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Scottish social justice secretary says pledge for the city shows shared commitment to tackling child poverty'New York's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has received a baby box from the Scottish government after modelling part of his election campaign on Edinburgh's example of providing each expectant mother with a set of essentials.Scotland's social justice secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said it would help the city's leader develop his own plans for a baby basket". Continue reading...

Discounter relaunches Pep & Co clothing brand after a switch to ranges supplied by former parent group hit salesPoundland has shut 149 stores with the loss of 2,200 jobs under a rescue shake-up launched after challenging trading conditions and unpopular clothing ranges sent it into the red.The company, which was itself bought for 1 from Pepco Group by US restructuring specialist Gordon Brothers in June last year, said it had refocused on 1 items - with 60% of its stock now at that price. Continue reading...

Unison's Andrea Egan among several figures to speak out against any moves to rig selection for Gorton and Denton byelectionThe boss of Britain's biggest union has warned Labour to ensure a democratic process in the Gorton byelection, amid signs a Stop Andy Burnham" campaign is under way to prevent him posing a threat to Keir Starmer.Andrea Egan, the general secretary of Unison, who started in the job on Thursday, appeared to stand against the prospect of a stitch-up in the contest as she warned against control-freakery" in the party. Continue reading...

The phrase is part of harm reduction 101', which has led to significant declines in overdose fatalities in the USOfficials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested overdose-prevention funding recipients may no longer be allowed to promote the message to never use alone", according to details of a meeting held this month the Guardian obtained.The purpose of the meeting was to bring recipients of Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) CDC funding into compliance with Trump's executive orders, according to a grant note the Guardian reviewed. The most salient is the July order Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets". Continue reading...

Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez told influencers of US threat to kill leaders if they did cooperate after capture of MaduroThe communications minister holds a phone up to a microphone before a gathering of regime-friendly influencers.On speakerphone is Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, who claims that when US forces captured the dictator Nicolas Maduro, she and other members of his cabinet were given 15 minutes to decide whether to comply with Washington's demands - or they would kill us." Continue reading...

Town of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky gets 6 feet of snow in places, burying cars and cutting off roads and buildingsA record-breaking snowfall event unfolded in far eastern Russia last week when the town of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, located on the Kamchatka peninsula's east coast, received more than 6 feet (1.8 metres) of lying snow in places.Strong winds accompanying the snowfall caused extreme drifting of more than 10 feet against buildings and cars. Two key ingredients combined to cause such an extreme snowfall event. Strong Pacific low pressures dragged moist air from the tropics northwards, which clashed with cold Arctic air already over the region. Continue reading...

Judge shelves inquiry into use of Israeli-made software to target ministers' phones citing chronic lack of cooperationSpain's highest criminal court has again shelved its investigation into the use of Israeli-made Pegasus software to target the mobile phones of senior Spanish ministers, including the prime minister, citing a chronic lack of cooperation from the Israeli authorities that has violated the principle of good faith" between countries.The investigation began in May 2022 after the Spanish government revealed that the phones of the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, and the defence minister, Margarita Robles, had both been infected the previous year with the spyware, which, according to its manufacturers, NSO Group, is available only to state agencies. It was later established the phones of the interior minister and the agriculture minister had also been targeted. Continue reading...

Kaja Kallas's comments came at emergency EU meeting called after weeks of escalating threats from Donald Trump over GreenlandTransatlantic relations have taken a big blow over the last week" the EU's foreign policy chief said, as leaders from the bloc gathered for an emergency summit after weeks of escalating threats from Donald Trump over Greenland that were suddenly rescinded with a vague deal on Arctic security.Summing up the mood, the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the EU was living through a lot of unpredictability: One day, one way; the other day, again, everything could change." Continue reading...

Colleagues encourage former soldier to run as Sussan Ley declares she will remain opposition leader after Coalition split

High to extreme fire danger expected across several states as inland parts of SA, Victoria, NSW and Queensland may have more than five days above 40C

Millions of graduates are trapped by ballooning debts, as their repayments are dwarfed by the interest addedHelen Lambert borrowed 57,000 to go to university and began repaying her student loan in 2021 after starting work as an NHS nurse.Since then she has repaid more than 5,000, typically having about 145 a month taken from her pay packet. But everything she hands over is dwarfed by the 400-plus of interest that is added to her debt every month, thanks to rates that have been as high as 8%. Continue reading...

