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Harriet Harman leads calls for an appointment that would turbocharge' a complete culture change' at No 10Female Labour MPs have demanded that Keir Starmer appoint a senior woman as his de facto deputy to oversee a complete culture change" in Downing Street after a series of scandals that they say have exposed a No 10 boy's club".Harriet Harman, one of the party's most senior figures, urged Starmer to revive the role of first secretary of state on Wednesday, a post occupied by Peter Mandelson under Gordon Brown. Continue reading...

Transcription tools used by councils in England and Scotland reported to hallucinate and produce gibberish'AI tools are making potentially harmful errors in social work records, from bogus warnings of suicidal ideation to simple gibberish", frontline workers have said.Keir Starmer last year championed what he called incredible" time-saving social work transcription technology. But research across 17 English and Scottish councils shared with the Guardian has now found AI-generated hallucinations are slipping in. Continue reading...

Policy announced in autumn budget freezes threshold at which students start repaying university loansProtesters dressed as sharks and in Rachel Reeves face masks gathered outside the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday to express their anger over changes to their student loans and their ballooning debt.The demonstration by members of the National Union of Students (NUS) characterised the chancellor as a loan shark after changes to university loan repayments. Continue reading...

Scottish Labour leader agrees PM can support party's effort to win May's Holyrood election in abrupt about-face

States brace for less water and fire risks as Oregon, Colorado and Utah report lowest statewide snowpack since 1980sA record snow drought is plaguing the western US, leaving some of the thirstiest states bracing for less water and elevated fire risks through the drier months to come.Snow cover is roughly a third of what it typically is for this time of year across the west, according to measurements from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, prompting widespread concern among experts and water managers that several key basins will be severely affected through the rest of the year. Continue reading...

Steve Whittamore says Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday remained his best customers' for two years after his 2005 convictionA private investigator convicted of illegally obtaining secret information has said the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday remained his best customers" after his conviction, the high court has heard.Steve Whittamore, who was convicted in 2005 and given a conditional discharge, said his activities for the publisher of the titles, Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), spanned from 1998 to 2007. Continue reading...

Head of alliance warns that Ukraine cannot sustain this fight or secure this peace alone'As part of the increased focus on Arctic and High North, UK defence secretary John Healey is expected to confirm today that the number of British troops deployed to Norway will double over three years from 1,000 to 2,000 personnel.Demands on defence are rising, and Russia poses the greatest threat to Arctic and High North security that we have seen since the cold war. We see Putin rapidly re-establishing military presence in the region, including reopening old cold war bases," Healey warned in a government statement published overnight. Continue reading...

Cuban aviation authorities have warned country is running out of jet fuel, threatening to derail tourism industry

Actor's comments came as she accepted a lifetime achievement award for women in the artsKristin Scott Thomas has accused male theatre critics of failing to understand plays written by women and about women.Citing her monologue on menstruation in Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag, she said the speech had ripped through the internet", proving the appetite for female stories told on their own terms. Continue reading...

Unabashedly grand collection featuring velvet and beading is teamed with knits and loafers to reflect fashion in the real world right nowRalph Lauren is the US's poet laureate of style. His brand came of age in a gilded era of American charm, when Bill Clinton was president, the economy was booming and the twin towers glittered on the Manhattan skyline. His clothes speak to an America of sportsmanship and vigour, where everyone has a firm handshake and perfect teeth.The US could use some poetry right now, and Lauren is still the man. In fact, at 86, he is the hottest designer at New York fashion week. Continue reading...

Pelicot writes of brain stopping working' when police told her of crimes of man she shared her life with for 50 yearsGisele Pelicot, who became a global symbol of courage during the trial of her ex-husband and the dozens of men who raped her while she was unconscious, has described her shock when police first showed her images of the crimes, likening herself to a rag doll".In extracts from her forthcoming memoir, A Hymn to Life, Pelicot, 73, describes her shock when police told her of the actions of her ex-husband Dominique, whom she considered a great guy" and had shared her life with for 50 years. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer defends his actions as Kemi Badenoch asks why Matthew Doyle was given a job for life'

Dutch brewer lowers forecasts for 2026 profit growth as cost of living and consumer health concerns reduce sales

Despite Coniston's rural charm and seven pubs, health practice fails to attract GP after 170 years with family doctorWith its undulating hills and rural charm, many of us would dream of working in the Lake District village of Coniston. But not, it seems, if you are a GP.After 170 years with a dedicated family doctor, Coniston faces losing its health practice after failing to attract a single GP to the area. Continue reading...

