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Hannah Spencer, a Trafford councillor and plumber, ran as the party's candidate for mayor of Manchester in 2024

Victims of terrorist attacks say BAT's operations in North Korea helped fund weapons used in the Middle EastHundreds of US military service members, civilians and their families have filed a lawsuit for unspecified damages against British American Tobacco (BAT), one of the world's largest tobacco companies, and a subsidiary, claiming the company spent years illicitly helping North Korea fund terrorism weapons that were used against Americans.BAT formed a joint venture in 2001 with a North Korean company to manufacture cigarettes in the country. The venture quietly continued, a 2005 Guardian investigation revealed, even as the US government publicly warned North Korea was funding terrorism and imposed sanctions on the country. Amid mounting international pressure in 2007, the company claimed it was ending business in North Korea, but secretly continued its operation through a subsidiary, the US justice department said in 2023. BAT's venture in North Korea provided around $418m in banking transactions, generating revenue used to advance North Korea's weapons program," Matthew Olsen, then the justice department official in charge of its national security division, said during a 2023 Senate hearing. Continue reading...

Maj James Hook and Col Samantha Shepherd charged with offences relating to case of soldier who took her own lifeTwo serving British army officers face criminal charges over the handling of a case of sexual assault of the teenage soldier Jaysley Beck, who later took her own life.Beck, a Royal Artillery Gunner, was assaulted during a training exercise in Hampshire in July 2021, when she was 19, and killed herself five months later. Continue reading...

Hastie's allies are cautioning against assuming his supporters would automatically shift their allegiances to Angus Taylor

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Hastie concedes he does not have support needed to become leader, as source says it is a question of when, not if' Taylor will mount challenge

Exclusive: Dr Eric Descheemaeker and university have agreed he will leave his job to pursue other opportunities, email to staff says

In today's newsletter: As boardedup units spread from coastal towns to former industrial centres, a new Guardian investigation reveals how our high streets have become a litmus test for public frustration and political choicesGood morning. There is a familiar refrain about Britain's high streets - that they are now little more than a procession of shuttered units, former bank branches, barbers, vape shops and fast food outlets, symbols of a country that feels as though it is quietly running down.This week, a Guardian investigation set out to explain why the decline of the high street has accelerated, why it is now so visible, and why it has become a proxy for whether people feel their area - and their lives - are moving forwards or backwards.China | Keir Starmer has taken a big step towards rapprochement with China, opening the door to a UK visit from Xi Jinping in a move that drew immediate anger from British critics of Beijing.Iran | The creators of a messaging app accused of handing user data to the Iranian regime live on a windswept hill in a British coastal town, the Guardian can reveal.Reform UK | A Reform UK council chair has resigned after it was found he was illegally running two unsafe rental properties, according to a neighbouring local authority.Banking | The boss of Lloyds Banking Group has warned that bankers will need to re-skill themselves" to survive the oncoming AI boom that stands to transform the financial services sector.US politics | Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic US senator, announced she will run for governor of Minnesota, after the incumbent governor, Tim Walz, dropped out of the race in early January. Continue reading...

Human rights groups and some western countries have denounced the election, the first held since the 2021 coup, describing it as neither free nor fairMyanmar's military-backed party has completed a sweeping victory in the country's three-phase general election, state media said, cementing an outcome long expected after a tightly controlled political process held during civil war and widespread repression.The Union and Solidarity Party (USDP) dominated all phases of the vote, winning an overwhelming majority in the two legislative chambers in Myanmar. It secured 232 of the 263 seats up for grabs in the lower Pyithu Hluttaw house and 109 of the 157 seats announced so far in the Amyotha Hluttaw upper chamber, according to results released on Thursday and Friday. Continue reading...