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James Daley says anti-competitive behaviour led to additional charges that have pushed up costs for millionsThe financial campaigner James Daley has launched a 1.5bn class action lawsuit against Apple over its mobile phone wallet, claiming the US tech company blocked competition and charged hidden fees that ultimately harmed 50 million UK consumers.The lawsuit takes aim at Apple Pay, which they say has been the only contactless payment service available for iPhone users in Britain over the past decade. Continue reading...

Exclusive: victims in hiding after attacks involving physical assault, attempted arson and the use of firearmsScotland Yard's counter-terrorism command is investigating a series of highly targeted" attacks on two Pakistani dissidents living in Britain which may bear the hallmarks of states using criminal proxies to silence their critics.One person has been arrested after a series of four attacks which began on Christmas Eve. One of the attacks involved a firearm. Continue reading...

Families accuse health board of deceit and cowardice' after years-long battle to prove contaminated water was linkedAll Molly Cuddihy wanted was recognition of what she had gone through. That was what she told the Scottish hospitals inquiry in 2021, where she described the frightening" fits and rigors she had suffered after contracting a bacterial infection at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth university hospital while undergoing chemotherapy. I was made sicker by the environment," the 19-year-old said in her evidence.Molly had been 15 and revising for her National 5 exams when she was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. She was treated at the Royal hospital for children and the adjacent QEUH, which are both part of a six-year public inquiry that reached its final stages and heard devastating new admissions this week. Continue reading...

Despite the recent interest rate cut, many fixed-rate bond or easy-access account rates have held up longer than expectedSavers are being urged to shop around and move fast if they want to get hold of one of the competitive deals still available. These include one-year fixed-rate savings bonds paying up to 4.35% and an easy-access account with a rate of 4.5%.The impact of the Bank of England's pre-Christmas interest rate cut - the sixth reduction since August 2024 - has been making itself felt, with reductions to rates on many savings accounts. But some best-buy savings rates have arguably held up better than one might have expected. Continue reading...

By turning conflict into entertainment US games company is ignoring its living legacy, says victims rights' groupIt pits the IRA against the British army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary, it lets players plant bombs and make political deals and it promises to wrap up the conflict within six hours.Welcome to the Troubles - the provisional board game version. The brainchild of a US games company, The Troubles: Shadow War in Northern Ireland 1964-1998, is played with dice, tokens and a deck of 260 cards. Continue reading...

Coalition's Tony Abbott-style political playbook, policy backflips and lack of message discipline helped Labor secure landslide election win

Two women and a man die in shootings at Lake Cargelligo as police urge locals to stay inside as they hunt for armed and dangerous' Julian Ingram

Search-and-rescue teams worked through the night at the campground, but there had been no progress in finding missing people, officials sayNew Zealand is full of grief", the prime minister has said, after landslides tore through a house and busy campground, leaving two dead and at least six victims still missing.Police said emergency crews were still searching for at least six people, including two teenagers, believed missing beneath the debris of a landslide, which struck a Mount Maunganui campsite on Thursday morning. Police were attempting to contact another three people. Families enjoying the summer school holiday were among the campers. Recreational vehicles and at least one structure were crushed, images showed. Continue reading...

Operator says it does now know when the problem at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata province will be solved, after an alarm sounded during start-upThe restart of the world's largest nuclear power plant was suspended in Japan on Thursday just a day after it went online for the first time in about 14 years, with the operator saying it does not know when the problem will be solved.The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata province had been closed since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, but operations to relaunch it began on Wednesday after it received the final green light from the nuclear regulator. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed.Zelenskyy's speech looks to be slightly late, as Indonesia's president Prabowo Subianto is still speaking.Don't worry: I'm keeping an eye on this for you.Hardly any details are known yet about the proposed Greenland deal. But we need them in order to decide how to proceed with the implementation of the EU-US trade deal. @EP_Trade will revisit the issue on Monday and discuss the way forward."However there is no room for false security. The next threat is sure to come. That's why it is even more important that we set clear boundaries use all available legal instruments&apply them as appropriate to the situation. We must continue to act with this level of confidence." Continue reading...

Vote on legislation falls just short of number needed for passage, showing Mike Johnson's tenuous hold on majorityThe US House has rejected a resolution that would have prevented Donald Trump from sending US military forces to Venezuela, after a vote on the legislation fell just short of the majority needed for passage.The tied vote was the latest sign of House speaker Mike Johnson's tenuous hold on the majority, as well as some of the growing pushback in the Republican-controlled Congress to the US president's aggressions in the western hemisphere. A Senate vote on a similar resolution was also tied last week until JD Vance broke the deadlock. Continue reading...

Government says plan will help end postcode lottery in access to diagnostic tests and treatmentHospitals in rural and coastal parts of England will get more cancer doctors to help tackle stark inequalities that mean people in some areas are far more likely to die from the disease.The plan is part of a government drive to end the patchy" nature of NHS cancer care, which is characterised by wide postcode lotteries in access to diagnostic tests and treatment. Continue reading...

Ukraine president accuses EU leaders of waiting for direction from Donald Trump in blistering speech at DavosVolodymyr Zelenskyy has taken aim at Europe in a fiery speech at Davos, accusing leaders of being in Greenland mode" as they waited for leadership from Donald Trump on Ukraine and other geopolitical crises rather than taking action themselves.The Ukrainian president's call to arms, targeting some of Kyiv's top allies, capped a week of extraordinary diplomatic drama at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort, where European leaders scrambled to end a standoff with the White House over Greenland, and several western leaders - led by Canada's Mark Carney - called for stronger pushback against Trump's territorial ambitions and political whims. Continue reading...

Vice-president says number one thing' that would lower the temperature would be for officials to help facilitate reasonable enforcement of law'JD Vance on Thursday put the onus on local officials to turn down the temperature" in Minneapolis, where federal immigration agents in recent days have detained a five-year-old child with his father and gassed protesters throughout the city.Flanked by federal law enforcement, the US vice-president said he spoke with immigration agents and local business leaders ahead of talking to the press, but he had not spoken with the state's governor, Tim Walz. He said local officials could be helping ICE identify and arrest violent criminals so that the operation could be more targeted. Continue reading...

Speculation has spread over whether Burnham will attempt to return to pursue a Labour leadership bidKeir Starmer's allies have launched a Stop Andy Burnham" campaign to prevent the Labour mayor from returning to parliament after the resignation of a Manchester MP triggered a byelection.Multiple members of the party's ruling national executive committee (NEC) predicted it would be impossible for Burnham to make it through the selection process given the number of Starmer loyalists on the body desperate to avoid a leadership challenge. Continue reading...

Demonstrators alleged that one of church's pastors was acting field director of St Paul ICE office

Minister says use of former army barracks at Crowborough is part of plan to move people out of hotelsA first group of asylum seekers has been moved into a former military camp in East Sussex, the Home Office has said, amid expectations of further protests and legal challenges.Crowborough training camp received 27 men in the early hours of Thursday morning, a statement said, which will be scaled up to 500 over several months. Continue reading...

Celebrity chef warns UK government's plans for higher business rates from April simply will not work'The celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has accused the government of cooking up a kitchen nightmare at restaurants across the country with tax changes that he says will make hospitality businesses lambs to the slaughter".Ramsay, whose company operates 34 restaurants in the UK including Bread Street Kitchen, Petrus and Lucky Cat, said the industry was facing a bloodbath". He said restaurants were closing every day as a result of rising business rates, which came on top of higher energy, staffing and ingredient costs and little growth in consumer spending. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary says Britain supports president's Gaza plan but there are concerns around involvement of Putin

Actor gives emotional evidence against Associated Newspapers saying articles about her were deeply hurtful'Elizabeth Hurley has accused the publisher of the Daily Mail of bugging her windowsill as well as using information obtained from tapping her landline as she gave emotional evidence at the high court.Hurley had to stop several times to compose herself as she recounted how she had been targeted by deeply hurtful and damaging" articles. Continue reading...

PM declines to say whether he supports Burnham standing as Gwynne steps downAndy Burnham may have a new route to parliament after the MP Andrew Gwynne reached a settlement with the Commons that would allow him to retire and call a byelection, Pippa Crerar, Jessica Elgot and Josh Halliday report.In her Sky News interview this morning, Kemi Badenoch also said she was opposed to the UK joining President Trump's board of peace if Vladimir Putin is a member. She said:We should not be, certainly, on any board with Vladimir Putin. That's something I'm completely against. Continue reading...

Donald Trump's son was on video call with woman when he saw a man repeatedly punch her, court toldDonald Trump's youngest son said he was very close" to an alleged rape victim after raising the alarm about a suspected assault against her, a court has heard.Barron Trump was on a FaceTime video call a year ago with the woman, who cannot be named, when he saw a man repeatedly punch her, Snaresbrook crown court was told on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Friedrich Merz says global order changing at breathtaking pace' and urges leaders in Davos not to accept new reality

Opening Night will appear on HELP(2), a charity compilation out in March which also features Olivia Rodrigo, Depeche Mode, Pulp and moreArctic Monkeys have released Opening Night, their first new song since 2022 album The Car, with proceeds benefiting the charity War Child.Opening Night is taken from HELP(2), a sequel to War Child's 1995 album Help, which brought together A-list music names to raise 1.2m for children affected by conflict, including Radiohead, Blur, Sinead O'Connor and the Smokin' Mojo Filters (a supergroup of Paul McCartney, Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller). Continue reading...

Danish politicians say alliance cannot negotiate on Denmark's behalf and that deal must not risk sovereignty

Judge has brought indictment after nearby residents launched legal action in 2024 saying the concerts made their lives a miseryReal Madrid could face trial for alleged environmental offences after a Spanish judge ruled there was sufficient evidence that loud concerts held at the club's Bernabeu stadium, which has been dubbed the torture-drome" by local residents, could have broken the law.The Residents' Association for those Affected by the Bernabeu (AVPB) began legal action against the football club and the city council in 2024, saying a series of punishingly loud concerts held that spring and summer had made their lives a misery. Performers included Taylor Swift, Luis Miguel and the Colombian star Karol G. Continue reading...

The actor is the latest to testify in court over a claim that the newspaper misused their private informationThe claim over the tapping of lines and bugging comes from a now disavowed" witness statement from the private investigator Gavin Burrows.Breaking down again, she says she feels bad that her son will learn about some of the things reported today because of the trial. Continue reading...

Private postmortem says unarmed US citizen was struck in arm, breast and head in shooting by immigration officerA private autopsy has determined that Renee Good, the unarmed US citizen and mother killed by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis earlier this month, was shot three times, in her forearm, breast and head.The independent postmortem was commissioned by lawyers in Chicago representing Good's family, and its findings released late on Wednesday, ABC7 News reported. Continue reading...

Climate concerns raised over redevelopment of 1960s Brutalist estate in south-east LondonA legal challenge has been launched in an effort to halt the demolition of a 1960s Brutalist estate in south-east London that featured in Stanley Kubrick's dystopian film A Clockwork Orange.The challenge against Bexley council and Peabody housing association, which will be carrying out the redevelopment, has been launched by the Lesnes estate resident Adam Turk. Continue reading...

Singing legend heralds new tools in service of expression', on compilation that also features an Art Garfunkel song using AI-generated piano backingLiza Minnelli has released her first new music in 13 years, adding vocals to an AI-created dance track.The track, Kids, Wait Til You Hear This - also the title of her upcoming memoir - is an unexpected foray into deep house for the 79-year-old Minnelli, who adds a handful of spoken declarations to the pumping backing. Continue reading...

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Youngest son of US president raised alarm after woman was allegedly attacked during video call last JanuaryBarron Trump, the youngest son of the US president, alerted police in London after witnessing a woman allegedly being attacked by a former boyfriend, possibly saving her life, a court has heard.Trump was on a video call a year ago with the woman, who cannot be named, when he saw Matvei Rumiantsev, a Russian citizen, repeatedly punch her, Snaresbrook crown court was told on Wednesday, according to reports. Continue reading...

A leadership challenge could be likely if Ley's conservative rivals, Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie, agree on who should be the candidate

Survey finds rising numbers of reception pupils struggling with basic life skills such as eating independentlyAbout one in four children who started reception in 2025 were not toilet trained, a survey of teachers has found, prompting warnings that growing numbers of pupils are struggling with basic life skills.In an annual survey of primary school staff in England by the early years charity Kindred Squared, teachers estimated that 26% of the children in their reception class were having frequent toilet mishaps, rising to more than one in three (36%) in the north-east. Continue reading...

Australians urged to do a good deed - or mitzvah - as Anthony Albanese says day is opportunity for us as a nation to wrap our arms around the Jewish community'

At least five days of temperatures above 40C forecast for parts of South Australia, Victoria and NSW

Senior Coalition sources also believe David Littleproud's leadership of the Nationals could end after division over hate speech laws

Development charity's new co-chairs signal shift from controversial sponsor a child scheme launched in 1972 to long-term grassroots fundingChild sponsorship schemes that allow donors to handpick children to support in poor countries can carry racialised, paternalistic undertones and need to be transformed, the newly appointed co-chief executives of ActionAid UK said as they set out to decolonise" the organisation's work.ActionAid began in 1972 by finding sponsors for schoolchildren in India and Kenya, but Taahra Ghazi and Hannah Bond have launched their co-leadership this month with the goal of shifting narratives around aid from sympathy towards solidarity and partnership with global movements. Continue reading...