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Michael Bene is repaying 763 advance' despite evidence he did not attend face-to-face verification interviewA special needs teacher has spent almost a year trying to clear his name after a fraudulent universal credit claim was made using his identity, which has left him on the hook for hundreds of pounds in repayments.The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has refused to acknowledge the fraud, even though Michael Bene has supplied evidence he was in the Scottish Highlands when the claimant attended a face-to-face verification interview in Cheshire. Continue reading...

Two-year-old boy dies and homes buried as remnants of Tropical Storm Mario bring downpours and thunderFlash flooding and landslides led to the death of a two-year-old boy in California in the US last week, after heavy rainfall followed on the heels of Tropical Storm Mario further south. The storm skirted the Pacific coast of Mexico with minimal disruption, eventually dissipating to the west of Baja California on Tuesday, but the remnants went on to cause havoc on Thursday. Residual moist air from the tropical storm was drawn north-east towards California, bringing heavy downpours and thunder to central and southern counties.The heaviest rainfall was in the mountains of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, where up to 68mm (2.67in) fell in a few hours. Further north, Death Valley - famously one of the driest places on Earth - received 15mm of rain, triple the average rainfall for September and a full quarter of the yearly average. Continue reading...

Small business owners told telecoms group of stress four years before 62 launched 120m high court claimVodafone franchisees warned the telecoms group of the massive impact" commission cuts were having on their mental health four years before a group of 62 launched a 120m high court claim against the company, it has emerged.Franchisees of the high street chain said they were feeling stressed and had suffered from anxiety" as a result of the decision to cut fees, in research that also indicated they had little trust in Vodafone's word. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Labour Together report, endorsed by Steve Reed, says devolving power can improve services while saving money

At least two groups supporting UK asylum seekers have closed their offices after credible threats to their safetyMore than 150 lawyers, human rights, refugee and environmental organisations have said they are being pressured into silence" after some received rape and death threats from far-right and anti-migrant protesters.At least two refugee NGOs that have been supporting asylum seekers who have received notices from the Home Office that they will be forcibly removed to France under Labour's controversial one in, one out" scheme have closed their offices after credible threats to their safety. Continue reading...

Essex-based John Brandler seeking final loan payments as well as three murals from exhibitions companyA bitter row has broken out between a British art dealer and an Italian exhibitions company over three enormous Banksy murals that were loaned three years ago and which the dealer insured for 15m.John Brandler, an Essex-based specialist in work by the graffiti artist, is pursuing legal action after losing patience with Metamorfosi in Rome, which stages temporary touring exhibitions. Continue reading...

Oscar winner's comments come days after suspension of Jimmy Kimmel by ABC and Disney, a decision heavily criticised by major stars including Pedro Pascal and Olivia RodrigoAngelina Jolie has said I don't recognise my country" amid the threats to free speech in the US, saying anything anywhere that divides or limits personal expressions and freedoms from anyone, I think, is very dangerous".At Spain's San Sebastian film festival on Sunday, the Oscar winning actor was asked by a journalist: What do you fear as an artist and an American?" Continue reading...

Communications minister Anika Wells says telco has no excuses here' after last week's outage linked to three deaths across two states

Washington Post says announcement imminent despite guidelines showing drug is safe for pregnant women to takeDonald Trump's administration is expected to tie pregnant women's use of the popular medicine known as Tylenol to a risk for autism, contrary to medical guidelines, the Washington Post has reported.Trump officials on Monday are also expected to announce an effort to explore how the drug leucovorin could purportedly and potentially treat autism, according to the Post report published Sunday, which cited four sources with knowledge of the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made. Continue reading...

Witness recounts shooter yelling free Palestine' while targeting someone as investigators try to determine motiveA man shot one person to death and wounded two others at a New Hampshire country club as a wedding took place there on Saturday, according to authorities.A witness to the attack - named as Tom Bartelson of Pepperell, Massachusetts - said his nephew was getting married at the time of the shooting, and he recounted hearing the shooter yell the children are safe" and free Palestine" while evidently targeting someone. Continue reading...

Military steps up Gaza City takeover campaign as high-rise towers targeted and residents ordered to leaveIsraeli strikes killed at least 40 people in Gaza on Sunday, including 19 women and children, as well as five people in Lebanon.At least 14 people were killed in a single strike on a residential block in southern Gaza City, health officials at al-Shifa hospital said. Another attack killed at least eight Palestinians in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to al-Awda hospital. Continue reading...

