Fresh questions raised over Tory donor's access to prime minister following November visitRishi Sunak was flown to Leeds by Frank Hester for a private tour of the businessman's offices on the day after the autumn statement last year, raising questions about the access afforded to the 10m donor bankrolling the Tories' election campaign.Sunak's relationship with Hester is under the spotlight after a Guardian investigation revealed on Monday that the mega-donor made comments about Diane Abbott which have been widely condemned for being racist and misogynistic. Continue reading...
Speaking ahead of the party's spring conference, the Liberal Democrat leader challenges the Tories and Labour to find consensus on financial package for the NHSRishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have been challenged to sign up to cross-party talks finally resolving the impasse over social care, as part of a Liberal Democrat plea to grasp the nettle" after years of failure.Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said that his party would include in its forthcoming manifesto a promise to attend cross-party talks on social care after the election. He called on both the Tories and Labour to do the same in a bid to agree a financial package that helps the NHS and deals with the high costs some face. Continue reading...
Israeli negotiators are heading to Qatar after the group dropped calls for a permanent end to hostilities and agreed a 40-day pauseIsraeli negotiators are expected to arrive in Qatar on Sunday amid intense new efforts to bring the war in Gaza to at least a temporary halt, after Hamas abandoned key ceasefire demands last week following a series of setbacks.In recent days, the militant organisation has been disappointed by the failure of its calls for a wave of protest during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, angered by the appointment without consultation of a new prime minister by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and suffered the possible death of a key military commander in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Continue reading...
Police investigate discovery of about 50 hares, an owl and a kestrel at door of Broughton community shopPolice are investigating a series of gruesome wildlife killings in Hampshire after about 50 hares, a kestrel and a barn owl were dumped outside a village shop.Staff were distraught" after discovering the animals' bodies early last Friday morning at the Broughton Community Shop. Blood had been smeared on the shop windows and the two birds had been stuffed on to the door handles. Continue reading...
Attack in Belgorod comes day after devastating strike on Ukrainian port city and amid voting in Russia's electionUkrainian war briefingNexta is reporting that there have been 11 attempts to set fire to polling stations in Russia, along with 19 cases of ballot boxes being spoiled with greenery and paint.Russia is proposing eight-year prison sentences for those involved.The death toll in the Russian attack on civilian infrastructure in Odesa has risen to 21 people after an emergency worker succumbed to injuries at a hospital. The Russian ballistic missile strike on Odesa was Moscow's deadliest attack in weeks, wounding more than 75.A man and a woman died in a Ukrainian attack on Russia's Belgorod oblast and three other people were wounded. The Russian defence ministry said on Saturday that Russia's air defence systems destroyed two additional Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the Belgorod oblast in what is the latest in a series of raids reported in recent days.Ukrainian drones struck two Rosneft oil refineries in Russia's Samara region, leaving one facility on fire on Saturday, the region's governor said. The Volga river region's Syzran refinery was on fire, Dmitry Azarov said on Telegram. His comments also confirmed an attack on the Novokubyshev refinery. Workers at both plants had been evacuated and there were no casualties, Azarov claimed.Two men were injured in a Russian unmanned aerial attack on the Kharkiv oblast, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Over the past day, about 20 settlements in the Kharkiv oblast were hit by enemy artillery and mortar attacks.There has been a record growth in the number of Russian men ages 31 to 59 with disabilities, the UK defence ministry said in its daily intelligence briefing. The increase in the number of men with disabilities was most likely due to the growth in military invalids," the UK defence ministry said. This is almost certainly the case. A significant majority of the over 355,000 casualties that the Russian armed forces have suffered as a result of the conflict in Ukraine have been wounded personnel."Voters in Russia headed to the polls across the country's 11 time zones on Friday in a three-day presidential election that is all but certain to extend Vladimir Putin's 24-year rule until at least 2030. Putin is running against Communist Nikolai Kharitonov, Leonid Slutsky, leader of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, and Vladislav Davankov of the New People party. Two anti-war candidates, Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova were barred from running by the electoral commission.Voting is also taking place in the four occupied regions of Ukraine which Russia claims to have annexed despite its forces only partially controlling the territory. Ukraine has said the election there is illegal. Speaking at a meeting of Russia's security council, Putin accused Ukraine of trying to disrupt the voting process and people in the border regions with a number of criminal armed actions". Putin said the attempts to break into Russia did not succeed. He said the acts would not go unpunished. Continue reading...