Older men seen as gaining wisdom' but women must keep looking younger or be idiosyncratic', review hearsOlder women disappear from presenting roles across the BBC while older men are regarded as gaining gravitas and wisdom", according to an internal review of the broadcaster's record on representation.A noticeable mismatch" in the number of staff and freelance male and female presenters over the age of 60 was uncovered by the review. Continue reading...

Book The Crown's Silence details how crown profited from and protected trade in enslaved African people for centuriesMPs, experts and campaigners have called on King Charles to make a formal apology for transatlantic slavery, after research highlighted how the British crown and Royal Navy extended and protected the trade in enslaved African people for hundreds of years.The king has previously expressed personal sorrow" at the suffering caused by slavery and has spoken of committing to finding creative ways to right inequalities that endure". However, the British crown has never issued a formal apology. Continue reading...

Melissa McIntosh, who claims Always Was Tonight violated ABC charter, has been dubbed the Liberal party fun police' by the Greens

Nationals given eight days to reconcile with party before opposition leader appoints permanent Liberal-only frontbench

A plan to resettle third-country nationals from the US to the Pacific nation faces an uncertain future amid unease over the dealA controversial Trump administration deal to relocate deportees from the US to the small Pacific nation of Palau faces an uncertain future, after the senate voted to block the deal as concern about the agreement grows.The deal, which allows up to 75 third-country migrants facing removal from the US to live and work in Palau, was signed by president Surangel Whipps Jr in December. Palau's lower house now has to consider the deal, and the final decision rests with Whipps Jr. Continue reading...

Albanese government awarded contracts to MTC despite allegations of gross negligence' in the US involvement with ICE

PM says trip to China has put relationship in stronger place, but possible return visit angers British criticsKeir Starmer has taken a big step towards rapprochement with China, opening the door to a UK visit from Xi Jinping in a move that drew immediate anger from British critics of Beijing.During the first visit by a UK prime minister to China in eight years - a period which Starmer has described as an ice age" - he said talks with the Chinese president had left the bilateral relationship in a stronger position. Continue reading...

The high-profile defendant, who was excused from appearing, pleads not guilty further charges over a car crash in July that left a driver with serious injuries

Former broadcaster, 84, has pleaded not guilty to 25 charges of indecent assault and two charges of sexual touching against nine alleged victims over 17 years

The impact of fires on wildlife can be catastrophic', with some plant species feared extinct

Woman and man accused of sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol faced what is likely to be one of the severest punishments since Aceh province adopted sharia lawSharia police have caned a couple 140 times each in Indonesia's Aceh province for having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol, likely one of the severest such punishments since the deeply conservative region adopted Islamic law.Sexual relations between an unmarried couple are strictly outlawed in Aceh, the only place in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, to impose sharia law. Continue reading...

General Tchiani accuses France, Benin and the Ivory Coast of links to attack near Niamey's airport and thanks Russian troops for defence effortsHeavy security has been deployed around the main airport in Niger's capital, Niamey, after overnight gunfire and explosions that the country's military ruler blamed without evidence on France, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire.The shooting and detonations began shortly after midnight on Wednesday, according to residents of a neighbourhood near the airport, which is next to Base Aerienne 101, a military base previously used by US and then Russian troops. Continue reading...

Media company also buys digital advertising billboard company QMS for $850mThe nation's biggest media company, Nine Entertainment, has sold its talkback radio stations to a Sydney pub baron for $56m and bought outdoor advertising company QMS Media for $850m, in a major upheaval for Australia's media landscape.Nine Radio, which owns 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR, 2UE, Magic1278 and 4BH, has been offloaded as talk radio profits dwindle and the audience skews ever older. Continue reading...

US president says he made appeal to Russian leader, but no ceasefire has been confirmed by Moscow or KyivDonald Trump has claimed that Vladimir Putin has agreed to halt strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure for one week after he issued a personal appeal to the Russian leader due to the extreme cold in Ukraine.Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, did not immediately confirm the ceasefire was in place, but said that Trump had made an important statement ... about the possibility of providing security for Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during this extreme winter period". Continue reading...

