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Police accuse four males - aged 14, 16, 18 and 19 - of attacking a 17-year-old in her car in Liverpool in city's south-west

Academic and Lib Dem peer ask where funds go when candidates receive more than limit, and who donors areAlmost 2m given to candidates in the 2024 general election has essentially disappeared" from the public's view of British political campaign finance, a report claims.It notes that 170 candidates received in total almost 2m more than they were legally allowed to spend locally during the election, raising questions about where the surplus funds went after the campaign. The donors who funded them are also tricky to identify, especially if the candidate was unsuccessful. Continue reading...

Amendment to crime and policing bill would make it criminal offence to profit from selling sex onlineA ban on pimping websites has been proposed by MPs, as part of measures designed to rewrite legislation regulating the sexual exploitation of women.Campaigners say ordering a woman to be sexually exploited has become as straightforward as ordering a takeaway online, with the proliferation of websites that allow buyers to browse images and videos of women, and refine their search by postcode. Continue reading...

Garments thrown out by consumers from Next, George, M&S and others found in or near conservation areasClothes discarded by UK consumers and shipped to Ghana have been found in a huge rubbish dump in protected wetlands, an investigation has found.Reporters for Unearthed working with Greenpeace Africa found garments from Next in the dump and other sites, and items from George at Asda and Marks & Spencer washed up nearby. Continue reading...

Experts say the strikes have delayed Tehran's bomb-making by months - but may undermine chances of a diplomatic solutionIn just a few days of war, Israel has killed more than a dozen of Iran's top nuclear scientists, taken out much of its top military hierarchy and attacked key parts of its nuclear programme.It has been a powerful display of Israeli military and intelligence dominance, but has not critically damaged Iran's widely dispersed and heavily protected nuclear programme, Israeli military commanders and international nuclear proliferation experts agree. Continue reading...

Telco's chief executive says company failed customers' and conduct was inexcusable

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on the island of Flores, east of Bali, erupted on Tuesday afternoon, leading to several airlines cancelling flightsA volcano in eastern Indonesia has spewed a colossal ash tower into the sky, forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights to and from Bali.Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,584m twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores, east of Bali, erupted at 5.35pm local time on Tuesday, the volcanology agency said in a statement. Continue reading...

Australian PM may join Nato leaders in The Hague if he can lock in a face-to-face meeting with the US president

Lifeblood heralds world-leading plasma pathway' amid change to HIV-era restrictions

MPs urged to slash bureaucracy preventing dentists from abroad plugging huge gaps in dental careOverseas-trained dentists are working in McDonald's and other takeaways in the UK even though millions of patients are finding it impossible to get NHS dental care.The disclosure comes in a new report being sent to MPs on Wednesday, which urges ministers to slash bureaucracy stopping dentists from abroad plugging the huge gaps in NHS dental care. Continue reading...

Public accounts committee calls on government to urgently address deficit on high needs spending hitting at end of financial yearCouncils in England face being overwhelmed by billions of pounds in debts and reforms that are divorced from reality, according to an influential committee of MPs.In its inquiry into local government finances, the public accounts committee (PAC) told the Treasury and other departments to urgently address the estimated 5bn deficit on high needs spending - mainly on special educational needs - that will hit council balance sheets at the end of the financial year, potentially driving many insolvent. Continue reading...

US president triggers speculation about American military involvement after five days of Israeli bombing and retaliatory Iranian missile strikesIsrael's war on Iran appeared to be approaching a pivotal moment on Tuesday night after five days of bombing and retaliatory Iranian missile strikes, as Donald Trump demanded unconditional surrender" from Tehran and weighed his military options.Trump convened a meeting of his national security team in the White House situation room after a day of febrile rhetoric in which the president gave sharply conflicting signals over whether US forces would participate directly in Israel's bombing campaign over Iran. Continue reading...

Judge rules Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner can serve six-year sentence in apartment, citing age and security reasonsA federal court in Argentina has granted former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's request to serve a six-year prison sentence for corruption at her home in Buenos Aires.Judges ruled that Fernandez, 72, can serve time in the apartment, where she lives with her daughter and her granddaughter, citing her age and security reasons. Fernandez was the victim of an attempted assassination three years ago. Continue reading...

The women launched the challenge against the universal credit system after being denied claims under the rape clause'Two mothers who conceived children while in physically abusive relationships have been discriminated against after being denied access to benefits, a court has been told.The women launched a challenge against the universal credit system after being denied an exception to the two-child cap. Continue reading...

Refuelling aircraft were tracked heading east, potentially to support B-2 jets carrying bunker-buster bombs

Jazwell Brown to serve at least 39 years for killing his partner Joanne Pearson and neighbour Teohna GrantA man has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering two women and trying to kill two other people, including his son, in Milton Keynes on Christmas Day last year.Jazwell Brown launched unprovoked and frenzied" attacks on four people after taking cocaine, a court heard. He fatally stabbed Joanne Pearson and beat her in their flat in the Buckinghamshire town before stabbing his son Jake Brown, leaving him with a life-threatening wound to his chest, Luton crown court heard. Continue reading...

Planning permission quashed by high court after officials failed to consider impact of spreading manure on landPlanning permission for a poultry megafarm in Shropshire has been overturned in a ruling that campaigners have welcomed as a win for cleaner rivers.The judgment on Tuesday upheld a judicial review by Dr Alison Caffyn, who argued that Shropshire council had failed to take into account all the environmental impacts of an industrial chicken unit containing 230,000 birds at any one time when it granted planning permission. Continue reading...

A Guardian Australia investigation revealed 57 inmates have died in 19 separate prisons using hanging points that authorities knew about

The environment minister says the report on the Murujuga petroglyphs has been clearly influenced' by environment campaigners

Pallavi Devulapalli says party is diverging from founding principles towards a more leftwing authoritarian culture'The Green party is veering away from its founding culture towards a more leftwing authoritarianism, its former health spokesperson has claimed.Dr Pallavi Devulapalli said trans rights had become an obvious totem in the new climate, and accused the party of trying to purge anyone with gender-critical views. Continue reading...

Juror 6 reportedly claimed during jury selection that he lived in the Bronx but told court staff he lived in New JerseyThe judge presiding over the high-profile federal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial of Sean Diddy" Combs dismissed a juror on Monday over conflicting statements about his residency.The juror, identified as Juror 6, reportedly claimed during jury selection that he lived in the Bronx, but last week, prosecutors said that he told a court staff member that he had been living in New Jersey, making him ineligible for a Manhattan federal jury. Continue reading...

Spectacular' discovery at site of about 30 graves includes pearls, coins, ceramics and a box containing gold threadA 10th-century burial site believed to have belonged to a Viking noble family has been discovered in northern Denmark, packed with a spectacular" trove of ancient objects, a museum has said.The discovery came almost by chance when pearls, coins, ceramics and a box containing a gold thread were unearthed during construction work near Lisbjerg, a village located 4 miles (7km) north of Aarhus, Denmark's second-largest city. Continue reading...

Hundreds of others wounded as they waited for UN and commercial trucks with supplies, according to Gaza officials

Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls it one of the most horrific attacks' on Ukraine's capital since full-scale war began

Owner says it has received expressions of interest as it battles 9.4bn hostile approach from local rival BBVA

TV remains the most popular source of news and one in 20 respondents said they ask AI chatbots for the headlines

Radiographers voice concerns about being filmed without consent and say trend could violate other patients' privacyNHS staff have voiced concern about the growing numbers of patients who are filming themselves undergoing medical treatment and uploading it to TikTok and Instagram.Radiographers, who take X-rays and scans, fear the trend could compromise the privacy of other patients being treated nearby and lead to staff having their work discussed online. Continue reading...

Triple murder accused had no reason to harm in-laws, barrister tells court, as closing address continues

Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, AKA the Wigwam', recognised as one of UK's most important buildingsIt's known locally as the Wigwam" or the Mersey Funnel", although one architect also likened it to a gargantuan concrete aberration from the Apollo space programme".Love it or not, Liverpool's Catholic cathedral can now be regarded as one of the most important buildings in the UK. Continue reading...

A genius response bridging of history and modernity with daring interior and exterior, it is shocking it wasn't already Grade I-listed

Former NT police officer, who was cleared of murder over the shooting death of Indigenous man Kumanjayi Walker in 2022, listed as speaker at Sydney summit

Kraamzorg system, where care assistants visit new mothers at home, is threatened by labour shortage and competitionA key pillar of Dutch maternity services that has led to the Netherlands being hailed as a world leader in postnatal care is under threat, healthcare unions in the country have warned.The Netherlands has long prided itself on its unique system of kraamzorg (maternity care), whereby a maternity care assistant comes to a new family's home for eight days after a baby's birth, caring for mother and infant. Continue reading...

Sarah Douglas says salary requirement means her husband would be ineligible for family visa to join her and their childrenA British woman whose family cannot return to the UK because of Brexit visa rules has said she feels forgotten and rejected" by the country of her birth.Sarah Douglas moved to Italy to teach English in 2007 before marrying Matteo Ricci, an Italian software developer, in 2010. Continue reading...

Global study shows 54% of Americans receive news from social media, while the UK has highest proportion of news avoiders at 46%Social media has overtaken television as a source of news in the US for the first time, according to a comprehensive analysis of media consumption confirming the rapid rise of news influencers".In a watershed moment for the US media, 54% of Americans said they received news from social media, according to the research carried out after President Trump's second inauguration. Half said they sourced news from the once all-powerful TV networks. Continue reading...

