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Exclusive: FoI request reveals Arts Council updated guidance after discussing Gaza conflict with DCMSArts Council England (ACE) issued a warning that political statements" could break funding agreements after discussions with the government about artists speaking out over the Israel-Gaza war, newly released documents suggest.A freedom of information request made by the actors' union Equity has revealed that the conflict was discussed in a meeting between ACE and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in December. Continue reading...

Bodies of Amit Buskila and Itzhak Gelerenter also recovered from Gaza as Israel says 129 hostages remain in captivityThe bodies of three hostages kidnapped by Hamas, including the German-Israeli Shani Louk, have been retrieved from Gaza by the Israeli military, it announced.The other two hostages were identified as Amit Buskila, 28, and Itzhak Gelerenter, 56, according to the military spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, who said the three victims were taken to Gaza after being killed by Hamas at the Nova music festival. Continue reading...

Creator of popular videos for children drew backlash as online commenters alleged she purposely ignored children in IsraelRachel Accurso, the popular YouTube star for young children known as Ms Rachel, says she is facing bullying" after launching a fundraiser for children in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Accurso, who has more than 9 million subscribers on YouTube and is known for her colorful, educational videos that weave in music and dancing, has faced online backlash after being accused of failing to include children in Israel in a fundraiser she launched. Continue reading...

A woman alleged that the magician sexually assaulted her on his private island in 2007. His lawyers said he was falsely accusedLacey Carroll headed straight to Harborview Medical Center after touching down in Seattle following a three-day stay on David Copperfield's private island in the Bahamas. It was August 2007 and - according to police records - she had gone to get medical treatment for sexual assault.The 20-year-old later alleged to Seattle police and in court filings that she had embarked on the long journey to Musha Cay - the islands in the Bahamas that Copperfield reportedly bought for $50m in 2006 - because she had been offered a chance to do promotional work and some modeling there along with a team of others. Instead, she claimed, she found herself alone with Copperfield and a few members of his staff. Copperfield, she alleged, raped and assaulted her multiple times. Continue reading...

Writedown by Canadian pension fund Omers highlights growing financial crisis at utilities firmThames Water's biggest investor has slashed the value of its stake in the company to zero in the latest sign of an escalating financial crisis for Britain's biggest water supplier.The Canadian pension fund Omers issued a full writedown" of its 31.7% stake in Thames's troubled parent company in its annual report published on Friday, signalling that it believes its share is worth nothing. Continue reading...

Plaid Cymru has ended its cooperation agreement with Welsh Labour government in the Senedd over concerns regarding donations to leader Vaughan GethingThe Daily Express and Daily Mail have both asked questions about the taxing of pensions. Jeremy Hunt is on combative grounds here. He is asked when calling Labour's plans a myth" is he accusing them of lying. He says:Well, calling them a myth is about as rude as I get. But frankly, it is a lie. I don't make any bones about it. It is fake news. And it is an absolute disgrace to try and win this election by scaring pensioners about a policy that is not true.Our argument is this is about the future growth of the economy, because we can see looking around the world that more lightly taxed economies have more dynamic private sectors, they grow faster, and in the end that is more money for precious public services like the NHS. Continue reading...

Firm run by the Ticket Queen' sold tickets worth more than 6.5m on sites including Viagogo and StubHubTicket touts who conspired to fleece" fans of artists including Ed Sheeran, Liam Gallagher and Lady Gaga have been jailed for operating a fraudulent trading" scheme worth more than 6.5m.Judge Batiste sentenced four touts, who fraudulently bought and sold hundreds of tickets through a business called TQ Tickets, to up to four years in prison each on Friday. Continue reading...

Speaking at Cannes, the director says Megalopolis, his reworking of ancient Rome's Catiline conspiracy, has become ever more prescientMegalopolis review - Coppola's passion project is megabloated and megaboringThe US, whose founders tried to emulate the laws and governmental structures of the Roman republic, is headed for a similarly self-inflicted collapse, director Francis Ford Coppola has said at the premiere of his first film in more than a decade.What's happening in America, in our republic, in our democracy, is exactly how Rome lost their republic thousands of years ago," Coppola told a press conference at the Cannes film festival on Friday. Our politics has taken us to the point where we might lose our republic." Continue reading...

Presenter, who cared for late husband, said she was approached by people in street pleading for interventionThe TV presenter Kate Garraway has said the UK government's prosecution of unpaid carers for thousands of pounds in benefit payments has a horrible echo" of the Post Office scandal.In an emotional intervention on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Garraway said many people had pleaded with her to please do something" to help those being pursued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereChmouel Lubecki, a rabbi in Rouen, said today's incident was shocking."It is important to light the candles of Shabbat to exactly show that we are not afraid," he said. Continue reading...

Little change at top between 2021 and 2022 but European names such as Nova beginning to gain favourNew entries to the list of top 100 baby names in England and Wales for 2022 suggest European names are gradually gaining favour, data from the Office for National Statistics shows.While girls' names remained largely unchanged from 2021, with Olivia top (most popular with mothers aged 25 and older), followed by Amelia (most popular with mothers aged under 25), Isla and Ava, more unusual names are creeping in. Continue reading...

Robberies, shootings, extortion and rapes have surged since the Rwandan-backed M23 militia cut off the eastern Congolese capitalIn broad daylight on 16 April, three armed and uniformed men held up a city centre mobile phone shop.Threatening staff, they helped themselves to about 700 worth of goods, before making off on a motorbike, disappearing into the busy streets of Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Continue reading...

One in 10 officials to be based in city within three years and current 70-strong team will increase to 500The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, has announced a big expansion of its operations in Leeds, with one in 10 officials to be based in the West Yorkshire city within three years.Bailey said the current 70-strong team at the central bank's northern hub would swell sevenfold to 500 by 2027 through a combination of voluntary relocation and local recruitment. Continue reading...

Chancellor attempts to draw election battle lines, suggesting he wants to reduce national insurance and Labour intends to raise tax

Encampment at Arts West building continues as tensions simmer at other university campusesPro-Palestine protesters and University of Melbourne administrators remain in a deadlock despite a warning that police could be called to enter the campus at any time.As tensions simmer between university administrations and student activists across the nation, those camped inside the Arts West building have defied the University of Melbourne's demands and the threat of police intervention. Continue reading...

As much as 40cm fell in less than a day in part of Seoraksan national park. Plus, a powerful tornado in AustraliaThere was unusually heavy snowfall this week in the highlands of the mountainous region of eastern Gangwon province in South Korea. Between 5.30pm local time on Wednesday and 9am on Thursday, as much as 40cm fell at the Socheong shelter of Seoraksan national park, while 20cm was recorded at its Jungcheong shelter.This unexpected snowfall has caused damage ahead of a harvest on wild vegetable farms that operate on the mountains. Conditions over the next few days are expected to improve, with warmer and drier weather over the weekend. Continue reading...

Owners of historic buildings used in likes of Bridgerton warned of potential damage to possessions and reputationsWhen the owner of Drayton House in Northamptonshire was approached to allow his 127-room mansion to be the location of a film called Saltburn, it was 100%" the generous fee on offer that swayed his decision, he said, adding: These houses don't run on water."But there were unintended consequences of Charles Stopford Sackville's decision after the movie's release last year. The popularity of Emerald Fennell's class satire led to a rush of selfie-taking trespassers after TikTok videos giving directions to the estate went viral. Continue reading...

Education select committee concerned that excessive workload is driving teachers out of professionTeachers' workloads are being increasingly stretched by their pupils' mental health and family difficulties, according to MPs who were critical of the government's efforts to tackle chronic staff shortages in England's schools.The education select committee said it was concerned that since the pandemic teachers are spending more time on addressing issues that would typically fall outside the remit of schools, including family conflict resolution and mental health support," and called for the government to support better provision inside and outside schools. Continue reading...

Mike Lee told students that Sonoma State would become first US university to refuse to work with Israeli academic institutionsA public university in California has placed its president on leave for insubordination" after he agreed to student demands for an academic boycott of Israel.Mike Lee was suspended from Sonoma State University following an announcement on Tuesday that the liberal arts college north of San Francisco had agreed with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) to become the first US university to refuse to work with Israeli academic institutions. Continue reading...

Students condemn crackdown by hundreds of officers after protesters took over a lecture hallHundreds of police officers in riot gear launched a crackdown on a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Wednesday at the University of California, Irvine, arresting 50 people and threatening students and faculty with batons and munitions.Campus police and officers from across the region descended on the southern California public university after students with a Gaza solidarity encampment occupied a campus lecture hall. Photos and footage from the protest show sheriff's deputies and other police officers grabbing students, pointing less lethal" weapons at them and arresting students and at least one tenured professor with zip-ties. Continue reading...

Lebohang Kganye blends oral traditions, family photos and theatre in a new and fresh way' to trace personal history of apartheid eraThe South African artist Lebohang Kganye has won the prestigious Deutsche Borse Photography Foundation prize for her work that uses large-scale cutouts and elements of set design to trace and depict her family history during the apartheid era.The Johannesburg-based artist took home the 30,000 prize for her winning exhibition, which is on display at the Photographers' Gallery in central London and is called Haufi nyana? I've come to take you home. Continue reading...

Republican Doug Skaff said he expects to be in hospital for a few days after bites in left leg and right foot by highway in DanvilleA candidate for West Virginia secretary of state said he has been hospitalized for copperhead snake bites sustained while removing election campaign signs.Doug Skaff said he was bitten in the left leg and the right foot on Wednesday near US Route 119 in Danville, news outlets reported. Continue reading...

Little wonder welfare ministers were so reluctant the publish the study they commissioned five years agoThere are plenty of reasons why welfare ministers were reluctant to publish the study they commissioned into unpaid carers' experiences of carer's allowance five years ago, and which has finally emerged under duress.In 2019 they had undoubtedly been chastened by criticism from MPs and auditors that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) did not understand how a relatively little known benefit was causing oceans of misery and hardship for carers. Continue reading...

Suppressed DWP study told of hardship endured by carers forced to repay thousands after minor allowance breachesMinisters were warned three years ago that unpaid carers were being treated unfairly and forced to repay huge sums for minor benefit breaches, a long suppressed government report has revealed.A Department for Work and Pensions document presented to politicians in 2021 detailed how carers - the majority of whom were on low incomes and spending 65 hours a week caring for loved ones - endured financial hardship, stress and anger after being heavily penalised for falling foul of strict carer's allowance eligibility rules. Continue reading...

Petition launched to halt mass ceremony that organisers say is for 100 orphans whose parents were killed by gangsHuman rights activists in Nigeria have launched a petition to stop a plan to push 100 girls and young women into marriage in a mass ceremony, which has caused outrage in the west African country.The plan, sponsored by Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, the speaker of the national assembly in the largely Muslim north-western state of Niger, were criticised by Nigeria's women's affairs minister, Uju Kennedy Ohanenye. She said she would seek a court injunction to stop the ceremony next week and establish if any of the girls were minors. Continue reading...

But coroner finds no evidence to suggest trust directly caused death of Maya Siek in December 2022An inquest into the death of a six-year-old girl has concluded an NHS hospital trust made a number of failures in her care before she died.However, a coroner found there was no evidence that suggested the trust had directly caused or contributed to the death of Maya Siek in December 2022. Continue reading...

Judges describe second novel set between south-east London and Ghana as symphonic' and viscerally moving'British-Ghanaian author Caleb Azumah Nelson has won this year's Dylan Thomas prize for his second novel Small Worlds, which judges described as symphonic" and viscerally moving".Azumah Nelson, 33, was awarded the 20,000 prize at ceremony on Thursday in Swansea, the home city of the poet Dylan Thomas. The prize is given to a writer aged 39 or under in memory of Thomas, who died at that age. Continue reading...

Former civil servant who investigated Partygate says power-sharing executive was prone to silo working' and leaksNorthern Ireland's government lacked cohesion and failed to be proactive during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Sue Gray, the former senior civil servant who investigated the Downing Street Partygate scandal.Gray, who is now Keir Starmer's chief of staff, said the power-sharing executive at Stormont was prone to silo working" and leaks that would have been a terrible thing" if replicated at Westminster. Continue reading...

Lesley Sewell said departed CEO had called for help plugging gaps in her memory' before select committee appearanceA former Post Office executive has told the inquiry into the Horizon scandal that she blocked Paula Vennells's phone number after the company's ex-CEO contacted her asking for help to plug memory gaps" and to avoid an independent inquiry".Lesley Sewell, who was chief information officer at the Post Office until she left in 2015, said that she had subsequently been contacted by her former boss four times in 2020 and 2021. Continue reading...

Education secretary says new guidance will not stop schools teaching children about gender-reassignment surgery

Financial regulator brings charges against nine people including Lauren Goodger in crackdown on finfluencers'The UK's financial watchdog has charged seven reality TV stars, including former Love Island contestants and cast members from The Only Way is Essex (Towie), with promoting an unauthorised foreign exchange trading scheme on Instagram.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has brought charges against nine people in a crackdown on finfluencers" who have a combined follower count of 4.5 million on the social media platform. Continue reading...

Starmer tells Sky TV that of the commitments he made the vast majority are in place, but I accept some have been adjusted'Ed Miliband, the shadow energy secretary, is up now. He highlights the energy pledge.4) Set up Great British Energy a publicly-owned clean power company, to cut bills for good and boost energy security, paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants. Continue reading...

Endorsements came from business, policing and the heart of the establishment - the only question is how to avoid complacencyFrom corporations to counter-terrorism officers to coffee shop owners, Keir Starmer's launch event on Thursday was a stark display of how inevitable a Labour victory now seems.It had the feeling of an election launch - a party leader in shirt sleeves, tightly choreographed pitches from the most senior shadow cabinet ministers, candidates from target seats, and voters ready to explain why they were switching their vote. Continue reading...

Aid agencies poised to receive supplies and distribute to territory where people face imminent starvationThe US military has said the installation of a floating pier for the delivery of humanitarian aid off Gaza has been completed, with officials ready to begin ferrying supplies into the territory, where much of the population faces imminent starvation owing to the continuing Israel-Hamas war.Ordered two months ago by the president, Joe Biden, the US military transported the system overnight from the Israeli port of Ashdod, about 20 miles north of Gaza. Continue reading...

Late British painter's Les Distractions de Dagobert, the apotheosis of Carrington's oeuvre', was inspired by Hieronymus BoschThe auction record for British surrealist Leonora Carrington was smashed at Sotheby's in New York on Wednesday night, marking a new high point for the artist, who lived in Mexico for most of her life and was until her death in 2011 one of the last surviving participants of the surrealist movement of the 1930s.Carrington's 1945 painting Les Distractions de Dagobert was auctioned for $28m with fees, soaring over a presale estimate of $12m-$18m after 10 minutes of bidding. The sum fetched is nine times Carrington's previous auction record of $3.2m. Continue reading...

Les Distractions de Dagobert was the surrealist's definitive masterpiece', says Sotheby's expert in New YorkShe was worshipped as a muse by renowned surrealists including Andre Breton and Max Ernst, but the Lancashire-born artist Leonora Carrington quickly shrugged off the label to achieve an unprecedented level of mastery and freedom in her own painting.Now, on the 100th anniversary of Breton's publication of the Surrealist Manifesto, Carrington has become the most valuable British-born female artist at auction after one of her paintings sold for more than 22.5m. Continue reading...

Prime minister tells TV show panel he loves his constituents and home in Richmond, North YorkshireRishi Sunak has said he will of course" stay on as an MP if the Conservatives lose the next general election, in his first remarks about what he would do in that scenario.Asked on ITV's Loose Women whether he loved the job enough to carry on in those circumstances, the prime minister said: Yes of course I'm staying, I love being an MP, I love my constituents, I love my home in North Yorkshire, it's wonderful - and I love being able to get back there." Continue reading...

Some allege harassment, one claims she was sexually assaulted. His lawyers deny the allegationsIt was September 1991 in New York and the grand finale of Look of the Year, a prestigious modeling contest that had helped launch the careers of supermodels Cindy Crawford and Helena Christensen.The celebrity magician David Copperfield, one of the judges, watched from the front row as 58 contestants paraded across the runway in their branded hot pink and sorbet yellow swimsuits. Nearly all the contestants were teenagers; some were as young as 14. Continue reading...

Manuel Guerrero Avina thought he was meeting a date, but was confronted by police who charged him for drug possessionThe family of a gay man who was arrested in Qatar say that he was trapped" by a fake Grindr account and that he urgently needs access to HIV medicine or his health could collapse.Manuel Guerrero Avina, who has dual Mexican-British citizenship, was arrested in February after arranging to meet a man named Gio" on the dating app. When he showed up to the meeting in his apartment lobby, Avina was instead confronted by police officers. Continue reading...

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Child thought to have fallen from upper floor of block on New City Road, Plaistow, shortly before 6amA six-year-old boy has died after falling from the upper floor of a tower block in east London.The child is said to have fallen from a height at New City Road, Plaistow, shortly before 6am on Thursday. Continue reading...

Upgrades to existing structures are required to address a surge' of need, especially among young people, professor says

Sir Graham Watson says rise of far right has led him to stand in North-East ItalyA former British MEP is hoping to stage a return to the European parliament in June after being invited to run in Italy by an alliance backed by the country's former prime minister Matteo Renzi.Sir Graham Watson, a Liberal Democrat, used to represent South West England between 1994 and 2014 and is running with the pro-European coalition Stati Uniti d'Europa (United States of Europe). Continue reading...

Comments come just hours after Senate passes motion urging senators to engage in debate and commentary respectfully'

Chris Minns said Labor MP Anthony D'Adam's comments in a speech to parliament were absolutely reprehensible'A Labor politician who criticised the actions of New South Wales police officers towards pro-Palestinian protesters has been sacked from his role as parliamentary secretary by the premier, Chris Minns.Minns took aim at the comments made by upper house MP, Anthony D'Adam, saying he had never raised his concerns about the police commissioner, Karen Webb, and officers before making his speech in parliament on Wednesday night. Continue reading...

University of Melbourne cancels classes as activists at Deakin defy directives on encampments

Exclusive: Labour mayor argues only fundamental rewiring' of political system can prevent more colossal' state failuresThe final report of the infected blood inquiry must not only deliver justice but act as a catalyst to prevent such colossal" state failures happening again, Andy Burnham has said.The mayor of Greater Manchester, a long-time advocate for victims of the scandal, said a fundamental rewiring of the political system" was needed as too many people were being harmed and then waiting decades for justice. Continue reading...

Christopher Marsh says he is determined to see the contaminated blood inquiry to the end'I lost both my brothers through it and I want to still be here, I want to see justice, I want to see it to the end," says Christopher Marsh of the contaminated blood scandal.Marsh, 49, and his two brothers, Gary and Kelvin, were all infected in 1981 through imported blood products used to treat people with haemophilia. Last year he was told his hepatitis C had become chronic and, with his brothers having long since died as a result of being infected, he is determined to see the end of the infected blood inquiry, which will publish its final report on 20 May, and the official response. Continue reading...

New campaign claims draft deal to improve global cooperation against outbreaks will cede UK sovereigntyThe World Health Organization has accused Nigel Farage of spreading misinformation after he launched a campaign to block an international treaty designed to improve global pandemic preparedness.WHO member states are negotiating a deal to shore up cooperation against new pathogens. If adopted, the legally binding treaty would commit countries to helping each other in the event of a pandemic, increase research and sharing of data, and promote fair access to vaccines. Continue reading...

Weed sprayers give evidence in trial of former Jetstar pilot who has pleaded not guilty to murdering Hill and Clay