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Government advisers call for review of rules that cause loss of household income when a child takes up job trainingYoung people from disadvantaged backgrounds are abandoning valuable job training opportunities because of a little-known welfare apprenticeship penalty" that can leave their families out of pocket by as much as 340 a week.The problem is caused by benefit rules that classify a 16-year-old apprentice as an independent worker" who no longer requires parental support. As a result, the parents' child benefit and child and disability elements of universal credit are withdrawn. Continue reading...

There are now 3,110 billionaires but analysis shows deep structural acceleration' in wealth creation around worldThe number of billionaires in the world could reach nearly 4,000 by 2031, figures suggest, as the super-rich accumulate wealth at an accelerating rate.There are now 3,110 billionaires globally, according to analysis by the estate agent Knight Frank. This is forecast to rise by 25% over the next five years, taking the total to 3,915. Continue reading...

Commons committee heard from residents of Yorkshire town with the highest levels of forever chemicals' in UKOn 15 January, members of the House of Commons environmental audit committee (EAC) visited Bentham, the North Yorkshire town that has the highest levels of Pfas contamination in the UK.Colloquially known as forever chemicals", Pfas (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) do not naturally degrade or decompose. This persistence gives them special properties with useful applications in both industrial and consumer products. Continue reading...

Government aims to move TV and radio funding under state control, which critics say undermines independenceJournalists at the Czech Republic's public broadcasters have said they are prepared to go on strike unless the government of the billionaire prime minister, Andrej Babi, backs down on its plan to scrap licence fees and move funding under state control.In what the journalists see as a threat to their independence, the government wants to replace the current system, in which households pay fees directly to public service media, with direct funding from the state budget. Licence fees are cancelled," the culture minister, Oto Klempi, declared last week. Continue reading...

Radio company ARN's defence alleges the shock jock denigrated executives, censors, critics and the audience of the Kyle and Jackie O Show

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Exit of John Phelan, navy's top civilian official, comes a week after Pete Hegseth fired army's top officerThe Pentagon announced on Wednesday that the navy's top civilian official, John Phelan, the secretary of the navy, is leaving his job.In a statement posted to social media, Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, said Phelan was departing the administration, effective immediately". Continue reading...

Measure will also limit device use during passing periods, lunch and recess and block YouTube on district devices

Family reveal Valentine, who retired in February for treatment for a recurring cancer, used voluntary assisted dying

NHS struggling to cope with record numbers, which Cancer Research UK says puts progress on survival rates at riskThe number of people in the UK being diagnosed with cancer has reached a record high, with one person diagnosed every 80 seconds, a report reveals.Cancer Research UK found that more than 403,000 people were being diagnosed with the disease each year, largely due to a growing and ageing population, as people are more likely to develop cancer as they get older. Continue reading...

Iranian forces seize two ships in critical waterway as Washington and Tehran maintain separate blockades

Disclosures come after firm tightened rules on insider trading, including candidates betting on own campaignsBefore he announced his Senate candidacy, a political hopeful in Virginia did something not so unusual in this day and age: he logged on to a prediction market exchange and wagered money that he would run. Then he ran. Then he bet on that too.The candidate and trader was Mark Moran, a former FBoy Island contestant who went viral recently for his campaign launch video. Investigators with Kalshi, the federally regulated prediction market exchange, found he placed two trades on their platform, the first in a market asking which individuals would seek public office in 2026, the second after he formally entered the race. Continue reading...

Autopsy of Celeste Rivas Hernandez finally released after law enforcement had requested it be sealed in November

Journalists Amal Khalil and Zeinab Faraj were both caught in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, with the former trapped under rubble for hoursIsraeli strikes in southern Lebanon wounded one journalist and left another trapped under rubble on Wednesday with rescuers temporarily blocked from reaching her by ongoing Israeli fire, Lebanon's health ministry, a senior military official and press advocates said.Israel's military said in a statement it had received reports that two journalists were injured as a result of its strikes, and denied it was preventing rescue teams from reaching the area. Continue reading...

