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Lawyer tells court there is real doubt' whether police gave lawful move-on direction during rally against Israeli president that ended in violent clashes

Demand is rising at unsustainable rate and could cost 3.4bn by 2030-31, local authorities warnFamilies who have children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) should be means tested for school transport, according to councils in England, who say demand is rising at an unsustainable rate".Local authorities are urging the government to be radical" in its Send reforms, which are expected imminently, warning that annual costs on home-to-school transport for children with Send could rise to 3.4bn by 2030-31, up from 2bn last year. Continue reading...

BRC survey finds finance bosses expect technology to improve productivity, with 69% pessimistic about the economyUK retailers are planning to cut staff hours and jobs amid rising employment costs and pessimism about the economy.Almost two-thirds (61%) of finance bosses at retail companies said they planned to reduce working hours or cut overtime, according to the latest survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the trade body that represents most big retailers. More than half (55%) said they would cut head office jobs and 42% said they would reduce jobs in stores. Continue reading...

Report says common agricultural policy provides unfair' levels of support to unhealthy, meat-heavy dietsBeef and lamb receive 580 times more in EU subsidies than legumes, a report has found, despite scientists urging people to get more of their protein from less harmful sources.Analysis by the charity Foodrise found the EU's common agricultural policy (CAP) provides unfair" levels of support to meat-heavy diets that doctors consider unhealthy and climate scientists consider environmentally destructive. Continue reading...

Festival confirmed writer and academic would appear in two sessions in 2026 following disinvitation from Adelaide event

Lunar new year has ushered in a rare zodiac symbol with a reputation for energy and independenceAs the lunar new year begins, the focus has turned to the Chinese zodiac and the arrival of the year of the fire horse - a rare pairing in the 60-year lunar cycle.Drawing on Chinese metaphysics, the fire horse blends the horse's reputation for energy and independence with the intensity of the fire element, giving it a distinct place in the zodiac tradition. Continue reading...

Actor allegedly also made remarks to man who dresses in drag, and was seen dancing on Bourbon Street after arrestThe actor Shia LaBeouf allegedly aimed homophobic slurs at two men - one who identifies as queer and the other who dresses in drag - as the Transformers star was arrested for purportedly battering them at a bar early on Tuesday morning in New Orleans, the victims said.Jeffrey Damnit - who was born with the last name Klein and was listed as one of the victims by New Orleans police - said in an interview on Wednesday that he was wearing mascara, eye shadow and lipstick when LaBeouf tried to beat him up while screaming, You're a fucking faggot'". He also shared a cellphone video showing LaBeouf in the back of a vehicle being examined by first responders, glancing over at Damnit and saying: Faggot." Continue reading...

Police arrest four after incident in the Briar Hill area that left a man in his 20s deadA man is dead and a teenage boy is in a critical condition in hospital after they were stabbed at a Northampton skate park.Northamptonshire police launched a murder investigation after emergency services were called to the park in Ringway in the Briar Hill area on Wednesday following reports that two people had been stabbed during an altercation". Continue reading...

Coalition of refugee support groups says board's traumatic' and flawed' processes are putting children at riskA coalition of refugee support groups has called for a Home Office organisation to be axed, claiming it is putting hundreds of children at risk.The Refugee and Migrant Children's Consortium, which consists of more than 100 organisations including the Refugee Council, Barnardo's and the NSPCC, has published a report analysing the performance of the Home Office's national age assessment board (NAAB), which was set up in March 2023 to determine the ages of young asylum seekers newly arrived in the UK, often on small boats. Continue reading...

Research suggests more than 75,000 killed in the first 16 months of conflict, 25,000 more than announced at the timeMore than 75,000 people were killed in the first 16 months of the two-year war in Gaza, at least 25,000 more than the death toll announced by local authorities at the time, according to a study published on Wednesday in the Lancet medical journal.The research also found that reporting by the Gaza health ministry about the proportion of women, children and elderly people among those killed was accurate. Continue reading...

Proposal to replant inside a different type of protected woodland would not replicate diversity of cleared sites used by threatened cockatoo species, conservationists say

Sign-ups to Student Group Claim in England and Wales escalate amid reports of 21m payout by University College LondonTens of thousands more students who were at university during the pandemic have joined a group claim for compensation, amid reports of a 21m payout by one of the UK's leading institutions.Lawyers acting for student claimants said a further 30,000 from different universities had signed up to the Student Group Claim this week, taking the total to almost 200,000. Continue reading...

