Rory Talbot to appear at Westminster magistrates court on Monday over killing of Mark Talbot, 75, in PutneyA 30-year-old man has been charged with murdering his father after a 75-year-old man was stabbed to death.Scotland Yard said officers were called in the early hours of Friday to a property on Deodar Road in Putney, south-west London, after reports of a stabbing. Continue reading...
by Patrick Butler Social policy editor on (#6TV3D)
Tenant challenged procedure after 500 docked from universal credit payment at landlord's request, with whom he was in dispute over repairsA computer says yes" program that automatically approves landlord requests to deduct hundreds of pounds from tenants' universal credit benefits without requiring officials to check first with the claimant has been declared unlawful by the courts.The challenge was brought by a tenant who was outraged to find the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had docked 500 from his universal credit payment at the request of his landlord, with whom he was in dispute over repairs. Continue reading...
The movement is on the upswing thanks to Trump but a question lingers: what is their role in his administration?Minutes into the National Pro-Life Summit, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, had convinced its more than attendees to leap to their feet. She was recording a video, and she had a message she wanted them to send to Donald Trump.THANK YOU MISTER PRESIDENT!" the crowd in the ballroom thundered, before bursting into raucous applause - complete with wolf whistles. Continue reading...
Dutton's cabinet reshuffle added the shadow minister of government efficiency role to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's position - but it sounds a bit familiar
Former Labour MP puts forward amendment to reform bill aiming to end privilege for 26 C of E bishopsChurch of England bishops who sit in the House of Lords by right should be removed as part of the government's changes to the second chamber, according to the veteran legislator Harriet Harman.Harman, who was a Labour MP for more than 40 years until 2024, has put forward an amendment to the government's hereditary peers bill, aimed at ending the automatic right of 26 bishops to sit in the Lords. Continue reading...
Paul Butler, 53, charged over death of Claire Chick, 48, who was found seriously injured on WednesdayA 53-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a nurse and university lecturer who was found injured in the street in Plymouth.Officers were called to West Hoe Road at 8.55pm on Wednesday after reports that a woman had been seriously injured. Continue reading...
Labour's James Frith and Conservative Caroline Nokes gifted tickets by Paddy Power worth up to 1,000 eachTwo MPs received VIP tickets for the sold-out World Darts Championships courtesy of a betting company - weeks after a national outcry over politicians accepting freebies.Labour MP James Frith, who has campaigned for safer gambling, and Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, the deputy speaker of the House of Commons, were gifted platinum" hospitality tickets by Paddy Power worth up to 1,000 each. Continue reading...
Far-right chatrooms are abuzz as extremists plan to use the next four years as breathing room' and look to expandOne week into Donald Trump's second administration and the verdict among far-right activists and neo-Nazis is that the next four years will be a time to relax, organize and take advantage of the popular awakening of American fascism.Be ready to cash out the next four years," wrote one delighted neo-Nazi account on Telegram, in a post viewed more than 1,000 times. Get the bag, infiltrate existing institutions with power, build new institutions while we have breathing room, and tear down anything leftist." Continue reading...
Firms including United Healthcare have denied basic scans and taken months to reconsider, physicians sayAmerican doctors are accusing US health insurance giants of causing deadly delays to vital medical procedures and care - and putting profits ahead of their patients' health.Firms including United Healthcare have denied basic scans, and taken months to reconsider, according to physicians who spoke to the Guardian. Continue reading...
President tells reporters he believes US will take control of island, after horrendous' call with Denmark PMDonald Trump has said he believes the US will take control of Greenland, after details emerged of a horrendous" call in which he made economic threats to Denmark, which has insisted the territory is not for sale.Speaking onboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said: I think we're going to have it," and claimed that the Arctic island's 57,000 residents want to be with us". Continue reading...
Impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeoul could face years in prison after six-hour imposition which set off political upheavalSouth Korea's prosecutors indicted the impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, on Sunday on charges of leading an insurrection with his short-lived imposition of martial law on 3 December, the main opposition party said.The charges are unprecedented for a South Korean president, and if convicted, Yoon could face years in prison for his shock martial law decree, which sought to ban political and parliamentary activity and control the media. Continue reading...
by Michael Perlstein of WWL Louisiana in New Orleans on (#6TTZV)
Witness in fraud case was allegedly killed in a scheme set up by the fiance of a former stuntwoman turned attorneyIn a blockbuster development in a long-running case that exposed a multimillion-dollar staged-accident fraud scheme, a man linked to the murder of a key federal witness recently pleaded guilty - and alleged that his attorney's fiance, a disbarred lawyer, set up the killing.With his family looking on, Ryan Red" Harris agreed to a 35-year sentence in the murder in exchange for his cooperation in the massive case, which has led to more than 50 guilty pleas by people who admitted to intentionally ramming into 18-wheel trucks then collecting money from fraudulent lawsuits. Continue reading...