Independent review into Bristol Brunel academy finds Damien Egan visit was postponed over safeguarding concernsAn independent inquiry into a Bristol secondary school that found itself at the centre of a media storm after postponing a visit by a local Jewish MP has found no evidence of antisemitism or influence from lobby groups.Damien Egan, the Labour MP for Bristol North East and vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel, was due to visit Bristol Brunel academy (BBA) last September to talk to students about democracy and his work in parliament. Continue reading...

Most-banned book was Sold, a 2006 novel by Patricia McCormick about sex trafficking in India

Smoke drifts into Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, as air quality declines and 50 homes destroyed

Scott, who represented Atlanta suburbs since 2003, had qualified to run for a 12th term before his deathDavid Scott, a Georgia congressman and moderate Democrat representing Atlanta's southern suburbs since 2003, has died at the age of 80.Scott's health had been an open question in recent years, prompting calls for his retirement. He had not spoken on the floor of the House of Representatives in two years. Continue reading...

Drug industry's self-regulatory body criticises Theramex, producer of Evorel and Intrarosa, for alarming' breachesOne of the biggest producers of hormone replacement therapy has been censured by regulators for systemic failures" that jeopardised patient safety.Theramex, the UK producer of HRT drugs Evorel and Intrarosa, was found to have breached fundamental compliance standards including not updating crucial prescribing information - in some cases for several years - and not making it clear that a drug must not be used during pregnancy. Continue reading...

Exclusive: McSweeney summoned by foreign affairs select committee in rare step, as Mandelson vetting row continuesMorgan McSweeney is facing a showdown with MPs who will grill him on whether he placed extreme pressure on the Foreign Office to approve Peter Mandelson as ambassador.The prime minister's former chief of staff will be questioned next Tuesday by the foreign affairs select committee over allegations made by the former Foreign Office permanent secretary Olly Robbins, who said No 10 had questioned why Mandelson should be subject to any vetting. Continue reading...

Health secretary says I had nothing to do with the measles outbreak' and claims to support measles and MMR vaccinesHealth secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr faced intense questioning from several US senators on Wednesday during a hearing largely focused on how the administration has responded to the measles outbreak and the spread of vaccine misinformation.In his opening remarks to the Senate finance committee, the senator Ron Wyden criticized Kennedy's messaging on vaccines, saying: When it comes to vaccines, Robert Kennedy has used this once-in-a-lifetime platform to make parents doubt themselves and doubt their doctors," before adding: The secretary has ducked, bobbed and weaved without taking the responsibility of saying what needs to be said: vaccines save lives in America." Continue reading...

Police catch woman, 28, climbing colossal 16th-century statue of Neptune to touch its genitals as a dareA tourist has been charged after allegedly climbing a colossal marble statue in Florence to touch its genitals for a pre-wedding prank.Experts said the woman caused thousands of euros of damage to the Neptune fountain in Piazza della Signoria. Continue reading...

Backed by Abigail Spanberger, the measure could boost Democrats and counter Donald Trump's redistricting pushVirginia voters will decide on Tuesday whether to adopt new congressional maps that could help Democrats win control of the House of Representatives and scuttle Donald Trump's effort to use mid-decade redistricting to preserve Republican control of Congress.Polls show the referendum to redraw the maps has only a narrow lead in a state that Kamala Harris won two years ago. The issue appears to have engaged many voters, with nearly more than 1.37m ballots cast in early voting. Continue reading...

Budget outlines funding for autonomous drone warfare program as experts say military unprepared for risksThe Pentagon is aiming to increase funding more than a hundredfold for an autonomous drone warfare program, according to budget documents released this week, signalling a major pivot towards AI-powered war.In its 2027 budget, the Pentagon has asked for over $54bn to fund the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, a 24,000% increase on last year. Continue reading...

Lawyers for oligarch claim freezing of 5.3bn of assets unfair and abusive' amid row over use of funds for UkraineRoman Abramovich has gone to the European court of human rights (ECHR), claiming that a criminal investigation into his financial affairs by the Jersey authorities has breached his human rights, according to reports.The former owner of Chelsea FC, who is sanctioned in the UK over his links to Vladimir Putin, is under investigation in Jersey over allegations of corruption and money laundering. Continue reading...

