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The economy is limping into 2024 after per capita activity shrank for the final three-quarters of last year

Habibur Masum, 25, accused of fatally stabbing Kulsuma Akter, 27, who was shopping with a friend in city centreA 25-year-old man has been charged with murdering a woman who was with her baby in a pram in Bradford city centre.Habibur Masum is accused of fatally stabbing Kulsuma Akter, 27, on a busy city street as she shopped with a friend on Saturday afternoon. He will appear at Bradford magistrates court on Thursday. Continue reading...

Private energy retailer behind the project above Lake Burragorang says venture would be about half the generation size of Snowy 2.0

Judge says Michael Davis showed callous indifference' to baby Ollie's suffering, as mother Kayleigh Driver jailed for seven yearsA man has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years for murdering his four-week-old son, who was left to die from a broken neck in 2017.Michael Davis, 29, was found guilty last month of murdering his newborn son Ollie Davis, after a six-year investigation into the case. Continue reading...

Body of Mohammad Surur reportedly discovered in town outside Beirut with several gunshot wounds to his legsA Lebanese man under US sanctions for allegedly funnelling millions of dollars to Hamas has been found dead in a mountain town outside Beirut.The body of Mohammad Surur was found on Tuesday in a villa in the mountain town of Beit Mery, with several gunshot wounds to his legs, according to security sources. Continue reading...

Government's aid watchdog says Foreign Office taking financial hit' for Home Office overspendingThe UK government's decision to use the overseas aid budget to pay for supporting refugees in Britain is wreaking havoc" with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's development partnerships, an official government watchdog said on Wednesday after it was revealed that 4.3bn was diverted to support refugees in 2023.Official statistics show 27.9% of the total UK aid budget in 2023 was spent on supporting the first-year housing and food costs of refugees in Britain, an increase of 600m. Continue reading...

FBI arrests Alexander Scott Mercurio, 18, a day before reported plan to attack more than 20 churches with knives, firearms and fireAn Idaho teenager who was allegedly planning an attack on churches in the name of Isis has been arrested.Last Saturday, federal authorities arrested 18-year-old Alexander Scott Mercurio of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, a day before his alleged planned attack on churches in the city using weapons including knives, firearms and fire. Continue reading...

Report finds particularly complex factors may explain surge in birth-registered females referred to NHS GidsIn 2009 the NHS's gender identity development service (Gids) saw fewer than 50 children a year. Since then, demand increased a hundredfold, with more than 5,000 seeking help in 2021-22.In her review of gender services, Dr Hilary Cass said there had been a dramatic increase" in presentations to gender clinics in the last decade, in particular by birth-registered females. In 2009, Gids treated 15 girls. By 2016, that figure had risen to 1,071. Continue reading...

NHS England to review seven specialist services after staff share misgivings privatelyAdult transgender clinics in England are facing a Cass-style inquiry into how they treat patients after whistleblowers raised concerns about the care they provide.NHS England has announced that it is setting up a review of how the seven specialist services operate and deliver care after past and present staff shared misgivings privately during a previous investigation. Continue reading...

Long-awaited package of measures marks victory for Europe's centre albeit with doubts and concerns' over implementationAlmost a decade in the making, the EU's new migration and asylum pact suffered so many setbacks, stalemates and rewrites that when member states finally announced a deal last year, its passage through parliament seemed assured.That was, however, to ignore the objections of Europe's resurgent far-right parties, who felt it was not tough enough (and, perhaps, hoped to profit at the ballot box from allowing the current chaos around migration to continue). Continue reading...

Deadly Israeli airstrike prompts comments by Ismail Haniyeh, as two sides remain far apart on key issuesThree sons and at least two grandchildren of the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, the exiled political chief of the militant group has said from his base in the Qatari capital of Doha.Haniyeh told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that his children Hazem, Amir and Mohammed and several of their children were visiting relatives for Eid at the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza when their car was targeted in an Israeli airstrike. Sixty of his relatives had been killed in the six-month-old war, he said, including 14 who died after an Israeli airstrike hit the family home in Gaza City in October. Continue reading...

Ellen Mercer, 24, inhaled up to three big bottles' of nitrous oxide a day, Berkshire coroner's court toldLong-term laughing gas abuse contributed to a 24-year-old student's death, an inquest has ruled.Ellen Mercer inhaled up to three big bottles" of nitrous oxide every day, Berkshire coroner's court heard. Mercer was taken to Wexham Park hospital for emergency treatment in the early hours of 9 February last year after she reported that she could not walk and would fall over when she tried. Continue reading...

