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There were 199,021 sexual offences and 70,633 rapes recorded by forces in year to September 2022The number of sexual offences recorded by police reached a record high in the year to September, increasing by more than a fifth compared with before the pandemic.Home Office figures published on Thursday found there were 199,021 sexual offences recorded by forces across England and Wales in the year to September 2022, as well as 70,633 rapes. Continue reading...

Sharing accounts across multiple households likely to attract additional fee as streaming giant looks to recoup subscriber lossesStreaming giant Netflix will begin its crackdown on password sharing in the first quarter of this year, after the release of its company earnings report to shareholders last week.The practice of sharing passwords with people outside the subscriber’s household will become more complex and is likely to involve an additional fee to share a single subscription across multiple locations. Continue reading...

There are concerns over health effects of inhalation but exemptions would apply for ‘legitimate reason’ to buy nitrous oxideLaughing gas could be banned from general sale with possession potentially criminalised unless someone has a “legitimate reason” to have it, according to reports.Ministers are thought to be considering the move as part of a crackdown on antisocial behaviour, the Times has reported. After cannabis, laughing gas is the most commonly used drug among 16- to 24-year-olds in England. Continue reading...

Other recipients include former Liberal NSW minister Pru Goward, restaurateur Kylie Kwong, GP Norman Swan and actor David Wenham

Party cloudy skies forecast for Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, with rain for Darwin and sun for Brisbane and Perth

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick says ‘not necessarily a bar’ to families being sent to African countryFamilies with children seeking asylum in the UK are being considered for forced removal to Rwanda, according to a Home Office minister.Immigration minister Robert Jenrick told an evidence session at parliament’s women and equalities committee on Wednesday that, while there were no plans to remove unaccompanied child asylum seekers to the east African country, families with children are being considered for removal. Continue reading...

Residents in Warwickshire town give their views on growing controversy around local Tory MP’s tax affairsThe market town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire has been a Conservative stronghold for well over a hundred years, with its current MP, Nadhim Zahawi, securing a majority of about 20,000 in three successive general elections.But it was difficult to find support for the beleaguered MP on the streets of Stratford on Wednesday, and most locals said they thought he should resign over the scandal around his tax affairs. Continue reading...

Nottingham University Hospitals trust faces fine after pleading guilty to two charges of failures of careThe mother of a baby girl who died in hospital 23 minutes after being born has said she was “failed in the most cruel way” by an NHS Trust that has admitted failings in their care.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) prosecuted the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS trust after it admitted that its maternity services had not provided safe care and treatment to mother, Sarah Andrews, and her baby, Wynter Andrews. Continue reading...

Amir Yaron said to have warned PM that erasing democratic checks and balances could deter crucial foreign investmentThe governor of the Bank of Israel has warned Benjamin Netanyahu that his new government’s proposals for sweeping judicial reform could damage the country’s economy, according to Israeli media reports.Prof Amir Yaron met the Israeli prime minister on Tuesday, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, after requesting an “urgent meeting”. Continue reading...

Levelling up secretary talks of ‘partnership’ in speech but has little time to hear local leaders’ concerns

State Duma approves law to keep members’ income tax and assets private in blow to transparencyRussia’s lower house of parliament has voted in favour of a bill that will lift the requirement for lawmakers to make public their annual income and assets reports, in a move that will significantly decrease transparency.According to a statement on the website of the State Duma, after 1 March, publicly available information about Russian lawmakers’ income declarations will not allow for identification of them. Continue reading...

Isaac and Mathew Auchterlonie were heavily armed, had strong anti-government views and did not expect to survive 2022 incidentTwo brothers who died in a hail of gunfire last summer outside a Canadian bank had been planning their attack for years, with a goal to kill as many officers as possible, police said on Friday.An investigation by the Vancouver Island integrated major crime unit found that 22-year-old Isaac Auchterlonie and his brother, Mathew, showed up at the Victoria, British Columbia, area bank on 28 June 2022 wearing full body armor and carrying semi-automatic rifles. Isaac and Mathew were two-thirds of a set of triplets. Continue reading...

Germany to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and permit other countries to re-export them; US also expected to announce tank donation

Father says he tried to stop Jake Davison getting firearm and alerted authorities about son’s ‘volatile environment’The father of the Plymouth gunman Jake Davison said he tried to warn police not to give his son a shotgun licence because he lived in a “volatile environment”.Davison used a pump-action Weatherby shotgun to kill five people on 12 August 2021 in the Keyham area of the city before turning the gun on himself. He killed his mother, Maxine, 51, after a row at their home before shooting dead Sophie Martyn, three, her father, Lee, 43, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66. Continue reading...

Figures from 2021 census find more than half of LGB+ people are aged between 16 and 34Young people’s openness with sexuality has been revealed in unprecedented census data showing people aged 16 to 24 are more than twice as likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or another minority sexual orientation (LGB+) than the overall population.In Brighton and Hove, one of Britain’s longtime gay capitals, just under one in six 16- to 24-year-olds identify with a sexual identity other than straight – well over twice the England and Wales average of 6.9% for that age group. Continue reading...

Retailer urges UK government not to consider such a move as it would mean ‘overbearing and prohibitive costs’ for exportersMarks & Spencer has urged the UK government not to consider separate labelling for goods sold in Northern Ireland during talks with the EU about improving post-Brexit trade arrangements, arguing that it would be too costly for retailers and customers.The retailer’s chair, Archie Norman, has written to the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, arguing the requirement would not be a useful change to the Northern Ireland protocol and would create “overbearing and prohibitive costs” for exporters. Continue reading...

Drugs regulator recommends eptinezumab for adults whe three previous treatments have failedThousands of people in England and Wales who suffer from migraines could benefit from a drug that has been approved on the NHS.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), the drugs regulator, said it was recommending eptinezumab for preventing migraine in about 164,000 adults where at least three previous preventive treatments had failed. Continue reading...

As cases fall, the condition that once affected millions of people in Africa and Asia could also be the first to be wiped out without medicinesThe number of cases of a painful and debilitating tropical illness fell last year to a record low, fuelling hopes that it will soon become the second human disease in history to be eradicated.Only 13 cases of guinea worm disease were reported worldwide in 2022, a provisional figure that if confirmed would be the smallest ever documented, the US-based Carter Center has said. Continue reading...

Most of the 1,047 Australians honoured are not famous but many of them have changed lives, if not the country

As Amazon workers strike for first time, TUC says rapid home delivery relies on labour that is monitored, repetitive and demandingThis week’s strike at an Amazon depot in Coventry is throwing the spotlight on to a hidden army of workers in the UK’s retail sector, many of whom face “particularly gruelling” conditions, according to recent research commissioned by the TUC.Five academics at the Centre for Research on Employment and Work (Crew) at the University of Greenwich analysed data about the retail workforce during and after the Covid pandemic, and carried out in-depth interviews with 30 workers. Continue reading...

PC Hussain Chehab pleads guilty to sexual activity with girl and making indecent photographs of a childA serving Metropolitan police officer who was posted in a north London school has pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse offences.PC Hussain Chehab, 22, admitted four counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15, three counts of making indecent photographs of a child, and sexual communication with a child. He appeared at Wood Green crown court on Tuesday and will be sentenced on 17 March. Continue reading...

Prime minister faces uncomfortable PMQs, with ‘impossible questions’ over ex-chancellor’s tax affairs

January boom means airline expects to beat market expectations for profits this yearEasyJet has lauded a record surge in bookings in January as passengers prioritised travel for the coming year amid signs airlines are finally recovering from the pandemic downturn.Despite the continuing cost of living crisis in the UK and abroad, the airline said high levels of demand and strong bookings meant it expected to beat market expectations for its profits this year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Labour compiled analysis of waste suffered by cash-strapped local authorities on the scheme, binned by the government weeks laterCash-strapped councils are estimated to have spent £12.5m compiling bids to launch low tax and regulation-lite “investment zones” that were binned by the government just weeks later, new figures suggest.Labour, which compiled analysis about the waste suffered by local authorities, hit out at the “cost of Tory chaos” given the scheme was effectively ditched by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, when he took over after Liz Truss’s short-lived premiership. Continue reading...

MPs and peers warn bill ‘will damage UK’s international reputation as guardians of human rights’Rishi Sunak is being urged to abandon the government’s controversial attempt to overhaul human rights legislation after a warning that the bill of rights appears to “tip the balance” in favour of the state and seriously damages people’s ability to enforce their rights.A cross-party committee of MPs and peers said the bill, which would replace the Human Rights Act, which enshrines the European convention on human rights in the UK, showed a “disregard” for the UK’s international legal obligations and would lead to more cases going to the European court of human rights in Strasbourg. Continue reading...

PM’s call comes as Greens face party split on issue and Liberals signal they will oppose the proposal

Teresa Maher’s son, Kyle, was killed by Richard Wilson-Michael in supported accommodation in London in 2017A woman has won a legal battle against a mental health tribunal over its refusal to provide her with the the reasons for releasing her son’s killer into the communityIn a boost to open justice, a high court judge ruled that the tribunal unlawfully rejected requests for information from Teresa Maher, who feared that her son’s killer still posed a risk. Continue reading...

International code adopted as part of ‘anti-racism commitment’ could be used to shut down genuine criticism of the state of Israel, critics warn

Growing number of offenders on remand in England and Wales not offered support before being freed, prisons inspector saysPotentially dangerous prisoners are spending years on remand before disappearing into the community after their release without being properly monitored, the prisons watchdog has warned.Charlie Taylor, HM’s chief inspector of prisons, said a restructuring of probation services last year failed to address the growing number of offenders held on remand who are not offered support before being freed. Continue reading...

