Rhun ap Iorwerth says 2026 Senedd vote will pitch vision against division but will not be a poll on independenceThe leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth, has said next year's Welsh parliament elections will be a two-horse race between his party and Reform UK.Ap Iorwerth said voters could choose to back Plaid's vision of a progressive Wales or face the division that Reform thrives on. Continue reading...
by Michael Savage and Alexandra Topping on (#70MT1)
Metropolitan police say Westwood, 68, has been charged with sexual offences against seven womenThe former BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood has been charged with sexual offences against seven women, including four counts of rape.The Metropolitan police said the 68-year-old had been charged with offences dating from 1983 to 2016. Officers said their investigation remained open and urged anyone with further information to come forward. Continue reading...
Vocalist with 70s horror-rock group says he is completely fine' after reportedly passing out at the wheelGene Simmons, the bassist and vocalist with 70s horror-rock group Kiss, has acknowledged being a horrible" driver after he crashed his SUV after reportedly passing out at the wheel and ended up in the hospital in Malibu, California.Thanks, everybody, for the kind wishes," Simmons posted on social media. I'm completely fine. I had a slight fender bender. It happens. Especially to those of us were horrible drivers. And that's me. All is well." Continue reading...
Three Bollywood movies will be made in the UK, says British PM, and two more British universities will be setting up a campus in IndiaCompensation schemes for victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal will be improved, with a new appeals process and funded legal advice for post office operators, the government has announced.Responding to the first part of the findings from a two-year public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal, regarded as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in UK legal history, the business secretary, Peter Kyle, said there would be a new appeals process for people who have accepted fixed-sum offers under the Horizon Shortfall Scheme, one of several compensation schemes. Funded legal advice will also be offered. Continue reading...
Julia Wandelt is on trial accused of targeting McCann family in a two-and-a-half-year harassment campaignMadeleine McCann's brother and sister have described being stressed and scared by their creepy" and deeply disturbing" interactions with an alleged stalker who claimed to be their missing sister.Giving evidence at the trial of Julia Wandelt, 24, who stands accused of targeting the family in a two-and-a-half-year harassment campaign, the twins Amelie and Sean McCann recalled the defendant contacting them a number of times saying she was Madeleine, who disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal in 2007 when she was three and they were two. Continue reading...
Authorities investigate site after shrimp exported to the US found to contain the hazardous isotope Caesium-137A large industrial zone on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, is grappling with radioactive contamination after a government taskforce found traces of the hazardous isotope Caesium-137 at 22 production facilities at the site, which includes businesses that export frozen seafood.The discovery, which has prompted emergency decontamination and relocation of residents, follows a contamination scare in the US that was traced back to the Jakarta facilities. Continue reading...
Jamie Dimon, chair of JPMorgan Chase, said he was far more worried than others' about serious market correctionThe chances of the US stock market crashing is far greater than many financiers believe, the head of America's largest bank has said.Jamie Dimon, who is the chair and chief executive of the giant Wall Street bank JPMorgan Chase, said he was far more worried than others" about a serious market correction, which he predicted could come in the next six months to two years. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England editor on (#70MM0)
Dozens of worshippers gather at sombre but defiant vigil a week after attack in which two men were killedDozens of worshippers have gathered at the Manchester synagogue that was attacked on Yom Kippur, vowing to show resolve" and not be cowed" by terrorism.Amid heavy security a week after the assault in which two men were killed, Jewish community leaders led prayers and speeches in a sombre but defiant 15-minute vigil. Continue reading...
Government response to two-year inquiry's initial findings includes crucial' pledges for new appeals process and legal advice fundingCompensation schemes for victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal will be improved, with a new appeals process and funded legal advice for post office operators, the government has announced.Responding to the first part of the findings from a two-year public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal, regarded as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in UK legal history, the business secretary, Peter Kyle, said there would be anew appeals process for people who have accepted fixed-sum offers under the Horizon Shortfall Scheme, one of several compensation schemes. Funded legal advice will also be offered. The Post Office will close this scheme on 31 January, to give post office operators who have not yet applied more time to put in applications. Continue reading...