Daisy Cooper says over-centralised' Treasury would be merged with parts of Department for Business and moved to BirminghamThe Liberal Democrats would replace the Treasury and Department for Business with a new department for growth, with the aim of creating a more cohesive and long-term economic vision for the UK, the party has said in a major policy move.Announcing the plan at a speech in London, Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dems' deputy leader and Treasury spokesperson, said a Treasury brain" mindset based around short-term fiscal imperatives was dragging the country down. Continue reading...

US state department's Sarah B Rogers publicly attacks policies on hate speech and immigration in other countriesAs Donald Trump redoubled his war of words on the European Union and Nato in recent weeks, a senior state department official, Sarah B Rogers, was publicly attacking policies on hate speech and immigration by ostensible US allies, and promoting far-right parties abroad.Rogers has arguably become the public face of the Trump administration's growing hostility to European liberal democracies. Since assuming office in October, she has met with far-right European politicians, criticized prosecutions under longstanding hate speech laws, and boasted online of sanctions against critics of hate speech and disinformation on US big tech platforms. Continue reading...

Jim Boyling tells public inquiry senior managers turned blind eye to long-term relationships with three womenAn undercover officer who deceived three women into sexual relationships said his superiors did nothing to prevent him from doing so, the spycops public inquiry has heard.Jim Boyling, who infiltrated environmental and animal rights activist groups for five years, said senior managers turned a blind eye to undercover officers having deceitful sexual relationships, often lasting years, with women. His managers adopted an attitude of don't ask, don't tell", he said. Continue reading...

Ulf Kristersson answers calls from voters in informal weekly show, on topics from women's safety to beerHi Ulf!" says a male voice from the Swedish prime minister's answering machine. Just wondering how many beers you have on a Saturday night?"Another caller to Ulf Kristersson's new podcast Ring statsministern! (Call the prime minister!), asks whether he is friends with Jimmie Akesson, the leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats party who simultaneously backs his government and is a rival in the upcoming general election. Continue reading...

Police search for more possible victims of Jacques Leveugle, whose alleged crimes span many countries and date back to 1960sFrench police have made a rare international appeal for victims and witnesses in the case of a 79-year-old former teacher accused of raping and sexually assaulting 89 children across five continents from the 1960s until 2022.Police in Grenoble said Jacques Leveugle, who has been in pretrial detention in France since April 2025, was a textbook example" of a serial sexual offender in an unusually sprawling case spanning many countries from Germany to India over more than five decades. Continue reading...

Fatema Rajwani's comments come after she and five others were cleared of aggravated burglary over break-in at Israeli defence firmThe youngest of six Palestine Action activists cleared of aggravated burglary over a break-in at an Israeli defence firm's UK site has said the verdicts were a vindication of their cause.After 18 months in jail, Fatema Rajwani, 21, was released on bail last Wednesday, having also been acquitted by a jury at Woolwich crown court of violent disorder in relation to the raid on the Elbit Systems factory in Filton, near Bristol, on 6 August 2024. Continue reading...

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Taylor says party in worst position' since formation and says it needs strong leadership, clear direction'

Austin Appelbee told authorities he was really scared' after swimming 4km in rough seas to get help for mum and two siblings

CBA shares surge by 7% after bumper $5.45bn result while data shows owner-occupiers' share of lending has decreased in tight property market

Mal Lanyon says police were required' to disperse crowd, while Mehreen Faruqi accused them of assaulting Muslims'

Lengthy delays in compensation are emblematic' of what many relatives of migrant workers go through in the Gulf kingdom, say rights groupsWhen Mohammad Arshad fell to his death while constructing the first new stadium for the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, one of the main stadium contractors, the Belgian construction multinational Besix, promised it would take immediate steps to ensure all end-of-service and insurance payments were, handled in a timely and respectful manner".Almost a year later, Arshad's family say they have yet to receive either. Continue reading...

