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Science secretary calls BBC's reporting totally inaccurate' after claim chancellor was investigated by former employerRachel Reeves has defended herself and said it would be up to the public to judge her on her record as chancellor, after a BBC investigation raised questions about her job history and expenses.In her first comments since claims emerged that she was the subject of an investigation into her expenses while working at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), the chancellor said no one ever raised any concerns with her. Continue reading...

Claudia Scheinbaum warns of reciprocal action if Washington designates country's cartels as terrorist groupsMexico's president has warned US gunmakers they could face fresh legal action as accomplices of organized crime if Washington designates the country's cartels as terrorist groups.The Latin American country, which is under mounting pressure from Donald Trump to curb illegal drug smuggling, wants its neighbor to crack down on firearms trafficking in the other direction. Continue reading...

Israel warned Thursday that Hamas must release three living hostages this weekend or face a resumption of the war in GazaThe Israeli government has signalled it intends to stick to the hostage release schedule agreed in the ceasefire deal with Hamas, but warned that if the anticipated three surviving hostages were not released on Saturday, it would go back to war in Gaza.The statement from the prime minister's office ends nearly three days of confusion after Donald Trump's declaration that Israel should demand Hamas release all the remaining hostages, more than 70 people, by Saturday or failing that, end the ceasefire. Continue reading...

Gareth Delbridge and Michael Spike' Lewis died after being hit by a train near Port Talbot in July 2019Network Rail has been fined 3.75m for health and safety breaches that led to the death of two track workers in south Wales in 2019.The workers were killed when struck by a train after starting an unnecessary maintenance activity" on the south Wales mainline while it was still being used, with no lookouts posted to warn them. Continue reading...

Iair Horn, Sasha Troufanov and Sagui Dekel-Chen due to be exchanged for 369 Palestinian prisoners

Relatives and supporters anxious for return of remaining hostages urge Israeli PM to maintain ceasefire deal Middle East crisis - live updatesStill frail less than a week after his release from Hamas captivity, and processing the news that his wife, Eynav, was killed during the militants' attack on 7 October 2023, Or Levy told a crowd in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square that he had insisted his family and doctors allow him to come.Israelis had been shocked and angered by the gaunt appearances of Levy, 34, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56, last Saturday as they were trooped on to a stage in Gaza City and forced to read out statements before being handed to the Red Cross. After nearly 500 days in captivity, all three appeared to struggle to see in the daylight, and were so weak that armed fighters had to help them walk. Continue reading...

Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra, whose documentary is up for an Oscar, have called out the US president's plan of ethnically cleansing the regionThe Oscar-nominated film-makers behind the documentary No Other Land have expressed shock and dismay over Donald Trump's Gaza plan.The president has called for the US to take control and bring an effective ethnic cleansing of Gaza giving Palestinians no alternative" but to leave. He has claimed it would be a real estate development for the future", saying Gaza could be the Riviera of the Middle East". Continue reading...

Judge issues arrest warrant for disgraced former cleric and ex Co-operative Bank boss Paul FlowersA judge has issued an arrest warrant for a disgraced former church minister and banking group boss who acquired the nickname Crystal Methodist".Paul Flowers, 74, was due to be sentenced for fraud at Manchester crown court but failed to turn up. Continue reading...

The PM and president discussed Starmer's forthcoming visit to the US, No 10 saidFriday is the day that political parties tend to get excited about local byelection results, or neglect to mention the election happened at all if it didn't go their way.Across the evening and into today the Britain Elects social media account has recorded a hold for the Liberal Democrats in Manor (Stevenage), a hold for Labour in Burnt Oak (Barnet), a gain for Reform UK from Labour in Trevethin and Penygarn (Torfaen) and a gain for the Green Party of England and Wales in Warwick All Saints and Woodloes (Warwick).Thames Water, which is on the verge of financial collapse, had wanted to raise bills by 59% over the next five years. It said on Friday morning its board had concluded that Ofwat's final determination, of a 35% increase, would not allow the investment and improvement needed to improve its services.Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard argued that Thames Water should not be allowed to raise bills further because a 35% increase over five years was more than enough," adding So much of the money is being spent on sky-high interest rates and advisory fees. Everyone's focus now should be putting the company into special administration so its balance sheet can be reset and our bills spent on actually fixing the sewage network." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Independent investigation in 2023 upheld five allegations against Carlo D'Amario, the Guardian understandsFrom her 1975 gay cowboys" T-shirt to pioneering catwalk collections that challenged gender norms, the late Vivienne Westwood has long been heralded as an LGBT+ icon.But the fashion house she built over five decades faces serious questions about whether the late designer's values have endured, after allegations about homophobic bullying by its chief executive, Carlo D'Amario, were upheld by an independent investigation, the Guardian understands. Continue reading...

