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Dithering on renewable energy and insulation will leave people in Britain colder and poorer', campaigners warnRishi Sunak is facing further attacks on his plans to expand oil and gas exploration in the North Sea this week. The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill - to be debated in the Commons on Monday - has already triggered widespread protests, including the resignation of Chris Skidmore, a former Conservative energy minister.The bill aims to boost fossil fuel extraction by establishing a new system under which licences for North Sea oil and gas projects will be awarded annually. Continue reading...

Survey reveals 70% of MPs are concerned AI-generated content will increase the spread of disinformation ahead of polling dayMost MPs across Westminster fear the use of deepfakes and AI-generated content will undermine the integrity of the next general election, amid demands for an urgent overhaul of their regulation ahead of polling day.Ministers are already concerned about the effect the technology has had on elections overseas, with a survey of MPs revealing that a majority believe it poses a threat to the integrity of the coming election. Some 70% fear AI will increase the spread of misinformation and disinformation. Continue reading...

Protesters took aim at foreign minister Penny Wong and prime minister Anthony Albanese and said they would continue to chant for a liberated Palestine'

With the IDF now routinely using armed drones to watch and target militants, the worst wave of violence for almost 20 years is sweeping the West BankFor days earlier this month, many of the young men of Nur Shams refugee camp on the outskirts of the town of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank were engaged in a potentially lethal race against time.Scaling precarious ladders, they stretched between rooftops vast plastic sheets used in more peaceful times to collect the olive harvest. Soon, hundreds of metres of winding lanes were in deep shadow, the sun and the sky obscured. The hill behind the buildings, from which you can see the Mediterranean less than 20km away, was no longer visible. Continue reading...

More than 1.5 million women in the UK are affected by the painful condition - but new study says NHS is failing themWomen with endometriosis who have endured years of excruciating pain are being fobbed off" by doctors and told their symptoms are all in their head", leading them to give up seeking NHS treatment, new research has found.A study carried out by academics at Manchester Metropolitan University found women with the disease felt gaslit" by doctors due to their lack of understanding of the condition. Continue reading...

Vigil is one of a series of events due to be held in the next few days in solidarity with people affected by events in Middle EastA multi-faith peace march is due to be held in London on Sunday, aimed at easing the bitterness and tension over the Israel-Gaza war.The midday march from Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square and back is one of a series of events due to be held in the next few days and weeks in solidarity with people affected by conflict in Israel and Palestine. Gatherings are also planned in Birmingham and Oxford. Continue reading...

Fifteen months after two men were shot in Bratislava, evidence suggests the killer may have been helped by an unidentified US-based extremistThe October evening was warm and sunny. At about 7pm, two young men stepped out of the Teplare bar on Zamocka Street in the centre of Bratislava, to sit on a concrete bench and drink lemonade. Matu, 23, had just arrived in the Slovakian capital to study Chinese. His 26-year-old friend worked in a local clothes shop and enjoyed anime, K-pop and dance.Standing in an alcove a few metres away was Juraj Krajik. The 19-year-old had been loitering for about half an hour, witnesses later said. Shortly after the two patrons of the Teplare sat down, Krajik stepped forward, raised a .45-calibre handgun and fired several shots at them. Then he turned and ran, gun in hand. Continue reading...

Heat warnings have been issued to residents in NSW, South Australia and Western Australia about rising temperatures this weekend

Detectives believe man is targeting single women - while AFP shines spotlight on romance fraud

Protests held at about 100 locations over party's meeting with neo-Nazis to discuss deporting those it deems have failed to integrate, including German citizensMore than 100,000 people turned out across Germany on Saturday in protest against the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party, which sparked an outcry after it emerged that the party's members discussed mass deportation plans at a meeting of extremists.In Frankfurt, about 35,000 people joined a call under the banner Defend democracy - Frankfurt against the AfD", marching in the financial heart of Germany. A similar number, some carrying posters like Nazis out", turned up in the northern city of Hanover. Continue reading...

Damage to buildings and flying debris expected as country set to be battered by wind and rainStorm Isha is set to batter everybody" in the UK with wind and rain during a rare" weather cycle, forecasters say.Winds of up to 80mph will swoop in later on Sunday, potentially causing power cuts and loss of mobile phone signal, while roads and bridges are likely to be shut and transport services could face delays and cancellations in some areas. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. See all our Middle East crisis coverageThe Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has said the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza remains dire", with people returning to primitive methods for food preparation and general hygiene". It also said the situation had been exacerbated by the continuous Israeli blockade hindering aid delivery".In a post on X, the PRCS quoted Mohammed Abu Msbeh, its director of ambulances and emergency centres in the Gaza Strip, as saying:People have returned to primitive methods for food preparation and general hygiene, to make bread.The daily struggle for water is a daily torment for Gaza residents to secure life-sustaining droplets, who stand in large crowds for hours with containers. Continue reading...

Hunt draws comparisons with Thatcher's tax-slashing chancellor as he claims UK is ready for economic boomJeremy Hunt has compared himself to former tax-cutting chancellor Nigel Lawson, as he joined Rishi Sunak in teasing further potential cuts in the spring budget.Writing in the Mail on Sunday, the chancellor drew comparisons with the late Lawson, who was known for slashing personal taxation while serving in the Thatcher government. Continue reading...

Police confirm they are not looking for anyone else in connection with incident after four people found deadPolice failed to attend a 999 call made from a house where four people, including two young children, were subsequently found dead.Norfolk police said it was contacted by a man at the address at about 6am on Friday but no officers were deployed. Continue reading...

Advocates say government failing to meet basic obligation' to process claims quickly after Tim McCabe spent weeks with no income'

Heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding forecast across Kimberley, Northern Territory and much of Cape York peninsula

Ukrainian leader invited Trump to Ukraine but says if he returns to White House he could make unilateral concessions to RussiaThe Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, fears that if Donald Trump returns to the White House next year he could make unilateral concessions to Russia that override Ukraine's interests and branded the former US president's claims he could stop the war in 24 hours as very dangerous".In an interview with the UK's Channel 4 News, Zelenskiy said he was stressed" that the former president is going to make decisions on his own, without ... I'm not even talking about Russia, but without both sides, without us." Continue reading...

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has lost four members in strike on Syrian capital

The Israeli leader is under pressure over course of the Gaza war but is doubling down on opposition to a two-state solutionDefiant Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on opposition to Palestinian statehood, deepening the divide with Israel's closest international allies, as cracks in his wartime unity" government became increasingly evident.Anger with Netanyahu is also increasingly visible on the streets, even though there is broad public support for the war. On Saturday, protesters gathered in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Caesarea and Kfar Saba, some calling for bolder action to secure the release of hostages, and others demanding the prime minister step down. Continue reading...

Mayor calls for youth mobility agreement' in one of the most pro-European interventions by a Labour politician since EU exitLondon mayor Sadiq Khan has called for young people to be able to move freely to and from the EU for the first time since Brexit in order to lessen the economic and cultural damage caused by the UK's decision to leave the European Union.Speaking to the Observer in one of the most pro-European interventions by a senior Labour politician since the 2016 referendum, Khan said he backs either a bespoke youth mobility" agreement with EU countries, or changes to post-Brexit visa rules that currently restrict travel and the ability to work in other European countries. Continue reading...

ABS data highlights shoppers' attraction to promotions, as supermarkets giants discount unhealthy food twice as often as healthier items

Regulator's review will look at evidence and options on how universal postal service might need to evolve'Royal Mail could be allowed to end Saturday postal deliveries as part of Ofcom's review into how the service may need to be reformed.Next week, Ofcom will publish a document outlining potential options for the future of the universal postal service". Continue reading...

Protests break out in two eastern cities as incumbent takes oath of office at stadium in KinshasaFelix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been sworn in for a second five-year term after a landslide victory his opponents have refused to recognise owing to widespread irregularities in the December general election.Authorities have acknowledged there were problems but dismissed allegations the vote was stolen. The fractious standoff echoes previous electoral disputes that fuelled unrest in Africa's second-largest country, with protests breaking out on Saturday in two eastern cities. Continue reading...

Powers bestowed by the Criminal Finances Act 2017 are not being used effectively, say criticsHMRC has not charged a single company under landmark legislation passed six years ago to crack down on corporate tax evasion.Critics say the data, released under freedom of information laws to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and TaxWatch, suggests that HMRC is undermining its own deterrents against corporate tax evasion by failing to use its criminal enforcement powers. Continue reading...

Strike on Friday targeted a Rosneft oil storage facility about 50km from the Ukrainian border, in Russian town of Klintsy, officials said

Shadow foreign secretary tries to continue as demonstrators shout and criticise Labour's stance on Israel-Gaza war

Observer investigation reveals children as young as two are being barred from joining their mothers in BritainThe Home Office is systematically barring young children from joining their mothers in Britain despite extensive proof the women are their primary caregivers, an Observer investigation has revealed.Under an opaque policy condemned as distressing" and inhumane", the government has refused dozens of visas for children of migrant single mothers, many of whom came to work in the NHS or social care, saying there are no compelling reasons" to grant them. Continue reading...

Footage appears to show MHS Chiddingfold reversing into HMS BangorA collision between two Royal Navy warships in a Middle East harbour is under investigation.Footage posted on social media appeared to show HMS Chiddingfold reversing into HMS Bangor off the coast of Bahrain. Continue reading...

Mills was referee from 1983 to 2005, earning nickname Rain Man over whether to suspend play during inclement weatherThe long-time Wimbledon tournament referee Alan Mills has died aged 88, the ATP Tour has announced.Mills served as the All England Club's referee from 1983 to 2005, earning the nickname Rain Man as it was his call whether or not to suspend play during inclement weather. Continue reading...

Company updates system after customer decided to find out' what bot could do after failing to find parcelThe delivery firm DPD has disabled part of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered online chatbot after a disgruntled customer was able to make it swear and criticise the company.Musician Ashley Beauchamp, 30, was trying to track down a missing parcel but was having no joy in getting useful information from the chatbot. Fed up, he decided to have some fun instead and began to experiment to find out what the chatbot could do. Beauchamp said this was when the chaos started". Continue reading...

Spaniel puppy who was abandoned in car park doing well' after operation funded by charity appealA six-legged dog who was found abandoned in a car park has undergone surgery to remove her extra limbs.Ariel, a spaniel puppy, was found in Pembroke, Wales, in September last year and after a fundraising appeal was able to have surgery. Continue reading...

The Claudine Gay and Harvard University case was just a glimpse into the plan to advance rightwing agendasWhen Claudine Gay resigned as Harvard University president in early January, pundits credited her departure to a successful removal campaign led by conservative activists.The strategy behind Gay's ousting wasn't new, and has been used to advance conservative agendas, influence school curriculum and demonize Black people throughout history. What was different this time was the quick efficacy of the takedown, which, according to some political scientists, historians and lawyers, emboldened conservative activists and could have dangerous implications for the future of education. Continue reading...

Now 88 and disabled by a stroke, the star leads a reclusive life and his children are in a bitter legal battle over his treatmentAlain Delon was among the greatest celebrities of the golden era of French cinema, with his brooding good looks, ice-blue eyes and seductive on- and off-screen presence making him the pin-up of postwar France.In a career spanning more than half a century, Delon made 90 films, many of them critically acclaimed, including Plein Soleil (Purple Noon) in which he played antihero Tom Ripley, Le Samourai and the historical epic The Leopard, that drew an estimated 134 million cinema-goers, making him a star at the box office. Continue reading...

West Yorkshire police appeal for information over fatal incident as man, 25, is bailed pending further inquiriesA woman who died after falling from a moving van in Wakefield has been named by police as Leah Senior.Senior, 27, from Huddersfield, was seen falling from a white Transit van on Denby Dale Road on Wednesday evening. Continue reading...

Around 900 of the estimated 11,100 job losses in the workforce last year were in the UK's 5bn a year industryMass redundancies in the video game industry, with thousands of developers losing their jobs, have led to a record surge in workers joining unions, organisers have told the Observer.The fledgling Game Workers branch of the IWGB union saw its membership jump by almost half between December 2022 and December 2023 as job cuts worsened in the sector, including at the studios behind bestselling games such as Fifa, Skyrim and The Witcher. Continue reading...

Nobody seems to know mystery organisation that funded YouGov survey but its agenda is clearAt the centre of this week's mega-poll that projected an election wipeout for the Conservatives there lurked both a mystery and a statement of the obvious. Who was behind it? No one seemed to know. But what do they want? Seemingly, a change from Rishi Sunak.It is a sign of Sunak's plight that the poll - fronted by a Tory peer and explicitly framed as showing the prime minister's policies are leading the party into doom - was not even the greatest act of disloyalty in a week when 60 backbenchers voted to amend his flagship migration policy. Continue reading...

Shadow foreign secretary says Israeli president must explain how post-conflict Gaza will operate

Safeguarding staff say they can't get referrals for serious cases and don't have the expertise to give pupils the help they needIncreasing numbers of children suffering from domestic abuse, serious neglect and homelessness are being refused help from over-stretched social services, schools across England have told the Observer.Child protection cases that would automatically have prompted intervention from social workers a few years ago are now routinely being passed back to schools to deal with themselves. The inability to obtain help for children whom schools think are in urgent need is taking such an emotional toll on education staff, who say they have neither the expertise nor the resources to cope, that some schools are bringing in counsellors to prevent their safeguarding teams becoming traumatised. Continue reading...

Fire broke out in dormitories of primary school in central Henan provinceThirteen pupils have died after a fire broke out in dormitories at a primary school in central Henan province, Chinese state media have reported.All of the dead were third-grade students, a teacher at Yingcai school told Zonglan news, a state-backed media outlet from Hebei province. One person rescued from the scene was being treated in hospital, China's state broadcaster, CCTV, said. Continue reading...

Weiss led US girl band with run of hit songs about teenage love and tragedy, including Leader of the PackMary Weiss, the lead singer of the 1960s pop group the Shangri-Las, has died at the age of 75, her record label said.The US girl band rose to stardom with a run of hit songs about teenage love and tragedy, including Remember (Walking in the Sand) and Leader of the Pack, and was later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Continue reading...

Online publication Polyester will train writer in honour of its managing editor who died last yearA new fellowship to train an aspiring working-class journalist is aiming to help diversify the media landscape while honouring the memory and spirit of Eden Young, who died in an accident last year.The Eden Young Fellowship for Aspiring Working Class Journalists aims to provide a year-long training and mentorship scheme at the independent online publication Polyester, where Young was a key figure. Continue reading...

Payments halted four times and left Eileen McGrath without income over ChristmasA retired teacher has had her pension payments stopped four times because her pension provider repeatedly refuses to accept that she is not dead.Eileen McGrath, 85, was left without income over Christmas when Teachers' Pensions, which administers payments on behalf of the UK government, wrongly matched her with a deceased stranger. Continue reading...

Dental union says region will be disproportionately' affected by EU amalgam phase-out as health service is weakest in UKConcerns have been raised about the future availability of silver dental fillings in Northern Ireland due to an imminent phasing out of the amalgam across the EU.The plan to phase out amalgam by 1 January next year will apply in Northern Ireland due to the Brexit trading arrangements and it will also affect dental care in other parts of the UK, dentist representatives say. Continue reading...

After a lengthy, multiple-agency investigation, officers unearthed guns and ammunition at a Mornington Peninsula property

Exclusive: London mayoral elections in May will be toughest fight yet', Khan will tell Fabian's Society conferenceSadiq Khan will urge voters not to let the Tories do to London what they've done to our country", as he hits out at the hollow, desperate and divisive narrative" put forward by the party.Launching the Fabian's Society conference on Saturday with a keynote speech, the London mayor will attack the Conservatives for exploiting people's fears, but never addressing them", in an attempt to lead the electorate to think you're struggling because of someone else". Continue reading...

BBC host talks about cutting screen time and how some of the press are obsessed with trying to do me', in Guardian interview

Increase in syphilis also recorded in most council areas as sexual health services face greater demand, says LGA reportAlmost every council area in England and Wales has seen a rise in gonorrhoea diagnoses, figures show, as sexual health services face unprecedented increases in demand".With gonorrhoea, the rate of diagnosis has increased in 97% of council areas since 2017, while 71% have seen increases in cases of syphilis over the same period, according to figures based on analysis of data from the office for health disparities by the Local Government Association (LGA). Continue reading...

As pockets of war multiply across region so does the risk that conflict becomes more contagious and intractableOn Thursday morning the Iranian news website Entekhab ran, without irony, the headline: Taliban call on Pakistan and Iran to show restraint and urge both sides to settle differences through diplomatic means".If proof were needed that a new, more dangerous world order may be upon us, the Taliban cast in the role of advocates for restraint seems conclusive. Continue reading...

President accused of allowing country to become a target because of complicity in bloodshed of Gaza'The Cyprus government is facing growing criticism over British military bases on the island being used by UK and US forces to stage airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.President Nicos Christodoulides has been accused by activists of turning a blind eye to the risks the EU's most easterly state might confront if the strategic facilities on the island continue to be deployed in military operations. Continue reading...

MEPs react to tragic' findings revealing UK falling behind EU in key environmental policies since Brexit