PM and global climate action advocate looks set to secure another victory despite voter concerns over cost of living and crimeBarbados prime minister and global climate action champion, Mia Amor Mottley, is on course for a third consecutive term in office, forecasts suggest, as voters head to the polls on Wednesday.Mottley is the country's first female leader since its independence in 1966, and her strong international advocacy for climate action and support for small and vulnerable nations have made her an influential and popular global and regional leader, experts say. Continue reading...

More than 25 people are injured, including two with life-threatening injuries, after shooting at secondary school and local residence

More than half of the cases presenting to the St Vincent's emergency department in Sydney had self-reported speeds of more than 25km/h

In Cardinham, which has had 366mm of rain this year, there's little need to check the weather forecast: more rain

Exclusive: Most people in charity's study say they worry about being separated from relatives under Mahmood plansFamilies of nurses and carers have said they fear being torn apart under an immigration crackdown condemned as an act of economic vandalism".A survey of more than 1,000 people, many of whom moved to Britain to work or study, found that three in five worry about being separated from their relatives. Continue reading...

Israeli president's visit met with protests outside Parliament House, with at least one independent MP boycotting question time

The 85-year-old magazine will return to the city for which it was named after a successful bid by Queensland University of Technology

Finding over abuse in Newcastle-Maitland diocese signals major shift in church's liability to victim survivorsThe high court has delivered a landmark win for survivors of clergy abuse, finding the Catholic church had a duty of care to protect a child from one of its paedophile priests.A man known only as AA sued the Catholic church's Newcastle and Maitland diocese over abuse he suffered at the hands of Father Ron Pickin in 1969, when he was aged just 13. Continue reading...

US, Britain, EU and Arab nations condemn plans that Israeli ministers say will kill the idea of a Palestinian state'Israeli measures to tighten its control of the West Bank have prompted a global backlash, including a signal from Washington restating the Trump administration's opposition to annexation of the occupied territory.Announcing the measures, which involve extending Israeli control in areas that are currently under Palestinian administration, Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, made clear they were aimed at strengthening Israeli settlements in the West Bank and pre-empting the emergence of an independent sovereign Palestine. Continue reading...

Music publisher Primary Wave said to have bought rights to pop star's music, including Toxic and Baby One More TimeBritney Spears has sold the rights to her music catalog, which includes hits such as Toxic, Baby One More Time and Gimme More, according to media reports.The music publisher Primary Wave is said to have purchased the pop star's music rights on 30 December, TMZ reported on Tuesday, citing legal documents. An unnamed source familiar with the deal" confirmed the sale to the New York Times. Continue reading...

Police have been searching for Belgian tourist, 31, since she went missing near Cradle Mountain in June 2023

Community Security Trust, which provides security to British Jews, recorded total 3,700 incidents in 2025Antisemitic incidents increased sharply in the UK after the deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue on the holiest day of the Jewish year, according to an organisation that provides security to British Jews.Two people died and three were seriously injured at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation on 2 October last year, in the first fatal antisemitic terror attack since the Community Security Trust (CST) began recording incidents in 1984. Continue reading...

House of Commons business and trade committee calls for changes after series of scandals in sectorThe UK government needs to eradicate unsustainable" gaps in the policing of franchise businesses after a series of scandals to hit the sector, a parliamentary committee has found.The conclusion forms part of the business and trade committee's small business strategy report and follows a Guardian investigation in December which revealed claims that Adrian Howe, a former Vodafone employee who had agreed to become a franchisee in 2018, drowned after becoming convinced his deal with the multinational company would prove financially disastrous. Continue reading...

Special spaces are a key part of government's planned overhaul of special educational needs supportSecondary schools in England must provide specially designed areas for neurodiverse children and pupils with special educational needs, ministers have said.Universal inclusion bases" are spaces away from classrooms where children with additional needs can get support for some lessons. They are seen as a key part of government plans to overhaul special educational needs and disabilities (Send) support. Continue reading...

The 28 January raid of the Fulton county election office also came after a referral from a White House lawyerThe FBI's rationale behind raiding the Fulton county election office in Georgia last month was based on debunked claims from election deniers and came after a referral from a White House lawyer who tried to overturn the 2020 election, a search warrant affidavit unsealed on Tuesday reveals.The warrant offers the first insight for the basis for the FBI's 28 January raid on the Fulton county election office. FBI officials seized nearly 700 boxes of election materials in the raid. Continue reading...