US president had recently said that the plan was the best deal Starmer could makeDonald Trump has urged Keir Starmer not to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius, warning he was making a big mistake".Under the deal agreed last year, Britain would cede control over the British Indian Ocean Territory but lease the largest island, Diego Garcia, for 99 years to continue operating a joint US-UK military base there. Continue reading...

Will Forster MP says lack of planning and haphazard communication' on new border rules has caused chaosA grace period" should be introduced for British dual nationals living, working or holidaying abroad who face being blocked from returning to the UK if they do not have an up-to-date British passport, the Liberal Democrats have said.Entry requirements change on 25 February as part of a wider initiative to streamline immigration which requires British dual nationals to present either a valid UK passport or a certificate of entitlement" on their foreign passport to the airline, ferry or train operator. Continue reading...

Trump's disapproval rating indicates he's less popular with Americans than some insects like ants. Will it mean anything in November?

The Grammy winner will star alongside Edward Norton and Javier Bardem in a film inspired by an early 20th century revolutionary, directed by rapper ResidenteFresh off his victorious Super Bowl half-time show, Bad Bunny will take on his first lead acting role. The rapper and sometime actor will star in Porto Rico, a love letter to his home of Puerto Rico directed by the veteran rapper Rene Residente" Perez Joglar.As announced by Deadline, the film boasts a starry cast including Viggo Mortensen, Javier Bardem and Edward Norton, as well as executive producer Alejandro G Inarritu, director of Birdman and The Revenant. Continue reading...

Exclusive: After investigators concluded an abuse incident occurred, women speak out for first time - I was so scared to tell anybody'Two women incarcerated in a California prison are calling for the prosecution of a staff cook who they say sexually assaulted them.The women say Marcus Johnson, a former supervisory cook at the California Institution for Women (CIW), raped them in 2020 while they were working for him in kitchen jobs. The women, who were making under 40 cents an hour, said in federal civil complaints he threatened disciplinary action if they reported him. Continue reading...

Novelist George RR Martin says RSC is obvious choice' to put on new play The Mad King, which will open after springA new prequel to George RR Martin's blockbuster fantasy saga Game of Thrones is to be staged this summer by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon.The bestselling author, whose novels have been turned into a juggernaut TV franchise, said the RSC was the obvious choice" to put on the play, Game of Thrones: The Mad King, because Shakespeare had been a constant source of inspiration to him. Not only that, he faced similar challenges in how to put a battle on stage," added Martin. So we are in good company." Continue reading...

Reform UK's Robert Jenrick has announced party's plans to cut welfare spendingRobert Jenrick, Reform UK's Treasury spokesperson, is giving his speech now.He has announced, or confirmed, three measures to cut welfare spending.The number claiming disability benefits for an attention disorder has more than doubled since Covid. We all know a significant number of these claims are spurious ...

Kerstin G froze to death on Groglockner when Thomas P descended mountain to fetch helpAn Austrian mountaineer is to appear in court accused of gross negligent manslaughter after his girlfriend died of hypothermia when he left her close to the summit on a climb that went dramatically wrong.The 33-year-old woman, identified only as Kerstin G, froze to death on 19 January 2025, about 50 metres below the summit of the Groglockner, Austria's tallest mountain, after an ascent of more than 17 hours with her boyfriend, Thomas P, 36. Continue reading...

US drug regulator originally refused to consider application, fueling critics' concern about alleged anti-vaccine agenda'The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reversed course on Wednesday and will now review Moderna's application for the first mRNA-based flu vaccine after initially declining to consider it.Moderna announced that the US drug regulator will move forward with reviewing its updated flu vaccine application. The decision comes only a week after the agency turned down the company's original filing, a move that had prompted criticism across the medical industry about potential changes in how the regulator is making decisions under the Trump administration. Continue reading...

New EP Days of Ash features songs about Renee Good, Iranian protesters and other political topics, and precedes new defiantly joyful' album later in 2026 Alexis Petridis on Days of Ash: six new tracks that reaffirm the band as a vital political voiceU2 have released their first collection of new music since 2017 - a politically charged EP entitled Days of Ash, which focuses on a series of high-profile global deaths including the killing of Renee Good by ICE agents.Good, a mother of three children who was killed on 7 January while protesting against ICE activity in Minneapolis, is the subject of the opening song, American Obituary. Continue reading...

Exclusive: UK graduates working in Germany and Belgium - and possibly other countries - informed of rises as salary threshold is cutBritons living in some European countries face a huge rise in their student loan repayments later this year, the Guardian can reveal, in a move that threatens to trigger a fresh backlash for Rachel Reeves.UK graduates working in Germany and Belgium - and possibly other countries - have been told that their monthly repayments will increase from April, the Guardian can reveal. Continue reading...

County has highest number of reinstated elections following decision not to delay them for 30 English councils

Marco Rubio's soothing tone in Munich masked a familiar message: Europe can remain America's ally - but at a cost Don't get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThe greatness of America," wrote the 19th-century French diplomat, political philosopher and historian Alexis de Tocqueville, lies not in her being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults."For a brief moment at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) last weekend, European leaders half-thought that their most heartfelt wish - the return of the old US, that believed in the EU ideal and backed a rules-based world order - had been granted. Continue reading...

Unresolved sensitive' issues in peace talks are fate of occupied territories in east Ukraine and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plantThe peace talks ended abruptly today after about two hours, according to reports, in contrast with yesterday's negotiations that apparently took place over six hours.Neither side have offered any public sign of progress, but instead said the talks were difficult" with Russian news agencies quoting sources describing the negotiations as very tense". Continue reading...

Coalition of refugee support groups says board's traumatic' and flawed' processes are putting children at riskA coalition of refugee support groups has called for a Home Office organisation to be axed, claiming it is putting hundreds of children at risk.The Refugee and Migrant Children's Consortium, which consists of more than 100 organisations including the Refugee Council, Barnardo's and the NSPCC, has published a report analysing the performance of the Home Office's national age assessment board (NAAB), which was set up in March 2023 to determine the ages of young asylum seekers newly arrived in the UK, often on small boats. Continue reading...

Prosecutors drop charges over break-in at Israeli defence firm site after jury cleared six other defendants of offenceProsecutors have dropped aggravated burglary charges against 18 defendants accused of a Palestine Action break-in at an Israeli defence firm's UK site after a jury cleared six other defendants of the offence.Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, were all acquitted of aggravated burglary, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with respect to the 6 August 2024 raid on the Elbit Systems factory in Filton, near Bristol. Continue reading...

Assistant to hard-left parliamentarian among those held over fatal attack on 23-year-old Quentin Deranque

Alberto Castaneda Mondragon was hospitalized with eight skull fractures after being arrested by ICE agents in JanuaryMinnesota and federal authorities are investigating the alleged beating of a Mexican citizen by immigration officers last month, seeking to identify what caused the eight skull fractures that landed the man in the intensive care unit of a Minneapolis hospital.Investigators from the St Paul police department and FBI last week canvassed the shopping center parking lot where Alberto Castaneda Mondragon says Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents wrested him from a vehicle, threw him to the ground and repeatedly struck him in the head with a steel baton. Continue reading...

Consultancy's prediction comes after Rachel Reeves said green subsidy costs would be removed from domestic billsHousehold energy costs in Great Britain are expected to tumble by an average of almost 117 a year from April after Rachel Reeves announced in November's budget that the cost of green subsidies would be removed from domestic bills.The government's quarterly cap on energy bills is forecast to fall after the chancellor's decision to shift the levies used to support renewable energy projects into general taxation, and scrap a bill payer-funded energy efficiency scheme, according to Cornwall Insight, a leading energy consultancy. Continue reading...

Government considering delay to equalising national minimum wage after jump in youth unemployment

South Lakes Islamic Centre hosts nightly congregational prayers before official opening in JulyIt is a cold night before Ramadan, and a group of men are completing health and safety checks inside Cumbria's partially completed South Lakes Islamic Centre (SLIC).The building is a mere shell, with exposed bricks, hanging wires and no fitted lights or heaters, but a large area has been cleared of construction materials to host nightly congregational prayers. Continue reading...

FTSE 100 company reports 6% fall in annual profits weeks after collapse of $260bn merger with Rio TintoGlencore is to give $2bn (1.47bn) to shareholders after a turbulent year in which profits slumped and talks collapsed over a blockbuster $260bn merger with the fellow mining company Rio Tinto.The FTSE 100 company announced the payout on Wednesday despite reporting that annual profits slipped 6% on the previous year to $13.5bn. Continue reading...

Politicians and experts say police should be better trained and move away from tickbox approach' to suicidesPoliticians and experts have thrown their weight behind calls for suicides to be investigated as potential homicides in cases where a person who takes their own life has been affected by domestic abuse.They also called for better training for police so that officers understand the full impact of domestic abuse, and move away from a tickbox approach" to suicides.In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org Continue reading...

Exclusive: Five hospitals failed to spot Amisha Adhia had placenta accreta before one obstetrician intervenedAfter five hospitals failed to spot that she had a rare but potentially fatal complication of childbirth, Amisha Adhia is to launch a campaign urging the NHS to do more to diagnose the condition and save lives.Pregnant women are at much greater risk of developing placenta accreta spectrum if they have already given birth by caesarean section or had IVF treatment. Continue reading...