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National Highways faces third intervention by a local authority over infilling, after burying Congham bridge in Norfolk in tonnes of concreteA controversial practice by the government’s roads agency of burying historic railway bridges in concrete has been dealt a fresh blow after a third council intervened over another infilled structure.King’s Lynn and West Norfolk council has told National Highways it must apply for retrospective planning permission if it wants to retain hundreds of tonnes of aggregate and concrete it used to submerge Congham bridge, a few miles east of King’s Lynn. Continue reading...

Insurrection: A Work in Progress by Peter Brathwaite will highlight folk traditions as a form of resistanceA leading British opera singer is developing a work based on the music of his enslaved ancestors in Barbados as a way of examining complex historical events and highlighting forms of resistance.Peter Brathwaite and the Royal Opera House (ROH) will present Insurrection: A Work in Progress to audiences in March, inviting feedback from the public that will shape the opera’s next stages. Continue reading...

Lynn has pleaded not guilty to murdering the pair, who went missing in 2020 while camping in the Wonnangatta Valley, north-east of Melbourne

Extreme weather kills at least one person in Japan and more than 100 in Afghanistan while parts of China hit record low temperaturesWeather authorities in Japan and the Korean peninsula have issued warnings over freezing temperatures and gales that have killed at least one person, and stranded thousands.Severe cold weather has already caused fatalities, havoc and record low temperatures across the region in the last fortnight, with at least 124 people dead in Afghanistan and record lows of -53C in northeastern China. Continue reading...

In a focus group, residents of Stoke-on-Trent describe the health service as an ‘absolute mess’ and say the PM has just disappeared

Exclusive: Healthy Start scheme began switch away from paper coupons to digital system in 2021Struggling parents are having to wait more than a year for vouchers to buy healthy food for their children after the relaunch of an NHS scheme was plagued by IT problems.The Healthy Start scheme, which helps low-income parents and pregnant women pay for fruit, vegetables, milk and formula, has been misfiring since it began the switch away from paper vouchers in October 2021. As it moved from a paper coupon format to a prepaid card system, parents who had been using the old scheme were rejected for the new one without explanation. Continue reading...

Residents told that rising cases mean they must stay home for five days and do frequent temperature checksAuthorities in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, have ordered a five-day lockdown due to rising cases of an unspecified respiratory illness, Seoul-based NK News reported on Wednesday, citing a government notice.The notice did not mention Covid-19, but said that residents in the city were required to stay in their homes until the end of Sunday and submit to temperature checks multiple times each day, according to NK News, which monitors North Korea. Continue reading...

Rob and Fern Messenger filed ‘acres of irrelevant and scandalous material’ during trial, court finds

Decision comes just days after Washington argued against sending the Abrams and follows reports Berlin will send Leopard tanks to Ukraine

Allied health groups say allowing people to see other practitioners in first instance would reduce load on doctors

Minister says Northern Territory government responded too slowly and a First Nations body advising parliament would have delivered earlier intervention

As Queensland cracks down on young offenders, experts fear ill-informed public sentiment is influencing policy

Community visitors should be checking on residents in privately run facilities, Victoria’s public advocate says

Crane nightclub in Digbeth where Cody Fisher was killed described as having inadequate search regime and widespread drug useA Birmingham nightclub where a footballer was stabbed to death on Boxing Day has had its licence permanently revoked.Cody Fisher, 23, died after being stabbed during a fight at an event at Crane nightclub in Digbeth. Continue reading...

Media reports say German chancellor Olaf Scholz has decided to send the vehicles and allow other countries to send their German-made tanks

‘Demand flexibility scheme’, which launched on Monday, to operate between 4.30pm and 6.30pm

Multiple officials have been dismissed or resigned since Saturday, with six facing corruption allegations

Michelle Rowland, state and territory ministers and representatives of dating apps to discuss ‘unacceptable levels of abuse and harassment’

Sharp says he will not step down, despite claims he helped secure £800k loan for Boris JohnsonRichard Sharp has insisted he had no conflict of interest when he was appointed the chair of the BBC by Boris Johnson, despite allegations he helped secure a loan of up to £800,000 for the prime minister only a week earlier.The BBC chair said on Tuesday he was confident he was given the job in 2021 “on merit” and said he would not step down. Continue reading...

Government convenes domestic violence experts after killings of six women and a young girl this monthThe Spanish government has called a second emergency meeting of domestic violence experts in less than a month after the murders of six women and a young girl since the start of January, and as it considers a plan to let abused women know if their partners have been convicted of violent offences.The crisis committee was last assembled after the murders of 11 women in December. Continue reading...