Huge crowds pack the streets to oppose endeavours to help ex-president escape jailTens of thousands of Brazilians have taken to the streets to demand no amnesty be granted to their country's former president Jair Bolsonaro after he was convicted of plotting a coup.The far-right populist was sentenced to 27 years in prison earlier this month for illegally attempting to cling to power after he lost the 2022 presidential election to his leftwing opponent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Continue reading...

Thinktank poll reveals voters unclear what party stands for despite photo opportunities winning more media coverageThe Liberal Democrats should drop their stunts and offer a more serious policy programme if they want to gain support among voters, according to a study presented at the party's annual conference.Polling by the More in Common thinktank, shown to Lib Dem members at the gathering in Bournemouth, suggested that while it has the scope to go beyond its historic total of 72 MPs at the last election, many voters tempted by the party remain uncertain about what it stands for. Continue reading...

After 13 years, warrant has been issued for UK suspect, but Robert James Purkiss would need to be extradited to face charges

Arrest warrant issued for Robert James Purkiss, with Kenyan government seeking his extradition to face charges

Russian Il-20M reconnaissance plane ignored requests to make contact in latest in what are seen as provocative acts by the KremlinTwo German Eurofighter jets were scrambled on Sunday to intercept a Russian military aircraft above the Baltic Sea, as Estonia said it would call an emergency meeting of the UN security council after Russian planes violated its airspace.Germany's air force said the Russian Il-20M reconnaissance plane had switched off its transponders and ignored requests to make contact. The Eurofighters took off from the Rostock-Laage airbase to head off the aircraft as it flew in international airspace. Continue reading...

Dozens of police officers injured as anger erupts over billions allegedly spent on bogus relief projectsTens of thousands of Filipinos took to the streets on Sunday to protest against government corruption after it was alleged that taxpayers have lost billions of dollars to bogus flood relief projects.Students, church groups, celebrities, and citizens from different political camps filled the streets in Manila and other cities. Continue reading...

As well as being deeply symbolic, the move is also a major foreign policy shift for the Labour governmentThe UK's formal recognition of Palestinian statehood is deeply symbolic on the world stage, but the major foreign policy shift is also a significant political step for the Labour government at home. The announcement followed mounting pressure on Keir Starmer from within the Labour party and beyond. Continue reading...

Murano resident reported children, aged between 12 and 13, to the policeItaly might be a football-loving country but that did not stop police in Venice from pursuing a group of unlikely targets: 14 children who fell foul for playing the game in a public square, leading to fines presented to their parents, in a move that has sparked a debate about the rights of young people to play outdoors.The children, aged between 12 and 13, were playing football in Pino Signoretto square in Murano, an island of about 4,500 inhabitants in the Venetian lagoon, on 12 September when a resident, annoyed by the noise they were making, reported them to the police. Continue reading...

Tributes paid to consummate pro' and rock solid' presenter of Newsnight, Watchdog and GMTV's News HourTributes have been made across the world of television to the rock solid broadcaster and ultimate gentleman" John Stapleton, who has died at the age of 79 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2024.Stapleton's agent, Jackie Gill, said on Sunday: John had Parkinson's disease, which was complicated by pneumonia. His son Nick and daughter-in-law Lise have been constantly at his side and John died peacefully in hospital this morning." Continue reading...

Strip away the pinball machines and photo booth props at Cpac, and the scale of Ley's challenge in simply keeping the Coalition alive, let alone making it competitive again, becomes clear

Electric vehicle take-up is a factor driving change, with manual lessons expected to become clear minority'For many teenagers, it feels like the first taste of true adulthood: sinking the clutch to the floor, coaxing the gearstick into first and lurching into motion.But soon, such a milestone could seem as archaic as travelling by horse and cart. Continue reading...

Reach's chief content officer says issue is part of a national trend that goes wider than the partyThe publisher of the Nottingham Post has spoken of an increasingly Trumpian approach" to the media creeping into British politics, amid a Reform-led council's continuing ban against the title.The 150-year-old paper, as well as its website, Nottinghamshire Live, have been prevented from speaking to Reform's Nottingham county council leader, Mick Barton, while he has also prevented the titles from receiving updates and press releases. Continue reading...

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and husband Peter, 80, said it was never explained to them why they were imprisonedA British couple who were reunited with their family in the UK after being released from almost eight months in detention in Afghanistan have said they feared being executed by the Taliban.Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife, Barbie, 76, who arrived at Heathrow on Saturday, said it was never explained to them why they were imprisoned in Afghanistan after their arrest in February. Continue reading...