Court's decision in Louisiana v Callais could limit voters from challenging racial discriminatory districtsThe US supreme court is set to hear a case this month that could gut what remains of the Voting Rights Act, effectively killing one of the crown jewels of the civil rights movement and the nation's most powerful statute to prevent discrimination in voting.The court's decision in the case, Louisiana v Callais, could be one of the most consequential rulings for the Voting Rights Act since it was enacted in 1965 and is almost certainly the biggest test for the law since its decision in Shelby county v Holder in 2013, when the justices hollowed out a provision of the law, section five, that required certain places to get voting changes approved by the federal government before they go into effect. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#70MFW)
Abdallah, 27, and Soha, 31, describe adjusting to their new lives after leaving their war-torn homeThe young man emerging from a backstreet accommodation block in a bustling corner of east London looks much like any other student, getting to grips with his studies at the start of a new term. But 27-year-old Abdallah carries more of a burden than most. A qualified doctor, he has recently been evacuated from Gaza to begin his studies at Queen Mary University of London on a fully funded, government-backed Chevening scholarship.As well as his work in hospitals, he has been striving for months on behalf of the dozens of Palestinian scholars like himself who have been stranded in war-torn Gaza awaiting evacuation by the British government to take up places in UK universities. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will see the release of hostages and the withdrawal of most of Israel's troopsGood morning. After more than two years of devastating war, a ceasefire has finally been announced in Gaza.US president Donald Trump said Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause fighting and secure the release of hostages and prisoners. Under the deal, Hamas is expected to release 20 surviving hostages over the coming days in exchange for Palestinian detainees, while Israeli forces will begin withdrawing from most of Gaza.Gaza | Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase" of a peace plan to pause fighting and release some hostages and prisoners held in Gaza, bringing the best hope yet of a definitive end to a bloody two-year conflict that has killed ten of thousands, destabilised much of the Middle East and prompted protests across the world.Health | Ministers are preparing to raise the amount the NHS pays pharmaceutical firms for medicines by up to 25% after weeks of intensive talks with the Donald Trump administration and drugmakers.Education | Universities in the UK reassured arms companies they would monitor students' chat groups and social media accounts after firms raised concerns about campus protests, according to internal emails.AI | The Bank of England has warned there is a growing risk of a sudden correction" in global markets as it raised concerns about soaring valuations of leading AI tech companies.Politics | The Conservatives will scrap stamp duty on sales of primary residences if they win the next election, Kemi Badenoch has said, in a policy-heavy speech designed to improve her standing as Tory leader and her party's economic credibility with voters. Continue reading...
Julie Inman Grant says message board will need to comply with other codes which will also include age assurance for sites hosting violent and adult content
Court in Buenos Aires sentences Fernando Sabag Montiel and accomplice over 2022 incident in which gun was pointed at former president but did not go offA court in Argentina has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of attempting to kill former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.The court in Buenos Aires also sentenced the man's accomplice to eight years in prison, capping a dramatic case that has captivated the country since 2022, when the main defendant, Fernando Sabag Montiel, squeezed through a crowd outside the ex-president's home, thrust a loaded gun at her face and pulled the trigger. Continue reading...
Calls for reform to allow people across the Pacific threatened by climate crisis to more easily migrate, particularly to New ZealandClimate and migration experts are calling for urgent action to create legal pathways for people displaced by the climate crisis, as a new report highlights the scale of the problem across the Pacific.Research by Amnesty International released on Thursday found current immigration systems are inadequate for Pacific Islanders seeking safety and stability, as rising seas threaten to make their homelands uninhabitable. Continue reading...
by Nino Bucci Justice and courts reporter on (#70MBW)
DPP alleges sentencing judge erred' when finding triple-murderer could be held in solitary confinement for years'The Victorian director of public prosecutions is appealing Erin Patterson's sentence because a judge erred in finding she was likely to spend years to come" in solitary confinement when allowing for the possibility of parole.According to the notice of appeal released by the supreme court on Thursday, the DPP is appealing Patterson's sentence of life imprisonment - due to the setting of a non-parole period of 33 years - because of findings Justice Christopher Beale made about her likely prison conditions. Continue reading...
