Justice secretary to tell conference he will introduce Jade's law' this year to protect families from jailed abusersNew powers to stop people who have killed their partners from gaining parental rights to surviving children will be introduced before the end of the year, the UK justice secretary will say.Alex Chalk will introduce Jade's law" this year to protect families from the manipulation of jailed abusers.In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women's Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: The education minister has pitched a policy that is popular with many parents, but teachers and education experts say it's a distraction from more pressing issues facing pupils Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Today we're going to take you straight to Newman Catholic College secondary school in Oldham to meet headteacher Glyn Potts, who is reacting to education minister Gillian Keegan's plan to ban pupils from using mobile phones in England's schools. One of the biggest issues facing children and teachers is grappling with the impact of smartphones in our schools," she told Conservative party conference. The distraction, the disruption, the bullying - we know that teachers are struggling with their impact."But are they?Transport | Rishi Sunak is set to confirm he is scrapping the northern leg of HS2 to Manchester at the Conservative conference in the city despite a furious response and Tory fears it will fatally undermine the party's commitment to levelling up. Meanwhile business leaders who warned against Ed Miliband in 2015 have now turned on Rishi Sunak, criticising the prime minister's plans to roll back net zero policies.Education | Schools in England must challenge unconscious bias against the working class, according to the UK's first professor of social mobility. Lee Elliot Major argues the system tries to make working-class children into middle-class clones" when it should celebrate figures such as Stormzy, Tracey Emin, Mary Anning and Michael Faraday.Crime | New powers will stop people who have killed their partners from gaining parental rights to surviving children. Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, will introduce Jade's law" later this year to protect families from the manipulation of jailed abusers.Crime | Russell Brand is facing a second criminal investigation in connection to allegations of harassment and stalking. The 48-year-old comedian and actor has been accused of rape, assault and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013, when he was at the height of his fame working for the BBC and Channel 4 and starring in Hollywood films. He denies the allegations.Science | Prof Katalin Kariko and Prof Drew Weissman have been awarded the 2023 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine for their contributions to RNA biology that contributed to the unprecedented speed of vaccine development during the Covid pandemic. Continue reading...
Royal Statistical Society suggests a better understanding of statistics could help NHS trusts act more quickly in similar casesThe Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is calling for the Lucy Letby inquiry to cover statistical evidence used in the trial of the serial baby killer, saying it can be difficult to draw conclusions from suspicious clusters of deaths" in hospitals.In August, Letby was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six more at the Countess of Chester hospital, making her the worst child serial killer in modern British history. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6F8HN)
Action expected to add to disruption to health services with consultants and junior doctors also strikingTens of thousands of patients will be unable to have scans on Tuesday when radiographers join consultants and junior doctors in strike action, hospital bosses have said.Radiographers across England will take industrial action from 8am, which will limit the chances of patients using cancer, A&E and maternity services getting a scan or X-ray. Continue reading...
German sandal maker has come a long way from its founding in 1774 as a maker of orthopaedic shoes to going public on the NY stock exchangeBirkenstock, the resurgent German sandal maker once beloved by healthcare workers, is set to be valued at up to 9.2bn ($9.7bn) when it floats on the stock market this month.Around 32.2 million ordinary shares will be put on the New York Stock Exchange in an initial public offering. On Monday, the company priced its shares at $44 to $49 each, which could see the company raise up to $1.58bn. Continue reading...
Thousands affected as government vows to stamp out land grabs in protected areasBrazil's government has begun removing thousands of non-Indigenous people from two native territories in a move that will affect thousands who live in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.The Brazilian intelligence agency ABIN said in a statement that the goal was to return the Apyterewa and Trincheira Bacaja lands in Para state to the original peoples. It did not say whether or not the expulsion of non-Indigenous people had been entirely peaceful. Continue reading...
The 10 listed collections range from zany intimacy' by Sharon Olds to explorations of Black identity from Ishion Hutchinson and Jason Allen-PaisantThe 10 shortlisted poetry collections for the 2023 TS Eliot prize announced today reflect the disruption" of the present moment, said the chair of the judges, with poems drawing on the coronavirus pandemic, loss and war.The winner, to be announced in January, will receive 25,000, while each shortlisted poet will receive 1,500. Continue reading...
Suspended GB News presenter has been accused of using pseudonym to solicit images from former Sun colleaguesThe GB News presenter Dan Wootton is under investigation by police as a result of allegations that were made against him earlier this year.Wootton has previously been accused of using a pseudonym to solicit explicit images from former colleagues at the Sun over many years. The presenter has not directly denied the allegations but says he is the victim of a smear campaign by unknown forces who want to shut down his political views. Continue reading...
Dorothy Hoffner, who first skydived at 100, left her walker on the ground and made the 13,500ft tandem jump in northern IllinoisA 104-year-old Chicago woman is hoping to be certified as the oldest person to ever skydive after leaving her walker on the ground and making a tandem jump in northern Illinois.Age is just a number," Dorothy Hoffner told a cheering crowd moments after touching the ground Sunday at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, about 85 miles (140km) south-west of Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported. Continue reading...
Far right of Republican party split as congressman attacks House speaker for working with Democrats to avoid shutdownCongressman Matt Gaetz continued to attack Kevin McCarthy on Monday over the House Republican speaker's successful efforts to avoid a government shutdown, even as other hard-right lawmakers came to McCarthy's defense.Speaking on the House floor on Monday, Gaetz railed against McCarthy, accusing the speaker of cutting a secret side deal" with Joe Biden to provide additional funding to Ukraine. The stopgap spending measure passed by Congress on Saturday, which extended government funding through November 17, did not include additional money for Ukraine, but members of both parties have called for a supplemental bill to address that omission. Biden said on Saturday that he did fully expect the speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine" and soon pass a supplemental funding bill. Continue reading...
Exclusive: PM claims he has changed phone since running the Treasury and did not back up the messagesRishi Sunak has failed to hand over his WhatsApp messages from his time as chancellor to the Covid inquiry despite the high court ruling that ministers should disclose their communications for scrutiny.In his witness statement to the public inquiry, seen by the Guardian, the prime minister claimed that he did not have access" to the messages during the period running the Treasury because he had changed his phone several times and failed to back them up. Continue reading...
Business secretary privately met media mogul in apparent breach of ministerial code of conductKemi Badenoch failed to declare a meeting that she held with Rupert Murdoch days after she was appointed to the cabinet - in a breach of transparency rules.The business and trade secretary reacted angrily on Monday on social media after it was revealed that she had privately met the media mogul and other executives from his News Corp company in New York in September 2022. Continue reading...
Butler will be the only Black woman, and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to represent the state, serving in the chamberGavin Newsom, the California governor, has named Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist and former labor leader, to fill the Senate seat held by Dianne Feinstein, who died on Thursday.The appointment fulfills Newsom's pledge to appoint a Black woman to the Senate, while shirking calls to name Barbara Lee, a Black Bay Area congresswoman who is already running for the position in 2024. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#6F858)
Most schools had policies before government's plan, and there are concerns about safety and implications for carers of outright banGlyn Potts, head teacher at Newman Roman Catholic College in Oldham, could not hide his irritation at the morning headlines announcing a government ban on mobile phones in state schools in England.His school, like the vast majority, already has a mobile phone policy. All banned and have been for 10 years," he said, dismissing the announcement by the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, as a smokescreen" to distract from the real challenges facing schools, such as underfunding, teacher recruitment and providing for pupils with special educational needs. Continue reading...
Civil liberty campaigners warn Chris Philp's plans to integrate databases are an Orwellian nightmare'Britain's passport database could be used to catch shoplifters, burglars and other criminals under urgent plans to curb crime, the policing minister has said.Chris Philp said he plans to integrate data from the police national database (PND), the Passport Office and other national databases to help police find a match with the click of one button". Continue reading...
Cost of living crisis, rising unemployment and extended NHS waiting times will determine government's chances in general electionThe economy is doing well and anybody who says differently subscribes to declinism. That was Jeremy Hunt's message to the Conservative party conference on Monday as he attempted to chart a course between persistent calls by Liz Truss and her supporters for tax cuts and warnings against another round of austerity measures.In a spirited speech that portrayed the economy in rude health, Hunt said: It's time to roll up our sleeves, take on the declinists and watch the British economy prove the doubters wrong." Continue reading...
The prime minister's rivals are shoring up support at the Conservative conference in case of polling defeatRishi Sunak has not given up on the next election but it appears many of his closest colleagues are now intensely focused on what may well be a race to replace him next year if he loses the election.If the Conservatives are booted out of office after 14 years in power, the party is going to be split over which direction to take next, with ideological differences widening between the party's various wings. The choice will be whether to retreat to its core vote comfort zone on the right - as it did in the wilderness years of the late 90s and early 2000s - or shift to a more centrist outlook similar to that of David Cameron. Continue reading...
Couple have not yet been identified and bear demonstrating aggressive behavior' was killed by park rangersTwo people and their dog have been killed in a rare grizzly bear attack in Canada's Banff national park, and the bear was later killed by park rangers.The couple have not yet been identified but loved the outdoors and were inseparable", a family member said in a statement. Continue reading...
Gynaecologist won the Nobel peace prize in 2018 for his campaign against sexual violenceThe Nobel peace prize-winning gynaecologist Denis Mukwege, renowned for helping victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has announced plans to run for president in December.Mukwege, who won the award in 2018 for his nearly two-decade campaign against sexual violence, made the announcement to a jubilant crowd of supporters at a conference centre in DRC's capital, Kinshasa.In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...
Forecasters warne that smoke from fires will bring a visible haze as city reports elevated levels on the Air Quality IndexNew York City residents are facing lower air quality Monday due to Canadian wildfires, another such advisory as the community continues to recover from intense rainfall and flooding last week.Forecasters have warned that smoke from the wildfires in Canada will bring a visible haze. Continue reading...
Three-time former prime minister, who promised to end military aid to Ukraine, expected to seek deal with two other partiesSlovakia's president has asked Robert Fico, a populist, pro-Russian three-time former prime minister who campaigned on a promise to end military aid to Ukraine, to try to form a coalition government after his party came top in weekend elections.President Zuzana aputova stressed on Monday that the new government would have to be one which will serve all citizens", saying the coming days would be a time of political negotiation" not just between parties but between her and party leaders. Continue reading...
Group of 67 claim they were fitted with an IUD between 1966 and 1970 without consent or knowledgeDozens of Greenlandic women who say they were fitted with the contraceptive coil without their consent or knowledge are planning to sue the Danish state.The group of 67 women, some of whom were as young as 12 when they say they were fitted with an IUD by Danish doctors in an attempt to reduce Greenland's population, are among the 4,500 women and girls affected between 1966 and 1970. Continue reading...
Emad al-Swealmeen, who died after detonating homemade device inside taxi, had been rejected for asylumA man who detonated a bomb outside a hospital had a grievance against the British state because his asylum claim was rejected, a police investigation has found.Emad al-Swealmeen, 32, detonated the device, which he had made himself, while in a taxi outside Liverpool Women's hospital just before 11am on 14 November 2021. Continue reading...
Khalifa was one of Syria's most acclaimed contemporary novelists, though his six novels were banned in the countrySyrian author, poet and screenwriter Khaled Khalifa, whose novels set in Aleppo memorialised a city ruined by civil war, has died aged 59.The writer died from cardiac arrest at his home in Damascus, a close friend told the French news agency AFP. Continue reading...
No 10 does not deny reports PM is planning to announce axing of multibillion-pound project at Tory conferenceRishi Sunak is set to confirm he is scrapping the northern leg of HS2 to Manchester at the Conservative conference in the city despite a furious response and Tory fears it will fatally undermine the party's commitment to levelling up.Downing Street did not deny reports that the prime minister was planning to axe the multibillion-pound project and reallocate some of the funding to transport projects across the north. Continue reading...
Dale Houghton admits public order offence after he mocked death of Sunderland mascot Bradley LoweryA man has admitted the utterly deplorable" mocking of Bradley Lowery, a young football mascot who died of a rare form of childhood cancer, at a football match against his favourite team.Dale Houghton, 31, pleaded guilty to a public order offence at Sheffield magistrates court after an incident at Sheffield Wednesday's clash with Sunderland on Friday. Continue reading...
