaulting boy on school tripThe headteacher of Eton college has apologised and said he was appalled" after a former teacher was jailed for sexually assaulting a pupil.Jacob Leland, 37, who taught Russian, was jailed on Friday for three years and three months for sexually assaulting one of his pupils at his flat and during a school trip in 2012. Continue reading...

Alfredo Mancillas was reportedly slumped in vehicle and covered in vomit' when state troopers found him in St PaulA US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employee was recently arrested amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Minnesota after state troopers reportedly found him covered in vomit" and unconscious in a car.Alfredo Mancillas Jr, 31, faces charges of drunken driving after his arrest early Tuesday morning, jail records show. Continue reading...

$75m Amazon-produced paean to the first lady saw empty seats and faint praise as it opened in New York CityAt the beginning of her new documentary, Melania Trump tells the viewer that everybody wants to know" how she spends her time.So here it is," she says. Twenty days in my life." Continue reading...

Putin critic says plants in China, India and Turkey are funnelling up to $1bn a day to KremlinBill Browder's fight against Vladimir Putin has seen him face threats, lawsuits, false accusations of murder and Interpol arrest warrants. A disinformation-laden film was even made about him.But 16 years after the death of his friend and lawyer Sergei Magnitsky at the hands of Putin's regime, Browder is unrelenting in his fight for justice. It is an endeavour that, by his estimation, has cost Putin and his cronies billions of dollars already, via asset freezes and sanctions. Hence the considerable risk to his safety. Continue reading...

Effort to manipulate killing of Alex Pretti collapsed after footage torpedoed domestic terrorist' claim - could this be a turning point?Our press secretary, Sean Spicer, gave alternative facts." These were the words of the senior White House aide Kellyanne Conway on NBC television's Meet the Press in January 2017. Alternative facts" instantly set a template for the era of Donald Trump.So when Alex Pretti, 37, an intensive care nurse, was shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis last Saturday, White House officials immediately moved to brand him a would-be assassin" and domestic terrorist" who had been brandishing a gun. This time, however, the tried and trusted playbook did not work. Continue reading...

The brutal handling of immigration raids and the killing of Alex Pretti have tested the reticence of the corporate classDuring Donald Trump's first term, the US's corporate titans were prepared to literally turn their backs on the president when they disagreed with them. Weeks of growing national anger over deadly immigration crackdowns in the US have highlighted how much has changed.Publicly, the US's top CEOs have stayed - mostly - quiet during Trump's second term, even as his administration has undermined free trade policies, cracked down on the immigration that many businesses relied on, and attacked the Federal Reserve - a pillar of the US's financial hegemony. Continue reading...

Hundreds of claims still arriving each month, raising fears eligible operators will lose out on redressThe Post Office is to close the largest compensation scheme for post office operators affected by the Horizon scandal this weekend, leaving potentially thousands of claimants out of pocket for losses produced by the faulty IT system.The Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS), which will close for new applicants at 11.59pm on Saturday, has received more than 9,500 submissions, according to the latest public data to 19 December. Continue reading...

Ditching the traditional suit and tie for understated all black is as calculated as any Westminster suit, just aimed at a different audience'With Labour blocking Andy Burnham from returning as an MP, the so-called king of the north" came out wearing a simple black V-neck jumper with dark denim jeans. The Greater Manchester mayor, appearing at the launch of a Class Ceiling report at the city's Whitworth gallery on Monday, looked quietly, subtly, the outsider.It might not sound like much. But that is the point of Burnham's largely unnoteworthy look, which tends to involve Left Bank intellectual-adjacent black-on-black. In direct contrast to his tie-wearing colleagues in parliament, Burnham's style feels particularly symbolic. Continue reading...

Thousands set to gather in Budapest after Janos Lazar's remarks captured on videoThousands of people are set to gather in Budapest to demand the resignation of a senior Hungarian politician, for making a racist remark against Roma people earlier this month.Janos Lazar told attendees at a political forum that migration was not the solution to the country's labour shortage. Since there are no migrants, and someone has to clean the bathrooms on the InterCity trains," Lazar said Roma people would do the job, using an offensive slur in his speech. Continue reading...

Trump nominated Kevin Warsh, an ex-Fed governor, for the role as the White House continues to attack Jerome PowellThe US Federal Reserve requires strong, sound and steady leadership", according to Donald Trump. The president found a man to lead the central bank who would provide exactly that type of leadership", he declared.He's strong, he's committed and he's smart."This is not how Trump described Kevin Warsh, the former Fed governor whom he unveiled as his new nominee to chair the central bank on Friday - but how he hailed Jerome Powell, the current Fed chair, when nominating him for the job about eight years ago. Continue reading...

Campaigners criticise use of vulnerable' devices at Salisbury Cathedral and Parthenon despite their removal from sensitive UK government sitesSecurity cameras guarding Magna Carta are provided by a Chinese CCTV company whose technology has allegedly aided the Uyghur genocide" and been exploited by Russia during the invasion of Ukraine, it has emerged.In letters seen by the Guardian, campaigners called on Salisbury Cathedral, which houses one of four surviving copies of the powerful symbol of social justice", to rip out cameras made by Dahua Technology, based in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer says he wants to go further' in relations with Brussels as ministers look to restart stalled negotiationsThe UK and the EU are exploring the prospect of new talks on closer defence cooperation, as Keir Starmer stressed on Friday that he wanted to go further" in the UK's relationship with Brussels.

PM flies out after courting world's second biggest economy aware of difficult balance of risks and potential rewardsThe last British prime minister to visit China was Theresa May in 2018. Before the visit, she and her team were advised to get dressed under the covers because of the risk of hidden cameras having been placed in their hotel rooms to record compromising material.Keir Starmer, in Beijing this week, was more sanguine about his privacy, even though the security risks have, if anything, increased since the former Tory prime minister was in town. Continue reading...