New owner Frasers Group decides it is unwilling to fund turnaroundThe luxury clothing retailer Matchesfashion is to enter administration after its new owner, Mike Ashley's Frasers Group, said it was not willing to fund a turnaround.Matches was acquired by Frasers just three months ago for 52m in cash from private equity firm Apax Partners but the business has consistently missed its business plan targets" and made losses, Frasers said. Continue reading...
Research looked at three London boroughs to value overall health benefits of active travel over 20 years at up to 4,800 per headPolicies to help people walk and cycle such as low-traffic neighbourhoods can create public health benefits as much as 100 times greater than the cost of the schemes, a long-term study of active travel measures has concluded.The research, based on six years of surveys among thousands of people living in three outer London boroughs that introduced LTNs or similar schemes, found they tended to prompt people to switch some trips from cars to active travel, although the effects were varied. Continue reading...
by Luke Harding in Kurakhove. Photographs by Alessio on (#6K6BA)
Drone team has bombed tanks, armoured fighting vehicles and ammunition dumps but still Russians are on the moveAt night, Sasha and his drone team go in search of the enemy. They set off in a dirt-covered vehicle towards the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariinka, occupied by Russia since December. They unload a large drone. And then they fly it in darkness across the frontline, above a ghostly landscape of fields and ruined houses, towards the twinkling city of Donetsk. The drone carries a deadly arsenal of six grenades.Sasha, who uses the call sign Tourist", has bombed more than 100 pieces of Russian military equipment. The list includes tanks, armoured fighting vehicles and self-propelled guns, as well as hidden ammunition dumps. Russian howitzers are another key target. Recently his special operations unit forestalled a large-scale attack. It spotted seven Russian tanks massed for a dawn raid and disabled two of them. Continue reading...
Japanese artist remembered for his unique world of creation' including comic series that spawned films, video games and TV seriesAkira Toriyama, the influential Japanese manga artist who created the Dragon Ball series, has died at the age of 68.He died on 1 March from an acute subdural haematoma. The news was confirmed by Bird Studio, the manga company that Toriyama founded in 1983. Continue reading...
Debate has begun on Article 23 - legislation designed to bring laws closer to those of mainland ChinaHong Kong's government has released the draft text of a new national security law that would further tighten control on the city and bring its laws closer in line with mainland China.The law, known as Article 23, is a domestic piece of legislation defining and penalising crimes related to national security. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6K69W)
Findings from survey of UK practitioners may explain why many more women than men suffer from a range of conditionsAbuse and violence suffered by women and girls is the main reason they are much more likely than men and boys to develop mental ill health, Britain's psychiatrists say.Experiencing such behaviour can trigger very serious mental health problems in women and girls, including suicidal thoughts and psychosis, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists.In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women's Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org. Continue reading...
Motherhood penalty' appears to be worsening, with pay gap for median hourly pay growing by 93p an hour since 2020The motherhood penalty" is wreaking havoc on women and the economy, according to campaigners, as fresh analysis reveals that the pay gap between mothers and fathers in the UK has grown by nearly 1 an hour since 2020.A study of the hourly earnings of mothers and fathers, released on International Women's Day, found that on average mothers earned 24% less an hour than fathers in 2023 - a motherhood pay penalty" of 4.44 an hour. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#6K69X)
Recommendation to ban non-disclosure agreements comes as report uncovers shocking' prevalence of sexual harassmentMPs are calling for new laws that would ban City firms from using gagging orders to silence victims, after a parliamentary inquiry found a shocking" prevalence of sexual harassment and bullying against women in the UK's financial sector.It is one of the key recommendations to come out of the Treasury's committee's Sexism in the City inquiry, which raised concerns about a lack of progress in promoting and protecting women in one of the UK's most lucrative industries. Continue reading...
Latin-inscribed artwork tells story of Walter Tirel whose son killed monarch, William the Conqueror's sonThe Italian descendants of King William II's killer want to donate a work of medieval art partly depicting William's death to a British museum.The three-slab triptych, believed to have been made by a Norman artist in 1100, has been owned by the Tirelli family, whose aristocratic origins can be traced back to France, for over 400 years. Continue reading...
Progress to prevent female genital mutilation needs to be 27 times faster', says UNThe number of girls and women who have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) has increased by 15% in the past eight years according to new data.Figures released by the UN children's agency, Unicef, show that more than 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM, compared with 200 million in 2016. The trend is towards girls being cut at a younger age, said Unicef executive director Catherine Russell. Continue reading...
You need drivers, trucks and a distribution system that doesn't exist,' says president of Refugees International aid advocacy groupThe US plan to build a floating port off the Gaza coast is a bold move, reminiscent of the Mulberry harbours built after D-day in Normandy, but there are serious concerns that what relief it brings will be too little too late for Palestinians facing starvation.When we talk about the sea route, it's going to take weeks to set up and we are talking about a population that is starving now. We have already seen children dying of hunger," said Ziad Issa, the head of humanitarian policy at the ActionAid charity. Continue reading...
All high level benefit' targets missed and only three-quarters forecasted to be achieved by 2024/25, according to NAOGovernment plans to overhaul the country's ailing railway system are significantly delayed while promised savings have yet to be achieved, according to a highly critical report by the government's spending watchdog.The National Audit Office (NAO) assessment of how ministers' plans were progressing found the government had failed to meet any of the 12 high level benefit" targets it set for rail in 2021. Continue reading...
by Elias Visontay Transport and urban affairs reporte on (#6K64S)
Australia co-ordinated the largest search to date, which failed to yield answers despite surveying more than 120,000 square kilometres under the ocean MH370: one of aviation's biggest mysteries remains unsolved 10 years on
Assailants reportedly surrounded Kuriga school as pupils were starting the day in second abduction in country in less than a weekGunmen have attacked a school in Nigeria's north-west region seizing at least 287 students, in the second mass abduction in the West African nation in less than a week.Authorities had said earlier that more than 100 students were taken hostage in the attack. But Sani Abdullahi, the headteacher, told Kaduna governor Uba Sani when he visited the town on Thursday that the total number of those missing after a headcount was 287. Continue reading...
President to make announcement in State of the Union speech while senior US official says We are not waiting on the Israelis'US forces will build a temporary port on the Gaza shoreline in the next few weeks to allow delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale, Joe Biden will announce in the State of the Union speech, amid warnings of a widespread famine among the territory's 2.3 million Palestinians.We are not waiting on the Israelis. This is a moment for American leadership," a senior US official said on Thursday, reflecting growing frustration of what is seen in Washington as Israeli obstruction of road deliveries on a substantial scale. Continue reading...
Song amended after organisers banned entry for seeming references to 7 October attacks, which broke rules on political neutralityIsrael will be allowed to compete at the Eurovision song contest after changing the lyrics to its song, organisers have confirmed.Eden Golan, representing Israel at this year's competition, originally submitted a ballad called October Rain, widely thought to reference the Hamas attacks of 7 October. However, the entry was barred on the grounds of breaking rules on political neutrality. Continue reading...
Housing secretary did not register free box seats organised by owner of company he referred for 164m PPE contractsMichael Gove failed to declare hospitality worth more than 1,700 at three Queens Park Rangers matches over the course of two years, not just the one occasion when he attended with a Conservative donor, it has emerged.The housing secretary was placed under investigation by the House of Commons standards watchdog last week, after the Guardian reported that he failed to register hospitality he received in August 2021 alongside David Meller, a donor whose firm he had referred to the VIP lane for assessing PPE deals during the Covid pandemic. Meller's firm, Meller Designs, won six PPE contracts worth 164m. Continue reading...
UK foreign secretary discusses conflict with counterpart in Berlin amid tensions over Germany's reluctance to provide missilesGiving Ukraine the weapons it needs to defend itself against Russia would not escalate the war, but help to forge peace, David Cameron has said. The UK foreign secretary was speaking on a trip to Berlin, less than a week after a leaked top-secret military call exposed internal tensions about Germany's support for Kyiv.Germany is under growing international pressure to provide Taurus missiles to Ukraine, despite reluctance from Olaf Scholz's government. Continue reading...
Popular national figure given new role after being dismissed by Volodymyr Zelenskiy a month agoUkraine's former commander in chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, is to become the country's next ambassador to the UK, a month after he was fired by the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, from his job leading the military.The decision makes good on Zelenskiy's promise to keep the popular former general as part of the team" but it also removes him from Ukraine, where he is seen as the only realistic challenger to the president if there were to be an election. Continue reading...
No 10 refuses to say how Michelle Donelan was advised over accusation against academic who then sued her for libelThe science secretary, Michelle Donelan, received government advice before she tweeted a letter in which she accused an academic of supporting Hamas, Downing Street has said.No 10 refused to say what advice officials had given her and whether she actually followed it, but insisted she had acted in line with established precedent". Continue reading...
Man, 19, charged with six counts of first-degree murder as police condemn senseless act of violence' in Barrhaven neighbourhoodPolice in Canada say two adults and four young children, the youngest of whom was less than three months old, are dead in a mass killing in what Ottawa's mayor described as one of the most shocking incidents of violence" in the city's history.A 19-year-old male is in custody and has been charged with with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Continue reading...
Prime minister vows to continue offensive as Hamas delegation withdraws from ceasefire talksIsrael will not give in to international pressure to stall an attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah and will continue its bloody offensive against Hamas, said Benjamin Netanyahu.There is international pressure and it's growing, but ... we need to stand together against the attempts to stop the war," the prime minister told a military graduation ceremony in southern Israel on Thursday. saying that Israel's forces would operate against Hamas all through the Gaza Strip including Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold". Continue reading...
Visitors joining in tradition of touching the breast of the artwork to bring them fortune in relationships have worn a hole in itTourists in the northern Italian city of Verona have once again created a hole in the right breast of a statue of William Shakespeare's heroine Juliet.The bronze statue sits beneath the balcony in a tiny courtyard where Romeo is said to have wooed Juliet, attracting hundreds of visitors each day who flock there for a selfie and to touch the breast as part of a ritual that is believed to bring luck in love. Continue reading...
PM says people trust me on these things' and refuses to be drawn on whether government would forgo entire 46bn raised from measureKeir Starmer has accused Jeremy Hunt of repeating the budget mistakes made by Liz Truss during her disastrous premiership.In comments on the budget during a visit to a building site this morning, Starmer focused on Hunt's proposal to abolish employees' national insurance over time, saying that this was a bigger unfunded tax promise than those in Truss's mini-budget. (See 9.28am.)How humiliating was that for the government yesterday?We've argued for years that they should get rid of the non-dom tax status, they've resisted that. And now, completely out of ideas, the only decent policy they've got is the one that they've lifted from us.Nothing that Jeremy Hunt did yesterday, nor anything the OBR said, changes anything very significantly. Which is a shame. Because that means we are still:-heading for a parliament in which people will on average be worse off at the end than at the start, Continue reading...
Woman on trial with her partner, Mark Gordon, for manslaughter of infant Victoria says she gave her the best any mother would'Constance Marten, whose daughter Victoria died after she and the baby's father went off the grid in freezing winter weather to evade authorities, has denied ever harming her child, telling a jury she had shown her nothing but love during her short life.Marten was giving evidence at the Old Bailey on Thursday, as she and her partner, Mark Gordon, stand trial for the manslaughter of the child in 2023. Gordon declined to give evidence earlier in the week. Continue reading...
According to official forecasts, measures in Wednesday's budget have left tax as a share of national income at 37.1%In 1948, the country was in the midst of reconstruction following the second world war - and had the tax levels to show for it. Ration cards were still in use and the NHS still on the maternity ward, having been born that July.The previous month, the Empire Windrush had made its historic arrival in Tilbury. Earlier that year, Myanmar and Sri Lanka - then named Burma and Ceylon - had gained independence from the British empire. And, in the summer, Portsmouth ascended the summit of domestic football for the first time - winning the English title. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#6K5R6)
Scottish government says judge-led public inquiry will look at serious failings' of police investigation, as killer appeals convictionAn independent judge-led public inquiry will be held into how police handled the investigation into Emma Caldwell's murder, the Scottish government has announced. The announcement came as Scotland's most senior law officer said she believes there was sufficient evidence in 2008 to prosecute Caldwell's killer, who was convicted only last week.Caldwell's mother, Margaret, has campaigned tirelessly for nearly two decades to bring her daughter's murderer to justice. She listened from the public gallery as Scotland's justice secretary, Angela Constance, told MSPs on Thursday afternoon: There can be no doubt of the serious failings that brought a grieving family to fight for justice." Continue reading...
Hungary dropping opposition allows historically neutral country to become member, cementing alliance's control of Nordic regionSweden has officially became the 32nd member of Nato, in a landmark moment for the historically neutral country and the western military alliance.Stockholm's ratification process was finally completed in Washington on Thursday, as Sweden and Hungary - the last country to ratify Sweden's membership - submitted the necessary documents after a drawn-out process that has taken nearly two years. Continue reading...
Klette, 65, allegedly took part in three violent Red Army Faction attacks in the 1990sA former member of the radical anti-capitalist Baader-Meinhof gang arrested in Berlin last week after 30 years on the run has been remanded in custody over three violent attacks in the 1990s.Police swooped on Daniela Klette, 65, at an apartment in Berlin's Kreuzberg district on 26 February. They called it a milestone" as Klette was one of the most wanted people in Europe. Continue reading...
by Amy Sedghi (now); Lili Bayer (earlier) on (#6K5EC)
Five people died in attack that struck near Ukrainian president and visiting Greek leaderRussia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that a Belarusian man who had been planning an act of terrorism" inside Russia on behalf of Ukraine had been killed in the Russian region of Karelia, Reuters reports citing the RIA news agency.There is no further information in the report but we will update when more details are released. Continue reading...