Note from secretary of state says you need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first'The text of the note handed to Donald Trump by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, on Wednesday afternoon, captured in a photograph, suggested the president could soon announce a peace deal in Gaza on his social media platform.Very close," the note read, according to an image of the handwritten note taken by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci. We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first." Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England editor on (#70MA1)
Exclusive: Wife of Jihad al-Shamie says he was intimidating, aggressive and controlling' but did not seem radicalisedThe Manchester synagogue terrorist was intimidating, aggressive and controlling" but showed no sign of extremism before carrying out his lethal antisemitic attack, one of his wives has said.The woman, who married Jihad al-Shamie in an Islamic ceremony in 2021, said the 35-year-old was glued to his phone" watching Arabic news channels but did not appear to be on the path to terror. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot in Mumbai and Eleni Courea on (#70M8J)
Departments told to manage their own cost pressures as finance ministry seeks to curb overuse of contingency fundCabinet ministers have been told they will not be able to use the Treasury reserve to fund public sector pay rises and cannot access it unless there are exceptional circumstances.In the run-up to the budget, James Murray, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has written to ministers setting out a decision to clamp down on departments' access to the reserve. Continue reading...
Prime minister hopes to learn from success of scheme rolled out to most of country's 1.4bn citizensKeir Starmer is to examine India's digital ID system on his visit to Mumbai as a potential model for the UK, praising the system as a massive success".Speaking on his two-day trip to Mumbai, where he met an expert on India's digital ID system, Starmer defended the introduction of a similar measure in the UK, saying he believed the rollout of a voluntary system could be expanded to school applications, mortgages and driving licences. Continue reading...
US president optimistic after US, Qatari and Turkish officials join third day of indirect Israel-Hamas talks in EgyptDonald Trump has said he may travel to the Middle East at the end of the week, adding that negotiations in Egypt to end the two-year war in Gaza were very close" to reaching a deal.The US president said that he could visit the region on Saturday or Sunday as he hailed talks that could bring peace for the Middle East". Continue reading...
Exclusive: Plans for England and Wales would help ailing hospitality sector but health experts criticise movePubs, clubs and restaurants will be able to open into the early hours as part of Labour's drive for economic growth, a move which critics say will lead to more drunken disorder.Ministers are pushing ahead with plans to allow premises that sell alcohol to extend their opening hours in order to boost the British night out" and help the hospitality sector. Continue reading...
by Pippa Crerar, Eleni Courea and Peter Walker on (#70M4T)
Rivals lurk in the aisles at sparsely attended conference at which the party leader ignores the threat from ReformWhen Kemi Badenoch was knocking on doors in her Essex constituency in the run up to the last election, she was confronted by a former Tory voter who told her: I don't know what the blue rosette you're wearing means any more."While she went on to retain her seat, Badenoch's majority was slashed by almost 25,000 and the Conservative party as a whole suffered its worst defeat in parliamentary history. Continue reading...
Friedrich Merz's conservatives had pledged to rescind legislation, which allowed citizenship in three years instead of fiveGermany's parliament has rescinded a fast-track citizenship programme, reflecting the rapidly shifting mood on migration in Europe's labour-hungry economic powerhouse.Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives pledged in this year's election campaign to rescind the legislation, which let people deemed exceptionally well integrated" gain citizenship in three years instead of five. Continue reading...
