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Novelist George RR Martin says RSC is obvious choice' to put on new play The Mad King, which will open after springA new prequel to George RR Martin's blockbuster fantasy saga Game of Thrones is to be staged this summer by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon.The bestselling author, whose novels have been turned into a juggernaut TV franchise, said the RSC was the obvious choice" to put on the play, Game of Thrones: The Mad King, because Shakespeare had been a constant source of inspiration to him. Not only that, he faced similar challenges in how to put a battle on stage," added Martin. So we are in good company." Continue reading...

Reform UK's Robert Jenrick has announced party's plans to cut welfare spendingRobert Jenrick, Reform UK's Treasury spokesperson, is giving his speech now.He has announced, or confirmed, three measures to cut welfare spending.The number claiming disability benefits for an attention disorder has more than doubled since Covid. We all know a significant number of these claims are spurious ...

Kerstin G froze to death on Groglockner when Thomas P descended mountain to fetch helpAn Austrian mountaineer is to appear in court accused of gross negligent manslaughter after his girlfriend died of hypothermia when he left her close to the summit on a climb that went dramatically wrong.The 33-year-old woman, identified only as Kerstin G, froze to death on 19 January 2025, about 50 metres below the summit of the Groglockner, Austria's tallest mountain, after an ascent of more than 17 hours with her boyfriend, Thomas P, 36. Continue reading...

US drug regulator originally refused to consider application, fueling critics' concern about alleged anti-vaccine agenda'The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reversed course on Wednesday and will now review Moderna's application for the first mRNA-based flu vaccine after initially declining to consider it.Moderna announced that the US drug regulator will move forward with reviewing its updated flu vaccine application. The decision comes only a week after the agency turned down the company's original filing, a move that had prompted criticism across the medical industry about potential changes in how the regulator is making decisions under the Trump administration. Continue reading...

New EP Days of Ash features songs about Renee Good, Iranian protesters and other political topics, and precedes new defiantly joyful' album later in 2026 Alexis Petridis on Days of Ash: six new tracks that reaffirm the band as a vital political voiceU2 have released their first collection of new music since 2017 - a politically charged EP entitled Days of Ash, which focuses on a series of high-profile global deaths including the killing of Renee Good by ICE agents.Good, a mother of three children who was killed on 7 January while protesting against ICE activity in Minneapolis, is the subject of the opening song, American Obituary. Continue reading...

Exclusive: UK graduates working in Germany and Belgium - and possibly other countries - informed of rises as salary threshold is cutBritons living in some European countries face a huge rise in their student loan repayments later this year, the Guardian can reveal, in a move that threatens to trigger a fresh backlash for Rachel Reeves.UK graduates working in Germany and Belgium - and possibly other countries - have been told that their monthly repayments will increase from April, the Guardian can reveal. Continue reading...

County has highest number of reinstated elections following decision not to delay them for 30 English councils

Marco Rubio's soothing tone in Munich masked a familiar message: Europe can remain America's ally - but at a cost Don't get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThe greatness of America," wrote the 19th-century French diplomat, political philosopher and historian Alexis de Tocqueville, lies not in her being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults."For a brief moment at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) last weekend, European leaders half-thought that their most heartfelt wish - the return of the old US, that believed in the EU ideal and backed a rules-based world order - had been granted. Continue reading...

Unresolved sensitive' issues in peace talks are fate of occupied territories in east Ukraine and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plantThe peace talks ended abruptly today after about two hours, according to reports, in contrast with yesterday's negotiations that apparently took place over six hours.Neither side have offered any public sign of progress, but instead said the talks were difficult" with Russian news agencies quoting sources describing the negotiations as very tense". Continue reading...

Coalition of refugee support groups says board's traumatic' and flawed' processes are putting children at riskA coalition of refugee support groups has called for a Home Office organisation to be axed, claiming it is putting hundreds of children at risk.The Refugee and Migrant Children's Consortium, which consists of more than 100 organisations including the Refugee Council, Barnardo's and the NSPCC, has published a report analysing the performance of the Home Office's national age assessment board (NAAB), which was set up in March 2023 to determine the ages of young asylum seekers newly arrived in the UK, often on small boats. Continue reading...

Prosecutors drop charges over break-in at Israeli defence firm site after jury cleared six other defendants of offenceProsecutors have dropped aggravated burglary charges against 18 defendants accused of a Palestine Action break-in at an Israeli defence firm's UK site after a jury cleared six other defendants of the offence.Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, were all acquitted of aggravated burglary, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with respect to the 6 August 2024 raid on the Elbit Systems factory in Filton, near Bristol. Continue reading...

Assistant to hard-left parliamentarian among those held over fatal attack on 23-year-old Quentin Deranque

Alberto Castaneda Mondragon was hospitalized with eight skull fractures after being arrested by ICE agents in JanuaryMinnesota and federal authorities are investigating the alleged beating of a Mexican citizen by immigration officers last month, seeking to identify what caused the eight skull fractures that landed the man in the intensive care unit of a Minneapolis hospital.Investigators from the St Paul police department and FBI last week canvassed the shopping center parking lot where Alberto Castaneda Mondragon says Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents wrested him from a vehicle, threw him to the ground and repeatedly struck him in the head with a steel baton. Continue reading...

Consultancy's prediction comes after Rachel Reeves said green subsidy costs would be removed from domestic billsHousehold energy costs in Great Britain are expected to tumble by an average of almost 117 a year from April after Rachel Reeves announced in November's budget that the cost of green subsidies would be removed from domestic bills.The government's quarterly cap on energy bills is forecast to fall after the chancellor's decision to shift the levies used to support renewable energy projects into general taxation, and scrap a bill payer-funded energy efficiency scheme, according to Cornwall Insight, a leading energy consultancy. Continue reading...

Government considering delay to equalising national minimum wage after jump in youth unemployment

South Lakes Islamic Centre hosts nightly congregational prayers before official opening in JulyIt is a cold night before Ramadan, and a group of men are completing health and safety checks inside Cumbria's partially completed South Lakes Islamic Centre (SLIC).The building is a mere shell, with exposed bricks, hanging wires and no fitted lights or heaters, but a large area has been cleared of construction materials to host nightly congregational prayers. Continue reading...

FTSE 100 company reports 6% fall in annual profits weeks after collapse of $260bn merger with Rio TintoGlencore is to give $2bn (1.47bn) to shareholders after a turbulent year in which profits slumped and talks collapsed over a blockbuster $260bn merger with the fellow mining company Rio Tinto.The FTSE 100 company announced the payout on Wednesday despite reporting that annual profits slipped 6% on the previous year to $13.5bn. Continue reading...

Politicians and experts say police should be better trained and move away from tickbox approach' to suicidesPoliticians and experts have thrown their weight behind calls for suicides to be investigated as potential homicides in cases where a person who takes their own life has been affected by domestic abuse.They also called for better training for police so that officers understand the full impact of domestic abuse, and move away from a tickbox approach" to suicides.In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org Continue reading...

Exclusive: Five hospitals failed to spot Amisha Adhia had placenta accreta before one obstetrician intervenedAfter five hospitals failed to spot that she had a rare but potentially fatal complication of childbirth, Amisha Adhia is to launch a campaign urging the NHS to do more to diagnose the condition and save lives.Pregnant women are at much greater risk of developing placenta accreta spectrum if they have already given birth by caesarean section or had IVF treatment. Continue reading...

Environment minister says Alcoa cleared known habitat of protected species to enable bauxite mining

Sara Duterte, daughter of a former president who is facing charges of crimes against humanity at the Hague, pledged to offer her life, strength and future' in service of the PhilippinesPhilippine vice-president Sara Duterte, daughter of the imprisoned former leader Rodridgo Duterte, has announced she will run for president in the country's 2028 election.Sara Duterte, 47, said she would offer her life, strength and future" in service of the Philippines, in a speech on Wednesday that accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, of presiding over a period marked by rampant corruption. Continue reading...

Ad was part of campaign to encourage Londoners to intervene if they witness sexual harassment or hate crimeA Transport for London (TfL) ad featuring a black teenage boy verbally harassing a white girl has been banned for perpetuating the negative racial stereotype about black men as perpetrators of threatening behaviour".The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the irresponsible" ad - which was the subject of a complaint - featured a harmful stereotype". Continue reading...

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One Nation leader's statements about Muslims also labelled bigoted and wrong' by NSW minister for multiculturalism

Person among group of 34 women and children who were released from al-Roj camp on Monday but were forced to return

Rotting from the Top report author Geoffrey Watson says personal attacks' from Labor government ministers have crossed a line'

Donald Trump says deals end our foolish dependence on foreign sources', while Japanese PM hails enhanced economic securityJapan has drawn up plans for investments in US oil, gas and critical mineral projects worth about $36bn under the first wave of a deal with Donald Trump.The US president and Sanae Takaichi, Japan's prime minister, announced a trio of projects including a power plant in Portsmouth, Ohio, billed by the Trump administration as the largest natural gas-fired generating facility in US history. Continue reading...

