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Michelle Donelan had accused two members of Research England's advisory group of sharing extremist views' in letter to UKRIMichelle Donelan, the science minister, has apologised and paid damages after accusing two academics of sharing extremist views" and one of them of supporting Hamas.In a statement posted on X, the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology said she had deleted a tweet and letter published last year, and accepted what she termed a clarification" from one of the academics, Prof Kate Sang at Heriot-Watt university in Edinburgh. Continue reading...

Washington says no despite frantic' talks between diplomats, as bodies lie in street and army battles gun-toting gang members

Up to 600 council jobs to be lost, arts grants scrapped, libraries closed and bin collections reduced to fortnightlyCouncillors in Birmingham have approved what are thought to be the biggest budget cuts in local authority history, with residents warning that the consequences could be disastrous" for the city.Birmingham city council met on Tuesday afternoon to debate and vote on a proposed set of cuts that will see the loss of up to 600 council jobs, arts grants scrapped, libraries closed and bin collections reduced to fortnightly. Continue reading...

Amount proposed is described as just a start' to rectify the evil' of enslavementThe 1bn fund proposed to address the Church of England's historic links to slavery would just be a start up" to rectify the evil" of enslavement, Black faith leaders have said.A report by an oversight group led by descendants of enslaved Africans found the 100m earmarked for the Church's new investment fund is not enough" and instead proposed for 1bn to be raised for a broader healing, repair and justice initiative." Continue reading...

Sinking of warship near Kerch strait would deal further blow to Moscow's naval power and its control over Black Sea

Republican presidential frontrunner compares undocumented migrants to Hannibal Lecter: We don't want 'em in this country'Reaching for racist rhetoric bizarre even for him, Donald Trump compared undocumented migrants to the US to Hannibal Lecter, the serial killer and cannibal famously played by Sir Anthony Hopkins in the Oscar-winning 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs.They're rough people, in many cases from jails, prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums," the former president and probable Republican presidential nominee claimed in an interview with Right Side Broadcasting Network on Monday. You know, insane asylums, that's Silence of the Lambs stuff. Continue reading...

Pre-election giveaway should save average earner 450 a year but spending cuts may follow

Growing numbers buying protective gear as gangs recruit young people amid surge in violence across countryPolice in southern Sweden have called for a ban on civilians wearing bulletproof vests, which they say do not have a place outside war zones because they cause fear in communities.Increasing numbers of children and young people, including those under 15, are wearing protective vests in towns and cities, they said, as gang crime continues to pull in the younger generation in Sweden. Continue reading...

Man charged with murder after Paramjit Gosal-Gill found dead at property in BeaconsfieldPolice have named a 40-year-old woman whose body was found last week at a property in Beaconsfield.Thames Valley police have formally identified the victim as Paramjit Gosal-Gill, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. Continue reading...

Leaders from Hamas expected to hold further talks with mediators; Israel defence minister warns of military escalation with LebanonThe World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that malnutrition in northern Gaza is particularly extreme".The situation is particularly extreme in northern Gaza," Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative for Gaza and the West Bank, said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Meta to block search access to 350,000 posts using hashtags associated with Guardian's findingsInstagram has been used to promote sexual violence and exploitation by people advertising themselves as pimps", a Guardian investigation has found.For the past year, the Guardian has been tracking Instagram accounts hosting content that advocates such activity as well as those that encourage violence against the women under the control of a pimp - someone who makes money from selling others for sex. Continue reading...

Move announced by News UK venture comes weeks after Piers Morgan left his daily show on channelThe rightwing news channel TalkTV, launched in 2022 by Rupert Murdoch's News UK, is to stop broadcasting on television after struggling to match its main rival GB News for ratings.TalkTV will switch to online platforms only from this summer, an email to staff announced on Tuesday. Last month, its best-known presenter, Piers Morgan, said he would be leaving his daily evening show. Continue reading...

Lucy Moore has created a page for at least one woman from every country in the world for the online encyclopediaA UK academic who has completed a project creating a Wikipedia page for a woman in every country in the world is calling for more women to contribute to the world's largest encyclopedia.Lucy Moore, an archaeologist and curator who also works as an unpaid carer, began the mammoth project in 2021 from her sofa in Leeds, completing it last week - unsurprisingly, perhaps, I got really stuck on Vatican City". Continue reading...

Mark Rutte fails to secure Hungary backing after Netherlands previously voiced concerns about democracy in the countryAlong with the new strategy, the Commission has proposed a European Defence Industry Programme to bridge from short-term emergency measures, adopted in 2023 and ending in 2025, to a more structural and longer-term approach to achieve defence industrial readiness," the Commission said in a statement.The programme will mobilise 1.5 billion of the EU budget for 2025-2027. Continue reading...

One of the generals on conference call about Ukraine used non-secure line to dial in, says defence minister

High court case has clarified time limit for cases, as group reports fall in profits amid advertising slump

Guests can delve deeper into history of London landmark in one-of-a-kind stay to mark World Book DayIt adds a whole new meaning to bedtime reading: St Paul's Cathedral is opening its hidden library for a once-in-a-lifetime overnight stay in honour of World Book Day.For one night only, two guests will be able to stay in the secret" room of the historic London landmark on 15 March. It is the first time anyone has officially slept inside the cathedral since the second world war, when a voluntary organisation protected the venue from bombing raids. Continue reading...

UK telecoms firm is latest in string of targets for foreign buyers taking advantage of low valuations

Figures on right of party fear move could have unintended impact on those with socially conservative views

Staff call for the state-appointed superintendent to be removed amid an implementation of a rigid curriculum as over 600 teachers resignTeachers and other staff in the Houston Independent school district (HISD), which serves the fourth most populous city in the US, are calling for the state-appointed superintendent of the district to be removed amid a surge in resignations of employees, cuts to libraries and implementation of rigid school reform curriculum.The Republican governor, Greg Abbott, announced last year that the state of Texas would take control over the Houston Independent school district in June 2023 and replace democratically-elected school board members with state-appointed ones. The move was criticized as part of Abbott's agenda of expanding charter schools in Texas as one of his legislative priorities has been pushing a bill to expand vouchers for charter schools that failed to garner enough support to pass in 2023. Continue reading...

Allan Lichtman, who has correctly predicted outcome of every US election since 1984, disagrees with decision on Colorado ballotThe US supreme court erred badly" in ruling Colorado was wrong to seek to remove Donald Trump from the ballot for inciting the January 6 insurrection, a leading historian and analyst of presidential politics said.The court handed down its unanimous ruling on Monday, a day before Colorado became one of 16 states and one US territory to hold a Super Tuesday primary. Continue reading...

Kyiv says it has addressed members' concerns over inhumane conditions for prisoners awaiting trial

Nine says it can prove Synergy 360 and its CEO engaged in corrupt conduct' by former Liberal frontbencher in defence filed to NSW courtAlleged corrupt conduct between former federal Liberal MP Stuart Robert and Synergy 360 included a gypsy's warning" to encourage a contract between the consulting firm and a major IT company, Nine claims.The network is being sued for defamation in a New South Wales supreme court lawsuit filed by Synergy 360 and its CEO, David Milo, over four Sydney Morning Herald articles. Continue reading...

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Fire and Rescue NSW believe battery went into thermal runaway', killing two of Teralba townhouse's occupants

The university held the lavish event at the NGV for Margaret Gardner, now the governor of Victoria

In today's newsletter: With gangs controlling Port-au-Prince and a UN-backed international force still not on the ground, is there any prospect of democratic control? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. It is seven years since Haiti held an election, almost three years since the president, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated, and more than a year since the last elected officials left office - and the return of democracy to Port-au-Prince still appears to be a distance away.On Sunday, after gangs stormed the country's two biggest jails and freed more than 3,800 criminals, the Haitian government declared a 72-hour state of emergency and a night curfew. But with gangs now exerting de facto authority over about 80% of the capital, and senior figures including acting president Ariel Henry out of the country, the government's future appears increasingly uncertain. Yesterday, the Miami Herald reported that the gangs made a second attempt to take over the national airport.Budget | NHS funding faces the biggest cuts in real terms since the 1970s, an influential analysis shows, amid growing pressure on Jeremy Hunt to prioritise public service funding over tax cuts in the budget. Health spending in England is due to fall by 1.2% - worth 2bn - in the new financial year.US politics | Donald Trump was wrongly removed from Colorado's primary ballot last year, the US supreme court has ruled, clearing the way for Trump to appear on the ballot in all 50 states. Trump said the unanimous decision was very well crafted". Read Ed Pilkington's analysis.UK politics | George Galloway has said he will target more seats in the next general election, including deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner's, after his swearing-in at Westminster following last week's Rochdale byelection victory. Galloway told reporters that his Workers Party of Britain would put up candidates to either win or ... make sure that Keir Starmer doesn't."France | The French parliament has enshrined abortion as a constitutional right at a historic joint session at the Palace of Versailles. The change, agreed by an overwhelming margin of 780-72, was given impetus by the US supreme court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v Wade.Media | Ofcom has determined that GB News broke broadcasting rules when Laurence Fox, the leader of the rightwing Reclaim party, demeaned" a female journalist on an episode of Dan Wootton Tonight. Fox's comments, Ofcom says, were unambiguously misogynistic" and potentially highly offensive to viewers". Continue reading...

Analysis across four exam boards in England reveals white artists comprise 91.6% of all mentionsLess than 3% of artists named in GCSE art exam papers are from Black or south Asian backgrounds, research has found.Analysis of GCSE assessment materials from four big exam boards in England - AQA, Eduqas, OCR and Edexcel - showed only 8.4% of artists referenced across the 27 art exam papers were minority ethnic. Continue reading...

Workers receiving payments beyond two-and-a-half years to undergo another impairment test under changes expected to pass parliament

Philippines spokesperson says Chinese vessel carried out dangerous manoeuvres' during mission to resupply military outpostThe Philippines has accused China's coastguard of reckless and illegal actions" that resulted in a collision that caused minor structural damage to one of its vessels in the fiercely disputed South China Sea.Jay Tarriela, Philippine coastguard (PCG) spokesperson, said on social media that its vessels had faced dangerous manoeuvres and blocking" from Chinese coastguard and Chinese maritime militia as they supported a resupply mission to military troops. This led to a collision that caused minor structural damage to the PCG vessel", he said in a statement on X. Continue reading...

Rowan Ramsey says overturning ban on nuclear first is the most logical thing' to do as opposition leader prepares to nominate up to six locations

Economists say 5% target is ambitious, as premier Li Qiang tells annual gathering that global economy and problems at home are presenting hurdles to recoveryChina has set its target for GDP growth at 5%, in line with analysts' expectations for another year of historically modest ambitions for the economy, amid regional tensions and its demographic crisis.China's premier, Li Qiang, spoke of the challenges" facing China's leaders as he delivered his annual government work report on Tuesday. He cited the global economy and regional tensions as hurdles for China's recovery, as well as domestic issues such as low consumer demand in a challenging labour market. Continue reading...

LNP accuses Steven Miles in parliament of lying, while Labor claims an unnamed opposition MP was trying to intimidate Ali King

Defence force aircraft draws fresh criticism as Christopher Luxon joins Ardern and Key in list of leaders held up by ageing planesNew Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon was forced to travel on a last-minute commercial flight to Australia for a summit on Tuesday, after the country's beleaguered defence force plane was once again grounded over maintenance issues.The defence force loans planes to New Zealand leaders when they embark on international travel, but the ageing fleet has been plagued with problems in recent years - an issue that Luxon, the former chief executive of Air New Zealand, has previously labelled incredibly embarrassing". Continue reading...

There have been internal calls for the Coalition to announce more policy in the lead-up to the next election

Mark Butler says premiums will rise by 3.03% on average, as some providers outline larger increase

Report calls for overhaul of rules on loan affordability and repayment, and more flexible mortgage productsMortgage reforms introduced after the 2008 banking crisis have tilted too far" in support of financial stability to the point that first-time buyers are being excluded from the housing market, building societies have warned.A report commissioned by the Building Societies Association has called for an overhaul of affordability and repayment rules, which they say have contributed to a steady decline in first-time buyer mortgages since the mid-2000s. Continue reading...

Food Standards Agency advises consumers with dairy and fish allergies to check labels carefullyPeople with dairy and fish allergies are being advised not to buy vegan products without checking the label carefully as they may contain animal products due to cross-contamination.The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a campaign to make consumers aware of the dangers after research released by the regulatory body showed 62% of people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who have allergic reactions to animal-based products, or who buy for others who do, are confident that vegan products are always safe to eat. Continue reading...

Investigation deems poor housing contributed to deaths of 55 children - 42 less than a year old - over four-year periodTemporary accommodation has contributed to the deaths of dozens of babies in England, according to investigations into child deaths over a four-year period.In figures that MPs and the government called shocking", 55 children suffered unexpected deaths between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2023 in which living in temporary accommodation was deemed to be a factor by official reviewers. It found that 42 of those who died were less than a year old. Continue reading...

Jeremy Hunt to announce a doubling of funding for research at the Alan Turing InstituteJeremy Hunt is planning to provide a budget boost to Britain's growing artificial intelligence sector through a doubling of funding for the Alan Turing Institute - the national body for data science and artificial intelligence.Despite being restricted in his scope for pre-election giveaways by the weakness of the public finances, the chancellor is expected to announce a five-year package of funding worth 100m. Continue reading...

Peers, including senior Tories, vote by margins of about 100 votes for changes to legislation, which will have to go back to CommonsRishi Sunak has suffered his heaviest defeat in the House of Lords after the archbishop of Canterbury and former Conservative ministers joined forces with the opposition to force through five amendments to the Rwandan deportation bill.The string of government setbacks, most passed by unusually large margins of about 100 votes, means the legislation, which aims to clear the way to send asylum seekers on a one-way flight to Kigali, will have to go back to the Commons. Continue reading...

The 10-year-old was discovered at a property in the town of Rowley Regis, according to policeA woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 10-year-old girl was found dead at a property in the West Midlands, police have said.Officers attended an address in Robin Close in the town of Rowley Regis at about 12.10pm on Monday and found the child with injuries. The girl was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

Chelsea player and Matildas captain faces trial over January incident involving officer responding to taxi fare disputeSam Kerr, the Chelsea and Australia footballer, is to face trial in the UK accused of the racially aggravated harassment of a police officer.The 30-year-old appeared in court on Monday accused of using insulting, threatening or abusive words that caused alarm or distress to an officer who was responding to a complaint over a taxi fare in Twickenham, south-west London, on 30 January 2023. Continue reading...

Health spending in England to suffer 1.2% cut, worth 2bn, despite extra costs, thinktank's analysis findsNHS funding faces the biggest cuts in real terms since the 1970s, an influential analysis shows, amid growing pressure on Jeremy Hunt to prioritise public service funding over tax cuts in the budget.It comes as the Guardian has learned that the chancellor is planning to clamp down on the NHS's annual 4.6bn bill for agency workers who cover for doctor and nurse shortages at the frontline. Continue reading...

Party now on course to field as many as 90 candidates in general election and looking to team up with independentsUntil George Galloway's Rochdale byelection win, few may have taken notice of the Workers party beyond those intrigued by the minutiae of the far left. Others may have flicked through some of its literature, such as Ukraine and the origins of the special military operation", a 44-page pamphlet using Vladimir Putin's term for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and echoing Kremlin talking points on the conflict.But the win last week has suddenly catapulted it to national prominence as a vehicle for challenges that could deprive Labour of votes in scores of constituencies where anger at Keir Starmer's stance on Gaza may now have a focus. Continue reading...

Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he will not give rockets that could strike at strategic Crimea bridge, as Russia seeks to exploit leak

Armed gangs attack international airport and free over 3,800 prisoners in seemingly coordinated effort to oust Ariel Henry

The hugely successful beach-set drama is returning to television after an underwhelming response to 2017 movieA reboot of the highly successful drama Baywatch is heading to television.The original series became one of the most watched shows in the world running for 11 seasons in the late 80s and 90s. The new version will again follow a group of Los Angeles county lifeguards as they deal with various emergencies. Continue reading...

Rachel Roberts and more than 900 photographers had signed petition about clergy obstructing their workA wedding photographer at the centre of a row with vicars that has sparked an intervention by a former archbishop has called for the two camps to put aside their differences and work in peaceful harmony.Last week more than 900 wedding photographers signed a petition started by photographer Rachel Roberts, who urged vicars to improve" their working conditions after complaints that some clergymen and women had been making it difficult to take photos inside church premises. Continue reading...

Only he can save the UK in its hour of need, and he'll start by taking out Angela Rayner at the general electionIt's a grubby job, but someone has to do it. There's a House of Commons resolution dating back to 1688 that requires a new MP to be introduced by two current MPs at their swearing in. So all eyes were on who had drawn the short straw to stand with George Galloway.One early contender had been the Tory MP David Davis, who takes his libertarian principles seriously. He may not like what you say, but he believes in your right to say it. But even he melted away after the prime minister's deranged rant outside Downing Street on Friday evening. These days you can be found guilty of crimes against humanity in Rishi Sunak's Conservative party for even thinking of observing parliamentary convention by coming to someone like Galloway's aid. Davis has now been sent to the gulags for 20 years re-education. Continue reading...