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A press conference at Tory HQ at least had some entertainment value even if there was nothing of importance to sayThere was a time when you knew where you were with a press conference. You would go along on the assumption that the person or organisation who had called it had something important to say. Something that might approximate to news.But we live in ever more confusing days. So now we've reached the point where Kemi Badenoch and Mel Stride will do almost anything for attention. Where a press conference is just another excuse for a therapy session where they can unload their familiar grievances on to journalists. It's the only way they can get anyone to listen. Continue reading...

UK energy firm ceases trading and leaves Ofgem to find new supplierA UK energy supplier with about 90,000 customers has gone bust blaming a perfect storm" of surging wholesale prices and squeezed customers, on the day households face another increase in gas and electricity bills.Rebel Energy, which serves around 80,000 households and 10,000 business customers, will cease trading immediately and leave the industry regulator to find a new supplier for its customers. Continue reading...

Financial Conduct Authority tells supreme court the 44bn bill could spook businesses and threaten UK investmentA court of appeal ruling that has left lenders fearing PPI-level compensation bills over the motor finance commission scandal goes too far", the City regulator said on Monday.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) made the comments in a written submission to the supreme court on Tuesday, as part of a high-profile case being closely watched by the government. The Treasury, which tried but failed to intervene in the case, is concerned the standing decision could spook businesses and threaten investment in the UK. Continue reading...

Those who have not already left Grindavik warned nearby eruption could be much bigger than previous 10 since 2021The Icelandic town of Grindavik and the nearby Blue Lagoon tourist attraction have been evacuated after the area was hit by another volcanic eruption.The eruption is the 11th since 2021, when the Reykjanes peninsula, a region south-west of Reykjavik, started its latest eruption period. Continue reading...

Moscow's refusal highlights the limited progress Donald Trump has made on his promise to end the warMoscow has described the latest US peace proposals as unacceptable to the Kremlin, highlighting the limited progress Donald Trump has made on his promise to end the war in Ukraine since taking office in January.Sergei Ryabkov, a foreign policy adviser to Vladimir Putin, said some of Russia's key demands were being addressed by the US proposals to end the war, in comments that marked a rare acknowledgment from the Russian side that talks with the US over Ukraine had stalled in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Judge claimed mistrial in case of Read, 45, who claims she was framed in death of Boston police officer boyfriendJury selection begins on Tuesday in the retrial of Karen Read, who says she was framed by law enforcement in the 2022 death of her Boston police officer boyfriend.Read, of Mansfield, is accused of striking her boyfriend, the Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm outside a house party in Canton. Her attorneys have said that O'Keefe was actually killed by someone else, possibly another law enforcement agent who was at the party. Continue reading...

Veteran lauded for helping preserve history and legacy as well as vital role played during second world warThe Bletchley Park code breaker Charlotte Betty" Webb has died at the age of 101, the Women's Royal Army Corps Association (WRACA) has confirmed.Arriving at Bletchley from the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) aged just 18, Webb spent four years during the second world war at the code-breaking centre working in various roles. Continue reading...

Doctors helping with aftermath of disaster and UN special rapporteur say aid is disappearing or being blocked in some areas

Head of European Commission says bloc would prefer to negotiate but all countermeasures are on the tableThe European Union has a strong plan" to retaliate against tariffs imposed by Donald Trump but would prefer to negotiate, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has said.Trump, who has upended eight decades of certainties about the transatlantic relationship since taking office, has threatened tariffs on goods from around the world from Wednesday. His administration in March put tariffs on imported steel and aluminium and said higher duties on cars would come into effect on Thursday. Continue reading...

Gerald Darmanin stresses court timelines are outside government control as PM admits he has questions over immediate public office bans

Farming groups are starting to voice concerns for Trump's tough approach at a time when they face many challengesIt has been a perilous few years for the Red Fire Farm in western Massachusetts.Since the pandemic, rising interest rates, labor and seed costs on the 200-acre produce farm have made life for owners Ryan and Sarah Voiland a spiraling challenge. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Richard Harris, 71, died last July after series of errors at troubled Royal Sussex County hospital in BrightonA troubled NHS trust has apologised to the family of a man who died after a series of potentially fatal delays to treat a tumour, in a case that is being investigated by police as possible corporate manslaughter.Richard Harris, 71, died last July after a series of errors in the neurosurgery department at the Royal Sussex County hospital in Brighton, which is part of University Hospitals Sussex NHS foundation trust (UHSussex). Continue reading...