Two incidents happened 10 days apart in Shoreditch but are linked, Met saidA search is under way after a woman and a man were injured in suspected crossbow attacks in east London.The two incidents were 10 days apart in Shoreditch but are linked, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...
After no reported cases of wild polio for 19 weeks, vaccination efforts boosted at last endemic spots in Pakistan and AfghanistanThe world is tantalisingly close" to eradicating polio - with no confirmed cases of wild polio anywhere so far this year. But experts warn that vaccination efforts - and funding - must not falter if the world is to rid itself of a human infectious disease for the second time in history, after smallpox.There have been no reported cases of wild polio infection in people for the last 19 weeks. Figures from the World Health Organization reveal that the last confirmed cases were on the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan in October and September 2023 respectively; these are the last nations on Earth where polio is endemic. Continue reading...
Scammers claim they can help people go to Rwanda in exchange for 3,000 government paymentThe Home Office has condemned scammers who cruelly attempt" to trick people by pretending they can help them go to Rwanda in exchange for a 3,000 government payment.The reported scam is the latest blow to government plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. Continue reading...
Schools risk being overwhelmed by hungry, exhausted children from freezing homes, headteachers and campaigners warn If a child is hungry, it doesn't matter if you're a bloody good teacher'Schools are finding beds, providing showers for pupils and washing uniforms as child poverty spirals out of control, headteachers from across England have told the Observer.School leaders said that as well as hunger they were now trying to mitigate exhaustion, with increasing numbers of children living in homes without enough beds or unable to sleep because they were cold. They warned that desperate" poverty was driving problems with behaviour, persistent absence and mental health. Continue reading...
Case opened after Observer investigation found that vulnerable people were allegedly subjected to psychological drills at Narconon UK that left them broken' and traumatised'A Scientology-linked addiction charity accused of subjecting vulnerable people to psychological drills that left them broken" and traumatised" is being investigated by Britain's charities watchdog.The Charity Commission said it had opened a regulatory compliance case into Narconon UK, which claims to help people become drug-free for good" and had been promoted on the NHS website, to examine concerns about its governance, administration and management". Continue reading...
Traffic also building along diversion route through Surrey towns as five-mile stretch of UK's busiest motorway closesTraffic is building on the M25 in Surrey due to the unprecedented closure of a section of Britain's busiest motorway.Two miles of congestion were seen in Surrey on Saturday morning. Continue reading...
Dentists say there is a black hole' in funding for dental treatment in England, with further 4% increase to come next monthPatients are paying for stealth cuts" in England's dental budget, with NHS charges for treatment increasing by around 45% in the past decade while government spending has been cut in real terms, a new analysis reveals.Increases of 4% on NHS dental fees will be implemented next month, with patients now footing the bill for about a quarter of the 3bn dental budget. Continue reading...
Unnamed militant group drove vehicle laden with explosives into post and detonated suicide bombsMilitants have attacked a military post in Pakistan near Afghanistan using a vehicle laden with explosives, killing five security force members, Pakistan's military said.The incident in north-west Pakistan was carried out by six attackers, the military's media wing said in a statement, without naming the militant group responsible for the attack. Continue reading...
The first black leader of a European nation has made history more than once during a rocky political career to date Gething to become Welsh first ministerVaughan Gething describes himself as a Welshman born in Zambia" , with his father, a vet from the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales, having met his mother, a Zambian chicken farmer, while he was working in southern Africa.His parents experienced racism when the family moved to Britain and Gething joined the Labour party at the age of 17 after being inspired by articles about Nelson Mandela he read in on his newspaper round. Continue reading...