Environment minister says Alcoa cleared known habitat of protected species to enable bauxite mining

Sara Duterte, daughter of a former president who is facing charges of crimes against humanity at the Hague, pledged to offer her life, strength and future' in service of the PhilippinesPhilippine vice-president Sara Duterte, daughter of the imprisoned former leader Rodridgo Duterte, has announced she will run for president in the country's 2028 election.Sara Duterte, 47, said she would offer her life, strength and future" in service of the Philippines, in a speech on Wednesday that accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, of presiding over a period marked by rampant corruption. Continue reading...

Ad was part of campaign to encourage Londoners to intervene if they witness sexual harassment or hate crimeA Transport for London (TfL) ad featuring a black teenage boy verbally harassing a white girl has been banned for perpetuating the negative racial stereotype about black men as perpetrators of threatening behaviour".The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the irresponsible" ad - which was the subject of a complaint - featured a harmful stereotype". Continue reading...

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One Nation leader's statements about Muslims also labelled bigoted and wrong' by NSW minister for multiculturalism

Person among group of 34 women and children who were released from al-Roj camp on Monday but were forced to return

Rotting from the Top report author Geoffrey Watson says personal attacks' from Labor government ministers have crossed a line'

Donald Trump says deals end our foolish dependence on foreign sources', while Japanese PM hails enhanced economic securityJapan has drawn up plans for investments in US oil, gas and critical mineral projects worth about $36bn under the first wave of a deal with Donald Trump.The US president and Sanae Takaichi, Japan's prime minister, announced a trio of projects including a power plant in Portsmouth, Ohio, billed by the Trump administration as the largest natural gas-fired generating facility in US history. Continue reading...

Shocking' data shows the climate crisis and invasive mosquitos mean chikungunya could spread in 29 countriesAn excruciatingly painful tropical disease called chikungunya can now be transmitted by mosquitoes across most of Europe, a study has found.Higher temperatures due to the climate crisis mean infections are now possible for more than six months of the year in Spain, Greece and other southern European countries, and for two months a year in south-east England. Continuing global heating means it is only a matter of time before the disease expands further northwards, the scientists said. Continue reading...

Acts such as Article 3 are drawing inspiration from their culture and meeting a big appetite for Indigenous-focused club nightsWe both live in maybe the most impractical place if you want to be a successful DJ," laughs Alice Marie Jektevik, one half of Article 3, a Sami female DJ collective. Jektevik, 36, and her collaborator, Petra Laiti, 30, reside in a rural village in the far north-east of Norway.But living in Sapmi - the region across northern parts of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia traditionally lived in by Sami people - has proven to be central to their success, providing the inspiration for much of their work. Continue reading...

CEO said services have restarted after termination of grants led to criticism that US was ceding ground to ChinaRadio Free Asia has resumed broadcasts to people in China, its chief executive said on Tuesday, after Trump administration cuts last year largely forced the US-funded outlet to cease operations.For years, RFA and its sister outlets, including Voice of America (VOA), had been financed with funding approved by the US Congress and overseen by the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). Continue reading...

US family who were 100th to be granted residency under investor scheme say they want to give back to amazing' New ZealandWealthy Americans are dominating applications for New Zealand's golden visa", driven by a love for the country's natural beauty and entrepreneurial spirit, as well a desire to escape Trump's administration.New rules for the Active Investor Plus visa came into effect in April 2025, lowering investment thresholds, removing English-language requirements and cutting the amount of time applicants must spend in the country to establish residency from three years to three weeks. Successful applicants can only purchase homes in New Zealand worth more than $5m. Continue reading...

Leader says move should end claims of one-man band and shows party is creating a machine for government'Nigel Farage has unveiled the first part of Reform UK's frontbench team, saying it shows that the party is no longer reliant entirely on him - while also warning that he will not tolerate any dissent from his colleagues.Two of the four appointees are recent defectors from the Conservatives: Robert Jenrick, who takes on the Treasury brief, and Suella Braverman, whom Farage has put in charge of education, skills and equalities. Continue reading...

Many products contain substances banned because of serious and sometimes irreversible health risks, says CTSIIllegal skin lightening products are being sold in an increasingly wide range of UK outlets, including butchers, specialist food shops and small grocery stores, trading standards officers have warned.The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is warning that many of the products contain substances that are banned because of the serious risks they pose to health, including skin damage, infections and pregnancy complications. Continue reading...