Move comes as Anthony Albanese tries to secure meeting with Donald Trump and amid warnings that recognition could spark punitive measures' from the US

Piece on website of LEYF, which runs nurseries across London, talked of party's growing appeal to mothers'The company running the House of Commons nursery and others across London has been criticised for publishing an article on its website praising Reform UK's conference and claiming anti-immigration protests were driven by a sense of injustice".The article, which was taken down by LEYF nurseries after an approach by the Guardian, was written by its chief executive, June O'Sullivan, after her visit to the party's conference. Continue reading...

In Manchester and beyond creative responses to the unwelcome message of raise the colours' are appearing

Albanese government under pressure to ensure stiff penalties are imposed as emergency management minister blasts telco as absolutely disgraceful"

Exclusive: Ex-minister being tried in absentia in Bangladesh claims ID card and passport tendered as evidence not hersThe former City minister Tulip Siddiq has said she fears prosecutors could be planning to use fake" documents to secure her conviction in her trial in Bangladesh on corruption charges.The Labour MP, who is being tried in absentia, spoke out after images of a Bangladeshi national identity card and a passport said to be in her name were published in newspapers in the UK and in Bangladesh. Continue reading...

Tamzin Hall, 17, was struck by a vehicle after leaving a police car on the M5 motorway in Somerset after being arrested at a children's homeThe mother of a girl who was struck by a vehicle and killed after she left a police car on a motorway says the untimely death of her daughter came after years of frustration and disappointment with authorities over the teenager's care.Tamzin Hall, 17, had been arrested and was being taken into custody when she left the police vehicle in which she was travelling on the M5 northbound between Taunton and Bridgwater in Somerset on 11 November 2024. Continue reading...

Imedi TV owner denies criticism by EU disinformation monitor and says it is editorially independentOn Pont Street in Belgravia in central London, on the first floor of a handsome Edwardian townhouse, sitting above the royal green awning of the Jeroboams wine shop, is an office. There are no obvious signs for it beyond a little note next to the intercom. When buzzed this week, no one appeared at the door.This is the registered office of Hunnewell Partners, which describes itself as an entrepreneurial private equity and litigation funding practice". Continue reading...

Rightwingers had long complained of a censorious leftwing cancel culture' but seem happy to now reframe that as consequence culture'In the emotionally and politically charged days since the killing of Charlie Kirk, the conservative youth activist who was a close ally of Donald Trump, one statement has loomed large. On Monday, the US attorney general - the official in charge of the rule of law in America - said that the Trump administration would absolutely target" those who espouse hate speech" about Kirk.Unlike in many other countries, hate speech is protected by US law unless it incites imminent violence or constitutes a true threat. But that did not deter the nation's top law enforcement officer, who also suggested that - for example - a print shop employee who refused to print flyers memorializing Kirk could be prosecuted". Continue reading...

Marie-Clare Boothby faces questions after revealing she is related to man spared prison over a crash that killed Aboriginal pedestrian

Keir Starmer expected to confirm move after concluding the situation has worsened significantly in recent weeksThe UK is expected to recognise a Palestinian state on Sunday after Israel failed to meet the conditions set out by Keir Starmer in July.The prime minister is to make the announcement after concluding the humanitarian situation has deteriorated significantly in the past few weeks. The move comes despite pressure from the US and the families of hostages held by Hamas. Continue reading...

Deputy leadership candidate says party needs to be clear that our objective is to lift children out of poverty'Labour should consider raising taxes on gambling firms to cover the cost of lifting the two-child benefit cap, the party's deputy leadership candidate Lucy Powell has suggested.The Manchester Central MP, who is battling with the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to succeed Angela Rayner as Labour's deputy leader, also acknowledged the public was exasperated" because of some mistakes" Labour had made in office. Continue reading...

Thirty arrests made and two officers injured as teargas and water cannon deployed against violent protestersDutch police have used teargas and a water cannon to disperse violent anti-immigration protesters in The Hague on Saturday, a local government spokesperson has said.Thirty people have been arrested and two police officers were injured. Authorities did not rule out additional arrests in the coming days as they review camera footage. Continue reading...

The long-established Kingsford Smith faces new challenger Western Sydney in race to attract passengers, cargo and cash

Attack raises questions over security as Brussels and Berlin airports' check-in and boarding systems also affectedFlights have been delayed and cancelled at three leading European airports - including London's largest, Heathrow - after the company behind the software used for check-in and boarding said it was hit by a cyber-attack.Airports in Brussels and Berlin are also experiencing delays and disruption as a result of the problem affecting Collins Aerospace, which works for several airlines at airports across the world. Continue reading...