Research finds that in 85 Tory-held seats the number of people with negative budgets is higher than the Tory majorityRishi Sunak has been warned that scores of his most vulnerable seats risk being lost over an increasingly neglected cost of living crisis raging in marginal constituencies across the UK.The seats held by Iain Duncan Smith and justice secretary Alex Chalk are among 85 Tory constituencies with a critical number of voters whose monthly outgoings are now higher than their income. Continue reading...
FAA investigating loss of panel before Boeing 737-800 landed safely in OregonThe US Federal Aviation Administration is investigating how a United Airlines Boeing 737-800 lost an external panel before landing safely in Oregon.United flight 433 landed at Medford airport at about 1.45pm on Friday carrying 139 passengers and six crew after departing from San Francisco, the FAA and airline said. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6KD1G)
Exclusive: King's Fund issues challenge as poll finds two-thirds of people want firms to be forced to cut sugar, salt and fatBritain's political parties have been urged to show courage by forcing food producers to make their products healthier, as new polling shows two-thirds of voters back the move.Compelling food manufacturers to strip out large amounts of fat, salt and sugar would help denormalise" the routine consumption of unhealthy food, Sarah Woolnough, the chief executive of the King's Fund, told the Guardian. Continue reading...
Mother of murder victim Brianna Ghey and mother of her killer meet and decide to campaign together on dangers of mobile phonesIn an anonymous office on a business park in Warrington, two mothers met last week for the first time. Esther Ghey and Emma Sutton sat down together for what one restorative justice expert called the most extraordinarily unusual" meeting he had heard of in 30 years.Ghey's 16-year-old daughter, Brianna, was murdered in a Warrington park last year by two teenagers, one of whom she thought was her friend. That friend was Scarlett Jenkinson, Sutton's daughter, the driving force" behind planning and executing the exceptionally brutal" stabbing. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Number of such dogs that have been dumped rose from eight in 2020 to 582 in 2023, RSPCA saysThey may be lauded in the show ring, adored by celebrities, and feature in myriad adverts, but the number of French bulldogs being abandoned has risen sharply in recent years, data suggests.According to the RSPCA, the number of such dogs in England and Wales that have been dumped rose from eight in 2020 to 582 in 2023 - an increase of more than 7,000% in three years. Continue reading...
Sentences of nearly seven years handed down over 2019 action that was pivotal moment in uprising against Chinese ruleA Hong Kong court has sentenced 12 people to jail terms of up to seven years over the storming of the city's legislature in 2019 at the height of pro-democracy protests that challenged the Beijing-backed government.It was the most violent episode in the initial stage of the huge protests that upended the city that year, with Beijing later imposing a sweeping national security law to snuff out dissent. Continue reading...
Mary Kelly Foy, the MP for Durham, is recuperating from surgery and is expected to make a full recoveryA Labour MP has urged women to attend breast cancer screenings as she revealed her own diagnosis.Mary Kelly Foy, the City of Durham MP, said she was recuperating from surgery and was expected to make a full recovery thanks to an early diagnosis. Continue reading...
Alex Chalk urges local council where racing festival takes place to stop granting licences to such venuesThe presence of pop-up strip clubs at Cheltenham is making women feel threatened and intimidated" at one of Britain's biggest race festivals, the justice secretary has said.Alex Chalk, the MP for Cheltenham, challenged the local council to stop granting licences to so-called sexual entertainment venues (SEVs). Continue reading...
by Eleni Courea Political correspondent on (#6KCR3)
Latest round of negotiations end without breakthrough and next round will not take place until after India's election campaignThe UK and India have formally closed their 14th round of trade negotiations without reaching a deal and will put the discussions on ice until later this year.The UK government ended the latest round of talks on Friday night after two weeks of intensive negotiations with Indian officials failed to bear fruit. Continue reading...
