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System used for civil servants not thorough enough for those with baggage' of years in politics or business, Peter Ricketts saysDowning Street cannot appoint politicians or business figures to senior diplomatic posts using the same security vetting it uses to check civil servants, a former national security adviser has said.Peter Ricketts said there had to be more awkward questions" asked of a person such as Peter Mandelson than the system allows, given all the baggage" of his three decades in politics and business. Continue reading...

Exclusive: First mapping of youth centres in decades shows poorer areas in north worst affected by cuts since 2010

Referendum on immigration limit could threaten EU agreements and cripple economy, say Swiss businessesSwitzerland will vote this summer on a proposal from the far-right Swiss People's party (SVP) to limit the country's population to 10 million, a move that would threaten key agreements with the EU and, opponents say, cripple its economy.The government said on Wednesday the referendum on the SVP's No to a 10 million Switzerland" initiative, which is strongly opposed by both chambers of parliament and the business and financial services community, would be held on 10 June. Continue reading...

With Chris Wormald being forced out, Romeo is a frontrunner with a reputation for being forthrightAntonia Romeo is not a typical civil servant, according to almost everyone who has worked with or met her in a professional context.Charming, ambitious and not afraid to publicise her own achievements, Romeo was on the shortlist to be cabinet secretary a year ago when Keir Starmer opted instead for a classic Sir Humphrey" choice in Chris Wormald. Continue reading...

Move is a backwards step', company spokesperson says, amid concerns Kremlin is seeking more state control via messaging apps such as MaxRussia has attempted to fully block" WhatsApp in an attempt to push users towards its own state-sponsored communications app, Max, a spokesperson for the Meta-owned company has said.The company did not reveal more detail on what extent the attempt succeeded or what action was taken to try to block the app. Continue reading...

Jailed then exiled in London, Rahman returns home as the main contender to be next prime minister of BangladeshTarique Rahman, who after 17 years in exile is the main contender to be the next prime minister of Bangladesh, has pledged to end entrenched corruption and put the country on a new path" as voting began in the first free and fair elections in almost two decades.Speaking to the Guardian before polls opened on Thursday morning, Rahman promised a new era of clean politics, including a top down, no tolerance" approach to graft, if his Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) was brought to power. Continue reading...

A teacher and five students among those killed in attack in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on TuesdayCanadian police have identified the suspect who carried out a school massacre in remote British Columbia as an 18-year old woman with a history of mental health problems.Six people, including a teacher and five students, were killed in the attack on Tuesday in the town of Tumbler Ridge, in foothills of the Rocky mountains. The victim's mother and step-brother were later found dead at the family home, police said. The body of the shooter was also found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Continue reading...

Review says trauma-informed support could help interrupt destructive cycles' and reduce risk of harm to future babiesParents whose children are taken into care should receive trauma-informed support to reduce the risk of harm to any further babies they have, according to child protection experts.A national child safeguarding review, launched after the death of baby Victoria Marten, said that if destructive cycles of harm are to be interrupted" there needed to be more focus on parents, as well as their vulnerable baby or unborn infant. Continue reading...

Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones were travelling in Laos in late 2024 when they were fatally poisoned with methanol at Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang ViengAustralia will send a special envoy to Laos as it investigates the methanol poisoning deaths of two teenagers.The foreign minister Penny Wong announced the appointment on Thursday after the department of foreign affairs and trade apologised earlier this week for not providing more information to the victims' families. Continue reading...

Mark Kelly speaks out after grand jury declines to indict six lawmakers over video urging troops to resist illegal ordersArizona senator Mark Kelly warned that the Trump administration's failed attempt to secure an indictment against him and five other Democratic lawmakers for a video urging service members to resist unlawful orders was a master alarm flashing for our democracy".On Tuesday, a grand jury in Washington DC declined to indict the six members of Congress who posted a video last year reminding members of the military and intelligence community that they can refuse illegal orders" - a message that Donald Trump said amounted to SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!"Dani Anguiano contributed to this story Continue reading...

Attack at Kingsbury high school not being treated as terrorism after arrest of 13-year-old spotted near a mosqueA 13-year-old suspected of stabbing two boys at a secondary school is a former pupil who was arrested after being seen at a mosque after the attack, which has not been declared a terrorist incident, police said.Two pupils at Kingsbury high school in Brent, north-west London, were seriously injured at lunchtime on Tuesday. Both remain in a stable" condition in hospital with injuries now thought not to be life-threatening. Continue reading...

Multiple studies show that women who take Depo-Provera have much higher risk of developing meningiomasUK law firms are considering legal action on behalf of women who developed brain tumours after using the contraceptive injection Depo-Provera.Depo-Provera is a high-dose synthetic progesterone, prescribed for contraception and other menstrual symptoms, administered via injection every three months. According to UN calculations, 74 million women worldwide and 3.1% of UK women aged 15-49 use injectable contraception. Continue reading...

Former Mail editor was barely audible on witness stand while claimants' barrister raced against judge's deadlinePaul Dacre was no shrinking violet" in the 27 years he edited the Daily Mail, he said in his witness statement to the high court in London this week. He had captained a tough ship" in order to safeguard the patina' and prestige that differentiated the Daily Mail from other titles, both the popular ones and the so-called quality newspapers".Others have described the editor's tenure, and the impact it had on the UK, differently. Widely regarded as the most powerful print journalist in Britain" (Politico) until he stood down in 2021, to his critics Dacre was the man who hated liberal Britain" (New Statesman), and even the country's most dangerous man" (Observer). Continue reading...

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