The men pleaded guilty to state charges in brutal racist attack of Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker in January 2023Six former Mississippi law enforcement officers - prosecutors said the group called themselves the Goon Squad" - who tortured and abused two Black men in a racist attack were sentenced to between 15 and 45 years in prison on Wednesday.Brett Morris McAlpin, formerly the fourth highest ranking deputy in the Rankin county sheriff's department, was sentenced to 20 years. Christian Dedmon was sentenced to 25 years. Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke were both sentenced to 20 years, while Hunter Elward was sentenced to 45 years and Joshua Hartfield was sentenced to 15 years. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Data reveals 239% rise among those evicted from assigned accommodation, including hotels, in two yearsThere has been a 239% increase in homelessness among asylum seekers evicted from Home Office accommodation including hotels in two years, according to a report.Data analysed by the Refugee Council found that 12,630 households in England faced homelessness after eviction from asylum accommodation in the two years to the end of September 2023. Continue reading...

Crown prince's pet project was sold as a 105-mile-long city of the future, but finances may have led to a rethinkIt was billed as a glass-walled city of the future, an ambitious centrepiece of the economic plan backed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to transition Saudi Arabia away from oil dependency.Now, however, plans for the mirror-clad desert metropolis called the Line have been scaled down and the project, which was envisaged to stretch 105 miles (170km) is now expected to reach just a mile and a half by 2030. Continue reading...

Melina Abdullah joins former Harvard professor's long-shot bid in US presidential raceThe independent presidential candidate Cornel West announced on Wednesday that Melina Abdullah would serve as his running mate, joining the former Harvard professor's long-shot bid in the US presidential race.Abdullah, a professor of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, helped to form the LA chapter of the group Black Lives Matter, and West praised her as one of the great freedom fighters of her generation". Continue reading...

Constituent reported tweets liked and shared by Wilma Brown, who was to stand in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereMalin Bjork from the Swedish Left Party said the vote will not resolve problems, and that the Left group will not be supporting it.There is no real solidarity, and there will be more of what is not working, she said. There will be detention, dehumanisation, violence, humiliation, she added. Continue reading...

James Arbuthnot says concerns about reliability of faulty Horizon computer system were brushed off'

In unusual election pledge, Keane Duncan says he will use public money to buy 1867 hotel, forcibly if necessaryBuilt for wealthy Victorian holidaymakers as the biggest hotel in Europe, Scarborough's iconic Grand has stood proud since 1867, perched high on the seafront, just metres above the sandy South Bay beach.So for many in the town, it has been embarrassing to watch the Grade II-listed building suffer a sad reversal of fortunes in recent decades, becoming the shame of Scarborough". Continue reading...

Official data for first week shows 7,152 reports received but fewer than 300 judged to be legitimatePolice Scotland has said only a tiny number of the thousands of reports lodged so far under Scotland's controversial hate crime act were authentic.The force released data showing 3.8% of the 7,152 complaints it received in the first week the hate crime act was in force were judged to be legitimate. Only 240 complaints were logged as hate crimes, and 30 as non-hate incidents. Continue reading...

Disclosures include a custom turntable from Joe Biden and a statue depicting Julian Hill on a gold armchair gifted by a local supporter

Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty last month to two counts of perjury in the first degree in civil fraud caseEx-Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg has been sentenced to five months in jail for lying under oath in civil fraud case.The former Trump Organization chief financial officer, 76, was expected to receive this sentence after pleading guilty last month to two counts of perjury in the first degree. Continue reading...

European court of justice upholds challenge by Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman, who remain on list for now

Israel's foreign minister says Israel will attack Iran directly if Tehran launches an attack from its territoryThe commander of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (Unifil), Aroldo Lazaro, said on Wednesday the danger of escalation on the Lebanon-Israel border was real, reports Reuters.Unifil calls for a return to the cessation of hostilities, and a move towards a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution to the conflict," Lazaro said in a statement. Continue reading...

We asked readers for their favourite spineless wonders and were not disappointed. There are a few days left for nominations

Stephen Kaye has Parkinson's but couple blocked from Britain despite paying taxes thereA British man with Parkinson's disease and his wife living in France say they have been left stranded on the continent because of insulting" post-Brexit immigration rules.They worked and paid taxes for decades in the UK but say they have had the door slammed in our faces" and have been told they must pay 11,000 if they want to return. Continue reading...

Air force commander says 14 of 17 attack drones and two guided missiles targeting Odesa and Mykolaiv region were destroyedWe've got a bit more from Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billstrom on the Nordic and Baltic nations pushing for more support for Ukraine. He said:We support an increased role for NATO in providing security related assistance to Ukraine and coordinating military support and equipment.This offers an opportunity to facilitate Ukraines path towards membership in the European family. Continue reading...

Sevres porcelain was among objects stolen from Chateau de Thoiry outside Paris in 1987A rare jug and basin given by Marie Antoinette to one of her closest friends are being returned to a French chateau 37 years after their theft.The Sevres porcelain was taken by armed robbers from the Chateau de Thoiry, 30 miles west of Paris, in 1987. Detectives identified the ewer and bowl stolen after an antiques expert contacted them to check whether the ceramic ware was on a list of missing cultural objects. Continue reading...

Ruling opens door for law from 1864 that went unenforced after Roe v Wade. Plus: who is worthy' of a Hermes Birkin bag?Good morning.The Arizona supreme court ruled on Tuesday to allow a law banning almost all abortions to go into effect. The law was passed in 1864, before Arizona became a state, but went unenforced for decades after the US supreme court legalized abortion nationwide in its 1973 decision in Roe v Wade.What does this ruling mean nationally? The decision could curtail abortion access in the US south-west and make Arizona one of the biggest battlefields in the 2024 electoral fight over abortion rights.What have abortion rights advocates been doing to counteract this ruling? Supporters of reproductive rights in Arizona are gathering signatures for a ballot measure to enshrine those rights into the state constitution. The rules require 383,923 signatures by July for a measure to get on the ballot; organizers said they have more than 500,000.How have Arizona conservatives reacted to the ruling? With a surprising stance for a party that has historically championed abortion restrictions - denouncing the decision after some had initially supported it. Continue reading...

The NLRB general counsel has accused US's largest corporations of creating distractions to cover their law-breakingThe US's top labor lawyer has said her agency will not succumb" to Amazon, Starbucks and SpaceX's attempts to legally challenge the National Labor Relations Board and its ability to enforce federal labor law.Jennifer Abruzzo, the NLRB general counsel, accused some of the US's largest corporations of jumping on the bandwagon" in mounting legal challenges to the labor watchdog, which has found itself at the center of the ongoing battle between the companies and a wave of unionizing efforts by workers. Continue reading...

Survey reveals locals' disappointment with NSW transport agency's response after bungled opening of $3.9bn junction

Prime minister discusses his fondness for the shoe, which critics and social media users say he has ruinedRishi Sunak has apologised to all fans of Adidas Samba trainers after being accused of ruining their credibility when he was pictured in a pair.The prime minister said he had been wearing the German sportswear trainer for many years" and was a longtime devotee" of the brand. Continue reading...

No reasonable prospects' of finding former minister for Hunter's conduct was corrupt, Icac says

Opposition leader says national moral fog' has made antisemitism permissible in speech at Sydney Opera House

Mark Binskin's appointment is an unusual and diplomatically risky move by a government requiring a very careful approach

Inner West council in Sydney says it needs more information before agreeing to trial as T3 train line due to close for 12-14 months from July

Federal court dismisses case against airline but judge says five women can refile claims for damages against subsidiary Matar

Fitch cut to negative comes as country moves away from reliance on growth from property sector

Exclusive: Aboriginal affairs minister David Harris is hopeful the process will build community trust after crushing voice defeat

