by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#69SV4)
Aslef and RMT members to stop work for 24 hours on budget day in dispute over pensions and staffing changesA strike by Tube drivers and station staff will shut the London underground on Wednesday, bringing widespread disruption to the capital.Trains will continue to run as normal on the Elizabeth line and London Overground, but Transport for London warned that those services, as well as buses, would be much busier and could have some disruption and delay. Continue reading...
Head of Great Britain’s energy regulator tells MPs installations will not resume until suppliers found to be adhering to code of practiceA ban on the forced installation of prepayment meters by energy companies has been extended beyond the end of March, Ofgem has said.The energy regulator’s chief executive, Jonathan Brearley, told MPs that suppliers would not resume the installations until a code of practice was published and Ofgem was satisfied it was being adhered to. Continue reading...
WhatsApp messages disclosed showing actor discussed pretending she had been hospitalisedEva Green was so concerned she would have to make what she had described as a career-wrecking B-movie that she discussed pretending she had been hospitalised in order to avoid turning up, a court has heard.New detail of Green’s antipathy towards a failed multimillion-pound sci-fi film, A Patriot, at the centre of a legal battle between her and a production company emerged in freshly disclosed WhatsApp messages from the actor. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#69SS0)
MoD refuses to say whether it has looked into claims civilians were injured in December strikeBritain’s Ministry of Defence is refusing to say whether it conducted an investigation into reports of civilian casualties after an RAF drone strike conducted against a terrorist target in northern Syria last December.Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, told MPs on Monday that a Reaper drone was used to attack “a leading Daesh [Islamic State] member in al-Bab, northern Syria” on 20 December, the latest strike in controversial policy of attempted targeted killing. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#69SPW)
Exclusive: Leeds University research reports desperation, hair loss and intrusive thoughts as medics struggle with staff shortagesNHS junior doctors suffer panic attacks and feelings of desperation because they get so stressed from the pressure they are under at work, research has found.Some also experience intrusive thoughts, migraines and hair loss as a direct result of trying to give patients high-quality treatment in hospitals struggling with serious staff shortages. Continue reading...
Analysis by Local Data Company also says closures in the most affected categories have been offset by new openings in othersHairdressers, dry cleaners and fish and chip shops were among the independent retailers hardest hit by surging energy bills and a consumer spending squeeze last year, but overall indies fared better.A jump in shop closures among those categories was offset by new openings led by beauty salons, convenience stores and takeaways, according to the latest report by analysts at the Local Data Company. As a result, the overall number of independent retailers across the UK remained flat year on year in 2022, compared with a jump in closures of more than 2,000 in 2021. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#69SR9)
One man died in fire on 5 March in two-bedroom flat where at least 18 people were livingA criminal investigation has been launched into a fatal fire in a two-bedroom flat in which at least 18 people were living, with some sleeping on the kitchen floor.The privately owned flat in a Tower Hamlets council block was rented to mostly Bangladeshi couriers and students paying £100 a week, according to one resident. A fire started in the early hours of 5 March, possibly sparked by a faulty e-bike battery. Most of those people squeezed into bunk beds and sleeping on the floor escaped, but Mizanur Rahman had to be rescued by firefighters and later died in hospital. Continue reading...
Greg Hands says sorry through cabinet secretary for attack on civil service over Channel crossingsThe Conservative party chair has been forced to apologise to the civil service after an email sent out in Suella Braverman’s name said public servants had frustrated plans to curb small boats crossings.The home secretary distanced herself from the email sent to thousands of Tory supporters, in which she blamed “an activist blob of leftwing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour party” for the government’s failure to stop Channel crossings. Continue reading...
Twenty-two-year-old from Barrow posted photos on Facebook falsely claiming she had been abusedA woman has been jailed for eight and a half years after being found guilty of lying about being raped and trafficked by an Asian grooming gang, and making false rape claims against a series of other men.Eleanor Williams, 22, from Barrow-in-Furness was convicted in January of nine counts of perverting the course of justice. Sentencing her at Preston crown court on Tuesday, the judge, Mr Justice Altham, said her allegations were “complete fiction” and criticised her for showing “no significant signs of remorse”. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor on (#69SHR)
DfT document appears to undermine ministers’ claims, saying jobs are likely to go and construction firms could be at riskAn internal Department for Transport briefing on the HS2 project has admitted delays to the high-speed railway will increase costs, appearing to undermine ministers’ claims.The document seen by the Guardian says the decision to delay the project is also likely to cost jobs, put construction firms at risk of going into administration and that the department could face compensation claims. Continue reading...
Governor says foreigners will only be allowed to rent cars, after series of road traffic offencesThe Indonesian island of Bali plans to ban tourists from renting motorbikes after a series of incidents in which foreigners have violated traffic rules.Bali’s governor, Wayan Koster, said that underchanges to be imposed this year, foreigners would only be allowed to drive cars rented from travel agents. Continue reading...
Authorities will resume issuing all visas after closing borders to international holidaymakers in 2020China will reopen its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in the three years since the Covid pandemic erupted by allowing all categories of visas to be issued.The removal of this last cross-border control measure on Wednesday comes after authorities declared victory over the virus last month. Continue reading...
This year’s Academy Awards with Jimmy Kimmel at the helm drew an average TV audience of 18.7m – and a bigger share of younger viewersThe audience for the 2023 Academy Awards broadcast improved substantially on last year’s unimpressive figures, with a 12% jump on what was the second worst ratings performance in history.Early ratings from Nielsen, supplied to the Hollywood Reporter, said that the show on ABC attracted an average of 18.7m viewers, compared to 16.6m in 2022. The audience share in the key 18-49 age demographic also improved, from 3.76 last year to 4.0. Continue reading...
Beijing accuses US, UK and Australia of disregarding global concerns with plan to build nuclear-powered vesselsChina has accused the US, UK and Australia of embarking on a “path of error and danger” in response to the Aukus partners’ announcement of a deal on nuclear-powered submarines.“The latest joint statement from the US, UK and Australia demonstrates that the three countries, for the sake of their own geopolitical interests, completely disregard the concerns of the international communities and are walking further and further down the path of error and danger,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a regular press briefing on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Aimed at finding ‘lively, unusual, original’ writing by those aged between 11 and 14, the prize is inspired by the ‘imagination and curiosity’ of Martha, who died in 2021 aged 13The London Review Bookshop has launched a prize for “lively, unusual or otherwise original” writing by 11-14 year olds, offering young people the chance to have their work published.The Martha Mills Young Writers’ prize has been set up in memory of the daughter of Merope Mills, editor of the Guardian’s Saturday magazine, and Paul Laity, an editor at the London Review of Books (LRB). Martha died in 2021. Her parents said that it was Martha’s “great curiosity and imagination” that inspired the new award.Every book starts with nothing,
Crowd demonstrate in Westminster as MPs debate government’s controversial immigration reformsHundreds of people have gathered in Parliament Square to protest against the government’s controversial new asylum and migration law as MPs debated the measures in the Commons.The crowd, which first congregated around the Winston Churchill statue, chanted “What do we want? Safe passage. When do we want it? Now”, and “Who built the NHS? Migrants built the NHS.” Many held placards, which read “migrants and refugees welcome here: blame austerity, not migrants”. Continue reading...
US president said he intended to visit Northern Ireland and Irish Republic in meeting with Rishi SunakJoe Biden has confirmed he plans to visit Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement.He was told by Rishi Sunak “we’d love to have you” when the pair held a face-to-face bilateral meeting on the fringes of the Aukus summit. Continue reading...
First of new vessels expected to be seaworthy by the end of 2030s, with Australia receiving theirs in early 2040sThe UK’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet could double in size as plans were revealed for the new “Aukus” vessels to be based on a British design.In a bid to counter the growing threat from China, the UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, vowed alongside his US and Australian counterparts to stand “shoulder to shoulder” to protect peace in the Indo-Pacific given its implications for security across the world. Continue reading...
Reworking of policy marks Britain’s changed view of its position in light of tilt to authoritarianism and volatilityBritain’s refresh of its defence and foreign policy may mark the moment when the UK sobers up about its place in a world that it now describes as “defined by danger, disorder and division”, and increasingly tilting to authoritarianism.Gone is the optimistic Global Britain bombast of the Boris Johnson era, set out in the original integrated review only two years ago. That version championed the UK as “a beacon of democratic sovereignty” and one of the most influential countries in the world, and hailed its ability to draw on its post-Brexit status to “do things differently, economically and politically”.“What has changed is that our collective security now is intrinsically linked to the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine.”“The transition into a multipolar, fragmented and contested world has happened more quickly and definitively than anticipated. We are now in a period of heightened risk and volatility that is likely to last beyond the 2030s.”“A growing convergence of authoritarian states are challenging the basic conditions for an open, stable and peaceful international order, working together to undermine the international system or remake it in their image.” Continue reading...
Police find body of man who was unaccounted for after blast in Morriston that left three injuredA man has died and three people have been taken to hospital after a suspected gas explosion in south Wales.A search of the scene uncovered the body of a man who had been unaccounted for after the blast in Swansea on Monday, South Wales police said. Two properties were extensively damaged and other neighbouring properties were also damaged. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent on (#69RM3)
William Loyd-Hughes is alleged to have posted images promoting the loyalist paramilitary group last yearA police officer has been charged with a terrorism offence after posting on social media in support of the Ulster Defence Association.William Loyd-Hughes, 26, is alleged to have posted images promoting the loyalist paramilitary group last year while employed by West Yorkshire police. Continue reading...
Eighteen people implicated in death of Sanda Dia after brutal initiation that included standing in an icy wellEighteen former members of an elite university fraternity in Belgium are back on trial over the death of a black student following a brutal initiation ritual.Prosecutors have asked for sentences ranging from 18 to 50 months in jail for the 18 people implicated in the death of Sanda Dia, a 20-year old engineering student, who died in December 2018 after being forced to drink excessive alcohol, eat large amounts of fish sauce, and stand in an icy well for hours. Continue reading...
Campaign coordinated by Labour MP, Zarah Sultana, calls for every child to have access to a daily hot mealThe chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has been urged to use his spring budget to extend free school meals for all primary pupils to tackle “the child poverty endemic”.The Scottish government has committed to providing free school meals for all primary schoolchildren, while in Wales the rollout of universal primary free school meals began in September. Continue reading...
Humza Yousef, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan vying to succeed Nicola Sturgeon who quit last monthTens of thousands of Scottish National party members will cast their votes from Monday to select their party leader and Scotland’s next first minister, after a snap election forced by Nicola Sturgeon’s shock resignation.Polling began at noon on Monday with Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s health secretary, vying to become the country’s first minority ethnic first minister, against Kate Forbes, the finance secretary, and Ash Regan, a former community safety minister and the outlier candidate. Continue reading...
Ireland wins just two awards, for best special effects and best live-action short, after being nominated for 14Ireland had hoped for Oscar glory but instead ended up the butt of jokes about drinking, fighting and incomprehensible accents as it claimed just a couple of the coveted golden statuettes.Just two awards out of 14 nominations was disappointment enough but Hollywood added insult to injury with national tropes that elicited eye rolls in Ireland. Continue reading...
by Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent on (#69RAC)
President expected to visit Iran and to meet Vladimir Putin soon as he aims to build ties abroadIn Xi Jinping’s closing speech at China’s annual parliamentary meeting on Monday, his message was clear: China is back. Speaking to nearly 3,000 delegates in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi, newly anointed as president for a precedent-busting third term, said: “After a century of struggle, our national humiliation has been erased … the Chinese nation’s great revival is on an irreversible path.”The speech comes as Xi is trying to position himself as a global statesman, leading a China that is ready to dominate the world stage. After three years of isolation caused by the zero-Covid policy, Chinese diplomats and Xi himself are jetting across borders to participate in international summits once again. Continue reading...
Christine Flack says she thinks her daughter would still be alive if police had not charged her with assaultThe mother of Caroline Flack has rejected an apology from the Metropolitan police over the way her daughter’s case was handled.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had recommended the former Love Island presenter receive a caution after an incident with her boyfriend, Lewis Burton. However, this was overturned after an appeal from the Met, who instead charged her with assault by beating. Continue reading...
Fiction and essays tackled subjects including militarism and nuclear disarmament, innocence and traumaKenzaburo Oe, a giant of Japanese writing and winner of the Nobel prize in literature, has died aged 88.Spanning fiction and essays, Oe’s work tackled a wide range of subjects from militarism and nuclear disarmament to innocence and trauma, and he became an outspoken champion for the voiceless in the face of what he regarded as his country’s failures. Regarded by some in Japan as distinctly western, Oe’s style was often likened to William Faulkner; in his own words, his writing would “start from my personal matters and then link it up with society, the state and the world”. Continue reading...
Sources close to presenter said to be confident impartiality row will be resolved to his satisfaction in next 24 hoursGary Lineker is reportedly close to returning to Match of the Day, with talks between the BBC and the presenter said to be “moving in the right direction” after a weekend of scheduling disruption, though not all issues are yet fully resolved, the BBC has reported.The corporation is expected to announce a review of its social media guidelines in the wake of the controversial suspension of the presenter, with some reports indicating Lineker may agree to be more careful about what he tweets. Continue reading...
by Paula Erizanu in Chișinău with agencies on (#69QK2)
Police chief says seven people detained for their involvement in causing ‘mass disorder’ during a protest in Chisinau on SundayPolice in Moldova have said they foiled a plot by groups of Russia-backed actors who were trained to cause mass unrest during a protest against the country’s new pro-western government.The head of Moldova’s police, Viorel Cernauteanu, said in a news conference that an undercover agent had infiltrated groups of “diversionists,” some Russian citizens, who allegedly were promised $10,000 to organise “mass disorder” during the protest in the capital, Chisinau, on Sunday. Seven people were detained, he said. Continue reading...
PM says British Museum collection is funded by taxpayer and protected by lawRishi Sunak has vowed to protect the Parthenon marbles from being sent back to Greece, saying they remain a “huge asset” to the UK.The prime minister stuck by commitments made by his predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson to safeguard the treasures at the British Museum in London. Continue reading...
Former staff voice concern after scheme’s assets plunge in value by £10bn in a yearBarclays could save itself more than £200m a year after deciding to take a break from paying into its staff pension scheme, despite the fund’s assets plummeting by £10bn in 12 months.Barclays last month declared profits of £7bn for 2022, but its “contribution holiday” means the cost of the payments it would normally make towards former employee’s retirement benefits will now have to be met by the pension scheme – prompting anger among some ex-staff. Continue reading...
US and European fund to rebrand network of studios it is building around world under name of 110-year-old studioThe owner of Twickenham Studios, home to films from The Italian Job to Bohemian Rhapsody, is to export its famous brand internationally after selling a stake in the historic London-based studio.Sunny Vohra, the businessman and self-confessed movie lover, stepped in to save the ailing studio in 2012 as industry luminaries including Steven Spielberg, David Cronenberg and Stephen Daldry threw their support behind a campaign to stop the closure of one of the UK’s oldest studios. Continue reading...
‘Tell me, how does this end?’ asked US general David Petraeus during first push to Baghdad in 2003The French statesman Georges Clemenceau once said: “War is a series of catastrophes that results in a victory.” In the case of the invasion of Iraq, however, the war that began 20 years ago started in victory and has ended in a series of catastrophes.The main US military pullout from Iraq was ultimately completed by 2011, finally answering the question posed by Gen David Petraeus during that first push to Baghdad in 2003: “Tell me, how does this end?” Yet the long shadow of the invasion still looms over the international order, staining the reputation of those who instigated it and the political process itself, and dealing a heavy blow to the self-confidence that the west felt in the years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell and Aubrey Allegretti on (#69QZD)
Many more appointments and procedures postponed than for recent walkouts by nurses and ambulance staffHospitals have cancelled tens of thousands of outpatient appointments and operations this week as they prepare for a junior doctors’ strike that will severely disrupt NHS care.NHS trusts in England have postponed many more procedures than for any of the recent walkouts by nurses and ambulance staff. Continue reading...
New York court greenlights $2.7bn suit against news channel by election company Smartmatic over 2020 presidential election liesAs Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation battles to contain the Dominion lawsuit scandal that has engulfed its top executives and stars, another crisis is building in the wings that has the potential to cause further turbulence for the media empire.Smartmatic USA Corporation’s lawsuit against Fox News has attracted only a fraction of the attention garnered by the legal action of Dominion Voting Systems. Yet both firms are suing Fox for defamation related to its coverage of Donald Trump’s stolen-election lie, and both pose a serious threat to Fox’s finances and reputation. Continue reading...
Inspector under investigation for misconduct after Matthew Caseby, 23, died while abscondingThe Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the response of West Midlands police into the death of a 23-year-old man who ran away from a mental health hospital and was killed by a train.The IOPC also said it had served a police inspector with a notice that they were under investigation for misconduct. Continue reading...
Final hearing into death of First Nations woman told failure by three officers to perform adequate cell inspections amounted to ‘human rights breaches’
Programme highlights fact that much of 19th-century wealth was built on the back of transatlantic practiceThe government of Catalonia has said the wealthy Spanish region must confront “the past racism” of its slave-trading history, after a documentary revealed how Catalan industrialists and seafarers profited from the transatlantic slave trade when the British abolished the practice in 1807.It has long been acknowledged that many Catalan fortunes – including that of Antonio Gaudí’s patron Eusebi Güell – were made on the back of slave labour in the tobacco, sugar and cotton plantations of Cuba and, to a lesser extent, Puerto Rico. Continue reading...
Clean car upgrade scheme among measures to be cut but PM Chris Hipkins denies government is abandoning climate ambitionsNew Zealand’s government is dumping a range of high-profile reforms and emissions reduction measures as part of its promise to refocus on “bread and butter issues”, using the savings to introduce a billion-dollar boost to welfare payments to relieve cost of living pressures.Chris Hipkins, the prime minister, announced on Monday that the government would roll out increases for retirees, students, unemployed people, and parents, ranging from $19 to $46.20 a week. The government estimates that 1.4 million New Zealanders will benefit. Continue reading...
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