How dare the nationalists steal our flags?' asks Tim Farron at party conference in BournemouthPeople who use the union jack or St George's cross as a form of aggressive nationalism do not love their country, a senior Liberal Democrat has said, as he hit back at a wave of hard-right activism based around the flags.In a strongly worded speech to a rally opening the party's annual conference in Bournemouth, Tim Farron, a former leader who now speaks for the party on the environment and rural affairs, said national flags should never be used to intimidate". Continue reading...

Press freedom group says brutal and unjustified attack' is deadliest since 2009 Maguindanao massacre in PhilippinesThirty one journalists and media staff were killed by Israeli strikes on newspaper offices in Yemen last week in what the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Friday was the deadliest attack on journalists in the last 16 years.Israel struck a newspaper complex in Sana'a, Yemen's capital, which housed three Houthi-connected media outlets on 10 September. At the time, members of the Yemeni army's press arm were finishing the weekly print edition, according to the publication's editor-in-chief, which increased the number of journalists present during the strike. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on the war in Ukraine hereAt least 10 flights were cancelled out of Brussels airport and another 17 delayed by over an hour after the system was hit by a cyber-attack" overnight on Friday, the airport said.EasyJet, among Europe's biggest airlines, said it was currently operating as normal and did not expect the problem to impact its flights for the rest of the day, Reuters reports.Information on the situation is being continuously gathered, and Polish authorities are in contact with authorities in other countries. Continue reading...

Boy's body was found Friday after he drowned in family's vehicle when it was swept off the road by flood watersA two-year-old drowned in a vehicle that was swept away by flood waters in southern California, and the child's father had to be rescued by authorities, officials said Friday.The deadly emergency unfolded amid sudden heavy rain east of Los Angeles that unleashed mudslides which plowed into homes and trapped drivers for hours on roadways. Continue reading...

The producer and DJ, real name Keith McIvor, had been diagnosed with an untreatable brain tumour earlier this yearJD Twitch, the Scottish DJ and producer celebrated as one half of the duo Optimo, has died aged 57.The artist, whose real name was Keith McIvor, had been diagnosed with an untreatable brain tumour, which he announced in July. He died on Friday in Glasgow's Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, his DJ partner Jonnie Wilkes (AKA JG Wilkes) announced. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president will urge his US counterpart to impose more sanctions on Russia when they meet next week

Iranian foreign ministry urges further diplomacy and says return to pre-2015 measures are unlawful and unfoundedThe UN security council failed to pass a resolution on Friday that would have prevented the reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme before the deadline for the snapping back" of punitive measures.UN sanctions on Iran are set to be re-established at the end of the month unless the nine-member security council agrees to further extend sanctions relief. Friday's resolution, put forth by South Korea, only received support from four countries - China, Russia, Pakistan and Algeria. Continue reading...

Matthew Dowd tells Katie Couric ex-employer concurred but it didn't matter' and they dismissed him anywayThe political analyst fired by MSNBC over his Charlie Kirk commentary says his former employer agreed with him that his remarks were being misconstrued as insensitive" - but said it didn't matter" to the network, and they dismissed him anyway.I said: I think you guys are making a huge mistake,'" Matthew Dowd recounted on Katie Couric's podcast in an episode launched Friday that addressed his purported pre-firing discussions with MSNBC. I said: You know and I know that's not anything what I meant. You know it's been misconstrued,' and they agreed with that. Continue reading...

Officials fear widespread unrest amid violence and intimidation of ethnic minoritiesNorthern Ireland faces a permacrisis" from recurring race riots and may need to use military bases to shelter people burnt out of their homes, government documents reveal.Officials fear the region faces prolonged instability and that a single incident, local or international, could spark widespread disorder. Continue reading...

Chancellor's invitation criticised as strange timing' with Treasury looking at whether to raise duties on 12bn sectorThe chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has been urged to cancel plans to be the guest of honour at an event hosted by the chief lobbyist of the gambling industry while the Treasury is in the midst of a review of taxes on the 12bn sector.Reeves is slated to appear at a private reception" for business leaders, organised by the corporate communications company Brunswick, at the forthcoming Labour party conference in Liverpool. Continue reading...

MP says she faced baseless attacks' over paid membership portal, which Corbyn told supporters not to useZarah Sultana has consulted defamation lawyers after her public spat with Jeremy Corbyn over the launch of a paid membership system for the party they were to co-lead.Sultana said she has been on the receiving end of politically motivated" attacks amid the row that has engulfed the launch of Your party. Corbyn had previously urged people not to use the supposed membership portal", and said legal advice was being taken over its launch. Continue reading...