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Daniel Khalife, 23, says he absconded because he was terrified' of being locked up with dangerous offendersA former British soldier has told a jury he did not hand himself in after he escaped from prison because he was finally demonstrating what a foolish idea it was" to imprison someone with his skill set".Daniel Khalife, 23, told the court he absconded from Wandsworth prison while on remand because he was terrified" of being locked up with serious sex offenders" and terrorists" who wanted to kill him, and that he did not think his imprisonment would be in the public interest. Continue reading...

Chief inspector raises prospect of judge-only trials and greater use of magistrates to reduce prosecutors' caseloadsThe backlog of cases in crown courts in England and Wales could hit 100,000 unless radical action is taken to overhaul the criminal justice system, a watchdog has said.Anthony Rogers, the chief inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said prosecutors' caseloads were already beyond what had been seen before and he feared the situation could deteriorate. Continue reading...

Care providers, GPs and pharmacists warn increased costs will cause cuts and job lossesServices that support some of England's most vulnerable people have warned that tax increases in the budget will lead to cuts and closures that could devastate the charity sector.Although the NHS and councils are protected from the impact of the rise in employers' national insurance contributions (NICs) announced in Wednesday's budget, charities that provide services say the increase means they will face existential" financial pressures. Continue reading...

Key officials say entire population of northern Gaza at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence'The situation in the northern Gaza Strip is apocalyptic" as Israel pursues a military offensive against Hamas militants in the area, top United Nations officials have warned.The entire Palestinian population in north Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence," they said in a statement on Friday signed by the heads of UN agencies, including the UN children's agency Unicef and the World Food Programme, and other aid groups. Continue reading...

Girl is in critical condition in hospital after being found injured at side of road in Hessle, say Humberside policeSix teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 13-year-old girl was stabbed in the neck.The two girls and four boys are in police custody after the attack in the town of Hessle, near Hull, which left the victim with life-threatening injuries. Continue reading...

Reports of such a request emerge as Israeli jets continues to bombard Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh

Rayner celebrates bold political vision' of Reeves's policies, though markets and farmers are less keenFor weeks, Labour MPs and officials have worried their government was drifting, dogged by controversies over freebies and donations, and unable to show voters its defining mission. On Wednesday that changed, for better or for worse.Announcing the biggest tax-raising budget for decades, along with a rapid injection of cash for health and education, Rachel Reeves made clear to her party and to the country what this government's priorities are. Continue reading...

Defra report warns there could be health disbenefits' with 29% of vapers reverting or relapsing to cigarettes

FCA says financier showed reckless disregard for rules over inquiry into alleged sexual misconductThe financial regulator has warned the former hedge fund manager Crispin Odey that it is planning to take action against him for failing to act with integrity, and deliberately frustrating a disciplinary process into sexual harassment allegations in order to protect his own interests.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it had notified Odey that it believed he had breached the regulator's code of conduct, which required him to act with integrity", between December 2021 and November 2022. Continue reading...

Durham police question 23-year-old in connection with break-in at England cricket captain's houseA man has been arrested after the County Durham home of the England cricket captain Ben Stokes was burgled. Stokes has said his wife and two children were at home during the break-in, in which his OBE medal and other valuables were taken.Durham police said a 32-year-old man from North Yorkshire was arrested on suspicion of burglary on Thursday night. He was released on bail while inquiries continue, the force said. Continue reading...

Nearly all are deemed high-risk' and so will need customs declarations and phytosanitary certificatesEvery year, hundreds of thousands of Christmas trees make the journey into the UK to take pride of place in living rooms across the country.But the the cross-border operation faces a new hurdle this year. Plants coming from the EU will be subject to post-Brexit border checks that importers are warning will increase costs for sellers, and probably push up prices for consumers. Continue reading...

Public asked to report sightings and not approach animals, which zoo says are not dangerous but will be scared'An Isle of Wight zoo has deployed tracker dogs and drones in an effort to recapture four raccoons that have escaped.The four animals managed to get out of their compound at Amazon World Zoo Park on Friday morning. Continue reading...

Restrictions on naming teenager who attacked two sleeping students and teacher at Blundell's school lifted by judgeA 17-year-old boy sentenced to life for attacking two sleeping students and a teacher with hammers at a private school can be named after a judge lifted restrictions on publishing his identity.Thomas Wei Huang was armed with three claw hammers and waited for the two boys to be asleep before attacking them at Blundell's school in Devon, Exeter crown court previously heard. Continue reading...

British women want men to better understand gender-based violence and harassment, finds YouGov surveyRarely can 10 words dropped into a TV chatshow have caused such a powerful ripple as those by the Blitz actor Saoirse Ronan on The Graham Norton Show.As fellow actors Paul Mescal, Eddie Redmayne, Denzel Washington and host Norton hooted with laughter over whether a mobile phone could be used as a weapon in self-defence, Ronan instantly punctured the merriment with the simple phrase: That's what girls have to think about all the time." Continue reading...

Senator doubles down on concerns about the new National Anti-Corruption Commission's credibility and reputation

Logan MacPhail, then 16, murdered 15-year-old Holly Newton in Hexham in January 2023

Republican adds Kennedy's remit would include women's health and says Liz Cheney should be placed in a war zone

Stoppage by 33,000 employees has lasted more than seven weeks but improved terms include 38% pay riseStriking Boeing staff have been urged by their union to vote for an improved contract offer including a 38% pay rise over four years, raising hopes of an end to the stoppage after more than seven weeks.The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) that represents the 33,000 workers has endorsed the new pay deal, which also includes a bigger bonus for signing up, and will ballot members on Monday in a vote that could end the long-running dispute. Continue reading...

Heightened risk Cadiz river could overflow, with yellow and orange rainfall warnings for southern regionsThe low-pressure system responsible for Spain's most devastating floods in decades in Valencia also set new rainfall records across south-eastern Spain. In Jerez de la Frontera, 115mm of rain fell in just 24 hours on Wednesday - the wettest day on record for the southern Spanish city. The deluge caused widespread flooding and road closures, and there is a heightened risk that the River Barbate in Cadiz could overflow as more rain is forecast through Friday and into the weekend.While the rare red warning issued on Thursday for Valencia has expired, Spain's national meteorological service, Aemet, has maintained yellow and orange rainfall warnings for southern and Mediterranean regions as storms continue to push in. Continue reading...

YouGov survey suggests fewer are confident that Harris will win and most expect violence if Trump is not electedMost western Europeans - and even many who vote for far-right parties - would like Kamala Harris to win the US presidential election, polling suggests, but fewer are confident that she will and most expect violence if Donald Trump is not elected.The YouGov Eurotrack survey of voters in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Denmark found that the Democratic vice-president was the preferred winner in every country , with sizeable majorities in favour of Harris in all except Italy. Continue reading...

Rate softens to 2.4% in October as Nationwide expects more transactions before budget's nil rate band move

Woman's relatives offer heartfelt condolences' to family of Jack Davey, 11, killed after car ploughed through Auburn South primary school fence

Early results show Mokgweetsi Masisi's Botswana Democratic party on track to lose by landslideBotswana's president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, has conceded defeat after preliminary results showed his party had lost its parliamentary majority in this week's election, ending nearly six decades in power.The private Mmegi newspaper and state radio reported that the ruling Botswana Democratic party (BDP) had lost by a landslide, citing results from more than half the constituencies. Continue reading...

Scores of people have died as country is hit by deadliest floods in decadesAt least 150 people have died in Spain after torrential rains triggered the country's deadliest floods in decades, unleashing a deluge of muddy water that turned village streets into rivers, destroyed homes and swept away bridges, railways tracks and cars.An unknown number of people remain missing, while thousands of others are without electricity or phone service. The majority of those killed were in the coastal region of Valencia, where the state-run agency said that nearly a year's worth of rain had fallen in just eight hours. Continue reading...

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Howard Cox and Ben Habib take issue with chair saying party wants nothing to do with Robinson and all of that lot'Reform UK is facing a schism over its approach to Tommy Robinson's supporters, after two high-profile party figures said it was wrong to disavow those who went to a weekend rally backing the far-right leader.Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform, said earlier this week the party want nothing to do with" Robinson and all of that lot". Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, also said after the summer riots that he had never had anything to do with the Tommy Robinsons and those who genuinely do stir up hatred". Continue reading...

Missing Pieces Project maps buildings in 189 locations where African American abolitionists spoke against slaveryHistoric England is commemorating the American abolitionist Frederick Douglass's time in Newcastle in a project that links the legacy of black abolitionists with listed buildings.The story of how black Americans came to Britain to fight slavery has still not been fully recognised. The Missing Pieces Project aims to shed new light on the struggle by charting the locations on the lecture tours of 19th-century activists. Continue reading...

Sector says review shows need for reform of funders and providers, however experts question potential selection bias of voluntary data

Investigation under way into whether mechanical failure resulted in deaths of German shepherds Xtra and Soldier in Sydney

The international criminal court awarded a record 52.4m to survivors of Dominic Ongwen's crimes but member states have failed to contributeNot a single country has contributed towards reparations for the victims and survivors of the Ugandan warlord Dominic Ongwen, despite the international criminal court awarding 52.4m (44m) in February, according to the ICC Trust Fund for Victims (TFV).The ICC reparations order - the largest in the court's history - was issued after a 2021 ruling in which the court found Ongwen, a former commander of the Lord's Resistance Army militia group, guilty of various war crimes committed between 2002 and 2005, including murder, torture, sexual enslavement, the conscription of children into hostilities, and brutal attacks on four camps for internally displaced people in northern Uganda. Continue reading...

LNP leader's cabinet includes several changes, including former leader Tim Nicholls as health minister and Fiona Simpson in women's portfolio

Barbaro, 38, killed Ellie Price, 26, in her South Melbourne home in a stabbing attack a judge described as senseless and cruel

Auditors examined APO contracts and found undeclared conflicts of interest and wrongly identified preferred suppliers

One Nation leader ordered to delete tweet and pay Greens senator's costs, likely to total many hundreds of thousands'

Deputy commissioner referred to Ibac over potential misuse of position in school traffic argument

MP for Prahran says he is working to make amends' after significant error of judgment'

Shadow transport minister says she is reviewing her own declarations on flight upgrades she may have received

Ronnie Lessa and Elcio de Queiroz sentenced to 78 and 59 years over 2018 murder of prominent Rio city councillorTwo former police officers who confessed to the murder of Rio city councillor Marielle Franco have been sentenced to decades in prison for their part in a crime that shook Brazil and cast a harsh spotlight on the links between politics and organised crime.Ronnie Lessa admitted to firing 14 shots in the 2018 drive-by shooting that killed Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes, 39, and was sentenced to 78 years and nine months. Elcio de Queiroz, who confessed to driving the getaway car, was sentenced to 59 years and eight months. Continue reading...

Located in a former bank downtown, the facility has had 300 people apply for its remaining 17 rental bedsA company that rents sleeping pods" in downtown San Francisco for $700 a month has had 300 people apply for its remaining 17 beds, the company's CEO said.Brownstone Shared Housing describes its mission as providing low cost housing in the most expensive cities". Its bunkbed-style pods" measure approximately 3.5ft-by-4ft-by-6.5ft, large enough to fit a twin mattress. The pods come with privacy curtains, inside lighting and charging ports. Continue reading...

David Goldstone to advise chancellor and chief secretary to the Treasury on ways to cut public spendingDavid Goldstone, the government's new value for money chair, will receive a daily salary rate of 950, it has been reported.The position was announced by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, as part of Wednesday's budget statement. She said Goldstone, who will be in post for a year, would help us realise the benefits from every pound of public spending". Continue reading...

Stepmother's WhatsApp messages read out at Old Bailey in trial over death of 10-year-old in Surrey last yearThe father of Sara Sharif forced his daughter to do sit-ups all night because she hid his keys, a court has heard.Urfan Sharif was also said to have made the schoolgirl put her hands in the air after beating her so badly her stepmother, Beinash Batool, feared he would break her arms and legs. Continue reading...

In Sinaloa state, police have asked for security measure so revelers aren't mistaken for criminals amid cartel violenceAuthorities in the Mexican state of Sinaloa have ordered residents not to don masks or costumes for Halloween to avoid being confused with criminals amid a worsening cycle of cartel violence.Home to the powerful Sinaloa cartel, the north-western state has been wracked by deadly infighting between factions of the group following the arrest of one of its leaders, drug trafficker Ismael El Mayo" Zambada, in the United States in late July. Continue reading...

US secretary of state and defence secretary express hope of ceasefire in near future as Hamas rules out short-term truce for GazaReuters reports that the Israeli military said on Thursday it had shot down a drone smuggling weapons from Egyptian territory to Israel on Wednesday.No other information was provided. We will update the blog as more details come in.Rafael and Lala Goliev ... residents of Lod, were arrested after they carried out tasks on behalf of an Iranian cell that recruits Israelis from the Caucasus countries in Israel." Continue reading...

Antony Blinken warns that Russia is preparing to deploy the troops into combat in the coming days'About 8,000 North Korean soldiers are stationed in Russia on the border with Ukraine, the US secretary of state has said, warning that Moscow is preparing to deploy those troops into combat in the coming days".Antony Blinken said the US believed that North Korea had sent 10,000 troops to Russia in total, deploying them first to training bases in the far east before sending the vast majority to the Kursk region on the border with Ukraine. Continue reading...

Independent Schools Council says its focus is on children and it is concerned about impact on specialist schoolsThe Independent Schools Council (ISC) has said it will launch legal action against the government's decision to impose VAT on independent school fees.The council, which represents more than 1,400 private schools in the UK and abroad, reached its decision after a board meeting held on Thursday. Continue reading...

Greek Cypriot Costa Koushiappis to be removed from UK even though his application is pending with Home OfficeAn EU citizen caught up in a Home Office backlog of applications for post-Brexit residency status is to be deported by Border Force officials in Scotland.Costa Koushiappis, 39, who is Greek Cypriot, has been told to show up at Edinburgh airport at 7am on Friday to be forcibly put on a flight to Amsterdam just weeks after he received an email from the Home Office to say it could take a further 24 months to process his application for status. Continue reading...

Rachel Reeves made funding the NHS a priority but people working in other areas said they were disappointedRachel Reeves's first budget emphasised raising taxes to help the NHS, as the health service tries to cope with huge waiting lists and an ageing population. Funding the NHS was a top priority but people in other sectors - from universities to social care - feel the budget was a missed opportunity to tackle impending crises or introduce desperately needed reforms in their areas. Continue reading...

Peter Lynch, 61, had been convicted of rioting outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in RotherhamA 61-year-old man who was found dead in prison is believed to have killed himself, an inquest heard.Peter Lynch was jailed after being convicted of rioting outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Manvers, Rotherham.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...

Pro-choice campaigners welcome CPS guidance that silent prayer' is among the activities prohibited within the 150-metre buffer areaAnti-abortion activists have been taking up positions just outside new buffer zones around reproductive health clinics on the first day of a law coming into effect.The safe access zones - which were initially approved by MPs in May last year - prohibit actions including the handing-out of anti-abortion leaflets within a 150-metre radius around centres in England and Wales. Continue reading...

Markets conclude higher level of public spending could lead to higher inflation, making cuts in Bank of England rate less likely