As Donald Trump reverses discrimination initiatives in US, Co-op says it is holding firm on DEI having seen the benefits Why is diversity, equity and inclusion in the news?A rollback of diversity initiatives in the UK risks undoing decades of progress, the CEO of the Co-op group has warned, as US multinationals scale back commitments.Companies including Amazon, Disney, Google and Meta have begun abandoning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in the US as the president, Donald Trump, reverses government anti-discrimination measures. Continue reading...

Family of Danielle McLaughlin say justice has finally been achieved after Vikat Bhagat convicted in IndiaThe family of a young Irish woman raped and murdered in India eight years ago have said justice has finally been achieved after a man was convicted in Goa.Danielle McLaughlin, from Buncrana in County Donegal, was found dead in a field in Canacona, an area of Goa popular with holidaymakers, in March 2017. Continue reading...

Issa Rae, Ben Folds and Shonda Rhimes among those who chose not to associate with the institution and presidentDonald Trump's takeover of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington has generated outcry from performers and members, with several stars pulling out of engagements or associations.Trump purged the board of the arts foundation last week, clearing the group of appointees by Joe Biden. Stacked with Trump loyalists, the new board terminated the center's president, Deborah Rutter, and installed Trump as chair. The board then named Richard Grenell, who served as ambassador to Germany during the first Trump administration, as interim president. Continue reading...

Around 90,000 hectares of remote country in the state's north-west have been razed after fires sparked by lightning strikes

Economist argues GST is not protectionist and should not attract any new levy from the US but concern remains for steel industry

Revenge Porn Helpline says deep-seated misogyny' behind exchange of photos on apps such as TelegramAn underground network of men are using peer-to-peer internet message boards to order, share and trade explicit images of local women, according to the UK's leading revenge porn" charity.In a development that has echoes of the forums used to organise the drugging and rape of Gisele Pelicot in France, the Revenge Porn Helpline said that systematic deep-seated misogyny" was behind a dark trade in images in the UK. Continue reading...

Trump's threat to take over Gaza is galvanizing two of the most dangerous and organized extremist movementsAs Donald Trump continues to threaten to take control over the Gaza Strip, an unlikely consensus has emerged across hardcore jihadist and far-right circles: both strongly oppose any new US military actions in the territory.Now experts are warning that Trump's plan is galvanizing two of the most dangerous and organized extremist movements with track records of domestic terrorist attacks. Continue reading...

Stricter requirements could lead to 60,000 people being refused permission to remain, report finds

Sources place Johannes Leijdekkers in west African country since at least December 2022One of Europe's most-wanted drug lords has been living in Sierra Leone for at least two years, spending time at nightclubs and house parties, sources have told the Guardian.Johannes Leijdekkers, a Dutch national, has been sentenced in absentia to decades in prison for offences including cocaine trafficking on a vast scale and ordering a murder. In September Dutch police said he remained missing and offered a 200,000 (170,000) reward for any information leading to his arrest. Continue reading...

Sarum Master Bible goes on display at town's cathedral later this month after being in private hands for almost 800 yearsAlmost eight centuries after it was crafted in a workshop in Salisbury, the Sarum Master Bible, a vividly illustrated medieval manuscript, has returned home and will go on display at the city's cathedral this month.Measuring just 17cm by 11.5cm, the book is an early example of a portable Bible, the Latin script so small it can be can be challenge to read and the parchment so thin that the pages have to be turned with extreme care. Continue reading...

Prime minister uses call with Ukraine president to restate UK support in face of Trump interventions Europe live - latest updatesUkraine remains on an irreversible path" towards Nato membership, Keir Starmer has told Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call that underlined the divide between Europe and the US over the future of the country.According to a Downing Street readout of the call with the Ukrainian president, Starmer stressed the UK's concrete support for Ukraine, for as long as it's needed". Continue reading...

