Flammable material found in more than one in 10 blocks over 11 metres tall, and action is urged on smaller buildings, government figures showNearly 2,000 social housing blocks in England have life-critical" problems with their external cladding, government figures show.The data released earlier this month showed that 1,911 social housing blocks above 11 metres in height had been assessed as having life-critical fire safety defects" linked to the materials in their external walls. Continue reading...
Number of arrivals via small boats was 4,993 as of Saturday, exceeding previous record for equivalent period of 4,548Almost 5,000 people have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in small boats so far this year, according to government figures.The Home Office data shows 349 people attempted the journey in seven boats on Saturday, taking the total number of arrivals to 4,993 since the start of 2024 - a record high for this time of year. The previous record over an equivalent period was 4,548 in 2022. Continue reading...
by Julian Borger in Washington and Ruth Michaelson in on (#6KR51)
Exclusive: Aid officials warn that transferring Unrwa's functions to other bodies with famine looming would be disastrousIsrael has given the UN a proposal to dismantle Unrwa, its relief agency in the Palestinian territories, and transfer its staff to a replacement agency to make large-scale food deliveries into Gaza, according to UN sources.The proposal was presented late last week by the Israeli chief of the general staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, to UN officials in Israel, who forwarded it to the organisation's secretary general, Antonio Guterres, on Saturday, sources familiar with the discussions said. Continue reading...
NASUWT annual conference backs plan for staff trained in mental health first aid in all schools and collegesAll school leaders should receive suicide prevention training to help tackle a mental health emergency" among teachers, under a plan unanimously backed by a vote by union members.A workforce survey of members of the NASUWT teaching union found that some teachers had been driven to the point of suicide by the stress of the job. Continue reading...
Truce talks had been set to begin again in Cairo on Sunday; Israel PM to be fully sedated after hernia discovered during examination. This live blog is closedTalks aimed at brokering a truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will reportedly resume in Cairo today, days after Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, gave the green light for fresh negotiations. An Egyptian security source confirmed to Al-Qahera news the resumption of negotiations on a truce between Israel and Hamas in the Egyptian capital Cairo tomorrow," an anchor for the channel, which is close to country's intelligence services, said in a broadcast. Egypt, Qatar and the US have mediated previous rounds of negotiations, but a workable agreement has remained elusive.The Gaza health ministry said 107 patients remained inside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, including 30 people with disabilities, and that the Israeli army had stopped attempts to evacuate them. Israeli military operations were also ongoing at two hospitals in the southern city of Khan Yunis - at Nasser hospital, according to the Hamas government press office, and at al-Amal hospital, according to the Red Crescent.A bomb exploded in a shopping area in a northern Syrian city held by pro-Turkish forces on Sunday morning, killing eight people and injuring more than 20 others, a war monitor said. At least eight people were killed and 23 others wounded" when a car bomb exploded in the middle of a popular market" in Aleppo province's Azaz, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It is unclear who carried out the attack in the town which is run by pro-Turkish militias fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.Rather than provide humanitarian aid in Gaza, the US should ensure it is subjected to atomic bombing the way that Nagasaki and Hiroshima" were at the end of the second world war, Tim Walberg, a Republican congressman, said in shocking remarks that by all indications were recorded recently at a gathering with a relatively small group of his constituents.Rather than provide humanitarian aid in Gaza, the US should ensure it is subjected to atomic bombing the way that Nagasaki and Hiroshima" were at the end of the second world war, a Republican congressman said in shocking remarks that by all indications were recorded recently at a gathering with a relatively small group of his constituents. Continue reading...