Boy's friend, 17, winched to safety by emergency rescue team after pair were separated in Blue Gum forest

Met Office issues yellow rain alerts in south-west, with 66 flood warnings - indicating expected flooding - in forceNearly 150 flood alerts remain in place across England as communities continue grappling with the aftermath of Storm Chandra.A yellow rain alert spanning from noon to midnight on Thursday has been issued for parts of south-west England, with the Met Office warning that more flooding could hit roads, homes and businesses. Continue reading...

Federal transportation regulator to investigate after child in Santa Monica sustained minor injuries from incidentThe US's federal transportation regulator said Thursday it had opened an investigation after a Waymo self-driving vehicle struck a child near an elementary school in southern California last week, causing minor injuries.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the child in Santa Monica ran across the street on 23 January from behind a double parked SUV towards the school and was struck by the Waymo autonomous vehicle during normal school drop-off hours. The agency said there were other children, a crossing guard, and several double-parked vehicles in the vicinity. Continue reading...

Avaaraq Olsen tells content creators to think before making jokes after German tried to raise Stars and Stripes in NuukThe mayor of Greenland's capital has called on media professionals and content creators to act responsibly after a German comedian's failed attempt to hoist the US flag.Maxi Schafroth, 41, a Bavarian comic, tried to run up the Stars and Stripes on a flagpole near the cultural centre in Nuuk but was confronted by angry passersby. Continue reading...

Deployment of RAF Typhoon squadron to Qatar signals willingness to help protect country from counterattackBritain is unlikely to assist the US in an attack on Iran but a deployment of RAF Typhoons to Qatar last week signals a willingness to assist regional allies if Tehran tries to widen the conflict in retaliation.A first strike on Iran is unlikely be in line with the UK's interpretation of international law, but British forces could become involved if there is a need to help Qatar or other regional allies in self-defence. Continue reading...

Opponents of bill insist government should not give it special treatment as peers delay its passageOpponents of the assisted dying bill have accused its supporters of bullying after key backers said they would attempt to bypass the House of Lords if peers continue to block it.The Labour MP Kim Leadbeater and the Labour peer Charles Falconer said the government had a duty to listen to the anger among supporters about how the bill had been handled in the Lords. Continue reading...

Chinese leader bestows a little largesse on the British PM while getting the green light for London mega embassy'Let's face it, this was never going to be a meeting of equals. Keir Starmer had been desperate to squeeze in a trip to China for some time. Another country to tick off his list and he always feels a lot better about himself when he's abroad. Less noise from his unhappy MPs. Plus he loved the pomp and ceremony that came with it. The large flags. The military bands. A country that treated him with respect. Almost. Besides, Mark Carney and Emmanuel Macron had both made recent trips. He had seen their holiday photos. Now it was his turn. He couldn't bear to be left out.The Chinese? Not so much. They couldn't really see the point. But they would schedule in a couple of meetings on the condition the UK government gave the green light to the new mega embassy" near the Tower of London. Consider it done, said Keir. All systems go for the first prime-ministerial visit since Theresa May in 2018. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Branch of Iranian software company TSIT, which makes Gap Messenger, is registered in SussexThe creators of a messaging app accused of handing user data to the Iranian regime live on a windswept hill in a British coastal town, the Guardian can reveal.Hadi and Mahdi Anjidani are the cofounders of TS Information Technology, established in 2010 and now registered at the address of a tax accountancy in Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. It is the UK branch of an Iranian software corporation, Towse'e Saman Information Technology (TSIT). Continue reading...