While many in GOP condemn attacks, president calls Tim Walz terrible governor' and Musk pushes misinformationUtah senator Mike Lee sounded like a lot of other Republican politicians after the fatal shootings of Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota this weekend.These hateful attacks have no place in Utah, Minnesota, or anywhere in America. Please join me in condemning this senseless violence, and praying for the victims and their families," he wrote on Twitter/X. Continue reading...

Death toll is highest yet reported in near-daily shootings since US-backed group began distributing food in territory

First Choice is fighting New Jersey subpoena as part of an investigation into potentially unlawful practicesThe US supreme court agreed on Monday to consider reviving a New Jersey anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center operator's bid to block the Democratic-led state's attorney general from investigating whether it deceived women into believing it offered abortions.The justices took up an appeal by First Choice Women's Resource Centers of a lower court's ruling that the Christian faith-based organization must first contest Attorney General Matthew Platkin's subpoena in state court before bringing a federal lawsuit challenging it. Continue reading...

Hostilities continue for fourth day; Israeli foreign minister says operation in Iran is not done as Netanyahu claims strikes have set Tehran back a very long time'

Failings of UK institutions to protect young girls from grooming gangs will remain high on political agenda for yearsLouise Casey's decision to recommend a national inquiry into grooming gangs has forced Keir Starmer's hand on an issue that has haunted the Labour party for decades.The failings of UK institutions to protect young girls from widespread abuse by gangs of men will remain high on the political agenda for another three years.In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International Continue reading...

Apex predators are one of several large and unpredictable animals concerning officials in foothills of Rockies

Foreign ministry describes strike, which hit as a presenter was speaking, as a wicked act' and calls on United Nations to take actionIran has condemned Israel's attack on a state television building in Tehran as a war crime", and called on the UN to take action.The strike on the offices of IRIB during a live broadcast was a wicked act" and a war crime", said a foreign ministry spokesperson. The UN [security council] must act now to stop the genocidal aggressor from committing further atrocities against our people." Continue reading...

David Lammy says British nationals asked to register presence as country closes airspace amid escalating conflictBritish people in Israel are being told to register with the Foreign Office as the UK government urges its citizens to leave the country.David Lammy, the foreign secretary, told MPs on Monday his department was asking all British nationals to notify the government and receive instructions on how best to leave, after the country closed down its airspace. Continue reading...

US president said Ukraine war would not have happened if Moscow had not been thrown out in 2014 over CrimeaDonald Trump has displayed his disdain for the collective western values supposedly championed by the G7 group of industrialised countries by again demanding that Russia be readmitted to the group. He also said the war in Ukraine would not have happened if Moscow had been kept in the club.Trump made his remarks in front of media, alongside Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, who is hosting the G7, at the start of the summit's first round of talks. Continue reading...

Building society criticised for proposal that will be voted on next month but says it is prioritising member valueNationwide's chief executive, Debbie Crosbie, could land a maximum pay package of nearly 7m as part of a new bonus plan that has been criticised as borderline hypocritical" for a UK building society.The pay policy, which will be put to its customers next month, would raise Crosbie's maximum payout by 43% to 6.9m. Continue reading...

Rafael Grossi says while buildings above ground in Natanz have been destroyed, strategic locations underground have not been struck

Yvette Cooper tells parliament that Louise Casey audit found some cases were downgraded from rape to lesser charges because 13- to 15-year-old is perceived to have consented'

Family members waiting for repatriation of remains say government response has been painfully slow'Grieving family members of three British citizens who were killed in the Air India plane crash have accused the UK government of a disjointed, inadequate and painfully slow" response on the ground in India.The family of Akeel Nanabawa and Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter Sara Nanabawa are calling on the UK government to improve how it is communicating with the family members who rushed to Ahmedabad in Gujarat after the crash. Continue reading...

Requirement made as review finds over-representation' of Asian men among grooming gang suspects

Temperatures forecast to reach 32C in London on Saturday as authorities issue reminder to check on vulnerable peopleEmergency services have issued warnings over the increased risks of wildfires before an expected heatwave this weekend, with temperatures forecast to reach 32C in some parts of the country.Authorities reminded the public to check in with older people and those with health conditions as forecasters predicted a burst of heat expected to peak this weekend before easing early next week. Continue reading...

Palazzo Maffei in Verona contacts police after visitors cause Van Gogh's Chair to buckle while posing for photosAn Italian museum has contacted the police after two clumsy tourists almost wrecked a work of art while posing for photos.Video footage released by Palazzo Maffei in Verona showed the hapless pair photographing each other pretending to sit on a crystal-covered chair made by the artist Nicola Bolla - described by the museum as an extremely fragile" work. Continue reading...