Founded in 1983, the restaurant known for waitresses in skimpy outfits has run into financial difficulties latelyHooters, the US-based restaurant chain known for chicken wings and skimpy waitstaff outfits, has filed for bankruptcy protection.HOA Restaurant Group filed the motion for chapter 11 protection Monday in the north Texas bankruptcy court in Dallas. Continue reading...

Family of Walid Ahmad, 17, say his health had deteriorated and Palestinian officials say he was denied medical careA 17-year-old boy from the West Bank who was held without charge for six months in an Israeli prison died after he collapsed in unclear circumstances, Palestinian officials have said.According to his family, Walid Ahmad was a healthy high schooler" at the time of his arrest last September for allegedly throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. Continue reading...

US climate agency being upended as Doge efforts to slash the federal government causes email security issuesA sense of chaos has gripped the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), one of the world's premier research agencies, with key staff hastily fired and then rehired, cuts to vital weather forecasting operations and even a new, unsecured server that led to staff being deluged by obscene spam emails.Noaa is currently being upended by Donald Trump's desire to slash the federal government workforce, with more than 1,000 people already fired or resigning from the agency and 1,000 more staffers are expected to be removed as the purge continues. In total, this represents around 20% of the Noaa's workforce. Continue reading...

President promises to be very kind', but critics warn his strategy risks triggering chain reaction and global trade war. Plus, Nasa astronauts reject claims of neglectGood morning.As Donald Trump prepared to unveil a swathe of reciprocal tariffs, global markets braced themselves and some Republican senators voiced their opposition to a strategy that critics warn risks a global trade war, provoking retaliation by major trading partners such as China, Canada and the EU.What do Europeans think of the plans? A large majority of western Europeans support retaliatory tariffs against the US, a survey has shown, if Trump introduces sweeping import duties for major trading partners as expected this week.What did the memo say? The memo, reviewed by the Times, stated that such elevated access to critical high-value asset systems is rare with respect to individual systems and no single [Department of Interior] official presently has access to all HR, payroll and credentialing systems". Continue reading...

Council says cost running into tens of millions, as homeless refugees granted asylum elsewhere in UK come to city for supportThe asylum system risks damaging social cohesion" with homeless refugees putting unprecedented pressure" on Glasgow services, the city council has warned.Glasgow city council, the largest asylum dispersal area outside London, had welcomed asylum seekers for decades, said the city convener for homelessness, Allan Casey. Continue reading...

Many of the people displaced by Eacop project were inadequately rehoused or compensated, report saysPeople displaced from their homes alongside the site of an oil pipeline under construction in Uganda have complained of being inadequately rehoused or compensated.When completed, the East African crude oil pipeline (Eacop) will transport oil from the Tilenga and Kingfisher oilfields in western Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. Continue reading...

Investors defrauded by 49-year-old before her 2020 disappearance and death to get back portion of their $23m in losses

Coalition of former allies Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria fought armed insurgents including Boko HaramNiger's ruling junta has quit a regional force fighting armed Islamist groups in west Africa's Lake Chad area, cementing an acrimonious split from former allies in the region.The decision to exit the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) was announced in a bulletin on state television over the weekend. The move reflects a stated intent to reinforce security for oil sites", the bulletin stated, without providing further details. Continue reading...

Capital records lowest annual price growth in the country as Northern Ireland races ahead, Nationwide finds

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Reserve Bank of Australia leaves cash rate unchanged amid hotly contested federal election campaign

Vast scheme aims to counter disinformation and increase awareness in country where low HPV vaccine take-up means many die from the preventable diseaseTens of thousands of doctors across India are being trained to promote the HPV vaccine, in a push to eliminate cervical cancer in the country.They will check with mothers attending medical appointments that they intend to vaccinate their daughters, and visit schools and community centres armed with facts and slideshows to counter vaccine disinformation. Continue reading...

Nine-hectare site home to 57 species including rhino, zebras and ostriches in UK's biggest such developmentAlthough we are trying to replicate Uganda and Kenya we are actually in Cheshire so the weather is slightly different," admits Chester zoo boss, Jamie Christon, on a fresh and very grey Monday morning.But ignore the chilliness and screw your eyes and you could well be transported to a sweeping African savannah where, one day, there will be giraffes, zebras, antelopes and ostriches roaming majestically side by side. Continue reading...