Shocking' data shows the climate crisis and invasive mosquitos mean chikungunya could spread in 29 countriesAn excruciatingly painful tropical disease called chikungunya can now be transmitted by mosquitoes across most of Europe, a study has found.Higher temperatures due to the climate crisis mean infections are now possible for more than six months of the year in Spain, Greece and other southern European countries, and for two months a year in south-east England. Continuing global heating means it is only a matter of time before the disease expands further northwards, the scientists said. Continue reading...

Acts such as Article 3 are drawing inspiration from their culture and meeting a big appetite for Indigenous-focused club nightsWe both live in maybe the most impractical place if you want to be a successful DJ," laughs Alice Marie Jektevik, one half of Article 3, a Sami female DJ collective. Jektevik, 36, and her collaborator, Petra Laiti, 30, reside in a rural village in the far north-east of Norway.But living in Sapmi - the region across northern parts of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia traditionally lived in by Sami people - has proven to be central to their success, providing the inspiration for much of their work. Continue reading...

CEO said services have restarted after termination of grants led to criticism that US was ceding ground to ChinaRadio Free Asia has resumed broadcasts to people in China, its chief executive said on Tuesday, after Trump administration cuts last year largely forced the US-funded outlet to cease operations.For years, RFA and its sister outlets, including Voice of America (VOA), had been financed with funding approved by the US Congress and overseen by the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). Continue reading...

US family who were 100th to be granted residency under investor scheme say they want to give back to amazing' New ZealandWealthy Americans are dominating applications for New Zealand's golden visa", driven by a love for the country's natural beauty and entrepreneurial spirit, as well a desire to escape Trump's administration.New rules for the Active Investor Plus visa came into effect in April 2025, lowering investment thresholds, removing English-language requirements and cutting the amount of time applicants must spend in the country to establish residency from three years to three weeks. Successful applicants can only purchase homes in New Zealand worth more than $5m. Continue reading...

Leader says move should end claims of one-man band and shows party is creating a machine for government'Nigel Farage has unveiled the first part of Reform UK's frontbench team, saying it shows that the party is no longer reliant entirely on him - while also warning that he will not tolerate any dissent from his colleagues.Two of the four appointees are recent defectors from the Conservatives: Robert Jenrick, who takes on the Treasury brief, and Suella Braverman, whom Farage has put in charge of education, skills and equalities. Continue reading...

Many products contain substances banned because of serious and sometimes irreversible health risks, says CTSIIllegal skin lightening products are being sold in an increasingly wide range of UK outlets, including butchers, specialist food shops and small grocery stores, trading standards officers have warned.The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is warning that many of the products contain substances that are banned because of the serious risks they pose to health, including skin damage, infections and pregnancy complications. Continue reading...

Local workers can be difficult to attract because of poor pay and conditions, say researchersKeir Starmer's plan to force employers to be less reliant on overseas staff and instead train UK-based workers may not lower net migration, researchers have found.Skill shortages are just one of the factors contributing to employers' demand for migrant workers, according to the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory. Continue reading...

Sydney health authorities say 25-year-old accused absconded from care while being transferred from Cumberland to Westmead hospital' 10 days earlier

The actor was charged with two counts after allegedly punching two men and causing chaos at barsThe actor Shia LaBeouf was arrested early on Tuesday for alleged battery in New Orleans after apparently spending the long weekend partying across the city during Mardi Gras.The New Orleans police department confirmed that at approximately 12.45am on Tuesday officers were called to Faubourg Marigny, located next to the French Quarter, the heart of the revelry, where LaBeouf was allegedly becoming increasingly aggressive at Royal Street Inn and Bar. Continue reading...

Host claims lawyers barred him from discussing decision to drop Texas Democrat segment amid FCC rules scrutinyTalkshow host Stephen Colbert has accused the Trump administration and CBS of censorship after he said the network told him not to air a television interview with a Texas Democrat running for Senate.On his show, Colbert told viewers of the Late Show that network lawyers told him he was also prohibited from talking about their refusal to air his interview with James Talarico, a Texas state representative seeking his party's nomination to challenge the Republican incumbent, John Cornyn, for a Senate seat in November. Continue reading...

Eight-figure agreement' made to supply new line between Ankara and zmir - but questions over plant's future remainBritish Steel has secured an order worth tens of millions of pounds to supply rail for a high-speed electric railway in Turkey, amid continuing uncertainty over the long-term future of the government-controlled steelworks in Scunthorpe.The site will supply 36,000 tonnes of rail to ERG International Group, the company announced, in what it called an eight-figure agreement". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Greens move to call parliamentary inquiry after series of disturbing' attacks targeting gay and bisexual men lured via dating apps

Karime Macias, ex-wife of a state governor, is wanted for allegedly pilfering nearly 5m of public money and now lives in LondonThe Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has said her government will send a formal letter of complaint to officials in the United Kingdom after the wife of a former governor wanted for allegedly pilfering 4.8 million of public money was granted asylum in Britain.Karime Macias, ex-wife of jailed former Veracruz governor Javier Duarte, is wanted for extradition to Mexico for allegedly siphoning millions from the state welfare office, but has reportedly spent the last few years in London. Continue reading...

Kay Mason Billig accuses Steve Reed of forcing council to agree to poll delay in return for extra funding and powers What made ministers think they could delay local elections?A Norfolk council leader has accused the government of bullying" her local authority into postponing elections in return for extra funding and powers, as she pulled out of long-awaited devolution deal for the county.Kay Mason Billig, the Conservative leader of Norfolk county council, said she would no longer take part in local government reorganisation (LGR) or devolution plans in the area, saying the council could not participate in that and simultaneously hold elections. Continue reading...

National Crime Agency says rise in child sexual abuse being driven by technology and online forumsChild sexual abuse in the UK is soaring, police have said, with 1,000 paedophile suspects being arrested each month and the number of children being rescued from harm rising by 50% in the last five years.The National Crime Agency said the growth in offending across the UK was driven by technology and linked to the radicalisation of offenders in online forums, encouraging people to view images of child sexual abuse by reassuring them it was normal. Continue reading...

No database match for sample found two miles from home offers as search for TV host's mother enters third weekDNA found on a glove about two miles from Nancy Guthrie's house did not result in any leads on the case, officials confirmed on Tuesday.Unknown male DNA was found on a glove that resembled one worn by Guthrie's abductor in the surveillance video from the night of the 84-year-old's disappearance, the FBI said on Sunday. Continue reading...

At least 80 film-makers and stars sign open letter after German festival jury president Wim Wenders says they should keep out of politicsMore than 80 current and former participants of the Berlinale, including Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton and Adam McKay have signed an open letter condemning the festival's silence" on Gaza.It comes after the film festival was swept up in what it called a media storm" over the alleged sidelining of political discourse at the event. Continue reading...

Official rules say government should keep gifts worth more than 140 unless ministers pay the value over that limitKeir Starmer has bought a pair of personalised silver cufflinks which were given to him by Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, according to the latest transparency records.The cufflinks, which were worth more than 140, were an official gift from the Trumps during the US president's second state visit last September. They were the second gift from Trump that Starmer has chosen to buy, having paid for a personalised necklace last year. Continue reading...

Follow latest updates as public figures praise civil rights leader who was a protege of Martin Luther King Jr and twice ran for Democratic presidential nomination

Extensive works on key bridge in New Jersey - part of $16bn Gateway project - will disrupt rail services into New YorkNew Jersey's transit authority has urged commuters into Manhattan to work from home for up to a month if possible because of a huge railroad upgrade that is expected to upend travel to New York City from Tuesday morning.The national rail operator, Amtrak, will move some train traffic on to a new bridge, according to the New York Times, in a travel-snarling project that is expected to last until 15 March and will result in extensive delays and fewer trains under the Hudson River. Continue reading...

Party leader tells FT journalist she should write some silly story' after press conference revealing roles for his top teamNigel Farage is speaking.He starts by saying that 4.6m voters will get the right to to vote in the local elections because of his party.I am writing a book on Nigel Farage for @headlinepg.No holds will be barred. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier called for justice and strength' in diplomacy after Russia hit Ukraine with 400 drones and 29 missiles hours before talksThe European Commission is just giving its daily midday press briefing, and it has confirmed plans to adopt the new, 20th, round of sanctions against Russia by 24 February, the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion on Ukraine.Foreign affairs spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said:We keep on working on measures to deprive Russia of the funds, goods and technologies sustaining its war against Ukraine.This indeed includes the 20th package that you have mentioned, and indeed we aim to adopt it ... by 24 February, as the High Representative [Kaja Kallas] mentioned at the last foreign affairs council. Member states are discussing it." Continue reading...

Prior of hermitage says digital technologies are designed to be addictive and present challenge for monastic life'The prior of a hermitage in Tuscany has urged monks living in the secluded retreat to avoid the use of social media and streaming services, arguing that their rooms are sacred places for prayer and not for Netflix or other platforms".Father Matteo Ferrari, the prior general of the Camaldolese congregation and of the Camaldoli monastery and hermitage in Arezzo, Tuscany, said such digital technologies were specifically designed to create addiction" and should absolutely be avoided". Continue reading...