About 70 people, including patients, believed to have been killed in attack blamed on rebel Rapid Support ForcesAbout 70 people have been killed in an attack on the only functional hospital in the besieged city of El Fasher in Sudan, the head of the World Health Organization said on Sunday, the latest in a series of attacks as the African nation's civil war has escalated in recent days.The attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal hospital was blamed by local officials on the rebel Rapid Support Forces, a group that has recently faced apparent battlefield losses to the Sudanese military and allied forces under the command of army chief Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan. Continue reading...
Jason Riddle says he rejected pardon because it happened. I did those things, and they weren't pardonable'At least one more person who was convicted in connection with the 2021 US Capitol attack carried out by Donald Trump supporters has rejected a pardon from the president, saying he believed his actions weren't pardonable".In an interview published Friday by New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR), US navy veteran Jason Riddle said: It's almost like [Trump] was trying to say it didn't happen. And it happened. I did those things, and they weren't pardonable. Continue reading...
In two actions, migrant workers claim exploitation while farmers demonstrate against inheritance tax planThis is a tale of two countrysides. One was featured prominently on Saturday by broadcasters as farmers held demonstrations throughout the UK against inheritance tax plans they believe will cripple family farms.A smaller protest staged a day earlier outside the Home Office received almost no attention. A small band of fruit and vegetable pickers, mainly from Latin America, were highlighting their battle against what they call the exploitation of migrant workers. Continue reading...
by Guardian Staff and Australian Associated Press on (#6TTH1)
Indigenous scientist Dr Katrina Wruck awarded Young Australian of the Year, and charity co-founder Brother Olly Pickett named Senior Australian of the Year
Diplomatic frenzy and rattled nerves in republic as mayor and former president reject US president's commentsFrom a modern control room high above the canal expansion - overlooking the Cocoli locks, then lakes, rainforest canopy and, eventually, the Atlantic ocean - it barely registers that the era of gunboat diplomacy is returning to the Panama canal.But four days into Donald Trump's second administration, here we are. Trump has declared that he is taking back" the Panama canal, sending TV crews from Washington to Beijing scrambling here to cover a crisis that has led to frenzied diplomatic efforts and elicited fears of a repeat of the 1989 US military invasion. Continue reading...
The 70-year-old former collective farm boss has been in power in reclusive, Moscow-allied Belarus since 1994Belarusians began voting on Sunday, with president Alexander Lukashenko expected to cruise to victory unchallenged for a seventh term, prolonging his three-decade authoritarian rule.Lukashenko - a 70-year-old former collective farm boss - has been in power in reclusive, Moscow-allied Belarus since 1994. Continue reading...
Striking image will be unveiled at National Portrait Gallery in March, as part of a major exhibition of the Norwegian master's portraitsAt first glance, it is a striking portrait by Edvard Munch, painted in 1892, a year before the Norwegian master was to create his most famous masterpiece, The Scream.But peer closely at the man's sleeve along the bottom edge and two embracing, ethereal figures in a mysterious moonlit landscape are revealed. Continue reading...
Full restoration could take days, says energy official, with conditions still difficult and more yellow alerts issuedAbout 40,000 people in Scotland remained without electricity on Saturday night in the aftermath of Storm Eowyn and some may have to wait several days before it is restored, according to an energy distribution director.As of 4pm on Saturday, about 28,000 Scottish Power customers were without power, while as of 7.30pm, about 12,000 Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) customers were also without power. Continue reading...
Nigerian officials say a Boeing 787-800 belonging to United Airlines was forced to make an emergency return last FridayMultiple people were injured on a United Airlines flight heading from Lagos, Nigeria, to Washington DC last week.In a statement released on Friday, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria said that a Boeing 787-800 belonging to United Airlines was forced to make an emergency return last Friday. Continue reading...
David Armitage, resident in Thailand since 2004 death of Lamduan Armitage, detained by immigration officialsThe British husband of Lamduan Armitage, a Thai woman whose body was found in a stream in the Yorkshire Dales in 2004, has been detained by police in Thailand.
by Maya Yang (now); Amy Sedghi, Hamish Mackay, Hannah on (#6TTH0)
Four soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza are back in Israel and 200 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails. This blog is now closed.It is being reported that dozens of Hamas fighters are gathering in Palestine Square in the heart of Gaza City, where the release of Israeli captives may take place.The release of the four female soldiers is expected at some point this morning. They will be received by the Red Cross in Gaza and then handed over to Israeli forces, who will transport them back to Israel. Continue reading...