The EU has just designated Iran's revolutionary guard as terrorist organisation, the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas confirmed.EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos also strongly criticised Russia for its continuing attacks on Ukraine.Arriving for the EU foreign affairs council this morning, she said:The news we are getting from Ukraine nearly every morning are horrific. What Russia is doing. There is a state terror. It's far beyond the war [as] they are bombing people while they are at home, freezing to death, [and] bombing passenger trains ..."I can't speak about the years; [as] I was saying there is some level of fundamentals which have to be fulfilled. But of course, we also have to consider the very important historical moments. So we will discuss with the member states how to bridge the time we need for the accession process, and of course, to react to this situation."We will work until the end to get the unanimity we need for this process. This is the only way we have to keep going, working also with the Hungary, and this is what we are doing."After more than a decade of hostilities and almost four years of full-scale war, the people of Ukraine continue to endure immense suffering. Daily civilian casualties, widespread infrastructure destruction, and mass displacement are further exacerbating the massive humanitarian needs.With Russia's ongoing attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, millions in the country are exposed to freezing temperatures." Continue reading...

Downing Street gives no date for when the agreement of 30 days of visa-free travel will come into forceFor more context on today's Starmer-Xi meeting, China is the world's second-biggest economy and Britain's third-largest trading partner - to which it exports 45bn of goods and services a year - so it is no surprise the UK has turned to Beijing in its search for economic reliability.As the Guardian's political editor Pippa Crerar reported earlier today, the UK does not rank among the top 10 of China's trading partners but the Beijing leadership has spied a political opportunity to improve links with one of Washington's closest allies at a time of deep uncertainty in the transatlantic alliance. Continue reading...

Representative Joaquin Castro visited Adrian Conejo Arias and his son Liam at an ICE detention facility in Dilley, TexasJoaquin Castro, a Texas Democratic congressman, has visited the five-year-old boy and his father who were detained last week by federal immigration agents in Minnesota and transferred to a detention facility in Texas, providing an update about the child's health and wellbeing.In a social media post on Wednesday, Castro said he visited the boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, at the immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas. Continue reading...

Known as Ms Shirley", she used TikTok to bring food, dignity and hope to Skid Row and beyondShirley Raines, a social media creator and non-profit founder who dedicated her life to caring for people experiencing homelessness, has died, her organization Beauty 2 The Streetz said Wednesday. She was 58.Raines was known as Ms Shirley", to her more than 5 million TikTok followers and to the people who regularly lined up for the food, beauty treatments and hygiene supplies she brought to Los Angeles' Skid Row and other homeless communities in California and Nevada. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader speaks at GB News event also attended by industry minister on second UAE visit in two monthsNigel Farage has paid a visit to Dubai to build diplomatic relations with United Arab Emirates ministers and drum up donations for Reform UK from wealthy expats.The two-night trip was his second visit to the Gulf state in two months, after a 10,000 trip hosted by Abu Dhabi to attend the Formula One grand prix. Continue reading...

Leo Ross was stabbed to death by stranger as he walked home from school in January last yearA teenager has pleaded guilty to murdering a 12-year-old Birmingham boy, Leo Ross, by stabbing him in the stomach during a random attack in parkland.Leo died after being taken to hospital from a riverside path in Shire Country Park, Hall Green, Birmingham, on 21 January last year. Continue reading...

Report into actions of Yaser Jabbar from 2017 to 2022 says 36 of the patients suffered severe harm under his careNearly 100 children suffered harm at the hands of a Great Ormond Street orthopaedic surgeon, a report has concluded.Yaser Jabbar treated hundreds of children from 2017 to 2022 at Great Ormond Street hospital (Gosh) in London, with independent experts saying in the review that his surgery fell well below the level expected in several areas. Continue reading...

Paul Patterson, who represented firm at Horizon inquiry, will become non-executive chair of UK business Business live - latest updatesThe European boss of Fujitsu, the company behind the Horizon software at the heart of the Post Office IT scandal, is to step down from his role in March.Paul Patterson, who is the chief executive of the European division of the company, will become non-executive chair of Fujitsu's UK business, where he will continue managing the company's response" to the inquiry into the scandal. Continue reading...