Parties unite at New Dehli rally to accuse PM of tax terrorism' and rigging the vote, after arrest of prominent leaderIndian opposition parties united on Sunday to protest against the arrest of a prominent leader weeks before a national election, accusing the prime minister, Narendra Modi, and his party of rigging the vote and harassing them with large tax demands.Narendra Modi is trying match-fixing in this election," the leader of the opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, told a rally in New Delhi, as the crowd chanted shame". Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#6KR3S)
Exclusive: Whistleblower raised concerns about security of in-branch coin-counter softwareThe Bank of England is examining claims that the high street lender Metro Bank put customers' data at risk by allegedly misusing software at the centre of a long-running legal dispute.Last month the central bank's whistleblowing team was contacted by a person raising concerns about the integrity and security of software used to connect Metro Bank's in-branch coin-counters - known as Magic Money Machines - to customer accounts. Continue reading...
Lviv governor says more people may be under rubble after cruise missile attack as Moscow ratchets up targeting of infrastructureRussia has carried out another round of missile and drone strikes against Ukraine's much-depleted energy network, killing at least two people.One man died in a cruise missile attack on infrastructure in the western Lviv region, and another was killed after a projectile hit a petrol station in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, officials said on Sunday. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Deputy political editor on (#6KR2F)
Breakdown of which 250 would lose seats based on survey will only add to mutinous mood but there is little consensus on what to doOne of the advantages - or terrors, depending on your perspective - of a so-called MRP poll is being able to see exactly which MPs would or would not survive in a projected election scenario. And for all but 98 of Rishi Sunak's troops, the latest news is grim.To one extent, the Survation poll of 15,000-plus people released on Saturday night will tell Conservatives little they don't already know. But the starkness of its detail will chill many and enrage others. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#6KR2G)
The government insists the law, coming into force on Monday, is needed to protect victims but critics say it limits freedom of expressionA new law to tackle hate crime in Scotland will be implemented on 1 April, and in the past few weeks there have been escalating concerns about how it will be policed and how it might affect freedom of speech. Scotland's first minister, Humza Yousaf, has hit back at disinformation and inaccuracy" being spread about its implementation. Continue reading...
Monarch smiles and waves as he makes first major public appearance since his cancer diagnosisKing Charles has attended the annual Easter Sunday service at Windsor Castle, his first major public appearance since he was diagnosed with cancer.The king, 75, smiled and waved as he joined Queen Camilla at the Easter Mattins service at St George's Chapel. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Katie Sidle warns of more avoidable deaths without major changes after inquest found missed chances to save siblingA consultant neurologist whose brother died after a series of failures by an NHS mental health trust has warned there will be more avoidable deaths without fundamental reform of psychiatric care.Dr Katie Sidle's concerns about the refusal of Norfolk and Suffolk foundation trust (NSFT) to give her brother Christopher, who was psychotic, a crisis admission were repeatedly ignored in the days and weeks before his death last July, a coroner found this month.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...
The former RNC chair was pushed out after a staff revolt - but why did NBC hire her in the first place?It should have been a straightforward appointment in the often lucrative world of political punditry: a former high-ranking party official making the move from actual politics to America's television screens with a mission to pontificate, opine and spin.US cable news is littered with such figures: ex-congresspeople, former presidential candidates, reformed spin doctors, one-time campaign leaders. All of them on fat contracts for sitting behind desks and arguing the political talking points of the day. Continue reading...
New track features lyrics It's them that don't like me' after far-right backlash against idea she could cover Edith Piaf songThe French-Malian superstar Aya Nakamura, who has been subjected to racist abuse after it emerged that she could perform an Edith Piaf song at this summer's Paris Olympics, has used a new single to hit back at her far-right critics.In the track Doggy, released on Friday, the 28-year-old musician sings: I don't have enemies, me/It's them that don't like me," adding: A load of enemies but I don't even know them." Continue reading...
David Al-Mudallal, who joined from Sports Direct, was appointed to parent company's board last monthThe owner of Sports Direct, Frasers Group, has promoted the boyfriend of Mike Ashley's youngest daughter to the company's board, it has emerged.David Al-Mudallal, 31, the chief operating officer at Frasers, has been appointed to the board of Frasers, making him one of the youngest directors of a FTSE 100 company. Continue reading...
Royal Photographic Society says award reflects the support and encouragement McCabe showed for aspiring photographersA bursary focusing on the theme of sporting endeavour and designed to help talented young photographers has been launched in honour of the memory of the award-winning Guardian and Observer photographer Eamonn McCabe.The bursary, established by The Royal Photographic Society (RPS), The Guardian and Observer and McCabe's family will give 3,000 to a photographer aged 25 or under to produce a project. Continue reading...
Watchdog examining claims key details have not been disclosed about altar tablets it is facing calls to returnThe British Museum is being investigated by the information watchdog over claims it has been overly secretive about some of the most sensitive items in its collection - a group of sacred Ethiopian altar tablets that have been hidden from view at the museum for more than 150 years.The 11 wood and stone tabots, which the museum acknowledges were looted by British soldiers after the Battle of Maqdala in 1868, have never been on public display and are considered to be so sacred that even the institution's own curators and trustees are forbidden from examining them. Continue reading...
More than 20 reportedly injured after blast in shopping area in city of Azaz, which is held by pro-Turkish forcesA bomb has exploded in a shopping area in a northern Syrian city held by pro-Turkish forces, killing eight people and wounding more than 20 others, a war monitor said.At least eight people were killed and 23 others wounded" when a car bomb exploded in the middle of a popular market" in Azaz, Aleppo province, early on Sunday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Continue reading...
Campaigner Marsha Thompson says there is a lot of stigma within black community' that prevents issues being discussedCultural barriers are preventing black children with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from accessing the help they need, the founder of a UK campaign for better support has said.Hundreds of children with special educational needs (Send) routinely wait for more than a year to get help, as local authorities across England struggle to meet unprecedented need in a dire financial climate. A Guardian investigation last month found more than 20,000 children were waiting longer than the 20-week limit to be issued with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that details the support they require. Continue reading...
Whoever wins the next election, a reckoning is overdue on the costs of Britain's nuclear deterrentWhen Rishi Sunak visited Barrow-in-Furness on Monday he said the Cumbrian town was mission critical for our country" because of its role building four new nuclear submarines to carry the UK's nuclear weapons. If you believe Sunak's erstwhile ally, Dominic Cummings, then that mission faces serious problems.Cummings, once Boris Johnson's most powerful adviser, said this month - in characteristically aggressive terms - that spiralling costs were making a mockery of the government's budget plans. He wrote on X: the nuclear enterprise is so fkd [sic] it's further cannibalising the broken budgets and will for decades because it's been highly classified to avoid MPs thinking about it." Continue reading...
by Shanti Das, Home affairs correspondent on (#6KQZ9)
Analysis shows content is aimed at working-class over-50s, and plays on fears of crime, stirs anger and pushes conspiracy theoriesAre you a cleaner or builder who likes Primark, the pub or reality TV - but doesn't care about the environment? If yes, the Conservative party wants your vote.These are some of the interest categories used by the campaign team for the Tories' candidate for London mayor, Susan Hall, to target audiences on social media. Continue reading...
DfE allocates 450m to 826 building projects at 733 schools, a fall of almost 60% - in terms of total projects - compared with 2020-21A record number of schools have had bids for building repairs turned down by the government, with experts warning that buckets on desks, freezing classrooms and power cuts are all becoming commonplace.The Department for Education (DfE) announced on Tuesday that it had allocated 450m to 826 building repair projects at 733 schools through its annual condition improvement fund (CIF), which is designed to help academies and small academy trusts keep buildings safe and in good working order". But this is a fall of nearly 60% - in terms of total projects - compared with 2020-21, when the government awarded 563m to 2,104 repair projects. Continue reading...
Met police say investigation into stabbing of Iranian journalist near home in Wimbledon is being led by counter-terrorism officersIran's most senior diplomat in Britain has denied claims that the Iranian government was behind a knife attack on a TV presenter in London amid growing fears over threats to dissidents.The country's charge d'affaires, Mehdi Hosseini Matin, said Iran denies any link" to the stabbing of Pouria Zeraati, 36, a presenter at Iran International, outside his home in Wimbledon on Friday. He is in a stable condition and was looking forward to being discharged from hospital soon. Continue reading...
by Jon Ungoed-Thomas and Michael Goodier on (#6KQY4)
CCTV captured two thieves stealing a Range Rover Sport. No suspects have been arrestedShortly before midnight on one night in May last year, CCTV captured two thieves approaching a Range Rover Sport parked in Chichester.The theft in which the two suspects drove off within 30 seconds highlights how quickly modern car security systems can be defeated, often with software tools bought online. Range Rovers have been commonly targeted by gangs, sending insurance premiums rising to record highs. Continue reading...
Copenhagen fashion week is hailed for raising the bar on animal rights. But will the organisers of other fashion weeks follow?Copenhagen fashion week has just announced that it will ban exotic skins and feathers from its catwalks next year, becoming the biggest industry event yet to do so.Skal to Copenhagen fashion week for raising the bar for other events," says the vice-president of corporate projects at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), Yvonne Taylor. Now all eyes are on other fashion week organisers, who must follow suit." Continue reading...
by Michael Goodierand Jon Ungoed-Thomas on (#6KQY5)
An investigation has revealed soaring numbers of unsolved vehicle crimes, with some inquiries into car thefts closed within 24 hoursPolice failed to catch any criminals who stole a car in more than 100 neighbourhoods across England and Wales last year, analysis by the Observer has revealed.A further 558 neighbourhoods with an average of at least one vehicle crime a week saw less than 2% solved, with a suspect caught and charged, according to figures published on data.police.uk, a site for open data on crime and policing. Continue reading...
Antonio Guterres expresses grave concern' over ongoing clashes at border after a shell exploded near the observersThe UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has condemned an explosion that left three UN military observers and a Lebanese interpreter wounded when a shell exploded near them while they were patrolling the southern Lebanese border.The blast came as clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants escalated in recent weeks. Continue reading...
Protesters listened to speeches by Jeremy Corbyn, The Crown actor Khalid Abdalla and Diane AbbottMore than 200,000 people took part in a demonstration in central London on Saturday to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, according to estimates by organisers.The demonstration, organised by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, heard speeches from former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and The Crown actor Khalid Abdalla, among others. Continue reading...
Television star was killed in a motorcycle accident that involved no other parties, representatives sayChance Perdomo, the British American actor who starred on the television shows Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Gen V, has died in a motorcycle accident. He was 27.Nobody else was involved in the accident, his representatives said in a statement. No details on the location or date of the accident were shared. Continue reading...
Killings underscore how outnumbered police are in Haiti after months of attacks and kidnappings by gangsTwo men in Haiti were hacked to death by a mob who thought they were buying weapons for gangs, police said Saturday.Police confirmed the crowd snatched the men from police custody after they were found with about $20,000 (16,000) and the equivalent of about $43,000 in Haitian cash in their car, along with two pistols and a box of ammunition. Continue reading...
Survey of 15,000 people suggests even party leader Rishi Sunak's North Yorkshire seat is at riskThe Conservatives are on course for their worst election result, winning fewer than 100 seats, according to a new poll.
Appearance comes a day after last-minute decision to miss previous service to conserve his health'Pope Francis presided over the Vatican's somber Easter Vigil service on Saturday night, a day after making the last-minute decision to skip his participation in the Good Friday procession at the Colosseum as a health precaution.Francis entered the darkened, silent St Peter's Basilica in his wheelchair, took his place in a chair and offered an opening prayer, sounding somewhat congested and out of breath. Continue reading...
Accusations that Israel is committing war crimes mostly centre on failure to protect civilians or meet their basic needs UK government lawyers say Israel is breaking international law - leaked recordingIsrael has faced questions about whether its war on Hamas inside Gaza broke international law ever since the first few days of the campaign, when it cut off all food, water and fuel shipments tothe enclave.As the scale of death, destruction and human suffering escalated, concerns hardened into warnings that Israel risked committing war crimes, including from key allies. In January, the UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, said he was worried" Israel may have breached international law. Continue reading...
Chair of foreign affairs select committee Alicia Kearns said at a Tory fundraiser that legal advice would mean the UK has to cease all arms sales to Israel without delay Analysis: starvation in Gaza likely key to UK legal advice on war crimesThe British government has received advice from its own lawyers stating that Israel has breached international humanitarian law in Gaza but has failed to make it public, according to a leaked recording obtained by the Observer.The comments, made by the Conservative chair of the House of Commons select committee on foreign affairs, Alicia Kearns, at a Tory fundraising event on 13 March are at odds with repeated ministerial denials and evasion on the issue. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Members say flag may alienate ethnic minority voters as some associate it with far rightKeir Starmer is facing discontent from Labour MPs over the dominant use of the union flag in election campaign material amid concern it may alienate ethnic minority voters and others.Concerns were raised at recent meetings of the party's black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) group at Westminster and also by London members of the parliamentary Labour party. There is also unhappiness among some activists who are reluctant to handle the material. Continue reading...
In NSW, you can blame a computer which generates names at random, while in the Northern Territory generic categories' deliver operations named after rivers and battleshipsNew South Wales police last week arrested 15 people as part of Strikeforce Wessex - an investigation into alleged organised criminal networks operating dial-a-dealer" schemes.But what does Wessex, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Great Britain, have to do with drug dealing and mobile phones across Sydney?Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...
Welfare advocates say there is simply no reason' for $3.6m in payments over past five years to agencies when jobs were found prior to engaging their service
Tens of thousands of young Slovaks who see little future in an increasingly intolerant society are leaving for PragueAlthough Marek Miki spent a few years studying and working abroad, he never expected to leave his native Slovakia permanently. He had a group of close friends and a music festival to run in the eastern town of Koice.But he changed his mind last September after the re-election of Robert Fico, a populist who promised he would stop military aid to Ukraine, promote conservative family values, and muzzle the courts that have been investigating high-level corruption cases tied to his allies. Continue reading...
Party seeks to project stability after political earthquake of leader's resignation over alleged sexual offencesThe resignation of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson over alleged sexual offences will not derail power-sharing in Northern Ireland or fracture the Democratic Unionist party (DUP), according to party leaders.The statements on Saturday sought to project stability and calm a day after Donaldson stepped down in a political earthquake that stunned the region. Continue reading...
The government criticised the move, with the country's prime minister calling it disproportionate and unconstitutional'Peru's government on Saturday criticised the raid on the home of its president, Dina Boluarte, as part of inquiries into possible illicit enrichment and failure to declare ownership of luxury watches as disproportionate and unconstitutional".Police broke down the door of Boluarte's residence early on Saturday morning, television images showed, apparently after calls by officials to allow them access to search for evidence went unanswered. Continue reading...
Pressure on Michael Gove to act as householders see bills rise 40%, with many saying that they cannot afford to paySome of the UK's largest housing providers have dramatically increased annual service charges by thousands of pounds, plunging residents into financial crisis, an Observer investigation has found.Many residents who bought shared-ownership properties built as affordable homes have been sent bills in recent weeks with increases of more than 40%. Some say they are unable to sell the properties having now been lumbered with extortionate" charges and no cap on future increases. More than 1,000 people across the country are now threatening to refuse to pay. Continue reading...
Suspect known to authorities and no indication of terrorist motive, police say after nine-hour incident in EdeA nine-hour hostage incident at a nightclub in the eastern Netherlands has ended after police arrested a man wearing a balaclava when he left the premises.The last hostage has just been released. One person has been arrested," a police statement said. We cannot share more information at this time." Continue reading...
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