by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6KK82)
Exclusive: Surge in nurses originally from outside the EU moving overseas prompts concern Britain is a staging post' in their careersAlmost 9,000 foreign nurses a year are leaving the UK to work abroad, amid a sudden surge in nurses quitting the already understaffed NHS for better-paid jobs elsewhere.The rise in nurses originally from outside the EU moving to take up new posts abroad has prompted concerns that Britain is increasingly becoming a staging post" in their careers. Continue reading...
Bank holiday weekend and start of school holidays take place at same time, with high traffic volumes expectedDrivers are being warned to expect long delays over Easter as millions of getaway trips lead to soaring traffic volumes and congested motorways.The RAC said that more than 14m journeys on some popular routes could take twice as long as normal, as the first bank holiday weekend of the spring coincides with the start of a two-week holiday for many schools. Continue reading...
Wrestler, whose real name is Mikiya Ishioka, triumphs in Osaka to secure Emperor's Cup despite injuring his ankle the previous dayThe ancient Japanese sport of sumo is celebrating a new hero, after Takerufuji became the first wrestler for more than a century to win a top-division tournament on his debut.There were wild celebrations at the Edion Arena Osaka on Sunday after he ended the 15-day contest with an unassailable record of 13 wins and two defeats. Continue reading...
Some professors will submit their resignations while others will cut their hours over a government plan to boost medical school admissionsMedical professors in South Korea have said they will reduce the hours they spend in practice, while some say they plan to resign, in a widening of a doctors strike in the country.The move will begin on Monday in support of trainee doctors who have been on strike for more than a month over a government plan to boost medical school admissions. Continue reading...
Survey finds many ex-military personnel fear being misunderstood and are reluctant to seek professional helpMore than half of England's army veterans have experienced mental or physical health issues since returning to civilian life, and some are reluctant to share their experiences, a survey has revealed.The survey of 4,910 veterans, commissioned jointly by the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) and the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA), found that 55% have experienced a health issue potentially related to their service since leaving the armed forces. Over 80% of respondents said their condition had got worse since returning to civilian life. Continue reading...
British properties are expensive, cramped and ageing' compared with other similar economies, says Resolution FoundationThe UK's expensive, cramped and ageing" housing stock fares poorly compared with other advanced countries, analysis by a thinktank suggests.Households are paying more than other countries - but getting less in return, the Resolution Foundation said. Continue reading...
Footage of gunmen reinforces Islamic State's claim to have masterminded worst terror attack on Russia in two decadesFour suspects have appeared in court in Moscow charged over the terrorist attack on the Crocus City concert hall on Friday that left 137 people dead.The men were officially identified as citizens of Tajikistan, the Tass state news agency said, and were remanded in custody for two months at Sunday's hearing. Continue reading...
A 35-year-old was found injured in East Ham and Metropolitan police inquiries led to arrest of 33-year-oldDetectives have arrested a man at Heathrow on suspicion of murder, hours after a man was hit by a car and killed in east London.The Metropolitan police launched an investigation after being called at 5.11am to reports of a collision involving a car and pedestrian in East Ham. A 35-year-old man was found injured at the scene on Barking Road, near to the junction with Arragon Road. Continue reading...
Oscar-winning actor says gender pay disparity rooted in outdated idea that male actors draw audiencesOlivia Colman has criticised gender pay disparity in the film industry and said she would be paid more if she was a man, arguing that it is rooted in an outdated idea that male actors draw in the audience.Speaking about her latest movie, Wicked Little Letters, the Oscar-winning actor said that gender limits her earning potential. Research suggests that [women have] always been big box office draws," she told CNN's Christiane Amanpour programme. Continue reading...
New protest group is critical of London museum's sponsorship by BP and seeks to make link with GazaThe British Museum closed its doors to visitors on Sunday afternoon as hundreds of protesters gathered outside to demand that it end its partnership with BP - and sought to draw a link with the conflict in Gaza.A new UK-based protest group, calling itself Energy Embargo for Palestine, called on members of the public to boycott the museum while it continues to receive sponsorship from the company. Continue reading...
