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Jury shown phone footage with sound of chainsaw and toppling tree taken by pair, who deny criminal damageTwo men filmed themselves using a chainsaw to fell the famous Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian's Wall in an act of mindless criminal damage", a court has heard.Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, embarked on a moronic mission" to cut down in minutes a tree that had stood for more than 100 years, the prosecutor Richard Wright KC told Newcastle crown court. Continue reading...

Brooke Bellamy denies taking recipes from fellow cookbook author Nagi Maehashi who said it felt like blatant exploitation'

UK and rest of Europe risk losing out to US and China unless they ramp up spending on new medicines, says CEO Pascal Soriot

The American actor told Bill Maher's podcast that he had asked Quincy Jones about the singer's sexuality and felt he couldn't play that character 100%'The actor Terrence Howard has said that he declined the role of Marvin Gaye in a film, because he didn't want to kiss another man.Speaking to Bill Maher on his Club Random podcast, the actor said the biggest mistake" of his career was turning down the leading role in a separate biopic of the singer Smokey Robinson - which Robinson had personally asked him to play. Continue reading...

Owen Lawrence, 38, is believed to have shot two women with crossbow on Saturday afternoon before turning weapon on himselfA man suspected of attacking two women in the Headingley area of Leeds on Saturday afternoon during an attempted misogynistic massacre" has died overnight, counter-terrorism police have confirmed.Owen Lawrence, 38, is believed to shot the women, aged 19 and 31, with a crossbow before turning the weapon on himself at the scene on Otley Road, a popular pub crawl route. Continue reading...

Rock star co-founded cancer charity that helped sign up 250,000 people as stem cell donorsMike Peters, frontman of the Welsh band The Alarm, has died from blood cancer aged 66.The rock star, who was forced to cancel a US tour last year after being diagnosed with fast-growing lymphoma, had been undergoing treatment at the Christie NHS foundation trust in Manchester. Continue reading...

Long-awaited ruling means cash-for-citizenship programme that allowed people to live and work in bloc must be scrapped

Prime minister tells Canadians that America wants our land, our resources, our water' and promises to protect country

Leonardo, who went on the run from his home in Ulverston, covered distance at pace of about 6 metres a dayWhen Leonardo the tortoise went missing from his home in Cumbria nine months ago, his owners feared the worst.But the intrepid testudine has been found about a mile from his home in Ulverston - covering the distance at an average pace of 6 metres a day. Continue reading...

Victoria McCloud brings action against UK for infringement of her human rights after ruling on biological sexBritain's first transgender judge is taking the UK to the European court of human rights over the supreme court's ruling on biological sex.The UK supreme court ruled earlier this month that the terms woman" and sex" in the Equality Act referred only to a biological woman and to biological sex, with subsequent guidance from the equality watchdog amounting to a blanket ban on trans people using toilets and other services of the gender they identify as. Continue reading...

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First Indigenous Australian to serve as federal minister says to politicise it just adds to the division'

Museums in Belfast, Cardiff, Perth, Warwickshire and County Durham compete for 120,000 Art Fund Museum of the Year awardFive UK museums, all alive with ideas and energy", in Belfast, Cardiff, Perth, Warwickshire and County Durham are to compete for the world's largest prize given to a museum.The Art Fund Museum of the Year prize offers the winner a gamechanging prize of 120,000, with 15,000 going to each of the other finalists. Continue reading...

IET report says running cables below ground about four and a half times more expensive than overhead linesLabour has vowed to press ahead with its plans to build more pylons across England and Wales, a subject of local political division, as a report says underground electricity cables are more than four times more expensive than overhead lines.Pylons have become one of the key electoral issues in a number of counties including Lincolnshire, which is a local election battleground this week. Reform and the Conservatives have called for electricity cables to be buried underground rather than carried overhead by pylons. Continue reading...

Insp Amy Scott, who shot Joel Cauchi in April 2024, tells Sydney inquest she was trained to stop the killing, stop the dying'

Williams says he did not attempt to impose actions or outcomes on any editorial managers' with emails about comedian

Officials draft declaration to help tackle fluctuations' in world economyThe UK and the EU have outlined a new strategic partnership" aimed at bolstering trade and presenting a united European front in Ukraine in defiance of Donald Trump's threat to upend decades of transatlantic alignment.A draft declaration being drawn up by London and Brussels ahead of a UK-EU summit on 19 May points to a common understanding" on a number of shared interests. Continue reading...

While the government's savings are a worthy target', achieving them may not be a straightforward process', some say

All Zionists are terrorists' allegedly chanted outside court where Tayeh was appearing on charges relating to the alleged use of the same phrase

Common Wealth says private gas-fired stations can charge exorbitant fees when renewable energy is in short supplyBritain's gas power stations should be nationalised to prevent their owners from holding the electricity market to ransom", a thinktank has urged.The country's dwindling fossil fuel power plants are ripe for nationalisation as ministers aim to reduce gas consumption to just 5% of the electricity system by 2030, according to a report by Common Wealth. Continue reading...

Canadian PM right candidate for the moment in success shaped more by chance than meticulous planningMark Carney, the economist, banker and politician, has long professed a simple article of faith when navigating through crisis: A plan beats no plan."And his rapid ascent to Canada's top job might be taken as evidence of such preparation. Continue reading...

Campaigners warn against removing group as statutory consultee as part of plan to speed up building new homesThousands of playing fields could be lost to housing if the government strips Sport England of its role in national planning policy, campaigners have warned.As part of the national planning and infrastructure bill the government has said it wants to speed up the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure" by removing the powers of some of the statutory consultees on planning decisions. Continue reading...

The outage, blamed by operators on temperature variations, left tens of millions without electricityLights flickered back to life across most of Spain and Portugal on Tuesday after a massive blackout hit the Iberian peninsula, stranding passengers in trains and elevators while millions lost phone and internet coverage.Electricity had been restored to nearly 90% of mainland Spain by early on Tuesday, the grid operator REE said. Power was restored overnight to around 6.2m households in Portugal out of 6.5m, according to the national electricity grid operator. Lights also came on again in Madrid and in Portugal's capital, Lisbon. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. You can read our latest wrap of developments here.We are just getting a line from Reuters news agency saying that the Conclave to elect new pope will start on 7 May, according to its source.We have not independently verified this report. Continue reading...

Dairy-based drinks and non-dairy substitutes could be taxed as soft drinks under plans put out for consultationThe sugar tax applied to fizzy drinks could be extended to milkshakes and similar treats under government proposals.Plans to end the exemption from the levy for dairy-based drinks, as well as non-dairy substitutes such as oats or rice, were put out for consultation on Monday. Continue reading...

Amendment to bill would affect anyone who qualifies for sex offender register, but charities concerned that move is being rushedForeign nationals convicted of sex offences will be banned from claiming asylum in the UK, Yvette Cooper has said, as Labour attempts to fight off the threat from the Reform party before Thursday's local elections.For the first time, anyone from overseas who qualifies for the sex offender register will be excluded from refugee protections. Continue reading...

Detectives Crockett and Tubbs are set to return in a new big screen take on the 80s cop show from Joseph KosinskiDetectives Crockett and Tubbs are in line for a new look with the 80s cop show Miami Vice set to make a big-screen comeback.The Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski has been set as director of a new take on the NBC series which followed two undercover cops trying to dismantle the world of illegal drugs in Miami. Continue reading...

Ronen Bar to leave role in June, having been sacked by the PM only for the supreme court to block that decision

Revealed: Sources say bosses at R&A, which organises the annual golf tournament, were quizzed about 2028 eventSenior Whitehall officials have asked golf bosses whether they can host the 2028 Open championship at Donald Trump's Turnberry course after repeated requests from the US president, sources have said.Officials had asked senior people at the R&A, which organises the world's oldest major golf championship, what the hurdles would be to hosting the 2028 Open at Turnberry. Continue reading...

Fashion revival and warm weather had boosted the retailer - but the attack has halted website sales

PM says supporters of both groups are being misled and a tie-up would be a disaster' for BritainDowning Street has described the alleged comments by the band Kneecap in the kill MP' footage (see 12.10pm) as completely unacceptable".At the morning lobby briefing, the PM's spokesperson described the comments as completely unacceptable".We do not think individuals expressing those views should be receiving government funding.That's up to the group, but clearly the PM rejects the views expressed ... does not shy away from condemning them.I don't want to see strike action, I don't think anybody wants to see strike action.And certainly here we are in a healthcare environment with all the staff working really hard. The last thing they want to do is to go into dispute again. Continue reading...

Several countries in Europe have been scrambling to restore electricity after a huge power cut causing blackouts

Court considering if Israel acted unlawfully by cutting ties with Unwra with claim it is starving, killing and displacing Palestinians'Israel appears set on destroying the framework created to ensure compliance with international law in a way that will have profound consequences that reverberate far beyond Palestine, the international court of justice has heard.The warning was made at the start of five days of proceedings in The Hague that may prove critical to Israel's future within the world body. The UN's top court will hear from dozens of nations and organisations in order to draw up an advisory opinion on Israel's humanitarian obligations to Palestinians more than 50 days into its total blockade on aid entering Gaza. Continue reading...

Scott Pelley castigated network over independence pending sale to Skydance Media requiring Trump's approval

Broadcaster said trolling got too bad' and at least two death threats against him were being investigated by policeFor many cyclists, Jeremy Vine's commitment to filming drivers he regarded as endangering his fellow two-wheeled travellers made him a hero. It also made the presenter the target of some extraordinary online hate from those who accused him of persecuting motorists.After years of documenting clashes and close shaves on the road, Vine has announced he is ending his sharing of footage, saying the fallout they generated had become too hard to bear. I'm stopping my cycling videos," he announced. The trolling just got too bad. They have had well over 100m views but in the end the anger they generate has genuinely upset me." Continue reading...

Plan to supply 20% of the world's semiconductor chips by 2030 described as essentially aspirational'The EU's strategy to secure its own supply of microchips is deeply disconnected from reality", a damning report by the official European court of auditors (ECA) has found.The ECA reported that the bloc was very unlikely" to meet its 2030 target of supplying 20% of the world's microchips at a time when global demand for semiconductors is booming to meet the growing needs of defence, green tech and artificial intelligence. Continue reading...

Sources say pay increases will not be covered by borrowing and must come from existing budgets, setting up potential for strikes

We break down the major parties' climate claims, counter-claims and policies - and find out what the experts say

Poll also finds most Australians voting based on who will leave them better off in three years - rather than comparing situation to three years ago

Exclusive: Promised day one' right will not include statutory pay for new dads who have been in job for less than nine months

Ten men nicknamed grandpa robbers' accused of stealing jewellery worth millions from American TV star in 2016Ten people nicknamed the grandpa robbers" by French media have gone on trial charged with stealing jewellery worth millions of euros from the American reality TV star Kim Kardashian when she attended Paris fashion week in 2016.The suspects, whose ages range from 35 to 78, appeared in a court in the French capital on Monday afternoon at the start of a month-long trial in which Kardashian, 44, will testify in May. Continue reading...

ICJ holding hearing about Israel's obligation to facilitate aid to Gaza and the West Bank amid the outlawing of UnrwaIsraeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 24 people across the territory since dawn, Al Jazeera is reporting. In Jabalia, in northern Gaza, 10 family members were reportedly killed in an airstrike, while eight people in another family were killed in a separate airstrike.Tehran has accused Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to dictate US policy in negotiations after the Israeli prime minister repeated calls for Iran's entire nuclear infrastructure to be dismantled.Israel's fantasy that it can dictate what Iran may or may not do is so detached from reality that it hardly merits a response.What is striking, however, is how brazenly Netanyahu is now dictating what President Trump can and cannot do in his diplomacy with Iran... Continue reading...

Samir Shah warns of abuse of power as overhaul of workplace culture announced after high-profile casesThe BBC still harbours powerful figures who can abuse their position to make life for their colleagues unbearable", the corporation's chair has said.Samir Shah's warning came as the broadcaster announced an overhaul of workplace culture after a series of high-profile cases. Continue reading...

About 135 Roman Catholic cardinals will meet at Sistine Chapel to decide the next leader of the global church

Castle Donington agency workers told not to go to work as website orders remain on hold for fourth day in a row

The broadcaster's first female boss, who helped fight off two privatisation attempts, will leave in the summerThe chief executive of Channel 4, Alex Mahon, is to step down after eight years and will leave the broadcaster in the summer.During her tenure Mahon, who joined in 2017 as the first female CEO in the broadcaster's four-decade history, helped fight off two attempts to privatise Channel 4. Continue reading...

Alleged attack on facility holding African detainees raises fresh questions over US military operations in regionYemen's Houthi rebels say 68 people have been killed and 47 injured in a US strike on a detention centre holding African migrants in the city of Saada.The rebel group, which governs north-west Yemen, said the shelter was under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration and the Red Cross and targeting it constitutes a full-fledged war crime". The US military had no immediate comment. Continue reading...

Voters in twin-island Caribbean nation to determine representatives amid Trump tariffs and rising cost of livingVoters in the twin-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) are going to the polls today in a parliamentary election described by analysts as one of the most unpredictable in decades.Soaring crime levels, Donald Trump's trade tariffs, and the rising cost of living have dominated the race between the two main parties, the ruling People's National Movement (PNM) and the United National Congress (UNC). Voters will choose the 41 members of the lower House of Representatives for a five-year term. Continue reading...

Season's Greetings, which was removed from the town much to residents' sadness, is focus of touring showIt materialised just before Christmas seven years ago, turning the industrial town of Port Talbot into a destination for culture lovers, but - after much wrangling and soul-searching - was whisked away on the back of an art dealer's lorry and is more than 1,000 miles from home.The saga of Port Talbot's Banksy mural, Season's Greetings, is being told in a new play opening next week, prompting a flurry of reminiscences and recriminations about what happened after one of the world's most famous street artists paid a visit to south Wales. Continue reading...

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