Pressure growing on Labour to improve trade with EU as Rachel Reeves admits Brexit damaged UKKeir Starmer is under growing pressure to forge closer economic links with Europe five years on from Brexit, as a major new poll shows voters clearly favour prioritising more trade with the EU over the US.The MRP survey of almost 15,000 people by YouGov for the Best for Britain thinktank shows more people in every constituency in England, Scotland and Wales back closer arrangements with the EU rather than more transatlantic trade with Washington. MRP polls use large data samples to estimate opinion at a local level Continue reading...
Source says: The Danes are in crisis mode' after US president's call with prime minister Mette FrederiksenDonald Trump had a fiery phone call with Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen over his demands to buy Greenland, according to senior European officials.Speaking to the Financial Times, officials said that Trump, then still president-elect, spoke with Frederiksen for 45 minutes last week, during which he was described to be aggressive and confrontational about Frederiksen's refusal to sell Greenland to the US. Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent on (#6TTP8)
Leo, 12, was stabbed while walking home from school on Tuesday afternoonA 14-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of Leo Ross, 12, who was stabbed in the stomach while walking home from school in Birmingham.The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been remanded into custody to appear at Birmingham magistrates court on Monday having been charged on Saturday, West Midlands police said. Continue reading...
The latest protests come after private meeting between Robert Fico and Vladimir Putin in DecemberThe Slovakian prime minister, Robert Fico, has rejected calls for his resignation after tens of thousands demonstrated against his government's policy shift closer to Russia.About 60,000 people protested in the capital, Bratislava, on Friday and approximately 100,000 turned out for rallies in cities across the country, the largest demonstrations since Fico returned to power in 2023. Continue reading...
Detainees fear their return could be imminent despite UN experts urging Bangkok to halt possible transferRelatives of Uyghurs detained in Thailand for more than a decade have begged the Thai authorities not to deport the 48 men back to China, after the detainees suggested their return appeared imminent.A UN panel of experts this week urged Thailand to immediately halt the possible transfer", saying the men were at real risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment if they are returned". Continue reading...
Opinium survey of 2,000 adults found concern about the impact of growing wealth inequality in the UKGrowing wealth inequality is increasing the risk of societal collapse, according to a new Fairness Foundation report that shows nearly two-thirds of Britons are concerned about the political influence of very rich people. People losing faith with democracy, economic shocks and environmental breakdowns are some of the potential triggers for a decline or collapse in social cohesion, the thinktank said.One warning sign of democracy being undermined is a lack of public trust in institutions, so it commissioned a survey of 2,000 adults by Opinium, which found 63% believe the very rich have too much influence on UK politics, compared to 40% for businesses and religious organisations, and 38% for international organisations, such as the EU and UN. Continue reading...
Thousands of homes in Britain and Ireland still without power after wind speeds of up to 114mph recordedStorm Eowyn was probably the strongest to hit the UK in the past 10 years, the Met Office has said.At its height, it left more than 1 million people without power as hurricane-strength gusts battered the country, bringing widespread disruption to rail and air services. Continue reading...
Retailer says it plans to explore strategic options' for the future of cash generative' arm of the companyOne of the world's oldest retailers, WH Smith, has confirmed it is in talks to sell its city- and town-centre stores, which it has described as the hub of the high street".First established in 1792 in Little Grosvenor Street in London by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna, it expanded to become one of the UK's best-known retail chains. Company bosses said this weekend they were exploring potential strategic options", including a possible sale. Continue reading...
Second series of BBC drama was initially rejected by all the streaming services, Peter Kosminsky tells inquiry into UK film and TVMark Rylance took a significant" pay cut along with other members of the Wolf Hall team to get the second series made, the director Peter Kosminsky has said.The BBC drama, based on Hilary Mantel's final novel in her epic Tudor trilogy, returned last year with Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#6TTKQ)
With four similar expansions set for take-off around the south-east of England, could the proposal finally get clearance?Two decades and 0.2C of global warming after a Labour government last weighed in on Heathrow, the answer appears the same: keep digging. Rachel Reeves's anticipated backing for a third runway would again prioritise growth and the global economy over climate. Interviewers are even asking Ed Miliband if he would resign in protest - a question that last troubled the headlines in 2009.Airport expansion in the UK, especially in the south-east of England, is coming regardless, with four other London-branded airports sneaking ahead in the queue. Stansted and City have both been granted permission to grow. Fully developed plans that will radically alter the scale of Gatwick and Luton have, meanwhile, been through the inspectorate and await ministerial signoff. Continue reading...
by Nina Lakhani Climate justice reporter on (#6TTKR)
Arizona capital, made drier and hotter by climate crisis, edges towards longest streak without recorded rainThe US city of Phoenix is close to breaking another extreme weather record, this time the longest stretch without rain as drought conditions worsen across Arizona.As of Saturday, there had been no recorded rainfall in America's fifth largest city for 154 consecutive days - the second longest dry spell on record as the climate crisis collides with natural weather patterns. Continue reading...