Mobile units will be deployed on high streets to identify wanted people - including repeat offendersThe government is investing more than 55m in expanding facial recognition systems - including vans that will scan crowded high streets - as part of a renewed crackdown on shoplifting.The scheme was announced alongside plans for tougher punishments for serial or abusive shoplifters in England and Wales, including being forced to wear a tag to ensure they do not revisit the scene of their crime, under a new standalone criminal offence of assaulting a retail worker. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Despite protests and the fact that almost three-quarters of Israelis want the PM to quit, huge obstacles stand in the way of his exit Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Almost three-quarters of the Israeli public want Benjamin Netanyahu to resign as prime minister. More than two-thirds say he is handling the war in Gaza badly. And more than half think his government is not doing enough to bring the Israeli hostages held by Hamas home.Now the ultranationalists he relies on to prop up his fragile coalition are warning that they will bring the government down if he does not go ahead with a major assault on Rafah - and the opposition leaders who joined his war cabinet, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, are coming under increasing pressure to step down. With tens of thousands of people joining renewed protests calling for Netanyahu's removal, his political prospects would appear to be dire.Gender identity | Thousands of vulnerable children questioning their gender identity have been let down by the NHS providing unproven treatments and by the toxicity" of the trans debate, a landmark report has found. Read the key findings, an interview with author Dr Hilary Cass, and views from young trans people and their families.Israel-Gaza latest | David Cameron has confirmed the UK government will not suspend arms exports to Israel after the killing of seven aid workers in an airstrike on Gaza last week. The foreign secretary said that he had reviewed the most recent legal advice about the situation on the ground, but this left the UK's position on export licences unchanged".Politics | William Wragg has resigned the Conservative party whip days after admitting to giving out colleagues' personal phone numbers to someone he had met on a dating app. Wragg, who represents Hazel Grove, will now sit as an independent MP.Museums | A staff member who put his own art on display at Munich's Pinakothek der Moderne has been fired. The 51-year-old man had smuggled his work in the hope of achieving his artistic breakthrough".Peter Higgs | Nobel prize-winning physicist, Peter Higgs, who proposed a new particle known as the Higgs boson, has died. Higgs was awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 2013 for his work in 1964 showing how the boson helped bind the universe together by giving particles their mass. Continue reading...

More than 350 jobs to go after Warner Bros. Discovery closes all its Newshub news operations and TVNZ cuts programs and bulletinsNew Zealand's news media has been dealt a major blow after two of its primary news outlets announced programme closures and hundreds of job losses between them on the same day, leaving the country with just one state-owned news television service and many senior journalists out of work.On Wednesday morning, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed it would close all its Newshub news operations, including the news website, the morning television show and the 6pm television bulletin, resulting in roughly 300 job losses. Continue reading...

Proponents of legislation for bloc say it will take away far-right arguments but critics claim the oppositeThe European parliament is to vote on Wednesday on sweeping new laws to overhaul its migration policy amid renewed criticism that it is feeding the agenda of the extreme right rather than protecting vulnerable people.Ylva Johansson, the home affairs commissioner who was the driving force behind the legislation, said on Tuesday that with the reforms aimed at managing migration in an orderly way", the 27-member bloc was taking a step towards neutralising the populist far right. Continue reading...

Xylazine can cause skin ulcers and overdoses and has caused multiple deaths since 2022, warn researchersPeople buying cannabis vapes and illicit sedatives to treat pain, anxiety and insomnia risk unknowingly consuming a powerful animal tranquilliser that can cause skin ulcers and overdoses.Xylazine has been prevalent in the US for several years, where it is commonly found mixed with strong opioids, such as heroin or fentanyl, and has caused thousands of deaths. Continue reading...

Fumio and Yuko Kishida honoured with state dinner to recognise flourishing' relationship between US and Japan, says Jill BidenDry-aged rib eye steak, cherry blossoms and the music of Paul Simon will be provided for the more than 200 guests expected to attend a White House state dinner being thrown for Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, his wife, Yuko.A lavish state dinner is a tool of US diplomacy, and a high honour that is used sparingly and only to America's closest allies. In the case of Japan, President Joe Biden has chosen to celebrate an ally that he sees as a cornerstone of his policy toward the Indo-Pacific region. Continue reading...

Long-running dispute, featuring bizarre' photo of visa cancellation next to a steering wheel, ends with ruling that minister can rely on department summaries

US president gives some of his strongest criticism of Israeli PM yet, saying he needs to empower' Israel's negotiators to call for a truce

A search is continuing for the missing after parts of the structure collapsed and led to flooding at Enel's power station near BolognaAn explosion at a hydroelectric plant in northern Italy has killed at least three workers and injured five others, a regional fire chief said. At least four other people are missing.The blast on Tuesday was at power company Enel's decades-old Bergi plant, south of Bologna, and happened during maintenance work, according to authorities. Regional fire chief Francesco Notaro told local media that part of the nine-story underground structure collapsed, started a fire, causing flooding at depths of up to 60 meters (200 feet). Continue reading...

Leading consultant paediatrician says unproven treatments and toxicity' of trans debate damaging outcomes