Taiwan says it has detected nearly 20 vessels off its coast as Beijing orders large scale sea and air exercises and calls leaders in Taipei parasites'China has launched large-scale military drills around Taiwan, accusing its leaders of being separatists" and parasites" who were pushing the democratically run island into war.The drills, accompanied by a propaganda campaign, were launched without warning on Tuesday morning. China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) said they were a stern warning" to Taiwan's democratically elected government over what Beijing claims is separatist activity. Continue reading...

Woman's lawyer tells reporters outside court incident in Baulkham Hills home was a tragic case for all concerned'

Exclusive: Charities say freeze to housing benefit will push more people into rent arrears and homelessnessOnly 2.5% of private rented homes in England were affordable for people on housing benefit last year, with charities warning that more people will be pushed into rent arrears and homelessness as a freeze on the benefit takes effect.From Tuesday, housing benefit rates will be locked at current rates until 2026, affecting 5.7m households on low income which rely on it to cover rent. Continue reading...

Attempts to seal porous borders through which guns, drugs and fuel flowed in Assad times are turning local tensions deadlyHidden trails snake through the mountains in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa valley, the furrowed earthen paths veering off before entirely disappearing into the mountainside scrub. That's Syria," said Haidar, a smuggler using a pseudonym, tracing with his finger the contours of a route that if followed for about half a mile would cross the borders of Syria and Lebanon with authorities being none the wiser.In the remote Lebanese village of Qasr, borders are just a suggestion. The town sits a stone's throw from Syria and save for three soldiers manning an army checkpoint at the entry to the village, the presence of the Lebanese state is minimal. Continue reading...

More than 2,000 people sign petition in support of jazz musician and composer of River to Sea, Kellee Green

Raymond Ervine, whose birth certificate was found on Mark Haines' body, says allegations the Gomeroi teenager had been in a stolen car were never his character'

Office of US trade representative releases report on foreign trade barriers' including Australia's biosecurity regime for imported beef, pork and poultry

Live-action animated film starring John Cena and Will Forte will hit cinemas in 2026, after it was controversially shelved in favour of a $30m tax write-downFor once, things are working out for Wile E Coyote.The film Coyote vs Acme, which stars John Cena and Will Forte acting alongside beloved Looney Tunes cartoon characters, will finally be released to the public, almost two years after the completed film was shelved by Warner Bros as part of a tax write-off. Continue reading...

US Investment Accelerator will oversee the semiconductor production boosting law signed in to law in August 2022Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday setting up a new entity to take over the Chips Act program and speed up corporate investments in the US.The United States Investment Accelerator within the commerce department will oversee implementing the Chips and Science Act, a 2022 law that made $52.7bn in subsidies available for semiconductor chips manufacturing and production. Continue reading...

Elon Musk attacks decision along with other figures from the right including Viktor Orban and Geert WildersNationalist and populist figures around the world, from Elon Musk to Viktor Orban, have united in condemnation of a Paris court verdict barring Marine Le Pen from running in the country's 2027 presidential elections.In a bombshell ruling many believe could boost support for the party, the figurehead of France's far-right National Rally (RN) was sentenced on Monday to four years' imprisonment - half suspended - and banned from running for public office for five years, for embezzlement of European parliament funds. Continue reading...

Varada Sethu joining series as Doctor's latest companion, marking first time Tardis team is wholly people of colourCriticisms that Doctor Who has become too woke" prove the series is doing the right thing by being inclusive, its new star Varada Sethu has said.Sethu plays the Doctor's latest travelling companion, Belinda Chandra, in new episodes airing next month. With Ncuti Gatwa returning as the Doctor, the pairing marks the first time a Tardis team will comprise solely people of colour. Continue reading...

Move is latest in controversial method of deporting people from Guantanamo to prison abroad without US due processThe 17 additional people the US shipped off to a prison in El Salvador on Sunday and accused of being tied to transnational gangs were sent there from immigration detention at Guantanamo Bay, a White House official confirmed to the Guardian on Monday afternoon.The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, announced the overnight military transfer, asserting that the group included murderers and rapists" from the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangs, which the Trump administration has recently labeled foreign terrorists. Continue reading...