Struggling firm to appeal to CMA to increase water bills by more than Ofwat-approved 35% over next five years

System downgraded to strong category four' but will still pack a punch' and bring very heavy rainfall, Bureau of Meteorology warns

Suggestions include standardised packaging in hospitals to tackle power of branding but CMA decides against price capBaby formula could be placed in standardised packaging in hospitals, the UK competition watchdog has suggested, while parents should be allowed to use gift vouchers and loyalty card points to buy formula milk, as part of efforts to combat soaring prices and lack of choice in the market.Labelling of infant formula in hospitals or other healthcare locations should be standardised, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) suggested, with formula put into non-branded containers to tackle the power of marketing, or the NHS could offer its own variety. Continue reading...

Allan government announces extended 2025 duck hunting season with hunters allowed to bag nine ducks a day

In strongly worded statement, Kim Williams says allegations in Murdoch-owned tabloids do not stand up to scrutiny'

NSW treasurer accuses union of gaslighting' the city on a day when 576 train drivers and guards failed to show up to work

Staff member at Cairo Takeaway in Newtown alleged she felt intimidated by a customer who entered restaurant with Daily Telegraph crew waiting outside

Private enforcement agency employed by Welwyn Hatfield council issued fixed-penalty notice to Martin FielderA man who gave up his job to care for his young children when his wife died has been fined 500 and threatened with a criminal record after an envelope blew out of his bin.Martin Fielder was sent a letter six weeks ago from District Enforcement, a private enforcement agency employed by Welwyn Hatfield borough council to issue fixed-penalty notices on commission. The company is paid a portion of the fines it issues. Continue reading...

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Agriculture minister says rising prices have had a significant impact on people's lives' amid record heat, surges in demand and distribution problemsJapan is to flood the market with almost a quarter of a million tonnes of stockpiled rice in an unprecedented attempt to arrest soaring prices caused by record summer heat, panic buying and distribution problems.The government will release up to 210,000 tonnes of rice, the agriculture minister, Taku Eto, said on Friday, as consumers battled a surge in prices of more than 50% in recent months. Continue reading...

Deputy prime minister dismisses suggestions of Labour rift, saying employment protections will boost growthAngela Rayner has insisted Labour's flagship package of workers' rights will be ringfenced from a bonfire of regulation being pursued by the government to reboot economic growth.The deputy prime minister said that company bosses who were critical of the proposals needed to get on board" because bolstering employment protections was good for workers and growing the economy. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Dubai-based property developer is challenging trademark registrations, including the saying Bond, James Bond'The owners of the multibillion-pound James Bond franchise are embroiled in a fight to keep control of the super spy's name, after a Dubai-based property developer filed claims in the UK and Europe that they are not using the trademark across a range of goods and services.The Austrian businessman Josef Kleindienst, who is building a $5bn luxury resort complex called the Heart of Europe on six human-made islands just off the coast of Dubai, has filed a slew of what are known officially as cancellation actions based on non-use" targeting the James Bond name. Continue reading...

John Lister receives 50.71% of the two-party preferred vote in what was once a Labor stronghold

Women are traditionally expected to buy chocolates for male colleagues on Valentine's Day but teenage boys are shunning the one-sided customIt has been several years since Japanese women first signalled their contempt for the long tradition of showering male colleagues with chocolates on Valentine's Day. Now the country's young people are slaying another sacred cow associated with Friday's orgy of commercialised romance: one-sided gift giving.Traditionally, women are expected to buy gift-wrapped chocolates for the men in their working lives, usually senior colleagues and others to whom they feel indebted - a tradition called giri choco, literally obligation chocolates". Continue reading...

Judge Bryan Gantt orders doctor to stop prescribing and sending pills to state, setting up challenge to shield laws'A Texas judge has ordered a New York doctor to immediately stop prescribing and mailing abortion pills to patients in Texas, setting up a challenge to state shield laws" that could reach the US supreme court.In his order Thursday, Judge Bryan Gantt of Collin county district court ordered Dr Margaret Daley Carpenter of New Paltz, who uses telemedicine to see patients across the country, to cease her work and pay a penalty of more than $100,000. The lawsuit was filed by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, a close ally of Donald Trump, in December. Continue reading...

Surge in tropical bacterial infection since beginning of wet season possibly linked to recent heavy rainfall, Cairns doctor says

Australian defence department says it is monitoring three Chinese ships in the Coral Sea

Claudia Sheinbaum gives riposte to Trump's accusation of intolerable alliance' between Mexican government and gangsMexico's president has accused the US of harboring drug cartels and American citizens of working with organized crime groups in Mexico, in a riposte to Donald Trump's allegation of an intolerable alliance" between traffickers and her government.There is also organized crime in the United States and there are American people who come to Mexico with these illegal activities," Claudia Sheinbaum said during her morning press conference on Thursday. Otherwise who would distribute fentanyl in the cities of the United States?" Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. You can read our latest story herePoland's Europe minister Adam Szapka told Polish broadcaster TVN24 this morning that he was concerned" by the message on peace talks sent by Trump, as it followed the logic of a 19th-century concert of powers: we'll have a chat and come up with something."The statement we got from president Trump that they spoke not only about the war, but also other things... it is somewhat strange. [The idea of them] talking about artificial intelligence and so on, while [we are] thinking about the images of the Bucha massacre is somewhat hair-raising." Continue reading...

Alexander Vinnik, owner and operator of cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e, was arrested in 2017 for money launderingThe Trump administration has released Alexander Vinnik, a cybercriminal who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, to Russia, as part of an exchange that freed American schoolteacher Marc Fogel on Tuesday.Vinnik, who arrived in Moscow on a flight from Turkey on Tuesday after having been released from custody in California, is accused of owning and operating one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, BTC-e, which prosecutors allege facilitated the transfer of billions of dollars in transactions for criminals worldwide. Continue reading...

Top of the scale' winds strong enough to take out complete houses, destroy power lines and cause widespread damage and disruption

Exchange of insults between David Darling and Colin Pease, both in their 70s, led to scratches, bleeding and broken spectaclesThe agenda for the Middleton St George parish council meeting was quite dull: village show costs, condition of footpaths and a quote for a flagpole inspection.But the meeting itself was more lively, with two councillors exchanging insults before a wrestling match" that led to scratches, bleeding, a bruised finger and the destruction of spectacles said to be worth 325. Continue reading...

Life-saving drug was prescribed for William Hewes but not given quickly enough due to communication mix-upA consultant paediatrician warned medical colleagues treating her son that they had failed to give him life-saving antibiotics hours before he died from sepsis, an inquest has heard.William Hewes, 22, a history and politics student, died on 21 January 2023 of meningococcal septicaemia at east London's Homerton hospital, where his mother, Dr Deborah Burns, worked. Continue reading...

Statements that there can be no negotiations without Kyiv ring hollow when the US president has just sidelined it

Statement from Netanyahu's office follows Hamas declaration that it would stick to the ceasefire termsHamas has confirmed its commitment to continue implementing the Gaza ceasefire deal according to an agreed timeframe, Reuters is reporting in a breaking news line.More details soon ... Continue reading...

Foreign secretary says we will discuss issues where the UK and China do not always see eye to eye' as he meets Wang Yi, Beijing's foreign affairs ministerKeir Starmer has been forced to cut short a visit to a housing development after a protest by farmers, PA Media reports. PA says:A group of tractor-driving protesters staged a noisy demonstration as Keir Starmer visited a housing development in Buckinghamshire.The vehicles could be heard sounding musical horns while the prime minister spoke to workers at the site. Continue reading...

Government issues statement after Trump declaration created confusion, as it warns it could still go back to war

More than 11% of patients had to wait more than 104 days last year, up from 4.4% in 2016, analysis showsThe proportion of cancer patients in England experiencing long waits for treatment has almost trebled, figures show.Analysis by Cancer Research UK exclusively for the Guardian shows there has been a nearly fourfold increase in the number of patients in England waiting more than 104 days for urgent cancer treatment, from just over 6,000 patients in 2016 to 22,000 last year. Continue reading...

Prosecutor says investigators do not believe incident in Olympic Village area of Grenoble was terrorist attackTwelve people were injured, at least two critically, when a grenade was thrown into a packed bar in the city of Grenoble in south-eastern France.An attacker carrying an automatic rifle reportedly entered the bar on Wednesday evening and threw the grenade before fleeing without saying a word. Continue reading...