Adrian Young, of British Transport Police, restrained 15-year-old at a train station in Camden, north LondonA British Transport Police officer who put a 15-year-old girl in a headlock during an arrest has been found guilty of assault.PC Adrian Young, 48, used unlawful force in September last year at Camden Road railway station in north London, and was convicted after a trial at Westminster magistrates court. Continue reading...
Julia Wandelt is on trial accused of targeting the McCann family with a two-and-a-half-year harassment campaignKate McCann has said it was hard to hear an alleged stalker refer to her as Mum", as she gave evidence in the trial of a woman who claimed to be her missing daughter.Speaking from behind a screen, McCann told Leicester crown court she was left frightened and distressed by the actions of Julia Wandelt, 24, who is accused of a two-and-a-half-year harassment campaign. Continue reading...
Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein secured guns and hundreds of ammunition rounds, Preston crown court toldTwo men accused of plotting a terrorist attack in Greater Manchester secured guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in a plan to kill as many Jewish people as they could", jurors have been told.Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, have gone on trial charged with preparing acts of terrorism between 13 December 2023 and 9 May 2024. The prosecution in the case at Preston crown court alleges that they are Islamic extremists with a visceral dislike" of Jewish people. Continue reading...
Puffin issues alert to schools and local authorities over books in popular Spy Dog series by Andrew CopeThe children's publisher Puffin is hurriedly contacting UK schools and local authorities after it discovered that a website address included in a popular children's book series had been hijacked by a pornography site.The publisher has urged school libraries to remove the books after a website address printed in the Spy Dog, Spy Pups and Spy Cat series by Andrew Cope was redirected to unrestricted adult content. Continue reading...
by Heather Stewart and Richard Partington on (#70M1M)
Justice secretary says right to challenge unfair work behaviour is core to Labour work plan after union backlashThe justice secretary, David Lammy, has ruled out reintroducing charges for employment tribunals after a backlash from unions over the proposals.The Guardian revealed last week that ministers were considering a plan to charge workers a fee to take their bosses to court as part of negotiations in this year's spending review. Trade unions responded with fury, labelling the idea a disaster". Continue reading...
by Presented by Pippa Crerarand Kiran Staceywith Luke on (#70M03)
The Conservative leader used her conference speech to announce plans to scrap stamp duty and launch an attack on Labour, but why was there so little mention of the biggest threat facing her party? And will her performance be enough to stave off leadership rival Robert Jenrick? Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey talk through the speech and ask where the Conservatives go from here.Plus, they speak to Luke Tryl from More in Common about whether any moments from conference season have moved the dial in British politics--
The star has already sold 3.5m units of her critically divisive album, a new record in the modern era of music salesTaylor Swift's divisive new album, The Life of a Showgirl, has beaten Adele's record-breaking 25 in first week sales numbers.According to the data tracking firm Luminate, the album has already sold 3.5m units in the US which equates to 3.2m physical copies and 300,000 attributed to streaming activity. Adele achieved 3.482m in 2015 with her opening week sales of 25 which was led by the hit Hello. Continue reading...
Interim hearing had found Dr Rahmeh Aladwan, who has said Israel was humiliated' by attacks, did not pose risk to patientsA Palestinian doctor who said the 7 October Hamas attacks represented the day Israel was humiliated" has been re-referred to a medical tribunal.Dr Rahmeh Aladwan, a trainee trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, was investigated by an interim orders tribunal in September over her social media posts. Continue reading...