UN special representative for divided island says time is running out to settle decades-long disputeEfforts to reunite Cyprus are approaching a decisive moment, a top UN official has said, as he urged leaders on both sides to show political courage and warned civil society groups: It's now or never."In a week marking 60 years since the arrival of a UN peacekeeping force on the eastern Mediterranean island, Colin Stewart, the UN's special representative in Cyprus, said time was running out to settle the decades-long dispute. Continue reading...
by Martin Belam (now) and Lili Bayer (earlier) on (#6K5D0)
Hamas statement says talks over deal will continue after official earlier said Israel was rejecting demands to end offensive in GazaFamily members of hostages still being held in Gaza are holding a news conference in London. You can watch it here.At least 30,800 Palestinians have been killed and 72,298 have been wounded since Israel began its military assault on Gaza after the 7 October Hamas attack inside Israel, according to the latest figures from the health ministry. Continue reading...
2023 survey shows ambulance workers reported highest rate of sexual harassment from the publicMore than 58,000 NHS staff reported sexual assaults and harassment from patients, their relatives and other members of the public in 2023 in the health service's annual survey.For the first time ever, the NHS staff survey for England asked workers if they had been the target of unwanted sexual behaviour, which includes inappropriate or offensive sexualised comments, touching and assault. Continue reading...
Hungary's PM arrives in US this week without a White House invitation as he pursues what critics call his fantasy' foreign policyHungary's Viktor Orban is putting his chips on the table with a trip to visit Donald Trump, as the US and Europe prepare for key elections later this year.The longtime Hungarian prime minister, who has faced repeated criticism from the US government over democratic backsliding and his friendly relationship with the Kremlin, will be arriving in the US this week without an invitation from the White House. Continue reading...
Revelations about payments by Ministry of Defence are culmination of decades of British deal-making with SaudisThe revelation that the Ministry of Defence paid millions of pounds to a firm that would later be accused of being a conduit for secret payments to high-ranking Saudi officials is the culmination of a scandal that has been half a century in the making.The 8m paid from an MoD bank account between 2014 and 2017 was in connection with a large defence deal, Sangcom, first struck in the 1970s. Continue reading...
Project Arrow contract signed amid scramble to keep on track 1.6bn defence deal and ran until at least 2017The UK Ministry of Defence paid millions of pounds to a company later alleged to have been a conduit for secret payments to high-ranking Saudi Arabian officials including a member of the royal family.The MoD payments, worth 8m, were made under a contract codenamed Project Arrow that ran until at least 2017, according to documents that surfaced in a criminal trial. Continue reading...
Thousands of police mobilised for Srinagar rally seen as Modi's campaign event for elections in few week's timeIndia's prime minister, Narendra Modi, has made his first visit to Kashmir since the government revoked the region's autonomy in 2019, claiming the state was finally breathing freely" despite allegations of systematic repression.Thousands of police and paramilitary officers were mobilised before Modi's first rally there for more than five years, held in the state's largest city, Srinagar. Continue reading...
Annual event to encourage young readers has revealed research finding that significant numbers feel discouraged from following their own tastesAs World Book Day runs its annual event to promote reading for pleasure among children, it has revealed new research showing that more than a third of children cannot choose what they want to read, and one in five feel judged for what they do read.Children have told us that they think that reading choices are judged by the adults around them," said Cassie Chadderton, CEO of World Book Day. It discourages them, it puts them off reading for pleasure and by choice". Continue reading...
The president, battling a 38.1% approval rating, is expected to tout record-low unemployment, lower interest rates and legislationJoe Biden will deliver the final State of the Union address of his presidential term on Thursday evening, giving the incumbent Democrat an opportunity to tout his accomplishments and pitch his re-election campaign as he prepares for a rematch against Donald Trump in November.Biden will address a joint session of Congress to deliver the annual update on the nation's welfare at at time when the US faces numerous challenges at home and abroad. Although the rate of inflation has eased, and unemployment is at a record low, only 27% of Americans rate the country's current economic conditions as excellent or good, according to a Gallup poll conducted in January. Meanwhile, a growing number of Americans cite immigration as the nation's most important problem, and support for abortion access has neared record highs even as dozens of Republican-led states have enacted severe restrictions on the procedure following the overturning of Roe v Wade. Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian