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Released court statement says alleged Chinese spy helped draft private letters to Chinese presidentThe Duke of York sent letters directly to China's president, the prince's former senior adviser told a special immigration tribunal, with an alleged Chinese spy advising him on how to write them.Dominic Hampshire, who worked for Andrew from 2019-22, said Andrew had always had a communication channel" with Xi Jinping that was accepted" and may even have been encouraged by Buckingham Palace and the late queen. Continue reading...

Secretary of state says Putin will have to make a decision' as US officials appear to be growing impatientThe US will know within weeks whether Russia is serious about pursuing peace with Ukraine, the secretary of state said on Friday, warning that Donald Trump was not going to fall into the trap of endless negotiations" with Russia.We're testing to see if the Russians are interested in peace. Their actions - not their words, their actions - will determine whether they're serious or not, and we intend to find that out sooner rather than later," Marco Rubio told journalists in Brussels after talks with Nato allies. Continue reading...

Rap mogul has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering and sex trafficking as trial begins in Manhattan on 5 MaySean Diddy" Combs was hit with a new federal indictment on Friday charging the hip-hop mogul with five criminal counts including racketeering and sex trafficking, court records showed.Combs had previously faced three criminal counts, to which he has pleaded not guilty and is in federal jail in Brooklyn awaiting trial in Manhattan federal court on 5 May. Continue reading...

Ladies Day visitors wear spectacular outfits with some saying financial sacrifices are worth it to attend Liverpool raceThe tradition of fascinators and hats during Ladies Day is usually more about showcasing excellent style than being practical. But this year, spectators at Aintree had good need for their headwear, as the sun shone at the racecourse for the first time in almost a decade.A crowd of 45,000 people had been predicted, and as temperatures reached 19C on Friday, the Met Office said it was just short of being the warmest Aintree festival this century. Continue reading...

Broadcaster wants to branch out with shows covering crime, history and sport and says he has investors lined upPiers Morgan is planning to create a YouTube empire covering true crime, history and other genres, claiming to have significant players" already lining up to invest.Morgan said he was looking to branch out from his Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel and find a series of mini-mes" to front other shows under the brand. He said his current show was already turning a profit since he broke away from Rupert Murdoch's media empire in January. Continue reading...

US secretary of state says markets will adjust' during press conference following Nato summit in BrusselsAsked further about Ukraine, Rutte lists a number of projects by Nato member states, including Poland, Denmark, and the Czech Republic.He says that the shortest answer" to question on safety guarantees is to adopt measures that make sure that Putin will never, ever try again to get one square kilometer or one square mile of Ukraine in the future, that he knows that there is a deterrence and a defence by which Ukraine can never be attacked in the future." Continue reading...

Trump's new 10% universal tariffs will not apply to many fossil fuel products in sign of his fealty, advocates say

Health secretary says roles will need to be reinstated amid Trump administration's push to slash federal workforce

There are major concerns about the potentially catastrophic' impact US policy will have on vehicle makersEmerging into the springtime sun from gate 17 at Volkswagen's main factory in Wolfsburg at the end of his shift, Carsten, 63, pulled heavily on a cigarette and shook his head when asked about Donald Trump's US tariff policies.It's just another nail in the coffin for the German car industry," the assembly line worker said on Thursday. He cited managers' plans to slash jobs and close factories earlier this year, and a decade before that the dieselgate" scandal -costly financially and reputationally - when Germany's largest carmaker was found to have falsified CO emissions tests. Continue reading...

Moderate Democrat believes she can unseat Republican Derrick Van Orden, who was at the Capitol on January 6Wisconsin's third congressional district has voted for Donald Trump every time he's been on the ballot, but the moderate Democrat Rebecca Cooke, a waitress who grew up on a dairy farm, thinks she can flip the state's most competitive seat next year.Last year, Cooke outperformed other Democrats when she tried to unseat incumbent Derrick Van Orden, a retired US Navy Seal who attended the January 6 Stop the Steal

Closure of Nippon Electric Glass plant would put further pressure on Rachel Reeves's industrial strategy

Impoverished African country is hit with highest tariff rate at 50%, overturning decades of global trade policyThe day after Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs, Lesotho's garment workers feared for their jobs.Last year, Lesotho sent about 20% of its $1.1bn (845m) of exports to the US, most of it clothing, as well as diamonds, under a continent-wide trade agreement meant to help African countries' development via tariff-free exports. Continue reading...

Nicholas Jacobs was immersed in party activities, even working to elect the Musk-favored candidate who lostArchived social media posts from a student Republican operative, Nicholas Jacobs, who received a $1m check from Elon Musk, show that he was deeply immersed in Republican electioneering over the last year, working not only to elect Donald Trump but other party candidates in the state.They included failed Wisconsin Republican senate candidate Eric Hovde; first-term congressman Tony Wied; incumbent Milwaukee Republican vice-chair Brett Galaszewski; and Brad Schimel, the state supreme court candidate whom Musk has spent $25m supporting. Continue reading...

Harvard weighs costs of standing up to president as other elite schools, such as Princeton, signal they won't concedeThe day after the Trump administration announced a review of $9bn in federal contracts and grants with Harvard due to what it claimed was the university's failure to combat antisemitism on campus, the university's president, Alan Garber, sent an email to the Harvard community titled: Our resolve.When we saw the Garber statement's subject line, everybody thought: Oh, great, Harvard's going to stand up!" said Jane Sujen Bock, a board member of the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, a group of alumni founded in 2016 amid a legal battle over affirmative action. Continue reading...

Joanne Sharkey had previously admitted to manslaughter after incident when she was suffering postnatal depressionA woman who killed her newborn baby 27 years ago while suffering from postnatal depression has been spared jail because her thinking was substantially impaired" by mental illness.Joanne Sharkey, 55, was handed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility over the death of her days-old son, whose body was found wrapped in bin bags in woodland in 1998. Continue reading...

Helge Lund likely to leave post in 2026, with investor opposition having derailed net zero plansThe chair of BP has announced plans to step down from the struggling oil company after growing shareholder opposition derailed its net zero agenda.The oil company said on Friday that Helge Lund planned to leave his post in due course" once a successor has joined the board, which would most likely" be in 2026. Continue reading...

London's stock market opened at its lowest level since January, while France suggests pause on investing in the US. Plus, what now for TikTok?Good morning.Donald Trump's barrage of tariff announcements has wiped trillions of dollars off the value of the world's largest companies and supercharged recession fears, with London's stock market opening on Friday morning at its lowest level since January.What has the political reaction been? There are some signs of a slight Republican backlash, with the former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell calling tariffs bad policy" that hurt ordinary Americans. McConnell and three other Republican senators backed a Democrat resolution demanding that the 25% tariffs on Canadian products be reversed.Get the latest from our business blog and our US politics blog.Were others fired? Yes - Trump said earlier on Thursday that he had fired some" White House national security council officials. The announcement came a day after the far-right activist Laura Loomer raised concerns with him about staff loyalty. Continue reading...

Chanel Tapper holds Guinness World Records title with her 3.8in tongue that is longer than a medium-sized lightbulbParty tricks are second nature to Chanel Tapper, who has long wielded the Guinness World Records title for woman with the globe's longest tongue.The California native can easily use the 3.8in (9.75cm) organ to remove Jenga blocks from a stack. She can flip red plastic cups with it; touch the tip of her nose as well as under her chin; and raise a spoon by curling it around the utensil. Continue reading...

County councils across England are being elected on 1 May, along with four regional mayors. Find out which areas are voting and search for your ownIn many other years, the first set of local elections with a new government and prime minister in place would be scrutinised keenly as a judgment on the PM's performance so far. This year the runes will be harder to read because so many of the councils that are up are Conservative councils in Conservative areas. Few of the big cities are up, although some university cities and towns will be voting.In contrast, the results will probably be read as judgment on the performance of the new Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch. The last time these council seats were contested, in most cases, was in 2021, when the Conservatives under Boris Johnson were riding high in the polls on the vaccine boost", and before the partygate scandal started to dent their popularity. Continue reading...

Super industry's peak body says majority of hacking attempts stopped but money lost by a small number of customers

Singer-songwriter made more than 30 albums away from the mainstream, inspiring numerous artists in American alternative musicMichael Hurley, the American singer-songwriter whose unique path through the US folk scene made him an inspiration to generations of alternative musicians, has died aged 83.A statement from the family announced his recent sudden passing", though no cause of death has been given. It added: The godfather of freak folk' was for a prolific half-century the purveyor of an eccentric genius and compassionate wit ... There is no other. Friends, family and the music community deeply mourn his loss." Continue reading...

Court of appeal rules Mokbel to be released, saying there is a strong chance' his convictions will be quashed

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Temperature could hit 24C in central England on Friday amid very high to extreme' risk of wildfires across BritainThe UK could experience its warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures higher than European holiday hotspots, after firefighters tackled wildfires in parts of Britain.Much of the country would be dry and sunny on Friday, and some of central England could hit 24C (75F) as weather nearer to what we'd expect in July" continued, the Met Office said. Continue reading...

Damning report by public accounts committee finds some of Tory government's initiatives have worsened the crisisThe official plan to increase access to NHS dental services in England has been a complete failure", and some of the government's initiatives have worsened the crisis, a damning report warns.Millions of patients continue to be denied dental care, forcing them to pay for private treatment, build up mountains of credit card debt, or even worse perform dangerous DIY dentistry on their own teeth, the research by MPs found. Continue reading...

Artwork thought to date from reign of Elizabeth I reveals how those with disposable incomes decorated their homesRare and fantastical 16th-century wall paintings which shine light on the interior design tastes of well-off Tudors have been revealed in a former hunting lodge.Historic England said the wall paintings at The Ashes in Inglewood Forest, Cumbria, were remarkable and warranted extra heritage protection. Continue reading...

Justice committee said the majority of public submissions oppose the legislation, which seeks to reinterpret the country's founding documentA parliamentary committee has recommended a bill that seeks to radically reinterpret New Zealand's founding treaty between Mori tribes and the British Crown should not proceed.The treaty principles bill, which was introduced to parliament by the minor coalition Act party, seeks to abandon a set of well-established principles that guide the relationship between Mori and ruling authorities in favour of its own redefined principles. Continue reading...

Suspended president removed after impeachment over martial law declaration, with acting leader Han Duck-soo to remain in office until election held

Amon is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to 10 charges, including five counts of sexual intercourse with a person over the age of 10 and under 14

Men arrested at Melbourne sporting venue allegedly carrying loaded firearms after passing through upgraded security

Exclusive: The party's Bennelong candidate Scott Yung was described as young Chinese talent' in the videos that are still live on his page

A man, a woman and five children got out unharmed from blaze that took hold of terraced house in Prescot overnightA 13-year-old girl has died in a house fire near Liverpool.The blaze was found in the first-floor rear bedroom of a mid-terraced house in Kingsway, Prescot late on Wednesday evening, Merseyside police said. Continue reading...

Campaigners denounce cover-up of a cover-up' as IOPC clears officers of scapegoating Liverpool supportersA 12-year investigation into the Hillsborough disaster by the police watchdog has concluded that no senior South Yorkshire police officers were guilty of misconduct for falsely blaming misbehaviour by Liverpool supporters.That police case was wholly rejected in 2016 by the jury at the second inquest, who determined that no behaviour of Liverpool supporters contributed to the disaster, which happened on 15 April 1989 at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium. Continue reading...

Mette Frederiksen, who met island's new and outgoing PMs, says she wants to cooperate with Trump on Arctic securityThe Danish prime minister has put on a show of unity with Greenlandic leaders in her first visit to the Arctic island since Donald Trump's renewed threats to acquire the territory, telling the US: You cannot annex another country."Speaking onboard an inspection ship in front of a military helicopter, alongside Greenland's new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and Greenland's outgoing prime minister, Mute B Egede, Mette Frederiksen switched from Danish to English to address the diplomatic standoff with the Trump administration. Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee from southern city of Rafah in one of war's biggest mass displacementsAn Israeli bombing of a school turned shelter in Gaza City has killed at least 27 people, rescuers said, and hundreds of thousands in the Rafah area are fleeing in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war amid Israel's newly announced campaign to divide up" the Gaza Strip.Three missiles hit Dar al-Arqam school in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon, the civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal said, killing several children and wounding 100 people. Continue reading...

Discovery in Altadena months after fires brings deaths in Eaton fire up to 18, while 12 people killed in Palisades fireMonths after wildfires tore through Los Angeles communities, officials announced this week they had discovered another set of human remains, bringing the death toll in the disaster up to 30.Investigators were dispatched to Altadena on Wednesday to investigate possible human remains in the community, which was hit hard by the Eaton fire in January. The special operations response team confirmed that the remains were human, the Los Angeles county medical examiner's office said in a statement. Continue reading...

Multimillion-pound project will also boost capacity by 20% and improve wheelchair accessibilityDifferent generations of tennis fans may disagree on its name - to traditionalists it will always be Henman Hill, millennials probably plump for Murray Mound and gen Z may know it as Raducanu Rise or even, regrettably, Jack's Stack - but all ages can agree that bringing a little shelter to Wimbledon's most famous viewing area can only be a good thing.Wimbledon's Hill - which since 1997 has allowed tennis fans with a grounds pass to watch the action on No 1 Court live atop its grassy knoll - is getting a makeover, the All England Lawn and Tennis Club (AELTC) has announced. Continue reading...

PM says measures mark the beginning of a new era' for trade and the global economyInternet safety campaigners have expressed alarm about reports that the Online Safety Act could be reviewed as part of the economic deal the UK is negotiating with the US.According to a Politico report, quoting unnamed sources who have been briefed on what is in the potential deal, it will include a commitment to a review of the Digital Markets and Competition Act and the Online Safety Act.We are dismayed and appalled by reports that the Online Safety Act could be watered down to facilitate a US trade deal.We have written to Jonathan Reynolds [business secretary] urging him not to continue with an appalling sell out of children's safety and to meet with lived experience campaigners to understand the dire consequences.The Online Safety Act offers a foundation that we believe will vastly improve children's experiences online.For too long, too many children and young people have been exposed to harmful content, groomed, harassed and bullied online. The Government must not roll back on their commitment to making the online world safer for them, now and in the future. Continue reading...

Underneath the measured words you could almost smell the panic as the government scrambled to come up with a plan to respond to Trump's tariffsWith characteristic humility and good grace ... Hardly.Shortly after 9pm UK time on Wednesday, The Sun-Bed King made his way to the White House Rose Garden, looking every bit the dishonest bookie as he held up a board with every country's separate tariff. He might as well have been signposting the odds on a global recession. Continue reading...

Von der Leyen calls tariffs a major blow to world economy' while calling for last-ditch negotiationsEuropean leaders have condemned Donald Trump's tariffs as fundamentally wrong" and creating an immense difficulty for Europe", while appealing for last-ditch negotiations to avert an all-out trade war.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said Trump's decision to impose tariffs was brutal and unfounded" and appeared to call for a suspension of French investment in the US until the tariffs were clarified. Continue reading...

President says nothing can be ruled out' in response to US measures

Israeli PM, who is wanted by the court, hails Viktor Orban's bold and principled' decision to leave the corrupt' bodyHungary will leave the international criminal court because it has become political", the country's prime minister, Viktor Orban, said as he welcomed his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanhayu - the subject of an ICC arrest warrant - to Budapest for an official visit.Standing beside Netanyahu at the start of the four-day visit, Orban said Hungary was convinced the otherwise very important court" had diminished into a political forum". Continue reading...

Former officials question the reason for a Doge engineer's access to the Unaccompanied Alien Children portalA member of Elon Musk's unofficial department of government efficiency" gained access to a government system that contains the personal data of unaccompanied immigrant children, according to a recent court filing.The database, called the Unaccompanied Alien Children portal (UAC), contains extremely detailed information about thousands of minors who enter the United States alone, including individual children's mental health and therapy records, as well as immigration records, photos and addresses of their family members. Continue reading...

PM uses launch of Labour local election campaign to attack Nigel Farage over past comments about Russian leaderKeir Starmer has accused Reform UK of fawning over Putin" as the prime minister used the launch of Labour's local election campaign to attack Nigel Farage repeatedly over his past comments about the Russian leader.With Labour viewing Reform as potentially its greatest rival in next month's elections, Starmer devoted more time to attacking the rightwing populist party than criticising the Conservatives. Continue reading...

Munther Abed, 27, was in the first ambulance on the scene of an airstrike near Rafah when Israeli soldiers opened fire Gaza paramedic killings: a visual timelineA survivor from a massacre of Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers in Gaza has said he saw Israeli troops open fire on a succession of Red Crescent ambulances and rescue vehicles and then use a bulldozer to bury the wreckage in a pit.Munther Abed, a 27-year-old Red Crescent volunteer, was in the back of the first ambulance to arrive on the scene of an airstrike in the Hashashin district of Rafah before dawn on 23 March, when it came under intense Israeli fire. His two Red Crescent colleagues sitting in the front were killed but he survived by throwing himself to the floor of the vehicle. Continue reading...

Ministers are considering how to secure an agreement that might exempt Britain from Trump's tariffsMinisters are redoubling their efforts to agree a trade deal with Donald Trump after he announced sweeping 10% tariffs on UK exports to the US.Downing Street has said talks are at an advanced stage" and officials have indicated that the broad outlines of a deal have been agreed. Continue reading...

Democratic mayor says he will not run in party primary for re-election amid record-low approval rating

Designation as undesirable organisation' exposes nonprofit's staff and partners to possible criminal prosecutionRussian authorities on Thursday banned the Elton John Aids Foundation (EJAF), which focuses on HIV/Aids prevention, citing its support for LGBTQ+ rights as a reason for the move.Founded by the British singer and songwriter in 1992, the organisation funds HIV treatment programmes in countries including Russia. It also advocates for LGBTQ+ people, who have faced years of brutal persecution in Russia. Continue reading...

Mutual reports increase from 28m to 161m, but says ministers layering costs' on retailers could hit high streetsThe Co-operative Group plans to open at least a further 120 grocery shops this year after profits rose more than fivefold, but told the government that layering costs" on retailers could hit high streets and communities.The mutual, which owns more than 800 funeral parlours and an insurance and legal advisory business as well as operating more than 2,000 convenience shops, said changes to employers' national insurance contributions (NICs) and packaging regulations were expected to add 80m to its costs this year. It also lost 80m to shoplifters last year despite spending millions on new security measures. Continue reading...

UK government body's interim report says visibility before Solong struck Stena Immaculate was reported as patchy'An oil tanker and cargo ship that collided in the North Sea had no dedicated lookouts" at the time of the incident, which took place inpatchy" visibility, investigators have said.A US-chartered oil tanker, the Stena Immaculate, was anchored about 12 miles (19km) off the coast of Yorkshire when it was struck by a container ship, the Solong, on 10 March. Continue reading...