Turkey hosts urgent mediation as Trump's threats mount and Tehran weighs painful compromises to avoid conflictIran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, will travel to Ankara for talks aimed at preventing a US attack, as Turkish diplomats seek to convince Tehran it must offer concessions over its nuclear programme if it is to avert a potentially devastating conflict.Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoan, proposed a video conference between Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian - the kind of high-wire diplomacy that may appeal to the US leader, but would be anathema to circumspect Iranian diplomats. No formal direct talks have been held between the two countries for a decade. Continue reading...

Giving passengers right to additional carry-on baggage would be terrible for the consumer', warns airline's CEOEasyJet said proposals to enforce free additional cabin bags on planes across Europe are a lunatic idea", warning of fare rises and flight delays if legislation goes through.The European parliament last week voted overwhelmingly to give all passengers the right to carry on a small case, as well as the free underseat bags currently permitted. Continue reading...

Pan Europe found several pesticide residues in 85% of apples, with some showing traces of up to seven chemicalsEnvironmental groups have raised the alarm after finding toxic pesticide cocktails" in apples sold across Europe.Pan Europe, a coalition of NGOs campaigning against pesticide use, had about 60 apples bought in 13 European countries - including France, Spain, Italy and Poland - analysed for chemical residues. Continue reading...

New video shows the Minneapolis ICU nurse being tackled by federal agents in a previous confrontation. Plus, is this the end of gentle parenting?

Judge says claim brought by Sex Matters should be made instead by individual who says they have faced discriminationA charity cannot bring a high court challenge over rules allowing trans people to use the single-sex facilities at swimming ponds on Hampstead Heath, a judge has ruled.Sex Matters sought to take legal action against the City of London, which operates the men's, women's and mixed bathing ponds in north London. Continue reading...

Projects this year expected to triple global gas capacity, forecast finds, as concerns grow over impacts on planetThe US is leading a huge global surge in new gas-fired power generation that will cause a major leap in planet-heating emissions, with this record boom driven by the expansion of energy-hungry datacenters to service artificial intelligence, according to a new forecast.This year is set to shatter the annual record for new gas power additions around the world, with planned and under-construction projects earmarked for 2026 set to nearly triple the amount of existing gas capacity, a report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) found. Continue reading...

Retail accounts for 5% of the UK economy - but its visibility gives it an outsize influence on public perceptionUp and down Britain there are boarded-up shops. Banks and department stores have been replaced by vape shops, barbers and bookmakers. Shoplifting is at a record high, local services cut, and public frustration is mounting.Politically, high street decline is perfect campaign fodder for Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Continue reading...

Miatta Fahnbulleh accuses Reform leader of politics of grievance' while having no plan to fix UK high streets

Judge jails John Eric Spiby and three others who police said were part of gang running operation worth up to 288mAn 80-year-old man who won 2.4m on the national lottery helped build a multimillion pound drug empire that involved manufacturing counterfeit tablets on an industrial scale, a court has heard.John Eric Spiby was the leader of a drugs operation worth up to 288m that centred around his quiet rural" home near Wigan, Manchester crown court heard. Continue reading...

Policy intended to keep more children sanctioned for non-violent bad behaviour in school in internal exclusion' unitsSuspending pupils from school will be reserved for the most serious cases of bad behaviour including violence, according to the latest government guidance to be issued to schools in England.The Department for Education (DfE) is to announce a consultation on behaviour policy to be included in the forthcoming schools white paper that is intended to keep more children sanctioned for non-violent misbehaviour in schools in units known as internal exclusion", rather than sending them home. Continue reading...

As images of a secret meeting were splashed all over the media, it became clear the internal plot to oust the leader has descended into political melodramaThe images of a cabal of rightwing Liberal men gathering for clandestine talks to overthrow the party's first female leader - hours before a memorial service for a late former colleague, no less - confirmed two things.First, the internal plot to oust Sussan Ley has descended into a political melodrama. Continue reading...