Wife of former PM says her time in No 10 helped shape her Cefinn clothing brand, which is opening a London storeWhile the Tories are in freefall, one former first couple are bucking the trend. Samantha Cameron, the designer and founder of the fashion brand Cefinn and wife of the former prime minister David Cameron, is about to open her first bricks-and-mortar store. The Belgravia boutique puts her back in the public eye, just as the role of foreign secretary has returned her husband to the frontline of politics.Cefinn steers a course between garden-party nostalgia and modern life. Its sleek long floral dresses are aimed at a well-to-do customer who has taken half a day off work to be at a school sports day but needs to be back at the office to lead a meeting by 2pm. Continue reading...
Ferdinand Marcos Jr says building trilateral ties vital, after the three countries criticise China's dangerous and aggressive behaviour' in the regionA cooperation agreement by the Philippines, the United States and Japan will change the dynamic in the South China Sea and the region, the Philippine president has said, while seeking to assure China it was not a target.I think the trilateral agreement is extremely important," Ferdinand Marcos Jr told a press conference in Washington on Friday, a day after meeting President Joe Biden and the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, in the nations' first trilateral summit. Continue reading...
Prospect of party closing Tory loopholes' if elected prompts some wealthy individuals to explore a move overseasPeople are jumping on planes right now and leaving," said Nimesh Shah, the chief executive of Blick Rothenberg, an accountancy firm that specialises in advising very rich non-doms" on their tax affairs. I am not being dramatic, they are leaving right now."Shah said his clients - some of the richest people in the country - were petrified" of plans to abolish the non-domicile" regime, through which for the past 225 years wealthy people have been able to live in the UK and not pay tax on their overseas income. Continue reading...
Few of Hamas's senior leaders have been harmed but its ability to govern is reduced and thousands of fighters are deadSix months after the surprise attacks it launched into Israel, triggering the Gaza conflict, Hamas is weakened and divided but far from defeated, experts, officials and sources close to the militant Islamist organisation say.Hamas remains in de facto control of swaths of Gaza, including the parts where much of the territory's population is now concentrated, and has re-established a presence elsewhere. In recent days, Hamas operatives" armed with batons have been sighted keeping order on the streets of Khan Younis, the southern city from which Israeli forces withdrew just last week. On Wednesday, rockets targeting a kibbutz in Israel were launched by militants from Jabaliya in northern Gaza. Continue reading...
by Peter Beaumont, Julian Borger and Patrick Wintour on (#6M1ES)
President said US are devoted to the defence of Israel' as he urged Tehran to show restraintJoe Biden has said he expects an Iranian attack on Israel sooner rather than later" and issued a last-ditch message to Tehran: Don't."We are devoted to the defence of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed," Biden told reporters on Friday. Continue reading...
Stories include man with bruise in shape of Prince Harry and statue of H from Steps being erected in WalesThe comedian Joe Lycett has disclosed the fake stories that he successfully planted in the British media over the past month included a man with a bruise in the shape of Prince Harry and a statue of H from Steps being erected in his home town of Cowbridge in Wales.In the first episode of his new Channel 4 show, Lycett said four stories that were covered by newspapers and television news were fabricated. Continue reading...
Announcement is latest in series of debt cancellations as president addresses key issue for young voters ahead of November electionThe Biden administration will cancel $7.4bn in student debt for 277,000 borrowers, the White House said on Friday, the latest in a series of debt cancellations.Joe Biden announced plans on Monday to ease student debt that would benefit at least 23 million Americans, addressing a key issue for young voters whose support he needs as he seeks re-election in November. Continue reading...
Manuel Rocha, 73, will also pay a $500,000 fine after pleading guilty to conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign governmentA former career US diplomat was sentenced Friday to 15 years in federal prison after admitting he worked for decades as a secret agent for Cuba, in a plea agreement that leaves many unanswered questions about a betrayal that stunned the US foreign service.Manuel Rocha, 73, will also pay a $500,000 fine and cooperate with authorities after pleading guilty to conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed more than a dozen other counts, including wire fraud and making false statements. Continue reading...
Helicopters called in to rescue people after accident outside Turkish resort city of AntalyaOne person has been killed, seven injured and nearly 200 stranded in midair when a pylon supporting cable cars collapsed outside the Turkish resort city of Antalya.Helicopters equipped with night vision were called in to rescue 184 people still stranded in the cable car system's cabins, Antalya mayor Muhittin Bocek said in a statement late on Friday. Continue reading...
Officials say driver planned the attack deliberately in retaliation for having been denied a commercial driver's licenseOne person was killed and 13 others were injured when a stolen semitrailer crashed into a Texas department of public safety (DPS) office in a rural town west of Houston on Friday, authorities said.The driver suspected of the crash has been identified as 42-year-old Clenard Parker. He was arrested on the scene, though investigators have not immediately said which charges he might face.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...
Doctor who helmed abdominal transplant program reportedly manipulated records to make patients ineligible to receive liversA prominent hospital in Houston has halted its liver and kidney transplant programs after officials said one of its doctors secretly manipulated records to make some of his patients ineligible to receive new livers.Memorial Hermann-Texas medical center said it discovered a pattern of irregularities" with donor acceptance criteria after an investigation found problems with information entered into a database used to match patients awaiting a liver transplant.Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...
West African state turned to Russia to help in fight against insurgents throwing into doubt future of operations with USRussian military trainers have arrived to reinforce Niger's air defenses as the west African country pulls away from close cooperation with the US in counterterrorism efforts, turning instead to Moscow for help as it fights Islamist insurgents.State television in the country broadcast footage of Russian military trainers arriving in the country aboard a plane equipped with military supplies late on Thursday. Two Russian trainers were filmed in front of the plane wearing military uniforms, caps and face coverings. Continue reading...
Nicholas Panayiotou and Eleanar Attard among gang who planned to smuggle 58kg of the drug into the UKMembers of a gang, including two former winners of a Channel 4 cooking programme, have been convicted after their plan to import large amounts of cannabis was uncovered.Nicholas Panayiotou, Eleanar Attard, Constantinos Zavros, Luke Wileman and Koby Haik planned to smuggle 58kg of cannabis into the UK from the US, but were foiled after a theft at a London airport, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...
Inquest delivers findings 48 years after 10 Protestant workers were shot dead when their minibus was ambushed in County ArmaghThe shooting dead of 10 Protestant workers at Kingsmill in Northern Ireland in 1976 was an overtly sectarian attack by the IRA", a coroner has ruled.Nearly eight years after the inquest opened, Brian Sherrard delivered his findings in Belfast on Friday into the Troubles killings in County Armagh. Continue reading...
by Eleni Courea Political correspondent on (#6M1JT)
Exclusive: MP for Enfield Southgate also has whip restored as internal process does not uphold complaint about his conductA former shadow minister has been readmitted to the Labour party after a 10-month-long investigation into a complaint about his conduct.Bambos Charalambous, the MP for Enfield Southgate who lost the Labour whip last June, said he was delighted" his suspension had been lifted. Continue reading...
by Rory Carroll in Dublin, Sam Jones in Madrid and Li on (#6M1JV)
Leaders of two nations vow to muster international support for two-state solution to Gaza crisisIreland and Spain have reiterated their intention to forge an alliance of countries that will soon recognise Palestine as a nation state.The Irish taoiseach, Simon Harris, and Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, vowed on Friday to muster international support for a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine. Continue reading...
Shadow health secretary calls for more thoughtful approach but says he understand scepticism among trans peopleWes Streeting has said he wants the Cass review to be a watershed moment in the provision of health services for young people questioning their gender identity but understands why some trans people may feel frightened".The shadow health secretary said children and young people, but trans people more generally, had been utterly failed" by the state of healthcare available, adding: We've got to get this right" for them. Continue reading...
Deputy Labour leader has faced questions over sale of former council house before she became MPAngela Rayner has pledged to step down as deputy leader of the Labour party if a police investigation finds she has committed a crime, amid allegations of breaching electoral law and avoiding capital gains tax.Greater Manchester police (GMP) said on Friday that they were investigating the sale of her council house in March 2015, after she was accused of giving false information about where she was living for the first five years of her marriage before she was elected as an MP in May 2015. Continue reading...
Prime minister testified at public inquiry into foreign interference that Beijing's interference was never relayed to himCanada's spy agency is under pressure after Justin Trudeau and his closest advisers say they were never made aware of a report that Beijing clandestinely and deceptively" interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.Canada is in the midst of a contentious public inquiry examining and assessing" foreign interference by China, Russia, and other foreign states and non-state actors, and this week the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, testified under oath about the steps his government took to respond to the threat of meddling. In his appearance, which lasted nearly four hours, Trudeau insisted that despite the efforts from hostile states, previous federal elections held in their integrity". Continue reading...
by Robyn Vinter North of England correspondent on (#6M1GB)
Residents tell of shock and no longer feeling safe on day Kulsuma Akter's husband appeared before courtBradford is still in shock" almost a week after the killing of Kulsuma Akter, who was stabbed to death while pushing her seven-month-old son in a pram in the city centre.The 27-year-old, who her cousin said was always smiling and liked to make people laugh", was attacked outside a shop in the Westgate area last Saturday. Continue reading...