by Daniel Boffey, Rowena Mason and Henry Dyer on (#6KCQC)
Union for health workers also calls on Tory donor to stand down from contracts, claiming his racist' comments breach guidelinesUnions representing GPs and health workers have called on Conservative donor Frank Hester to stand down from running NHS contracts, claiming his racist and misogynistic comments" breach its fit and proper person' test.Hester's company TPP runs the electronic patient records of almost half the medical practices in the UK, but his remarks about Diane Abbott have prompted calls for him to step aside amid a growing political row. Continue reading...
by Constance Malleret in Rio de Janeiro on (#6KCQD)
Testimony contained in documents released by supreme court details alleged plot to overturn result of 2022 Brazilian electionBrazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro presented top military officials with a plan to carry out a coup d'etat after his defeat in the October 2022 election, two former commanders have told the police, according to newly released judicial documents.In testimonies made public on Friday, former army commander Marco Antonio Freire Gomes and former air force commander Carlos Baptista Junior said Bolsonaro held several meetings in December 2022 in which he presented a document that would have served as the basis to overturn the results of the election, which he lost to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Continue reading...
Stephen Shrimpton, 40, and student Jessica Baker, 15, died when the coach he was driving crashed in September last yearThe driver of a school bus that crashed on a Merseyside motorway last year died of natural causes, a coroner's office has said.Stephen Shrimpton, 40, died when the coach he was driving crashed on the northbound M53 in Wirral on 29 September. One of the passengers, Jessica Baker, 15, was killed in the crash. Continue reading...
At least six people killed as overnight storms flatten towns in parts of eastern Indiana and western OhioA cluster of more than 10 tornadoes that swept through five states has killed at least three people and injured more than 100, with others still missing early on Friday and first responders searching through rubble, after severe storms left neighborhoods splintered and brought down power lines.Parts of eastern Indiana and western Ohio were hit especially hard in the deadly weather overnight, and the extent of the destruction and the toll on residents was still not clear as first light illuminated flattened towns on Friday. Continue reading...
President also condemns US surge in Islamophobia in comments that could portend broader shift in sentiment towards Gaza warJoe Biden on Friday said Senator Chuck Schumer made a good speech" that reflected many Americans' concerns when he publicly broke with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, over his handling of the war in Gaza.While the US president announced no changes in his administration's policy towards Israel, his views on the speech Schumer made Thursday from the floor of the US Senate, where the New York Democrat is the majority leader, could portend a broader shift in sentiment. Continue reading...
Exclusive: former guards tell of clashes on farm that is facing civil claims over allegations of killing, rape and beatingsFormer security guards at a vast Del Monte pineapple farm in Kenya have spoken for the first time describing violent clashes between guards and thieves at the plantation, which is facing civil claims over allegations of killing, rape and beatings by its guards.Earlier this month Del Monte announced it would be outsourcing its security operations at the farm to G4S, sacking its 214 in-house guards. Continue reading...
Rallies take place in Idlib region, held by rebels against Bashar al-Assad, whose repression sparked civil war in 2011Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Syria's rebel-held north-west to mark 13 years since pro-democracy protests swept the country, chanting against President Bashar al-Assad and the region's jihadist rulers.The government's brutal suppression of the 2011 uprising triggered a civil war that has killed more than half a million people, drawn in foreign armies and jihadists, and divided the country. Continue reading...
by Maya Yang (now); Amy Sedghi and Jamie Grierson (ea on (#6KC3Y)
This blog is now closed. You can read our latest coverage on the Israel-Gaza war hereReuters has a breaking news line about the Gaza aid ship, the Open Arms, that set off from Cyprus on Tuesday. According to the news agency, witnesses have reported that the ship is close to Gaza's coast now.More details soon ... Continue reading...
