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Sources say pay increases will not be covered by borrowing and must come from existing budgets, setting up potential for strikes

We break down the major parties' climate claims, counter-claims and policies - and find out what the experts say

Poll also finds most Australians voting based on who will leave them better off in three years - rather than comparing situation to three years ago

Exclusive: Promised day one' right will not include statutory pay for new dads who have been in job for less than nine months

Ten men nicknamed grandpa robbers' accused of stealing jewellery worth millions from American TV star in 2016Ten people nicknamed the grandpa robbers" by French media have gone on trial charged with stealing jewellery worth millions of euros from the American reality TV star Kim Kardashian when she attended Paris fashion week in 2016.The suspects, whose ages range from 35 to 78, appeared in a court in the French capital on Monday afternoon at the start of a month-long trial in which Kardashian, 44, will testify in May. Continue reading...

ICJ holding hearing about Israel's obligation to facilitate aid to Gaza and the West Bank amid the outlawing of UnrwaIsraeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 24 people across the territory since dawn, Al Jazeera is reporting. In Jabalia, in northern Gaza, 10 family members were reportedly killed in an airstrike, while eight people in another family were killed in a separate airstrike.Tehran has accused Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to dictate US policy in negotiations after the Israeli prime minister repeated calls for Iran's entire nuclear infrastructure to be dismantled.Israel's fantasy that it can dictate what Iran may or may not do is so detached from reality that it hardly merits a response.What is striking, however, is how brazenly Netanyahu is now dictating what President Trump can and cannot do in his diplomacy with Iran... Continue reading...

Samir Shah warns of abuse of power as overhaul of workplace culture announced after high-profile casesThe BBC still harbours powerful figures who can abuse their position to make life for their colleagues unbearable", the corporation's chair has said.Samir Shah's warning came as the broadcaster announced an overhaul of workplace culture after a series of high-profile cases. Continue reading...

About 135 Roman Catholic cardinals will meet at Sistine Chapel to decide the next leader of the global church

Castle Donington agency workers told not to go to work as website orders remain on hold for fourth day in a row

The broadcaster's first female boss, who helped fight off two privatisation attempts, will leave in the summerThe chief executive of Channel 4, Alex Mahon, is to step down after eight years and will leave the broadcaster in the summer.During her tenure Mahon, who joined in 2017 as the first female CEO in the broadcaster's four-decade history, helped fight off two attempts to privatise Channel 4. Continue reading...

Alleged attack on facility holding African detainees raises fresh questions over US military operations in regionYemen's Houthi rebels say 68 people have been killed and 47 injured in a US strike on a detention centre holding African migrants in the city of Saada.The rebel group, which governs north-west Yemen, said the shelter was under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration and the Red Cross and targeting it constitutes a full-fledged war crime". The US military had no immediate comment. Continue reading...

Voters in twin-island Caribbean nation to determine representatives amid Trump tariffs and rising cost of livingVoters in the twin-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) are going to the polls today in a parliamentary election described by analysts as one of the most unpredictable in decades.Soaring crime levels, Donald Trump's trade tariffs, and the rising cost of living have dominated the race between the two main parties, the ruling People's National Movement (PNM) and the United National Congress (UNC). Voters will choose the 41 members of the lower House of Representatives for a five-year term. Continue reading...

Season's Greetings, which was removed from the town much to residents' sadness, is focus of touring showIt materialised just before Christmas seven years ago, turning the industrial town of Port Talbot into a destination for culture lovers, but - after much wrangling and soul-searching - was whisked away on the back of an art dealer's lorry and is more than 1,000 miles from home.The saga of Port Talbot's Banksy mural, Season's Greetings, is being told in a new play opening next week, prompting a flurry of reminiscences and recriminations about what happened after one of the world's most famous street artists paid a visit to south Wales. Continue reading...

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French entertainment business Banijay Group looks at possible takeover of broadcaster or just its profitable studio arm

Julia Waters accuses government of ignoring coroner's findings into headteacher's death after school-rating downgradeThe sister of a headteacher who took her own life after an Ofsted report has accused the government of ignoring a coroner's findings into her death by failing to change the school inspection regime.In 2023, a coroner ruled that an Ofsted assessment that sharply downgraded Caversham primary school in Reading, contributed to the death of Ruth Perry. Continue reading...

Threat from jihadists had widely been perceived to be extinguished, but recent clashes suggest otherwiseOn the road running from Maiduguri's airport to the city, the freshly repainted walls of a girls' college stood in defiant opposition to a years-long campaign by the jihadists of Boko Haram to make good on their name, which translates as western education is forbidden".At a nearby roundabout on the outskirts of the capital of Nigeria's north-eastern Borno state, three uniformed men sprinted after a cement truck, hoping to collect a road levy. As the driver sped away, they slowed down in the 42C heat, smiled regretfully, and waited for the next heavy duty vehicle to pass. Continue reading...

Coronial inquest into 2024 incident also told killer had preoccupation with death and murder' before fatally stabbing six people

Hearings over bar on cooperation with Palestinian aid agency are test of Israel's defiance of international lawIsrael will come under sustained legal pressure this week at the UN's top court when lawyers from more than 40 states will claim the country's ban on all cooperation with the UN's Palestinian rights agency Unrwa is a breach of the UN charter.The five days of hearings at the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague have been given a fresh urgency by Israel's decision on 2 March to block all aid into Gaza, but the hearing will focus on whether Israel - as a signatory to the UN charter - acted unlawfully in overriding the immunities afforded to a UN body. Israel ended all contact and cooperation with Unrwa operations in Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem in November, claiming the agency had been infiltrated by Hamas, an allegation that has been contested. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Force, which had dropped objection to plan, says protests of more than 500 people would impede traffic and require extra resourcesChina's proposed super-embassy" in London would require additional police officers to deal with any large protests involving thousands of people, the Metropolitan police have said before a decision by ministers.Despite having dropped its official objection to the proposals, the Met maintains concerns" that large protests of more than 500 people outside the embassy would impede traffic and require additional police resource", said the deputy assistant commissioner Jon Savell Continue reading...

Opposition leader says opening of parliament is an appropriate time for ceremonies but that acknowledgment on planes is over the top'

Beijing and Manila accuse each other of illegal activities around Sandy Cay near the Spratly Isles, as joint US-Filipino military drills get under way in regionChina and the Philippines have displayed their national flags in competing photo opportunities on a disputed sandbank in the South China sea, ratcheting up longstanding regional tensions between the two countries.The dispute played out at Sandy Cay, which is part of the disputed Spratly Islands, and comes days after the US and the Philippines launched their annual joint military drills called Balikatan", or shoulder to shoulder", which this year will include an integrated air and missile defence simulation for the first time. Continue reading...

Prosecutors say more charges are possible against Kai-Ji Adam Lo, who was arrested at the scene

Lenders expected to split into two camps: those focused on domestic customers and those with large operations in the US, China and the EUUK banks' earnings reports will be studied this week for signs of turmoil linked to Donald Trump's tariff drama, with uncertainty over global growth likely to weigh on lenders with heavy exposure to China, including HSBC.First-quarter profits only reflect the January-to-March period that preceded the US president's liberation day" tariff announcements on 2 April. But investors will be concerned about any hints of caution around earnings forecasts, as well as an uptick in money put aside for defaults by tariff-hit borrowers. Continue reading...

Detection of powerful nitazenes in samples from 60 sites a red flag' amid surging use to lace street drugs

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About 14% of premature deaths in England attributable to unhealthy food, the most among surveyed countriesConsuming large amounts of ultra-processed food (UPF) increases the risk of an early death, according to a international study that has reignited calls for a crackdown on UPF.Each 10% extra intake of UPF, such as bread, cakes and ready meals, increases someone's risk of dying before they reach 75 by 3%, according to research in countries including the US and England. Continue reading...

Meeting will hear how exposure to verbal abuse leads to biological changes and can make mental ill-health likelierBeing shouted at by their parents reshapes children's brains and makes them more likely to have mental ill-health and struggle to maintain friendships, MPs will hear on Monday.Verbal abuse by adults can leave children unable to enjoy pleasure and seeing the world as threatening, experts in child development and mental health will tell a meeting at Westminster. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Liberal Democrats say voters need to know sources of funding for Nigel Farage's party before local electionsThe Liberal Democrats have publicly challenged Nigel Farage to give details of his party's donations after calculating that Reform UK spent more than 2m on personalised letters to postal voters before the local elections.In a letter to Farage, Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader, said people needed to know the source of the money before Thursday's elections, given that Reform received only 281,000 in donations in the last set of publicly available figures, for the final quarter of 2024. Continue reading...

Social media incitement following last summer's riots appears to be new tactic against Hong Kong exilesOne morning last August, a troubling message appeared in a social media group for Hongkongers in the UK. It was already a tense time to be an immigrant. Rioters, propelled by false claims online that the man who had murdered children in Southport was an asylum seeker, were descending on hotels housing refugees, trying to burn them alive.The message alerted the Hongkongers to posts on far-right channels suggesting some new targets. They all help refugees who come to the UK to take resources," one of them read. Continue reading...

What does it mean to be working class in Britain in 2025? Danny Lavelle reportsHow much does the way you speak define your social class? What about your parents' jobs or your source of income, schooling and housing?The journalist and author Danny Lavelle has long been fascinated by the concept of class because of the way his life has unfolded. Moving between foster care, university, sleeping rough and becoming an Orwell prize-winning writer has led him to question how much the notion of class can help us understand life in 21st-century Britain. Continue reading...

Footage of Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap allegedly calling for the death of British MPs is being assessed by counter-terrorism policeFootage of Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap allegedly calling for the death of British MPs is being assessed by counter-terrorism police.Video emerged of the band at a November 2023 gig appearing to show one person from Kneecap saying: The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP." Continue reading...

Army spokesperson says storage sites housing militant group's missiles were destroyed in Dahiyeh in south of the cityIsrael conducted an airstrike on a residential neighbourhood of Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday afternoon despite a November ceasefire that officially ended fighting with the militant group Hezbollah.Videos showed three bombs hitting a building in Dahiyeh and rescue crews working to extinguish blazes after the blast; however, no casualties were reported. The Israeli military issued an evacuation warning before the bombing, prompting panic as residents fled the area. Continue reading...

Athlete has not been heard from since 16 April and did not check out of his hostel or take his belongingsA British Paralympian has been reported missing in Las Vegas after not being seen for more than a week.Sam Ruddock, from Warwickshire, who has cerebral palsy and has competed in cycling and shot put, travelled to the US on 13 April while planning to attend WrestleMania, his friend Lucy Earl said. Continue reading...

Crossbow and firearm recovered from city's Otley Run pub crawl route where two women were seriously injuredFacebook posts appearing to contain plans for a massacre" are being examined by counter-terrorism police investigating an attack in which two women were seriously injured in Leeds.A man, 38, who suffered a self-inflicted injury" was arrested and two weapons - a crossbow and a firearm - were recovered from the scene, on the popular Otley Run pub crawl route in the north of the city. Continue reading...

City police chief describes carnage at street festival as the darkest day' and confirms arrest of 30-year-old man

Total surpasses previous record of 55,646 set in New York, and event also broke record for crowd numbersThe London Marathon's organisers have hailed an extraordinary" day in the nation's capital, as the 45th edition beat the world record for number of finishers and attracted record crowds.By 6.30pm on Sunday evening, the number of finishers had surpassed the previous best of 55,646 for a mass participation race set in New York. Continue reading...

Airstrike in Donetsk kills three and drone attack in Dnipro leaves one dead, according to local sourcesRussia has continued its assault on Ukraine with a series of drone attacks and airstrikes, hours after Donald Trump cast doubt on Vladimir Putin's readiness to end the conflict.Three people were killed and four wounded on Sunday morning in airstrikes on Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, according to the regional prosecutor's office. In a drone attack on the city of Pavlohrad in the Dnipro region, a person was killed and a 14-year-old girl wounded after a third consecutive night of assaults, the local governor, Serhiy Lysak, said. Continue reading...