Higher education minister will become taoiseach in April after shock resignation of Leo VaradkarSimon Harris will become Ireland's youngest prime minister after the leadership race in his Fine Gael party ended without any other candidates coming forward.The leadership became vacant after the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, announced his surprise resignation for personal and political reasons" last week. Continue reading...
Police were called to reports of a teenager with a knife wound in Sittingbourne on Friday afternoonA 12-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after a teenage girl was stabbed in Kent.Police were called to reports of a 15-year-old girl suffering injuries consistent with a knife wound in Sittingbourne at 3.55pm on Friday. The girl was taken to a London hospital for treatment and officers said on Saturday she remained in hospital in a stable condition. Continue reading...
Plant on outskirts of Coventry could create up to 6,000 jobs and will be part of planned Centre for ElectrificationA Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries is in talks to invest more than 1bn to build a giant new factory on the outskirts of Coventry.EVE Energy, which says it employs 28,000 staff worldwide, is understood to be in talks to construct a 5.7m sq ft gigafactory, which will form one of the main parts of the planned UK Centre for Electrification, an investment zone in the West Midlands. Continue reading...
Students and staff snatched by gunmen from school in Kaduna state freed days before ransom deadlineThe Nigerian army has rescued students and staff who were abducted by gunmen from a school in the country's north earlier this month, the military said, days before the deadline for a ransom payment.School officials and residents had said 287 students were taken on 7 March in the town of Kuriga, in the north-western state of Kaduna. A military spokesperson said 137 hostages - 76 female and 61 male - were rescued in the early hours of Sunday in the neighbouring state of Zamfara. Continue reading...
The Rio de Janeiro councillor and her driver were assassinated in 2018, sparking an international outcryTwo powerful politicians and Rio de Janeiro's former chief of police have been arrested as part of a federal police operation targeting the suspected masterminds of the 2018 assassination of Rio councillor Marielle Franco.The operation - named Murder, Inc - was launched at the crack of dawn on Sunday and came just over six years after the shooting of Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, caused an international outcry. Continue reading...
Michael Gove is losing his battle to reform current leaseholds, Sunday Times reportsThe Conservatives have been accused of ditching their manifesto pledge to reduce ground rents to zero, after reports that Michael Gove is losing his battle to reform current leaseholds.Gove, the levelling-up secretary, has been overseeing plans to overhaul the system in a reform bill, but key provisions to overhaul leaseholds were missing when the legislation was published in November. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England editor on (#6KJZB)
Woman says she feels let down by broadcaster, which has admitted it failed to properly investigate 2009 claim against comedianA woman who made allegations about Russell Brand to Channel 4 in 2009 has accused the broadcaster of a whitewash" that had left her disempowered and unsupported".The broadcaster said last week it had failed to properly investigate a serious allegation made against the actor and comedian 15 years ago. Continue reading...
Russians lay flowers and light candles outside Crocus concert hall on day of mourning. This live blog is closedPope Francis has condemned the shooting attack at the concert hall near Moscow as a vile" act that offends God.I assure my prayers for the victims of the vile terrorist attack carried out in Moscow, may the Lord receive them in his peace, comfort their families and convert the hearts of those who ... carry out these inhuman actions that offend God," the pope said in St. Peter's Square after the Palm Sunday mass.I think we have very little confidence in anything the Russian government says.We know that they are creating a smokescreen of propaganda to defend an utterly evil invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...
Two FoI requests received different data, with one showing 14 people rather than five had died while living in asylum accommodationThree times as many asylum seekers died during the first six months of last year than the Home Office disclosed in official information, it has emerged.Earlier in March, the Guardian reported on a freedom of information (FoI) response from the Home Office to an organisation called The Civil Fleet, a news blog that focuses on support for refugee rescue and support missions across Europe. Continue reading...
Inquiry by National Audit Office into British-Saudi arms contract reveals evidence of MoD deception over bribery allegationsA suppressed official report on alleged corruption in a giant British-Saudi arms contract has been discovered in a public archive, ending a three-decade battle by campaigners for the controversial document to be revealed.The report, which the Guardian is publishing on its website along with various accompanying documents, is believed to be the only inquiry by Britain's public spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), to be so thoroughly censored, with only two MPs allowed to see its conclusions. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#6KJYY)
Display will be centrepiece of opening celebrations at the new Perth MuseumAcross two millennia, the unicorn has accumulated a wealth of symbolism reflecting the preoccupations of the ages. But two qualities remain consistent - that the fantastical horse-like creature with a single, spiralling horn protruding from its forehead is impossible to capture and that it possesses an extraordinary capacity to heal.From the Roman author Pliny's description of a beast with a bellowing roar, through its choice as an emblem of Scottish royalty to its contemporary adoption as an icon of diversity by the LGBTQ+ community, the unicorn is the subject of a major exhibition opening next weekend in Perth. Continue reading...
Waiters carried in one hand a tray holding a coffee, croissant and glass of water during the 2km raceEver complained about the slow service in a Paris cafe or restaurant? Your server may be able to get to your table quicker than they are letting on.On Sunday, about 200 of the city's serving staff donned traditional aprons and white shirts to take part in the revived Course des Cafes (cafe race). Continue reading...
Man says he ended up in a crazy situation' after he began taking in cats abandoned during Covid pandemicAn animal welfare charity in western Canada is scrambling to secure the resources needed to care for about 300 cats - all of them seemingly in good condition - after a call came in from a man who described himself as being overwhelmed" by the sheer number of cats and kittens in his home.Bruce Robinson told the British Columbia SPCA that he had taken in cats that had been abandoned during the Covid-19 pandemic but that the cost of caring for them had become a herculean task after he lost his job. Continue reading...
Subsidiary of Lazari Investments fined 67,000 for breaches of HMO licence conditions on Camden flatsA family-owned property empire whose holdings include the former Fenwick department store building on London's Bond Street has seen one of its subsidiaries named on the city's rogue landlords register and hit with fines totalling 67,000.The Lazari family have an estimated fortune of 2.5bn, placing them 72nd on the Sunday Times rich list. It is based on a property portfolio that includes some of the most luxurious addresses in central London as well as rental flats in the north of the city. Continue reading...
Police Service of Northern Ireland to investigate single-vehicle collision in early hours of Sunday morningFour people have died in a single-vehicle collision in Armagh, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has said.The crash, involving a grey Volkswagen Golf, occurred on the Ballynahonemore Road at about 2.10am on Sunday. Continue reading...
Party says it is committed to policies such as zero-hours ban after peer warned against rushing' changesLabour has said it will keep its ban on zero-hours jobs and improvements to workers' rights after the party peer Peter Mandelson warned against rushing" through changes championed by trade unions.Anneliese Dodds, the Labour chair, said the party was committed to the package to make work pay" and get more money into people's pockets, but that it would continue to discuss" the plans with business and unions. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#6KJWH)
Exclusive: Max Hill KC says it is imperative to protect free speech when setting limits on protestingThe former director of public prosecutions for England and Wales has warned against the risk of creating thought crimes" amid the recent clampdown on protesters and demonisation of demonstrators by politicians.In an interview with the Guardian, Max Hill KC, who was head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from 2018 until November last year, said it was imperative to protect free speech when setting limits on protest. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England editor on (#6KJWG)
Nearly half of workers experienced clinical stress, findings suggest, and many say Israel-Gaza war has added to fearsMPs' staff are suffering from growing levels of serious psychological distress amid heightened tensions over the war in the Middle East, a survey has found.Nearly half of the 3,700 workers employed by MPs experienced clinical stress similar to emergency service workers last year, the findings suggest. Continue reading...
by Kiran Stacey Political correspondent on (#6KJV9)
Labour says fallout from Tata decision to close blast furnaces at steelworks will be felt for decades Am I going to be homeless in June?': workers fear return to 1980sSouth Wales is heading for an economic shock on the same scale as Thatcher-era deindustrialisation as Tata prepares to close the blast furnaces at its Port Talbot steelworks, a shadow cabinet minister has warned.Jo Stevens, the shadow Wales secretary, said the fallout from the company's decision to close the blast furnaces will be felt for decades as it was in the 1980s, as she pushed ministers to do more to help workers facing redundancy. Continue reading...
UK chancellor defends remarks about high salaries after being criticised for being out of touchJeremy Hunt has doubled down on his claim that earning 100,000 a year doesn't go as far as you might think" for people in his Surrey constituency, after he was criticised for being out of touch.The chancellor had previously tweeted that the sum was not a huge salary" for people in South West Surrey. The median salary for a full-time worker last year was 34,963 and in Surrey it is 42,000. Continue reading...
Poland says Russian missile targeting Ukraine's Lviv region violated its airspace while Kyiv suffers third pre-dawn attack in four daysUkraine's capital of Kyiv and the western region of Lviv have come under a massive" Russian air attack, officials have said, and Polish forces have also been placed on heightened readiness.Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with Sunday's early morning strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske west of Bakhmut. Continue reading...
Ministers asked to pause scheme that allows police to step back from responding to callouts or risk further deathsMinisters should order police forces in England to keep attending mental health calls until more funding is in place for the NHS to plug the gap or risk further deaths, a charity is urging.Rethink Mental Illness has written to the home and health secretaries asking them to immediately pause the right-care-right-person scheme, which allows police forces to step back from responding to mental health callouts, after a series of tragic deaths" associated with the change. Continue reading...
Jane Richardson says it is a chance to reimagine role of museums, while defending Museum Wales from culture war attacksMuseums in Wales need to be less about buildings and more about the wonderful collections they hold and the diverse stories they tell, the chief executive overseeing them has said.Jane Richardson, the head of Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales, said a 4.5m cut to its budget meant it may have to close sites and be better at finding new income streams. But she argued it was also a chance to reimagine what museums could and should be. Continue reading...
Government rule changes on Airbnb-style rentals could lead to loss of more than 10,000 long-term rentable propertiesA loophole in government proposals to clamp down on Airbnb-style holiday lets could lead to the loss of thousands of long-term rental properties for families in London.The government scrapped tax breaks for holiday homes in the budget and last month unveiled a registration scheme to help councils control the booming holiday let market, which Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary, claims is denying local people the opportunity to buy or rent a home. Continue reading...
by Shanti Das Home affairs correspondent on (#6KJTG)
The father of Michaela Hall, the charity worker killed by her partner in Cornwall after he was wrongly assessed as only medium risk' says lessons must be learnedA serial violent offender who previously tried to strangle his partner was free to murder her after being wrongly assessed as medium risk" by the probation service.When Lee Kendall killed charity worker Michaela Hall on 31 May 2021, police had received 34 pieces of intelligence about his domestic abuse against her and he had almost 50 convictions, relating to 100 offences. Continue reading...
A better testing regime is required as official figures show deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is three times higher in deprived parts of the countryMinisters are being urged to roll out a better testing regime for one of the country's biggest killers, with the most recent figures showing death rates for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease more than three times higher in some of the most deprived areas of the country.More than 20,000 people a year in England die from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The most significant cause of COPD is smoking, but a significant proportion of cases are work-related, triggered by exposure to fumes, chemicals and dust at work. Continue reading...
Cressida O'Hanlon has significant lead in Dunstan though there are many early votes yet to be countedLabor's Cressida O'Hanlon is nervously waiting, hoping to be confirmed as the next member of South Australia's House of Assembly.The 51-year-old business mediator is on track to win the seat of Dunstan with a 2.9%, two-party-preferred lead over her Liberal rival Anna Finizio.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
Five-decade UK study finds that aggression at school leads to better-paying jobs, while those with emotional instability went on to earn lessChildren who displayed aggressive behaviour at school, such as bullying or temper outbursts, are likely to earn more money in middle age, according to a five-decade study that upends the maxim that bullies do not prosper.They are also more likely to have higher job satisfaction and be in more desirable jobs, say researchers from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex. Continue reading...
New arts lobby group says plight that hits even top bodies such as Royal Shakespeare Company makes entire country poorerThe vast majority of England's biggest subsidised cultural institutions are now operating at a loss, including many internationally renowned venues and arts brands. Financial data gathered for a new national lobbying group called Culture Makes ..., started by the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation (CPF), revealed the severe plight of even theatres, galleries and museums that receive regular stategrants.The success of these national gems is usually considered a matter of pride. But end-of-year accounts recently submitted by the 100 organisations that get the most annual funding from Arts Council England show 73 have reported a loss, and this averages at about 300,000. Among them is the Royal Shakespeare Company, which has dipped into the red by a few thousand pounds, despite some stringent budgeting. While not all of these leading venues and cultural attractions are actually in debt, several are. And even though commercial profitability is not always the bottom line - since levels of subsidy will always be required - many have fallen well short of attempts to break even. Continue reading...
Royal fans hope that news of princess's cancer diagnosis will end the online stormThere was no carpet of roses outside Windsor Castle yesterday, no bunches of daffodils blocking the entrance to Kensington Palace - just an occasional bouquet. The royal family wanted things to be business as usual after the Princess of Wales revealed her cancer diagnosis the day before, and the public has been keen to oblige.Tourists watched the changing of the guard at Windsor, while visitors in London trooped into Kensington Palace to see the regalia of past monarchs, or posed outside for selfies. Continue reading...
Many local authorities are increasingly rejecting requests to assess children who need help in schools, new data revealsCouncils are increasingly rejecting requests to assess children for special needs such as autism amid the financial crisis in the education system, according to figures seen by the Observer. Long-term underfunding combined with rising demand aggravated by the pandemic has left many councils facing significant deficits on their schools budgets.Freedom of information data sourced by the website Special Needs Jungle shows that councils in England have responded by increasingly refusing to carry out education, health and care needs assessments (EHCNAs). Continue reading...
Kensington Palace says Catherine and Prince William are extremely moved by the public's warmth and support'The Princess of Wales and her husband, Prince William, have been enormously touched" by the messages of support received since she announced her cancer diagnosis, a Kensington Palace spokesperson has said.Catherine said on Friday she was undergoing preventive chemotherapy after tests done following her major abdominal surgery in January revealed cancer had been present. Continue reading...
Painter and storyteller, who revived father's picture-book series about elephant king, said he didn't consciously write for young peopleBabar author Laurent de Brunhoff, who revived his father's popular picture-book series about an elephant-king and presided over its rise to a global multimedia franchise, has died at the age of 98.De Brunhoff, who was from Paris and moved to the US in the 1980s, died on Friday at his home in Key West, Florida, after being in hospice care for two weeks, according to his widow, Phyllis Rose. Continue reading...
Ivan Korcok won most votes in first round, ahead of parliament speaker Peter PellegriniA pro-EU former Slovak foreign minister has scored a surprise victory in the first round of a presidential election, setting up a runoff vote with a key ally of the populist prime minister, Robert Fico.Slovakia's presidential election is a chance for Fico, whose views on Ukraine have angered critics for veering too close to Russia, to strengthen his grip on power. Opposition forces want a counterbalance to his rule. Continue reading...
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