Gibraltar's chief minister says progress made in talks about free movement across border with SpainThe UK and the EU are within kissing distance" of a post-Brexit deal to guarantee free movement over the border between Gibraltar and Spain, Gibraltar's chief minister has said.After a meeting between the UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, Spain's foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, and the European Commission vice-president Maro efovi, agreement was reached on issues that have dogged negotiations for the past five years. Continue reading...
by Martin Belam (now) and Jamie Grierson (earlier) on (#6M15R)
This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereAlan Cook, who was the managing director of Post Office, has just told the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry that he was not aware until late in his tenure that the Post Office was the prosecuting authority in many of these cases.I knew there were court cases. But I didn't realise that Post Office, in about two-thirds of the cases, had initiated the prosecution as opposed to, you know, the DPP or the police or whatever.Reliance was placed on Royal Mail Holdings governance as well as Post Office Ltd governance. For example, producing the annual results and having the accounts audited was a process that would have been run through an audit committee, and that audit committee was at the Royal Mail Holdings level. I fully accept I was on the board of Royal Mail, but I'm just saying that from a Post Office Ltd board's perspective, they weren't the accountable party that. Continue reading...
Polish MPs vote in favour of sending all four bills to special commission as campaigners call it good news for Polish women'The Polish parliament has voted in favour of sending all four bills on abortion to a special commission.Two of the bills are aimed at legalising abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy and another is focused on decriminalisation. The fourth, introduced by the conservative Third Way alliance, seeks a return to strict 1993 laws. Continue reading...
Jeffrey Cook received 44,000 in cash and two cars worth 30,000 as kickbacks on public contract that he arrangedA former Ministry of Defence civil servant has been jailed for 30 months after being convicted of misconduct in public office.Jeffrey Cook, 67, received more than 70,000 of payments and gifts as kickbacks on a public contract that he arranged while he was an employee at the MoD between 2004 and 2008. Continue reading...
Alan Cook says he will regret the inappropriate' expression used in 2009 email for the rest of his lifeA former boss of the Post Office sent an email to two staff members in 2009 telling them his instinct about the Horizon scandal was that subbies with their hand in the till" were blaming the technology, it has been revealed.The message from Alan Cook, who was Paula Vennells' predecessor, came to light at a session of the Post Office Horizon inquiry. Continue reading...
In first interview since his stabbing, writer tells how knifeman was last thing my right eye would ever see'Salman Rushdie has said that his first thought upon seeing the man who would stab him on stage in August 2022 was: So it's you. Here you are."It felt like something coming out of the distant past and trying to drag me back in time, if you like, back into that distant past, in order to kill me," said the Indian-born British-American author of books including The Satanic Verses and Midnight's Children. Continue reading...
This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage hereSix Ukrainian drones struck Russia's Belgorod oblast this morning, injuring two and damaging an administrative building, the regional governor said on Telegram.Russian air defence shot down four of the drones, said governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. One caused a grass fire on the outskirts of Belgorod city, while the other struck the administrative building.After months of delay, the US House speaker is negotiating with the White House on advancing wartime funding for Ukraine - a package that would deviate from the Senate's $95bn foreign security package and include several Republican demands. House Speaker Mike Johnson has been facing mounting pressure regarding a Ukraine aid package, not just from Joe Biden, who has repeatedly chastised Republicans for not helping Ukraine, but from hard-right members of his own party who remain staunchly opposed to additional Ukraine aid. Johnson is set to travel to Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Friday to meet with Donald Trump - who has said he would negotiate an end to the conflict as he tries to push the US to a more isolationist stance.A Russian drone damaged equipment at a substation in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast overnight, cutting power to a number of households and individual consumers, Ukrainian energy operator Ukrenergo said on Telegram. The attack came after Russian missiles and drones destroyed a large electricity plant near Kyiv and hit power facilities in several regions of Ukraine on Thursday, destroying the Trypilska coal-powered thermal power plant near the capital. Ukrenergo said 399 settlements were without power as of Friday morning, with a blackout in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Kherson oblasts.Thousands of Russian soldiers are fleeing the war in Ukraine, lying low while awaiting the results of their asylum applications to western countries like Germany, France and the US. Asylum claims from Russian citizens have surged, but few are winning protection - policymakers remain divided over whether to consider Russians in exile as potential assets or risks to national security. Fewer than 300 Russians got refugee status in the US in fiscal year 2022 while less than 10% of the 5,246 people whose applications were processed last year got some sort of protection from German authorities. In France, asylum requests rose more than 50% between 2022 and 2023, to a total of around 3,400 people.Ukrainian authorities conducted a search of a high-ranking priest of Moscow-linked church. Sources told the Kyiv Independent that the premises of Archpriest Mykola Danylevych, a senior member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, was searched this morning by the security service of Ukraine. The Moscow Patriarchate-linked church has repeatedly been accused of aligning with the Russian government, which the church has denied. The church had yet to comment on the search on Danylevych.Five civilians were killed in Russian attacks on the Mykolaiv oblast, said regional governor Vitalii Kim on Telegram.Ukraine's parliament passed a controversial bill on Thursday that will change the rules on civilian military mobilisation in an effort to address fledgling manpower among its forces. The legislation, which must be signed by the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is seen as crucial for Ukraine to address what military analysts say are major manpower problems as it fights a better armed and larger foe.Russian forces outnumber Ukrainian troops seven to ten times in eastern regions, Ukraine's Gen Yuriy Sodol told parliament on Thursday. The enemy outnumbers us by 7-10 times, we lack manpower," said Sodol, who is commanding the troops in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine. Continue reading...
Belgian PM says Russia is trying to influence upcoming elections to weaken European support for UkraineProsecutors in Belgium have opened an investigation into alleged payments by Russia to members of the European parliament following an intelligence operation in Brussels, the Belgian prime minister has revealed.Alexander De Croo said Moscow's objective was to weaken" support for Ukraine in Europe. Continue reading...
Delivering a baby was already risky, but an unprecedented surge in gang violence has forced clinics and hospitals to closeThe worst fears of midwives at Heartline Haiti were realised last week. As they prepared the maternity clinic for patients that evening, armed men laid siege to their neighbourhood in eastern Port-au-Prince, spraying bullets at police and rival gangs, setting cars on fire and ransacking houses.All of our staff were huddled in an interior hallway hearing the noises outside the gates and walls, afraid they may be next," says Tara Livesay, the NGO's executive director. A gang member was shot dead outside, just two doors over." Continue reading...
Starmer's comments come before visit to Barrow, where he is to promise nuclear deterrent is bedrock' of security planLabour will aim to raise the UK's defence spending to 2.5% of GDP as soon as resources allow", Keir Starmer has said.The party leader told the i newspaper that defence was the number one issue for any government" in a world where international threats had risen and the situation was more volatile" than it had been for many years. Continue reading...
Despite warm words from the US and Japanese leaders during their summit this week, back in Japan the spectre of a second Trump White House looms largeJoe Biden was effusive in his praise for Japan and its bold" prime minister, Fumio Kishida, during a state visit that took place this week amid new and growing security threats in the Asia-Pacific, wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and months of political uncertainty ahead for both leaders.The first ladies, Jill Biden and Yuko Kishida, exchanged gifts and hugs, there was talk of cherry blossoms and a state banquet menu inspired by Japanese cuisine - and even a half-decent joke from Kishida about the Flintstones. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Charges relate to 225m debt with Rights & Media Funding, with records suggesting a trail leading to Michael TaborEverton has paid about 30m in interest charges to an opaque lender associated with a tax exile, corporate records suggest.The charges appear to have reached about 438,000 a week, according to the troubled Premier League club's most recent set of accounts, a figure more than three times the reported wages of the Everton and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Continue reading...
George Henderson had to sell his home to repay nearly 20,000, years after ticking wrong box on carer's allowance formA carer who says he was dragged through the courts" and had to sell his home to pay back almost 20,000 in benefit overpayments is fighting to clear his name after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) acknowledged he made an innocent mistake.George Henderson, 64, said he made a gain of just 30p a week while claiming carer's allowance for his son John, who has learning difficulties and is addicted to heroin. He now costs the Treasury 1,000 a month more in benefits, having become homeless and too unwell to work. Continue reading...
Rights groups condemn arrest of Macmillan Mhone, who was charged with publication of news likely to cause fear and alarm'Human rights watchdogs have condemned the arrest of a journalist in Malawi in connection with an article accusing a wealthy businessman of corruption.Police in Blantyre detained Macmillan Mhone on Monday over a story that was published online last August on the Malawi 24 news site. Continue reading...
Pedro Sanchez is first foreign premier Simon Harris will meet since becoming leaderThe new Irish taoiseach is to meet the Spanish prime minister to discuss their joint plan to recognise Palestine as a nation state and their attempts to force the EU to assess Israel's human rights obligations as a condition of their trade deal with the bloc.Pedro Sanchez, who is due to arrive in Dublin on Friday, is the first foreign premier Simon Harris will meet since his promotion to the office of the taoiseach this week. Continue reading...
Ukraine parliament passes controversial mobilisation bill to boost troop numbers; Japan's prime minister calls on US to continue supporting Ukraine. What we know on day 779
US president describes defence commitment to Philippines and Japan as ironclad' during first joint summit with Manila and TokyoJoe Biden has pledged to defend the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea, as he hosted the first joint summit with Manila and Tokyo amid growing tensions with Beijing.The United States' defence commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad," the US president said on Thursday as he met the Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos and Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida. Continue reading...
Nonfiction shows by Sussexes will feature joys of friendship' and unprecedented access to the world of professional polo'The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to be the executive producers of two new nonfiction Netflix series focusing on lifestyle and polo.One show will explore the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining and friendship", while the other will give unprecedented access to the world of professional polo" and the US Open Polo Championship in Florida, Netflix said. Continue reading...
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