Military powers agree to step up purchase of ammunition for Kyiv in effort to dampen mutual tensions over Russia stanceIn an ostentatious show of unity designed to ease the tensions between France and Germany over the threat posed by a resurgent Russia, leaders of Europe's three leading military powers agreed to step up the worldwide purchase of ammunition for Ukraine and improve their offer of long-range artillery.The hastily arranged meeting in Berlin between France, Germany and Poland did little to disguise the fact that Paris and Berlin now hold different perspectives on the twin spectres of Russian military advances in Ukraine and the US Congress's refusal to approve substantial further military aid for Kyiv. Continue reading...
Industry minister says review of popular video app that is planning to expand in country has been ongoing since September 2023Canada is conducting a national security review of Chinese-owned TikTok's proposed expansion of the popular video app in the country, the industry minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, said on Friday.In a teleconference from Italy after meeting with his G7 counterparts, Champagne said the review under the Investment Canada Act had been quietly initiated in September 2023. Continue reading...
Hackney MP endorsed a post saying it was unlikely she would be allowed to rejoin Labour despite the support of senior figuresA reader asks:Is there anything other than convention which says elections must be on a Thursday?The reason for choosing Thursday, it is said, was as follows. On Fridays the voters were paid their wages and if they went for a drink in a public house they would be subject to pressure from the Conservative brewing interests, while on Sundays they would be subject to influence by Free Church ministers who were generally Liberal in persuasion. Therefore choose the day furthest from influence by either publicans or Free Church clergymen, namely Thursday. Although these influences are much less significant today, the trend towards Thursday becoming a universal polling day has continued, because Urban District Councils and Rural District Councils all polled on a Saturday until they were abolished under the 1972 Local Government Act. Their successor District Councils poll on a Thursday and the Parish Council polling day was changed from Saturday to Thursday at the same time.If it ends up being an autumn election as Sunak has indicated, how does that impact the conference season - do they still go ahead? - and does the summer recess have any affect on when a government can call an election? Continue reading...
Potential move by RedBird IMI follows UK government plan to ban foreign state ownership of newspapersThe United Arab Emirates-backed consortium RedBird IMI is considering a sale of its stake in the Telegraph, after its attempt to take over the media group was effectively scuppered by UK government plans to ban foreign state ownership of newspapers.It paid 600m last November to clear the debts of the group's owners, the Barclay family, but within days the transfer of control was put on hold amid an investigation into whether it raises public interest concerns. Continue reading...
Deal between Japanese carmakers involves components and software amid race to catch up with Chinese EV firmsHonda and Nissan have put aside the traditional approach" of fierce rivalry to join forces and work together on electric vehicle technology as Japan's carmakers try to catch up with Chinese competitors.The Japanese manufacturers will work together on technology for EVs, including components and software, after signing a memorandum of understanding on Friday. Continue reading...
Apocalyptic cautionary tale' imagining violent conflict in US and released in tumultuous election year premieres at SXSWAfter months of online speculation, writer-director Alex Garland's button-pushing thriller Civil War has premiered at this year's SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.The film imagines what America would look like in the midst of full-scale civil war with broken supply lines, abandoned highways and a national military cleaved into opposing factions. Set to be released during a fractious election year, it shows a dystopian near future in which the US is riven by military conflict from within. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#6KC2K)
From Friday, non-compliant cars, vans and minibuses can be sent to country which is short of vehicles to transport casualtiesMotorists planning to scrap vehicles that do not meet ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) standards in London can instead donate them to Ukraine from Friday, as a scheme is launched after a protracted campaign to win the support of the mayor and central government.The proposal dates back over a year, but was initially rejected by the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, on legal grounds, and only reversed after a vigorous and at times acrimonious lobbying effort which succeeded when it was approved by the transport department. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent on (#6KC2J)
Public accounts committee report shows hardly any of 71 projects due to be completed this month are on trackRishi Sunak's levelling up agenda is beset by an absolutely astonishing" level of delay, and the government cannot give any compelling examples" of what it has delivered, parliament's spending watchdog has found.The public accounts committee (PAC) said barely any of the 71 shovel-ready" projects due to be completed this month were on track. Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian