Record high of 4.1 million people found to be in precarious employment such as zero-hours contracts and casual workThe UK has seen an explosion" in insecure, low-paid work in the past 14 years, according to a new report.The TUC said its study had found that the number of people in insecure work had reached a record high of 4.1 million. Continue reading...
Legal actions seek payouts for asylum seekers locked up for weeks without immediate plan for deportationThe next government could have to make costly payouts to dozens of asylum seekers detained for deportation to Rwanda, even if the Rwanda deal falls apart after the general election.Legal actions are being lodged by asylum seekers who say the Home Office locked them up unlawfully before the threatened first flight to the east African country. Home Office sources indicated they did not accept these claims. Continue reading...
Relatives of motorcyclist killed in 2019 are looking forward to working with next government' on public inquiryThe parents of Harry Dunn, a teenage motorcyclist killed in a road collision, accused the US of obstructing" their son's inquest, as they said they were looking forward to working with the next Westminster government to establish a public inquiry.No representative of the US embassy nor the driver responsible, the American Anne Sacoolas, attended the four-day inquest, which concluded on Thursday. The absences prompted the Dunn family's spokesperson, Radd Seiger, to say Washington's position was that lives of UK citizens like Harry ultimately do not matter". Continue reading...
President hails breakthrough as US and Ukraine also announce 10-year bilateral security agreementJoe Biden claimed democracies can deliver" as he announced the leaders of the G7 western economies had finally reached an agreement that will mobilise an extra $50bn (39bn) of aid to Ukraine using frozen Russian state assets.Speaking at the G7 summit in Puglia, Italy, on Thursday, Biden hailed the breakthrough as he met Ukraine's president Volodymr Zelenskiy and announced the two countries had also signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement, ending 12 months of difficult negotiations. Continue reading...
by Léonie Chao-Fong (now); Martin Belam and Tom Brya on (#6NG67)
This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the G7 summit, read more of our coverage here.Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni has just arrived at the venue.This is the scene at the Borgo Egnazia resort as G7 leaders are scheduled to begin arriving. Continue reading...
Call for better trail signage and backing for walking clubs as fears grow over lack of know-how' among foreigners encountering searing temperaturesWith Greece gripped by unusually high temperatures, fears are growing that foreign visitors are not aware or being properly informed of the risks posed by overexertion in the searing heat.Over the past week, three search and rescue operations have been started for tourists who have gone missing during treks on far-flung islands, including one for the popular TV presenter Michael Mosley, who was found dead on the island of Symi. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Rhianon Bragg, of north Wales, says judge's refusal leaves her facing ticking clock'A woman who was stalked and held hostage at gunpoint by her ex-partner has warned that she and her family are in danger after a judge refused to strengthen a restraining order against her abuser, despite hearing evidence that her life was under threat.Rhianon Bragg had asked for the restraining order on Gareth Wyn Jones, who was freed from prison earlier this year, to be extended to cover the whole of Gwynedd in north Wales rather than a limited area around her remote smallholding in the foothills of Eryri (Snowdonia). Continue reading...
External counsel advised in 2013 that accounting errors in Horizon system should be corrected without risking admission of culpabilityAn external lawyer advised the Post Office to remove apologies from letters sent to post office operators and maintain a more cold, procedural approach", a public inquiry has heard.The inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal was told that Andrew Parsons, a partner at law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) who advised the Post Office for more than seven years, wrote that apologising to the operators would be admitting some degree of culpability". Continue reading...
Eight tonnes of cocaine seized and 40 people arrested after four-year investigation led by Spain's Guardia Civil How big is Europe's cocaine problem - and what is the human cost?Forty people have been arrested and eight tonnes of cocaine have been seized as a result of a four-year international police operation targeting a criminal network that trafficked large quantities of the drug from South America to Europe via west Africa and the Canary Islands.The long-running investigation - which was led by Spain's Guardia Civil force and coordinated by Europol's operational taskforce - discovered that a Balkan cartel was using logistical hubs in west Africa and the Canaries to smuggle cocaine from Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador into EU countries. Continue reading...
The opposition leader's announcement that age-verification would be a Coalition government priority is a big promise that technology may not be able to fulfil
by Josh Halliday North of England editor on (#6NGDM)
Baby K's mother describes agreeing to switch off her daughter's life support as the hardest decision of my life'The mother of a newborn baby allegedly attacked by the nurse Lucy Letby said it was the hardest decision of my life" to switch off her daughter's life support, a court has heard.Letby, 34, is accused of attempting to murder the infant by displacing her breathing tube when she was being treated at the Countess of Chester hospital's neonatal unit. Continue reading...
by Robyn Vinter North of England correspondent on (#6NGB4)
Karen Foster, 62, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after shaking nine-month-old Harlow Collinge in 2022A Lancashire childminder who killed a nine-month-old baby by shaking him to death has been sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison for manslaughter.Karen Foster, 62, had been due to stand trial at Preston crown court for murdering Harlow Collinge on 1 March 2022 but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter before the jury was sworn in. Continue reading...
Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza wars are on the agenda as the US and other wealthy nations meet. Plus: US firefighters face a housing crisisGood morning.The G7 summit kicks off in Puglia, Italy today, with the leaders of wealthy G7 nations meeting to discuss Russia's war on Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza conflict and the climate crisis in Africa, among other topics.What are some goals of this meeting? The US state department is billing this meeting as the best opportunity to ease Ukraine's financial burdens before the US presidential elections in November and a way to send a message to Russia of western stamina.What are some key initiatives that will be discussed? The key US initiative is a large expansion of entities, including banks, that will be subject to sanctions if they are deemed to be enabling not just Russia's military industrial complex, but any sanctioned Russian entity. Continue reading...
Force has not denied reports it is investigating whether Luke D'Wit may have killed twice before without detectionPolice are reportedly investigating whether a man convicted of murdering a married couple last year with fentanyl may have previously killed his father and grandfather.In March Luke D'Wit was jailed for a minimum of 37 years for poisoning Stephen and Carol Baxter with the synthetic opioid painkiller at their home in West Mersea, Essex, on Easter Sunday in 2023. He amended the couple's will the next day to make himself a director of the company they ran. Continue reading...
Two of five sister senators' who blocked legislation to ban abortion from conception lost to far-right challengersThe right to legal abortion in South Carolina is in a dire" condition, said the state senator Penry Gustafson, who lost her seat Tuesday to a primary challenger prepared to vote to ban abortion at conception.Gustafson is one of five female lawmakers dubbed the sister senators" who blocked legislation to outlaw abortion from the point of conception in the state. The three Republicans among them - Gustafson, Sandy Senn and Katrina Shealy - each drew male primary challengers who competed for conservative primary voters seeking more restrictive abortion access. Continue reading...
UN relief agency says authorities are hampering operations by failing to grant requests for access permitsThe UN's relief agency for Palestinians, the largest aid organisation operating in Gaza, has said Israeli authorities are frequently preventing it from delivering aid and hampering its operations in the territory.We are getting very few positive responses to our requests for aid delivery and permits to move around Gaza," said Tamara Alrifai, the director of external relations for Unrwa. Continue reading...