Large-scale' emergency response launched but later scaled down, while girl's next of kin given supportA search is under way to find an 11-year-old girl after she fell into the River Thames in east London, police have said.Metropolitan police officers were called to reports that the child had entered the river close to Bargehouse Causeway, near London City airport, at about 1.15pm on Monday. Emergency services launched a large-scale response" to the incident, the force said, but the search was later scaled down. Continue reading...

Far-right leader, who was found guilty of embezzlement of European funds, says conviction is a denial of democracy'The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has railed against a Paris court's political decision" to bar her from competing for the presidency in 2027, attacking the move to ban her from running for public office as a denial of democracy".In a day of high political drama, Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement of European parliament funds on a vast scale, a conviction for which she was also handed a four-year prison sentence, with two of those years suspended and two to be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet. She was also ordered to pay a 100,000 (84,000) fine. Continue reading...

Court hears from publisher's head of investigations about actor's libel claim over sexual misconduct allegationsThe actor Noel Clarke made calls to some of the women he thought were cooperating with the Guardian prior to the publication of its investigation into his behaviour, leaving them shaken, fearful and in tears", the high court in London has heard.The Guardian's head of investigations, Paul Lewis, was giving evidence in defence of Clarke's libel claim against the news publisher over allegations of sexual misconduct. Continue reading...

Residents took firms owned by billionaire to tribunal for operating unlicensed houses in multiple occupationTenants of two buildings in east London have been awarded a six-figure sum in rent repayments by a tribunal after challenging a billionaire described by a judge as a rogue landlord".The group of current and former residents of Olympic House and Simpson House in Hackney took companies owned by John Christodoulou to tribunal for operating unlicensed houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), which meant the buildings were not subject to the safety and quality standards required by law. Continue reading...

Friends and fans of Heklina denounce Met's investigation of unsolved death in her London flatNearly two years after the American drag artist Heklina was found dead in London, her friends and fans gathered outside Scotland Yard's headquarters to protest against the force's handling of the case.Heklina, whose real name was Steven Grygelko, was found at a flat in Soho, central London, on 3 April 2023, by a friend and fellow drag performer, Peaches Christ, real name Joshua Grannell. Continue reading...

Iranian officials accuse US president of breaching UN charter and say violence brings violence'

News Group Newspapers reports a pre-tax loss for the year to 30 June 2024 of 18m, its smallest since 2011The owner of the Sun has run up more than 1.2bn in losses since the start of its costly battle to end allegations of illegal phone hacking almost 15 years ago.News Group Newspapers (NGN), a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News UK which publishes the Sun and retains liability for the activities of the now defunct News of the World, reported a pre-tax loss of 18m in the year to 30 June 2024. Continue reading...

Choosing KKR as the preferred bidder for the UK's biggest water company may not fill Thames Water's workers with joy

UN says 15 Red Crescent and rescue workers were killed one by one'Palestinian medics killed by Israeli forces and buried in mass grave, says UNThe Israeli military said on Monday that an inquiry had found that on 23 March, troops opened fire on a group of vehicles that included ambulances and fire trucks when the vehicles approached a position without prior coordination and without headlights or emergency signals.It said several militants belonging to the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad were killed. Continue reading...

Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary, says prime minister needs to work on rekindling US trade deal'Downing Street has sent out more details of the enforced returns numbers quoted by Keir Starmer in his speech to the Organised Immigration Crime summit. (See 9.26am.)It says the more than 24,000 migrants made to leave the country since July 2024 meant the government has achieved the highest rate of returns in eight years. It says:The continued rise in removals includes a 21% increase in enforced returns and a 16% increase in foreign national offenders being removed from the UK since July 5, including the 4 biggest returns charter flights in the UK's history, with a total of more than 850 people on board.The massive surge in removals followed the government's immediate action to redeploy staff across the Home Office to work on policies that deliver results ... Continue reading...

Jordan Bardella says in petition there is a dictatorship of judges' as French far right leader barred from running for public office for five years

Donald Trump accused of damaging US ability to respond to disasters through cuts to foreign aid programmes.As aid from China, Russia, India and the UK begins to flow into Myanmar, there is a conspicuous gap in global support from the world's richest country: the US.The powerful 7.7-magnitude quake that struck central Myanmar on Friday has caused widespread destruction, flattening swathes of the country's second-largest city, Mandalay, and even a tower block in the Thai capital, Bangkok, more than 600 miles (1,000km) away. Continue reading...