Companies supplying freelance' workers contacted by minister over practices that could breach employment lawGig economy companies supplying freelance" workers to shops, restaurants and warehouses may be operating illegally, the government has warned, after a series of Observer reports highlighting their use.Justin Madders, the employment rights minister, last week wrote to YoungOnes and Temper, which provide thousands of purportedly self-employed workers to British businesses, to tell them their business practices could be breaching employment law and staffing agency regulations. Continue reading...
by Tom Ambrose (now) and Hamish Mackay (earlier) on (#6TTGE)
The young man who died in Ireland after a tree fell during Storm Eowyn has been named as Kacper DudekIrish premier Micheal Martin said every effort is being made to restore power and water supplies following Storm Eowyn.He described the destruction caused by some of the strongest winds on record as unprecedented". Continue reading...
After 12 episodes, eight murders' and 14 banishments, winner or winners revealed on BBC One showWarning: this article contains spoilersAfter 12 episodes, eight murders" and 14 banishments, the winners of The Traitors were revealed after a nail-biting finale.Project manager Jake Brown and former soldier Leanne Quigley will share a prize pot of 94,600. Continue reading...
Owners claim singer blighted' sale of property she once rented but Partridge Green has no shortage of ghostly talesAt first it was the strange rumblings that would wake her. Then bright lights would fill the bedroom as a face appeared, looking down on her. Her husband, who worked nights, never believed her until one day, he saw it too.Shaken by the sightings, the couple sold the cottage and moved far away from Partridge Green, a quaint, isolated village in West Sussex. Thirty years later, a short distance away from where these night-time hauntings took place, the village welcomed a surprising new arrival. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Some bidders demand temporary renationalisation to help cut debts and oust bossesThames Water's potential rescuers are seeking a clean break with the company's past before they commit fresh funds, with some demanding a temporary renationalisation to help cut debts and replace bosses, the Guardian can reveal.There has been public outrage at the governance of England's water industry amid sewage spills into rivers and seas, mounting corporate debts and rising consumer bills. Continue reading...
Entries selling fast for inaugural UK Nationals in Bradford in April, when contestants will race against clockJigsaw puzzling is traditionally considered a relaxing activity associated with mindfulness benefits, but the gentle hobby has gone all Squid Game as competitive speed puzzling fever" grips the UK.Entries are selling fast for the inaugural UK Nationals event in Bradford on 5 April, when hundreds of contestants will race against the clock to solve never-seen-before puzzles. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Gaie Delap told she will have to serve 20 more days that correspond to period of time at home after recallA 78-year-old climate protester has had her prison term extended for being unlawfully at large" when government contractors were unable to find the right-sized tag for her wrist, which would have allowed her to complete her sentence in the community.Gaie Delap, a retired teacher and Just Stop Oil protester, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for her participation in a climate protest on the M25 in 2022 and was released last November under the home detention curfew (HDC) scheme. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England editor on (#6TTEY)
How a chain of events apparently beginning at school five years ago led to the murder of three girls in horrific atrocityWhen Axel Rudakubana returned to school after the summer holidays five years ago, something had changed. He had turned 13 weeks earlier but this was not the usual difficult transition to teenage life.In year 7 and year 8 he was fairly unassuming. Nothing that would be red flags," said a source close to Range high school in the seaside town of Formby, Merseyside. What happened that summer is the question." Continue reading...
Work that made its creator a superstar then mysteriously disappeared is mesmerising art lovers once moreIt was commissioned by a Greek king, made its creator a superstar and in his native Denmark attracted crowds like no other painting before. Then it mysteriously disappeared.Now, nearly nine decades after it was last seen gracing the stairwell of the royal palace that would become the Athens parliament, Carl Bloch's masterpiece, Prometheus Unbound, has found fame again in Greece. Continue reading...
Labour's recognition of soft power's intangible value should take in the crucial work of the British Council British Council could disappear within a decade, says chief executiveSomething is jarring when the foreign secretary, David Lammy, regards UK soft power as so important he establishes a council to promote the country globally, while one of the longstanding British institutions devoted to bolstering that power is on the verge of a form of bankruptcy.The financial plight of the British Council, and the collapse of its income from English language teaching during the pandemic, has hardly been hidden from view, so much so the organisation was chosen as one of the subjects of inquiry by the Commons foreign affairs select committee. The chief executive of the British Council, Scott McDonald, told MPs that the UK international cultural and educational organisation was at risk of disappearing in two years. Continue reading...
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