Panel of three judges unanimously dismiss attempt to quash guilty verdict, with one saying no substantial miscarriage of justice has actually occurred as a result of the errors established'
Retirees or those on disability benefit are biggest annual winners, while large families are 4,600 worse off, says Resolution FoundationPensioners and people on disability benefits are the winners from radical changes to the welfare system made by the Tories over the last decade, while working-age families are losing out by thousands of pounds every year, according to a report by the Resolution Foundation.The Conservatives' 14-year overhaul of social security has shifted spending away from children and housing to supporting elderly people, and broken the link between entitlement and need for some of the poorest households in the country, the report says. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#6NG3W)
Tories struggling in some areas from chronic lack of supporters to canvass and deliver leaflets, say sourcesThe Conservative on-the-ground election campaign is descending into disarray" amid a chronic lack of volunteers and strategy and an increasing sense of panic in formerly ultra-safe seats, insiders and opponents have told the Guardian.Some areas have struggled to muster people to knock on doors and deliver leaflets due to a combination of a shrinking and ageing membership, a calamitous fall in the number of Conservative councillors and disillusionment with the election campaign. Continue reading...
Relatives of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates instruct legal team to investigate police and health trustThe families of the victims of the Nottingham attacks have vowed to take their fight for accountability to the next level" on the one-year anniversary of the killings.In a joint statement, the families of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates, who were killed by Valdo Calocane in the early hours of 13 June last year, said they had instructed a legal team to help them leave no stone unturned on our quest for answers". Continue reading...
Sharp rise, equivalent to population of London, means nearly 120 million have been driven from their homesThe number of people forced out of their homes around the world last year was the equivalent of the population of London, according to the UN's refugee agency.The latest annual assessment from the United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) said a sharp rise in the number of people forcibly displaced during 2023 had brought the total to a record high of more than 117 million. Conflicts were largely to blame with many, such as those in Ukraine and Sudan, showing little sign of ending. Continue reading...
French president says suspension will give full strength to dialogue on the ground' as well as opportunity to return to order'Controversial voting reforms in New Caledonia will be suspended, Emmanuel Macron has announced, after a period of deadly unrest in the French Pacific territory.The reforms, which would have altered voting rights, are contested by the Indigenous Kanak people who say they would be marginalised further should the changes go through. Continue reading...
by Tamsin Rose New South Wales state correspondent on (#6JG3M)
Liberal MP Alister Henskens used parliamentary privilege to accuse unnamed bureaucrat of using inside knowledge to purchase property for potential profit
Labour puts economic policy and wealth creation at heart of pitch to win over former Conservative votersKeir Starmer will put economic growth and wealth creation at the heart of Labour's offer to voters as he launches a business-friendly manifesto targeted at former Conservative voters.The Labour leader will launch his election manifesto in Greater Manchester on Thursday, promising to emphasise economic stability in a deliberate contrast to the Conservatives' more policy-heavy offering earlier this week. Continue reading...
Lawyers say strategy of denying food and services to people in Ukrainian city during siege could amount to war crimeRussia engaged in a deliberate pattern" of starvation tactics during the 85-day siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in early 2022, which amounted to a war crime, according to a fresh analysis submitted to the international criminal court.The conclusion is at the heart of a dossier in the process of being submitted to the ICC in The Hague by the lawyers Global Rights Compliance, working in conjunction with the Ukrainian government. It argues that Russia and its leaders intended to kill and harm large numbers of civilians. Continue reading...
Studies sound alarm at state of cancer care with hundreds of thousands waiting months to start essential treatmentHundreds of thousands of people are being forced to wait months to start essential cancer treatment, with deadly delays now routine" and even children struck by the disease denied vital support, according to a series of damning reports.Health chiefs, charities and doctors have sounded the alarm over the state of cancer care in the UK as three separate studies painted a shocking picture of long waits and NHS staff being severely hampered by a worsening workforce crisis and a chronic lack of equipment. Continue reading...
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer took questions from the public on Sky News on Wednesday. We examine their claims on tax, Rwanda deportations and NHS dentists
by Agence France-Presse in Kuwait City on (#6NFV1)
More than 50 people also injured in fire, which broke out in a six-storey building housing foreign workersAt least 49 people, all Indian nationals, have been killed in a fire which swept through a building housing foreign workers in Kuwait.More than 50 others were injured in the blaze, which broke out in the six-storey building south of Kuwait City at dawn on Monday. Continue reading...
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