Leadership of populist three-time PM could have ramifications for Ukraine, EU and Slovakia's rule of lawSlovakia's president, Zuzana Caputova, will on Monday hand the country's former prime minister Robert Fico a mandate to start negotiations to form a coalition government after his Smer-SD party won almost 23% of the vote in weekend elections.If he succeeds, the populist, pro-Russian leader's fourth term as prime minister could have significant ramifications for Slovakia's military support for Ukraine, EU unity and cohesion, and the rule of law in the central European country. Continue reading...
Former president and frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination delivered the odd remarks during a speech in IowaFaced with a litany of criminal charges, Donald Trump on Sunday told a campaign rally in Iowa that he would prefer to die by electrocution rather than be eaten by a shark if he ever found himself on a rapidly sinking, electrically powered boat.The former president and frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination delivered the bizarre remarks during a speech in the community of Ottuma. He was pontificating over batteries for electric powered boats while recounting a conversation he claimed to have with a boat manufacturer in South Carolina. Continue reading...
August searches of Marion County Record's office and homes of its publisher and a city council member have been sharply criticizedThe police chief who led a highly criticized raid of a small Kansas newspaper has been suspended, the mayor confirmed to the Associated Press this weekend.Marion mayor Dave Mayfield in a text said he suspended chief Gideon Cody on Thursday. He declined to discuss his decision further and did not say whether Cody was still being paid. Continue reading...
Comic book author and graphic novelist wants to spend time in the role tackling industry's lack of diversityThe comic book author and graphic novelist Bobby Joseph has become the first person of colour to be appointed the UK's comics laureate.Joseph, who was one of the first authors to create a British comic with black characters, was appointed to the role at the Lakes international comic art festival (LICAF) in Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District on Saturday. Continue reading...
French actor says in open letter never, ever have I abused a woman' and says he has been subject of lynching'The French actor Gerard Depardieu has written for the first time about allegations of rape and sexual assault against him, saying in Le Figaro that he was the victim of a lynching orchestrated by a media court".In an open letter written in a literary style, he wrote: Never, ever have I abused a woman." Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent on (#6F7T3)
Exclusive: Campaigners concerned that opposition from Tory MPs is delaying legal protections for rentersMillions of people living in damp and run-down properties are suffering worsening mental and physical health due to delays passing crucial reforms into law, research suggests.A survey by the homelessness charity Shelter found that about 40% of people in rented homes had experienced poor health as a result of their living conditions in the last year - amounting to almost 3 million people in England. Continue reading...
by Sam Jones in Madrid and Helen Livingstone on (#6F7R9)
Thirteen bodies found after fire tore through three adjoining clubs in Murcia but police fear number could riseThe death toll from a fire that tore through three adjoining nightclubs in south-eastern Spain, killing at least 13 people, could rise as rescuers continue to search through the wreckage, police have said.The blaze in the city of Murcia broke out at about 6am on Sunday morning in the La Fonda club, before spreading to the neighbouring Teatre and Golden clubs, officials said. Continue reading...
A new trailer teases footage from behind the scenes of her stunning sellout spectacle, live performances and time with Jay-Z and their children, including rehearsals with daughter Blue IvyBeyonce has announced a new concert film based on this year's massive tour for her 2022 album Renaissance.When I am performing, I am nothing but free," the musician, 42, says in the trailer for Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce. My goal for this tour was to create a place where everyone is free and no one is judged." Continue reading...
Raising money from business leaders and wooing megadonors for cash is a big game at party conferenceLunch with Rishi Sunak and the chance to hobnob with senior ministers? That will set you back 3,300 a person at the Conservatives' conference business day this year.Raising money from business leaders and wooing donors for more cash is a big game at the annual gathering, which is a profit-making endeavour for the party. Corporate leaders will be gathering for special closed sessions and policy roundtables on Monday with ministers, the events including Jeremy Hunt in conversation with the managing director of Barclays, CS Venkatakrishnan. Continue reading...
by Harriet Sherwood Arts and culture correspondent on (#6F7PX)
Just for One Day to tell stories around 1985 fundraising concert during two-month run next yearBob Geldof, the musician who harnessed the power of rock and pop to save lives, has issued a characteristic warning to the Old Vic over its plans for a musical about the 1985 Live Aid concert.It better not be shit," Geldof said, while giving his approval for the London theatre's production. Continue reading...
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