Man arrested after incident at Filipino Lapu Lapu event, as police say they are confident it was not terrorism

NASUWT reopens general secretary nominations after flaws allowed leftwinger to be appointed unopposedThe NASUWT teaching union has been forced to backpedal on its controversial appointment of Matt Wrack as general secretary and will instead reopen nominations for the post, ahead of a high court showdown.Branches were informed this weekend that the NASUWT's national executive had received further legal advice" over flaws that had excluded other candidates and allowed Wrack - a former head of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) - to be appointed unopposed as the executive's preferred candidate". Continue reading...

The RuPaul's Drag Race star, whose real name was Bianca Castro-Arabejo, died on Sunday surrounded by family and friends'The drag queen Jiggly Caliente has died aged 44 after a severe infection", her family confirmed. The performer, whose real name was Bianca Castro-Arabejo, rose to fame after taking part in the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.Caliente's family announced on Thursday that the Filipino-American drag performer had part of her leg amputated due to the infection. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Half of local authorities charged double by private providers for temporary housing, investigation finds

Palestinians face starvation and severe malnutrition as Israel's blockade continues, say aid agenciesSoaring prices of basic foodstuffs, diminishing stocks of medical supplies and sharp cuts to aid distribution threaten newly catastrophic conditions across Gaza, Palestinians and international aid officials in the battered territory are warning.Humanitarian organisations including the World Food Programme and Unwra, which supplies food and services to more than 2 million Palestinians across Gaza, have now distributed the last of their stocks of flour and other foodstuffs to the dozens of community kitchens in the territory that serve basic meals to those with no other option. Continue reading...

Pat McFadden says there isn't going to be toilet police' amid warnings about incredibly dangerous' consequencesA UK government minister has said trans people are now banned from using toilets of the gender they identify as, amid warnings about the incredibly dangerous" consequences of such a blanket prohibition.The UK supreme court ruled earlier this month that the terms woman" and sex" in the Equality Act referred only to a biological woman and to biological sex. Continue reading...

About 180 British Jews and deputy PM Angela Rayner among those in attendance at event in northern GermanySurvivors of the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen and their families have gathered at the site in northern Germany to officially commemorate the 80th anniversary of its liberation by British troops.Representatives of victims' associations and the military took part in the ceremony along with the British deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner. Continue reading...

Kensington and Chelsea sues Hotpoint maker Beko Europe as part of wider action against firms it blames over blazeThe company that made the fridge-freezer blamed for starting the Grenfell Tower fire has been accused in a lawsuit lodged by the local council of failing to run adequate safety tests on that model of appliance.The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) has brought a lawsuit against the Hotpoint maker, Beko Europe, previously Whirlpool, as part of wider legal action against companies it believes were culpable for the fire eight years ago that killed more than 70 people. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Stopping pre-sentencing reports could put more pregnant people behind bars, groups tell justice ministerShabana Mahmood risks putting more pregnant women behind bars through her bill to prevent new guidelines which highlighted the need for pre-sentencing reports based on different personal characteristics" including age, sex and ethnicity, charities have warned.The justice secretary introduced the bill as emergency legislation after the Sentencing Council's guidelines provoked claims of a two-tier" justice system, with Mahmood saying she would not stand for differential treatment before the law like this". The council suspended the guidance hours before it was due to take effect in response to the backlash. Continue reading...

As Labor and the Coalition fight to win over mortgage holders, growing third party popularity and early voting complicate their election campaign strategy

Investigation launched into cause of blast at Shahid Rajaee port as death toll rises to 28Vladimir Putin was one of the first world leaders to offer help to Iran in the aftermath of a massive explosion at a container depot in a key port near the strait of Hormuz, dispatching several emergency planes to the area.Fires still blazed nearly 24 hours after the explosion at the giant Shahid Rajaee port in southern Iran, the nation's most strategically important port and chief artery for its world trade. The death toll had risen to at least 28 and the numbers injured had risen to more than 1,000. Continue reading...

Party leader hopes local elections in many traditionally Conservative areas will help it build on recent successDays before the local elections, with Kemi Badenoch demanding apologies over gender identity and Nigel Farage complaining about mental illness diagnoses, Ed Davey was quietly getting on with what he perhaps does best: having fun.In a converted shed near Stratford-upon-Avon, the Liberal Democrat leader was joking with photographers as he made chocolate truffles alongside Manuela Perteghella, his party's MP for the formerly true-blue constituency. Continue reading...