They cannot erase our history. Our Pride flag will be raised again,' says Manhattan borough presidentThe Trump administration has removed a large pride flag from the Stonewall national monument in New York City, marking the latest move by the federal government to end diversity initiatives and sanitize the history shared in national parks.The monument commemorates the June 1969 riots that followed a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. The six days of protests against the police action were a key moment in sparking the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and the site has since become a national symbol of LGBTQ+ Pride. Continue reading...

Health secretary poised to make leadership bid after May local elections to pre-empt a potential challenge from rival Rayner, MPs close to him sayAllies of Wes Streeting expect him to try to depose Keir Starmer within weeks, despite the health secretary insisting he backs the prime minister and is not intending to move against him, the Guardian has been told.Starmer attempted to regain authority over his party on Tuesday after a tumultuous day in Westminster during which he was denounced by the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and lost his director of communications. Continue reading...

Labour peer Matthew Doyle has apologised for links to Sean Morton who was convicted of possession of indecent images of childrenKeir Starmer's longstanding communications chief has been suspended from the Labour whip in his new role in the Lords after it emerged that he had campaigned on behalf of a friend who had been charged with possessing indecent images of children.Matthew Doyle, who stepped down as the No 10 head of communications last March and was made a peer in December, said in a statement that he apologised for his links to Sean Morton, a former Labour councillor in Scotland who was convicted in 2018 of possessing the images. Continue reading...

Downing Street initially feared Scottish Labour leader's move was part of a wider leadership challengeDowning Street is increasingly confident that Anas Sarwar's call for Keir Starmer to stand down was not part of a coordinated plot by a leadership rival to bring down the prime minister, the Guardian understands.The Scottish Labour leader spoke to several cabinet ministers including Wes Streeting, as well as former deputy leader Angela Rayner, ahead of his explosive intervention on Monday, but sources said he had not revealed his plans. Continue reading...

Teenagers routinely see content promoting weight-loss drugs, steroids and skin-whitening creams, research findsChildren are being bombarded" with harmful products online, including weight-loss drugs, steroids and skin-whitening chemicals, a study has found.Research conducted for the children's commissioner for England found that teenagers were routinely exposed to harmful products on social media, video games and apps. Continue reading...

As he faces calls from lawmakers to resign, Lutnick testifies that he and his family visited disgraced financier in 2012The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, had lunch with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on the disgraced financier's private island, he said on Tuesday, as he faces mounting calls to resign from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation" in 2012, Lutnick said in testimony on Tuesday before the Senate appropriations committee. Continue reading...

Cold spell means cars can cross 20km stretch of frozen sea but drivers must be able to exit quickly in case of a problemTemperatures in northern Europe have been so low that citizens of Estonia can now drive across a 20km stretch of frozen sea linking the country's two main islands.The so-called ice road" connecting the islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, located in western Estonia between the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga, was officially opened on Sunday with a line of cars waiting to use it that afternoon. Continue reading...

Trump earlier had ranted against bridge and also warned that China would terminate' hockey in CanadaMark Carney said he had held a positive" conversation with Donald Trump after the US leader threatened to block a new key bridge between their two countries, reminding the president that Canada paid for the structure - and that the US shares ownership.Late on Monday, Trump posted a lengthy message on social media, falsely claiming that the $4.6bn Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, had virtually no US content". The bridge is due to open in early 2026. Continue reading...

An illuminating show at the Young V&A in London showcases the work of the world's leading stop-motion studioWhat would Wallace - everyone's favourite amateur Yorkshire inventor - look like with a moustache, straw boater and postal worker's coat? Would a huge set of teeth suit his faithful beagle, Gromit? How about a nose shaped like a banana?Such questions are answered by an illuminating and sometimes alarming exhibition at east London's Young V&A that showcases the work of the world's leading stop-motion outfit, the Bristol-based Aardman studios. Early sketches for Nick Park's much-loved characters reveal that Wallace was once just a few bristles short of Hitler, while Gromit had fangs and the ability to speak. Continue reading...