Jonathan Brash says own goals' are distracting from Labour's achievementsUK inflation accelerated to 3.3% in March after the Iran war triggered the biggest jump in fuel prices for more than three years, Richard Partington reports.Today the Liberal Democrats staged a photocall to publicise their line about this being Trumpflation". Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader and Treasury spokesperson, said:People across our country have been struggling for years with a devastating cost-of-living crisis and Donald Trump's idiotic war in Iran has added to it. The cost of fuel is soaring, mortgage rates are rising and fixed energy deals are already going up by hundreds of pounds.But what is utterly inexcusable is that there are politicians in this country - Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch - who are happy to cheerlead Donald Trump as he hikes people's bills. All the while this Labour government promised to fix the country but instead we've got political Groundhog Day: yet more sleaze and scandal. Continue reading...

Justin Sun alleges World Liberty Financial installed tools to prevent sale of his tokens after they became tradeableBillionaire crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun on Tuesday sued World Liberty Financial, the digital currency venture co-founded by Donald Trump and his sons, alleging that World Liberty illegally froze his holdings of tokens issued by the company.Sun, the largest investor in World Liberty, alleged in the lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California, that the company secretly installed tools to prevent the sale of his tokens after they became tradeable in September 2025. The lawsuit also alleges that World Liberty threatened to burn" - or permanently delete - his holdings, even while they were in Sun's digital wallet. Continue reading...

Serious Fraud Office investigation relates to firms allegedly submitting false invoices for work they failed to carry outThe UK's Serious Fraud Office has arrested four people on suspicion of a home insulation scam that may have cost energy companies as much as 44m.The SFO and the National Crime Agency said on Wednesday the unnamed people were arrested in coordinated dawn raids across England on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. Continue reading...

A six-month-old girl was found alone in a stroller at a busy intersection in the famed Manhattan sightseeing area

Iran's goal is to maintain chokehold on global economy even as some say it could run out of oil storage by Sunday

Mandelson received two clearance denied' red ticks yet top Foreign Office civil servant says he did not have access to file - which he later read

European Union formal procedures expected to conclude on Thursday as Druzhba pipeline reopensDuring his press conference, Fico also doubles down on his criticism of the incoming Hungarian government led by Peter Magyar, in a further sign that the relations between Bratislava and Budapest could change dramatically in the next few months.Fico has been close friends with Orban, often teaming up with him on energy issues, but it doesn't look like this Slovak-Hungarian partnership will continue under the new management in Budapest. Continue reading...

Reuters-Ipsos, AP-NORC and NBC polls show approval in mid-30s, with economy, Iran and immigration concerns

Exclusive: Internal concerns over allowing US firm linked to ICE and Israeli military to process highly sensitive dataThe Metropolitan police has held talks with Palantir that could lead to the London force buying the US spy-tech company's AI technology to automate intelligence analysis for criminal investigations, the Guardian has learned.Palantir, whose software is used by Donald Trump's ICE immigration enforcement programme and the Israeli military, demonstrated its systems to senior officers in the intelligence division at the UK's largest police force last month. Intelligence staff have been tasked with finding intelligence systems that AI could automate to increase productivity. Continue reading...

Budget airline says change will take effect from November and will give passengers more time to clear securityRyanair will close airport check-in desks 20 minutes earlier to avoid passengers missing flights, it has announced, amid concern over border queues in Europe.The budget airline, which carries 200 million passengers annually, will require all passengers dropping bags or checking in at the airport to do so one hour before take-off rather than the current 40-minute deadline. Continue reading...

FAA investigates event of one jet flying too close to another, though both crews responded to alerts and landed safelyThe US Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday it was investigating a close call at New York's John F Kennedy international airport between two passenger jets.The crew of Republic Airways Flight 4464 performed a go-around at John F. Kennedy International Airport after missing the intended approach path and flying too close to Jazz Aviation Flight 554, which was cleared to land on a parallel runway. Both flight crews responded to onboard alerts," the FAA said in a statement about the Monday incident. Continue reading...

Residents waking to find line has moved overnight and they are now in free-fire zone as army takes more territoryIsraeli forces have been moving an agreed truce line in Gaza westwards over the six months since the ceasefire, expanding their zone of control and making the state of limbo ever more dangerous for Palestinians.The yellow line" agreed in the US-brokered ceasefire in October was supposed to be temporary pending further Israeli withdrawals, but the partially observed truce has stalled after its first phase amid disagreements over the disarming of Hamas, and continued Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Continue reading...

British singer and guitarist wrote and performed Traffic classics including Feelin' Alright? before platinum-selling solo albums and work with Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac and moreDave Mason, the co-founder of rock band Traffic who also collaborated with Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac and many other A-list musicians, has died aged 79.A statement from his representative said he died peacefully on Sunday at his home in Gardnerville, Nevada, having settled in the US in 1969. Dave Mason lived a remarkable life devoted to the music and the people he loved," the statement added. Continue reading...

Firm had to repatriate almost 12,000 guests and staff, including from two cruise ships in Abu Dhabi and DohaThe Iran war has cost the travel company Tui 40m (34.7m) so far, including repatriating almost 12,000 holidaymakers and staff, and forced it to cut its profit forecast for this year.Europe's biggest holiday operator said that it had taken the hit in March owing to the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, as it was forced to bring home 5,000 guests from two cruise ships anchored in ports in Abu Dhabi and Doha. Continue reading...

Robert Butler leaped into action to save child who was running into busy intersection in downtown Phoenix

American Lung Association report comes amid Trump EPA's expansive rollback of environmental protectionsNearly half of children in the United States are breathing dangerous levels of air pollution, according to a new report, as experts warned Donald Trump's expansive rollback of protections will make the situation worse.The 27th annual air quality report from the American Lung Association (ALA) released on Wednesday evaluates pollution across the country by grading levels of ground-level ozone - also known as smog - as well as year-round and short-term spikes in particle pollution, commonly referred to as soot. The report analyzed quality-assured data collected between 2022 and 2024. Continue reading...

Announcing a major overhaul of the scheme, health minister Mark Butler said it was costing too much and is growing too fast'

Macaques have learned to eat soil to avert gut irritation caused by salty and sugary snacks, researchers believeTroops of monkeys living on the Rock of Gibraltar have learned to eat soil in what scientists believe is an effort to settle their stomachs after all the junk food they receive - and sometimes steal - from crowds of tourists.Researchers spotted the intentional mud eating, known as geophagy, while observing groups of Barbary macaques in the territory. Monkeys that had the most contact with tourists ate the most soil and consumption peaked in the holiday season, they found. Continue reading...

News follows Guardian report on licence given to British firm exporting machinery to Armenian firm linked to Russian war effortBritish firms will face much tougher" controls to prevent their goods from reaching Russia via other countries, undermining sanctions and aiding Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine.Under plans to be unveiled on Wednesday, the government will be able to require UK manufacturers to obtain a licence if they want to export to a country suspected of acting as a staging post for exports ultimately destined for Russia. Continue reading...

Council proposal to use glyphosate to tidy up pavements criticised over potential harm to humans and wildlifeCornwall is famed for its glorious gardens and verdant landscapes but a bitter row has broken out over a plan to tackle a less glamorous type of vegetation - roadside weeds.The unitary authority has announced plans to use the controversial herbicide glyphosate to tidy up pavements and kerbsides, after largely phasing out its use over the last decade amid concerns about potential harm to humans and the peninsula's rich ecosystems. Continue reading...

Conservative host says he's tormented' by previous support for Trump - could this presage his own run for president?He can't live with him and can't live without him. But, finally, the conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson seems to have made up his mind about Donald Trump. Their up-and-down marriage of political convenience is heading for the divorce court.On Tuesday Carlson admitted that he will be tormented" for a long time by his support for Trump in the 2024 US presidential election and I want to say I'm sorry for misleading people". What he did not say is whether this presages his own run for president in 2028. Continue reading...

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Experts say regulation of child influencers sits in a legal grey area as children promote products on social media

Program portrayed efforts to wean Australia off fossil fuels as morally bankrupt, trashing rainforests and enslaving Australia to China