by Tom Ambrose (now) and Andrew Sparrow (earlier) on (#70KMA)
The Social Market Foundation thinktank says council tax reform and a property-based tax would be more sustainable and fairerVoting in the Labour deputy leadership election opens today. Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader, is seen as the favourite and, as Jessica Elgot reports, Powell told supporters yesterday that, if she is elected, she will use the post to argue for changes in the way the government is operating. We can't sugarcoat the fact that things aren't going well," she said.Powell is no longer a government minister and, if she is elected deputy leader, she will do the job from the backbenches. In an interview on Newsnight last night, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary standing against Powell, said a Powell victory would be destabilising" for the party. She said:[Electing Powell] risks destabilising the party ... we best achieve what we need to do together when we have those fierce conversations, including disagreements, behind closed doors.Members need to understand that there's a potential challenge around all of that - that if you're not inside when the big decisions are being made, you're not at that table, you're not in those conversations. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#70KVW)
Ex-DPP Ken Macdonald says prosecutors may have been over-fussy' in seeking further assurances from governmentLegal experts have questioned the explanation given by the Crown Prosecution Service for its sudden decision to drop charges against two Britons accused of spying for China amid a political row over who was responsible.The expert lawyers expressed surprise that the CPS thought it needed further assurance from the government that China was an enemy insofar as it posed a current threat to national security" before the trial of Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry could go ahead. Continue reading...
Comedian defends appearance at controversial comedy festival, saying: It felt right afterward. I vibed with them'Bill Burr has defended his appearance at the controversial Riyadh comedy festival, calling his critics sanctimonious cunts".The comedian has been under fire, alongside Kevin Hart, Louis CK, Aziz Ansari and Dave Chappelle, for being on the line-up for what was billed as the world's largest comedy festival". The Human Rights Watch called out the event as a distraction, aiming to focus on something light rather than the soaring number of executions" taking place while comedians such as Marc Maron and Shane Gillis expressed disappointment. David Cross wrote that he was disgusted" in a statement. Continue reading...
Journalist who wrote Guardian columns while jailed for murder fell into the sea in January 2024A journalist and author who wrote much-admired columns from prison drowned in a Devon marina after spending an evening in a harbourside pub, an inquest has concluded.Erwin James Monahan, who used the pen name Erwin James and wrote a regular column for the Guardian - the first of its kind in British journalism - fell into the sea at Brixham in Devon, close to where the boat he was staying in was moored, the inquest in Exeter heard. Continue reading...
Loughborough, Heriot-Watt and Glasgow corresponded with companies concerned about campus protestsUniversities in the UK reassured arms companies they would monitor students' chat groups and social media accounts after firms raised concerns about campus protests, according to internal emails.One university said it would conduct active monitoring of social media" for any evidence of plans to demonstrate against Rolls-Royce at a careers fair. Continue reading...
Gillard reveals reading fiction is her most treasured pastime and looks forward to working with a joyful panel of judges'Australia's first and, so far, only female prime minister, Julia Gillard, is set to chair the UK's Women's prize for fiction in 2026.The annual award is for the best full-length novel of the year written in English by a woman and published in the UK. The 30,000 prize, which has previously been known as the Orange prize and the Baileys prize, has run since 1996. Continue reading...
Fueled by dissent over the war in Gaza, the US public's views are changing - and support for the Palestinians is risingThey seemed to be the ties that would for ever bind.For three-quarters of a century, unshakable support for Israel - in the form of military aid and diplomatic backing, and underpinned by broad public sentiment - has been an indelible feature of the US political landscape. Continue reading...
Plan to cut tax that raised nearly 12bn last year announced in speech aimed at boosting economic credibilityThe Conservatives will scrap stamp duty on house sales if they win the next election, Kemi Badenoch has said in a policy-heavy speech designed to improve her party's economic credibility.The Tory leader told her party's conference in Manchester she would abolish the tax entirely that new buyers have to pay on house purchases over 125,000, and which raised nearly 12bn for the Treasury last year. Continue reading...
Government department taunts chart-topping artist who sang of scared children and Ice raids on unreleased new songZach Bryan, one of the biggest stars in US country music, has been criticised by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over a new song in which he sings about immigration raids by Ice.The DHS's assistant secretary of public affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, told Bryan to stick to Pink Skies, dude," referring to one of his previous hits, in comments reported by the Independent. The DHS also made a provocative post on X, laying another Bryan song, Revival, over footage of Ice officers arresting migrants, with the caption we're having an All Night Revival". Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian