Aurelius, the German restructuring specialist, has broken up two other UK retailersAurelius, the German restructuring specialist which bought The Body Shop last year and has now put it into administration, had previously broken up two other UK retailers. Staff at the ethical cosmetics group fear it will be next, with more than 2,200 jobs and 200 stores at risk.Aurelius, a specialist in distressed companies, has been active in the UK for some time. It bought the parent of the Lloyds Pharmacy chain in 2022, TV shopping business Ideal Shopping Direct in 2018 and the European and UK arm of retailer and office supplies business Office Depot in 2017, and went on to break up all three businesses. Continue reading...
by Helen Davidson in Taipei and agencies on (#6JMSV)
The vessel capsized while being chased by Taiwan's coastguard near the Kinmen islands, in what China called a malignant incident'Beijing has condemned Taiwanese authorities after two Chinesefishers drowned while being chased by Taiwan's coastguard off the coast of the Kinmen archipelago.The Chinese speedboat was carrying four people when it capsized on Wednesday, throwing all onboard into the water, Chinese and Taiwanese authorities said. Continue reading...
by Daniel Hurst Foreign affairs and defence correspon on (#6JMYK)
Israel must heed counsel of international friends to avoid devastating' effects of assault on Gaza's southernmost city, says Albanese, and Canadian and NZ leaders
589% increase in number of incidents described as watershed moment for antisemitism in the UK'The scale of the surge in antisemitism in the UK since Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October has been revealed, in data showing a 589% increase in the number of incidents compared with the same period in 2022.The Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors anti-Jewish abuse and attacks and provides security for UK Jewish communities, said the unprecedented increase was a watershed moment for antisemitism in the UK". Continue reading...
Kattya Gonzalez, who had called out corruption and the country's fall to organized crime, was dismissed from her post on WednesdayParaguay's senate has expelled one of the few opposition voices in national politics, sparking protests in the capital Asuncion and prompting concerns over the fragile state of the country's democracy.Senator Kattya Gonzalez from the center-left National Meeting Party was dismissed from her position during an extraordinary session on Wednesday for the misuse of influence" while in office. Continue reading...
Theory that singer is plotting to help Biden win election has flourished in rightwing media after she started dating Travis KelceJust under a fifth of Americans believe Taylor Swift is part of a conspiracy to help Joe Biden win re-election in November, a new poll found.The supposed Taylor Swift psyop conspiracy has legs among a decent number of Trump supporters," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, in a statement on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene tells Cameron to kiss my ass' in response to his request to pass aid packageDavid Cameron has urged US lawmakers to pass a bill including support for Ukraine and warned them not to show the weakness displayed against Hitler".The foreign secretary said Congress should vote through the foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan for the sake of global security. The bill has passed through the senate but faces a deeply uncertain future in the House of Representatives, where Republicans aligned with presidential frontrunner Donald Trump oppose the legislation. Continue reading...
Pressure is mounting on Labour to overhaul its vetting to avoid damaging its relationships with communitiesSocial media is trawled, past comments examined and interviews undertaken, as political party candidates submit themselves to an intense vetting process that has only tightened in recent years.However, the case of Azhar Ali, the candidate Labour selected in Rochdale, once again underlines the difficulty of choosing parliamentary hopefuls who will be able to withstand the scrutiny of political life. Continue reading...
Ambreen Fatima Sheikh in vegetative state after husband and in-laws waited days to call ambulance after she fell unconsciousA man and his parents have been jailed after his wife was forced to take anti-diabetes medication and doused in a corrosive substance, leaving her in a persistent vegetative state from which she will never recover.Ambreen Fatima Sheikh, described as intelligent, bright, ambitious and happy-go-lucky", was 30 when she was given the anti-diabetes drug glimepiride after being brought to the UK from Pakistan after an arranged marriage. Continue reading...
Luke D'Wit is on trial for murder over the deaths of Stephen and Carol Baxter last yearA man poisoned a married couple with the opioid painkiller fentanyl and rewrote their will the day after they died, a court has heard.Luke D'Wit, 34, worked for and had befriended Stephen and Carol Baxter, saying in a statement to police that he was like an adopted son to both of them", Tracy Ayling KC, prosecuting, said on Wednesday. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#6JMKT)
Investment adviser raises accountability' concerns regarding reward 37 times higher than average employee'sVirgin Money bosses could be at risk of an embarrassing investor backlash, after an influential adviser hit out at a 2.6m package for its chief executive, David Duffy, saying it was not appropriate" compared with the bank's average employee.Pensions and Investment Research Consultants (Pirc), which advises shareholders including UK local authority pension funds, also raised concerns over what it said was a lack of board-level accountability for sustainability issues" at Britain's sixth largest lender. Continue reading...
Abducted four-year-old boy in California reunited with family after Regan Dunn and Yenni Lee received alert and went to look for himA missing four-year-old boy was reunited with his family on Tuesday evening after two women, who had received an Amber alert about an abducted child, located him.The California highway patrol issued an alert for an abducted child in Long Beach and advised the public to be on the lookout for a gray Honda Accord. Police said the vehicle was stolen with Justin Chan inside after his parent left the car running while making a delivery. Continue reading...
Guy's hospital and Sheffield clinic may have used faulty freezing solution that could damage eggs and embryosScores of women have been affected by the use of a faulty freezing solution at fertility clinics in London and Sheffield, with frozen eggs and embryos potentially destroyed as a result, the fertility regulator has said.The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) confirmed the issue was limited to Guy's and St Thomas' assisted conception unit in London, and Jessop Fertility in Sheffield. Continue reading...
Lawyer for complainant hails moral victory' after court says proceedings fell short of required standards'A woman who claimed Greek authorities failed to conduct an effective investigation into her allegation of rape has won a resounding victory at the European court of human rights.Almost three years after lodging the case, the complainant, from West Yorkshire, was said to be delighted after learning that the Strasbourg-based tribunal had criticised Greece over criminal proceedings that it said had fallen short of the required standards". Continue reading...
The two actors will be joined by The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Stranger Things breakout Joseph QuinnMarvel has announced the cast for its much-anticipated reboot of Fantastic Four: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn.The film, about a quartet of superheroes with different powers, has been dated for 25 July 2025. Continue reading...
Post is credited as part of the Kellogg team to develop a pastry for the breakfast market and enclosing it in foil to keep it freshWilliam Bill" Post, a key figure in the creation of Pop Tarts, the pre-cooked, frosted Kellogg toaster pastries, has died at 96.Post is credited as part of the Kellogg team, responding to a process competitor Post had developed for dehydrating dog food to keep it fresh, to develop a pastry for the breakfast market and enclosing it in foil to keep it fresh. Continue reading...
by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent on (#6JMGH)
Robert Macfarlane, Feargal Sharkey and Matt Haig are among artists to react with fury to message about funding risksArtists, writers and musicians have reacted with fury to an Arts Council England (ACE) warning that political statements" could break funding agreements.In a series of updates recently made to its policies, ACE advised the organisations it funds to be wary of overtly political or activist" statements made in a personal capacity by people linked to them. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent on (#6JMA2)
Armed gang spent night drinking at safe house' and visited brothel before shooting of police officer, jury hearsAn armed robbery gang partied with champagne, vodka and sex workers on the eve of the raid in which PC Sharon Beshenivsky was murdered, a court has been told.Jurors heard that the men spent the night drinking at a safe house" in Leeds and visited a brothel before the fatal shooting. Continue reading...
Sentence on hold after lawyer says former president will contest guilty verdict at France's highest courtThe former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been given a six-month jail term on appeal, after being found guilty of illegal campaign financing for the vast, showman-style political rallies of his 2012 re-election attempt.The Paris court of appeal confirmed a lower court's guilty verdict for Sarkozy, who was convicted of hiding illegal overspending in the presidential election he lost to the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande. Continue reading...
One officer trapped in wreckage near Oval tube station rescued by firefighters and taken to hospitalNine people, including six police officers, have been taken to hospital after a collision between a doubledecker bus and a police van in south London.Emergency services responded to the incident on Kennington Park Road, near Oval tube station, at about 11.30am. Continue reading...
The homeland security secretary is the first cabinet official since 1876 to be impeached but the case against is so flimsy a trial is not a givenIn 1876, the last US cabinet official to be impeached, William Belknap, resigned before the House could vote on the matter. Ulysses S Grant's secretary of war was tried in the Senate anyway, on charges of corruption, but escaped conviction.Nearly 150 years later, in the House on Tuesday and at the second time of asking, Republicans corralled just enough votes to ensure Joe Biden's secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas, suffered Belknap's fate. But Mayorkas has not resigned - and nor is he likely to be convicted and removed. Continue reading...
by Martin Belam (now) and Rachel Hall (earlier) on (#6JM4H)
Former Tory home secretary tells House of Lords he hopes the bill will be struck down as unconstitutional'By the way I notice in the comments - see I promised that I do read them - some criticism of the reporting of the inflation figures saying that food prices fell when the headline inflation rate is 4%.While it is true that inflation falling from 11% to 4% doesn't mean that prices are going down, it means they are going up more slowly, my understanding is that the food price component of the inflation figures did show prices going down, albeit from a high base.However, food and non-alcoholic drink prices fell at a monthly rate of 0.4% in January, the first monthly decline since May 2021, driven by price cuts in January for bread and cereals, cream crackers, sponge cake and chocolate biscuits.Against a backdrop of a tough Christmas for UK retailers because of weak consumer spending, furniture prices also fell at the fastest monthly rate in four years amid steep reductions for kitchens, leather settees, dining tables and chairs.The ONS said that although food inflation fell on the month in January, prices had increased by 25% over the past two years - more than double the rate seen over the entire preceding decade. Continue reading...
by Tom Ambrose (now) and Lili Bayer (earlier) on (#6JM4G)
Hit on Tsezar Kunikov, in waters off the occupied peninsula, hailed by Ukrainian militaryThe Netherlands is joining a military coalition with allies including Britain that will supply Ukraine with advanced drone technology and bolster its offensive capabilities in the war against Russia, the Dutch defence minister said.The pledge from the Netherlands comes in addition to F-16 fighter jets, artillery, ammunition and air defence systems provided by the Dutch to Kyiv, Reuters reports. Continue reading...
by Amy Sedghi (now); Lili Bayer (earlier) on (#6JM2V)
WHO says that fewer than half of its requested aid-delivery missions in Gaza have been approved by IsraelMilitants from the Islamic State (IS) group attacked military barracks in central Syria this week, killing nine soldiers, an opposition war monitor said. The Syrian army and officials have not confirmed the attack, reports news agency The Associated Press (AP).
Joint letters from prime ministers implore the bloc to act over deteriorating' situation in GazaThe prime ministers of Ireland and Spain have implored EU leaders to take action over the deteriorating" situation in Gaza, demanding an immediate assessment of whether Israel is complying with human rights obligations written into a trade deal with the bloc.The letter was sent amid mounting international calls for Israel to drop plans for a military assault on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than 1 million Palestinians from the north and centre of the territory have fled seeking safety. At least 74 Palestinians were this week killed in an Israel rescue mission in the city in which two hostages were freed. Continue reading...
by Jonathan Yerushalmy and Johana Bhuiyan on (#6JMAV)
Exclusive: work by researchers from western universities and counterparts at Sharif University considered potentially very dangerous' by expertsAcademics in the UK, Australia and the US collaborated on research related to drone technology with an Iranian university that is under international financial sanctions and known for its close ties to the military, the Guardian can reveal.The collaborative research was described by one security expert as having direct military applications, while another called it potentially very dangerous". Iranian-made drones have been responsible for a number of deadly attacks in the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts, and their development is known to be a top priority for the government in Tehran. Continue reading...
Authorities consider inspection of all buildings lining the River Seine route after property warningsParis authorities are debating whether to order an inspection of the balconies and balustrades of all buildings lining the River Seine amid warnings they could collapse under the weight of spectators watching the Olympics opening ceremony this summer.It's clearly a scenario that could happen," Olivier Princivalle of the property professionals' association FNAIM told Agence France-Presse, adding that the topic had been raised at a regular preparatory meeting with police and city hall officials. Continue reading...
Pair are first police officials to be sentenced over 2022 disaster in which nearly 160 people diedA South Korean court has sentenced two former senior police officers for destroying evidence linked to Seoul's deadly 2022 Halloween crush.Tens of thousands of people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, had been out on 29 October 2022 to enjoy the first post-pandemic holiday celebrations in the popular Itaewon nightlife district. The night turned deadly when crowds poured into a narrow, sloping alleyway between bars and clubs, leading to nearly 160 people being crushed to death. Continue reading...
Opera singer was also an entrepreneur who founded Continental Baths in New York, which championed DJs such as Larry Levan and Frankie KnucklesSteve Ostrow, whose gay bathhouse Continental Baths in New York City had a huge influence on club culture, has died aged 91.The Sydney Morning Herald announced that he died at a retirement home in the city, where he had moved in the 1980s from his native US. Continue reading...
Billionaire Issa brothers borrowed $7m from EG Group in 2022 to repay debt taken on to buy jetsThe billionaire brothers who own the Asda supermarket chain borrowed millions of pounds from their petrol forecourt company to repay the debt taken on to buy two private jets, it has emerged.Corporate filings revealed that Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who bought Asda in 2020, used their EG Group, which runs thousands of petrol stations in the UK and overseas, to lend $7m (5.6m) to two private jet companies they owned in 2022. Continue reading...
Venue says Paul Currie will not be invited back after allegations he verbally abused man who objected to Palestinian flagThe Soho theatre has banned a comedian after Jewish audience members were subjected to verbal abuse" after a performance last weekend.The central London comedy venue investigated allegations that Paul Currie verbally abused a spectator. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: The party has disowned candidate Azhar Ali following his remarks about Israel and Gaza, with accusations of hypocrisy over antisemitism levelled at Starmer's door Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. This week ought to be an excellent one for Keir Starmer, and a terrible one for Rishi Sunak: ONS figures just out which show no fall in inflation, the chance that another batch of ONS data on Thursday will show the UK in recession, and then the results of two byelections on Friday morning likely to shift two previously safe Tory seats into the Labour column.But it isn't working out like that. The reason: the buildup to a third byelection later this month, to replace the late Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd in Rochdale. Labour's candidate, Azhar Ali, was widely expected to stroll to victory. But the Mail on Sunday got hold of a recording of Ali saying that Israel deliberately allowed the 7 October massacre to happen so that it could attack Gaza. Labour stuck by their man for 36 painful hours. Then more comments at the same meeting in October were reported by the Daily Mail, revealing that Ali had blamed people in the media from certain Jewish quarters" for the suspension of the MP Andy McDonald for using the phrase between the river and the sea". At last, Labour disowned him.Israel-Gaza war | Israel is in breach of international law as the occupying power if it fails to provide food and water to the people of Gaza, the UK foreign secretary, Lord Cameron, has said. Cameron also said that it was impossible for people in the Rafah area to leave, suggesting the UK would not endorse a full-scale attack there.Retail | The Body Shop has collapsed into administration in the UK, less than three months after it was taken over by a private equity company, in a move that puts hundreds of jobs at risk at the cosmetics chain.US news | After weeks of setbacks and delays, the US Senate gave final approval to a $95m wartime aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other American allies early Tuesday morning, sending the bill to the Republican-controlled House where its fate is uncertain. Read an explainer on the bill.BBC | Tributes have been paid to the DJ Steve Wright, for decades the voice of the BBC on afternoon radio, who has died at the age of 69. Sara Cox told BBC Radio 2 listeners Wright was an extraordinary broadcaster, a really, really kind person" and a huge, huge part of the Radio 2 family". Read Mark Lawson's tribute.UK news | One of London's last remaining gentlemen's clubs, the Garrick, has taken the highly unusual step of expelling a member, amid rising tensions over the club's unwillingness to change its men-only membership rules. Colin Bough was expelled after sending a series of angry emails expressing his conviction that women should be admitted immediately. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6JM2Y)
Scam involves more than 700 healthcare workers who used proxies to pass test in Nigeria enabling them to work in the UKHundreds of frontline NHS staff are treating patients despite being under investigation for their part in an alleged industrial-scale" qualifications fraud.More than 700 nurses are caught up in a potential scandal, which a former head of the Royal College of Nursing said could put NHS patients at risk. Continue reading...
On average about 30 bodies are retrieved from its waters in London each year. Only a few ever make the headlinesHistoric placenames along the River Thames in London once summed up its macabre past. There was Dead Man's Dock at Deptford, Dead Man's Steps at Wapping, and Dead Man's Hole, which still exists, at Tower Bridge. They evoked stories of people who were executed, murdered or killed themselves.News that during the search for the chemical attack suspect Abdul Ezedi the river had surrendered two bodies unrelated to the case, serves to highlight its gruesome present.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian