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Centre for Responsible Technology ‘supportive’ of proposed reforms, calling them the ‘first significant upgrade of privacy laws in four decades’

Student disengagement is on the rise and the ‘disciplinary climate’ is among the least favourable in the OECD, education policy outlook warns

Labour says data reveals ‘mental health crisis at the heart of Whitehall’, as unions say staff cuts and low pay among reasonsWhitehall civil servants took a record 771,433 days of sick leave last year because of stress and other mental health problems, figures show.This all-time high number of mental health sick days taken by officials working for government departments was 38% higher than the 558,125 recorded just a year before. Continue reading...

Conference accuses inspectorate of ‘mercilessly bullying’ teachers and follows NEU in calling for changeOfsted inspectors have been accused of a “reign of terror” over teachers and school leaders in England, as a second major teaching union backed a campaign to abolish the schools watchdog.Delegates to the NASUWT annual conference voted for a motion describing Ofsted as a “major contributor to the excessive workload and bureaucracy that blights the lives of teachers” and instructed the union to campaign for its abolition and replacement.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, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...

Exclusive: EMFS, devised by Treasury and Bank of England as backstop fund, was quietly closed this yearThe Treasury spent almost half a million pounds on an unused emergency scheme for energy traders launched by Liz Truss that was quietly closed earlier this year.

Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing government puts food and wine at heart of its nationalistic expressionA tall ship named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci will embark on a two-year voyage as Italy’s conservative government puts the promotion of the country’s food and wine at the heart of its nationalistic expression of Italian identity.The navy vessel, built in 1930 and described as “the most beautiful ship in the world”, will set sail on 1 July “to bring Made in Italy and the excellence of our country to the world”, according to the defence minister, Guido Crosetto. Continue reading...

Tropical cyclone brews off the Kimberley while freezing rain causes chaos in Quebec and OntarioAt the weekend a tropical low that was situated in the Timor Sea moved west-south-west into waters north of the Kimberley, Western Australia. Deepening as it moved, the low developed into a tropical cyclone on Sunday night that brought gale-force winds of up to 56 mph (90km/h) to the coast. Squally thunderstorms across northern parts of the region produced strong winds and heavy rain.The tropical cyclone is forecast to reach category 3 by Tuesday. From Wednesday it is expected to turn south, prompting the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to warn that a significant risk of further instability could steer the storm south-east into central or eastern Pilbara, or western Kimberley. Given sea surface temperatures will be 30-32C (86-90F), the cyclone is expected to deepen to a category 4, with some models forecasting central pressure as low as 910hPa. Continue reading...

Interaction at temple in India seen in video that has gone viral condemned as ‘inappropriate’ and ‘scandalous’The Dalai Lama has apologised after he faced allegations of inappropriate behaviour after kissing a young boy on the lips and asking him to “suck his tongue” at a public event in India.The interaction, which took place in late February at the Dalai Lama’s temple in Dharamshala, was attended by about 100 young students who had just graduated from the Indian M3M Foundation. Continue reading...

‘Very cold and gusty’ winds have lowered temperatures up and down the east coast and brought warnings of wild surf conditions

Grant Thornton hopes to finalise discussions about solutions for parts of the builder in the next week

Gatherings over Easter long weekend expected to cause further increase in infections, with Victoria already 60% up in past fortnight

Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, prominent figures advocating for improved civil rights, given lengthy jail terms in latest crackdown on dissentA Chinese court has sentenced two prominent human rights lawyers to jail terms of more than a decade each, a relative and rights groups say, in the latest move in a years-long crackdown on civil society by President Xi Jinping.Xu Zhiyong, 50, and Ding Jiaxi, 55, were put on trial behind closed doors in June last year on charges of state subversion at a court in Linshu county in the north-eastern province of Shandong, relatives said at the time. Continue reading...

Flood moving abroad has come as a shock and is costing tens of millions in lost tax receiptsA record number of super-rich Norwegians are abandoning Norway for low-tax countries after the centre-left government increased wealth taxes to 1.1%.More than 30 Norwegian billionaires and multimillionaires left Norway in 2022, according to research by the newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv. This was more than the total number of super-rich people who left the country during the previous 13 years, it added. Even more super-rich individuals are expected to leave this year because of the increase in wealth tax in November, costing the government tens of millions lost tax receipts. Continue reading...

Underfunded services resulting in more women choosing cheaper at-home abortion pill, study findsOverstretched and underfunded abortion services in England and Wales are leaving women feeling pressured into opting for the cheaper at-home pill rather than a surgical procedure, according to research.The proportion of medical abortions – using pills – rose from 47% in 2011 to 87% in 2021, while very few abortions are now administered surgically, finds research from the London School of Economics. Continue reading...

Volume of allegations suggests harassment and discrimination remains a problem within the government workforce

The list of hopefuls also includes sites in Birkenhead, Northern Ireland and the Cayman IslandsThe historic city centre of York and ancient settlements in the Shetlands are among seven sites backed by the UK government to win Unesco world heritage status, it has been announced.York, which boasts the Minster and enjoys a rich history bequeathed by its Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman inhabitants, and three ancient settlements known as the “zenith of iron age Shetland” join five other sites announced on the “tentative list” to bid for the status. Continue reading...

Directors such as Yorgos Lanthimos have joined campaign to save the Astor and Ideal from hotel and office developmentsThe spectre of two historic Athens cinemas being closed by commercial interests bent on turning them into a hotel and office block has spurred film-makers to get in front of the camera with pleas to stop the process.Directors of international acclaim have appealed to save the buildings amid mounting public disquiet over the pace of development in one of Europe’s oldest capitals. Leading the charge, Costa-Gavras, the Paris-based film director who shot to fame with the political drama Z, released when Greece was under military rule, called the existence of the Ideal and Astor cinemas indispensable for the enjoyment of film in an era when the “barbarism” of movies being watched on TV and mobile phones was widespread. Continue reading...

Support for the Liberal Democratic party had plunged last year as media uncovered its links to the Unification church after the killing of Shinzo AbeJapan’s ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) has won key local elections in the first big electoral test for the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, since damaging revelations emerged about his party’s ties to the Unification church.LDP candidates triumphed in governor elections in prefectures from Hokkaido in the country’s north to Oita in the south-west on Sunday, raising speculation that Kishida could call a snap general election. Continue reading...

Coalition of organisations says changes would have ‘devastating impact on press freedom’ and are not in public interest

Party leader says he will ‘make absolutely zero apologies for being blunt’ after facing widespread criticism over advertKeir Starmer has said he will “make absolutely zero apologies for being blunt” in an article published after a row over a widely criticised Labour attack advert on child sexual assaults.In a veiled message to critics within his own party, the Labour leader said he will “stand by every word Labour has said on this subject” and would continue to use the Conservatives’ record on crime as a legitimate criticism “no matter how squeamish it might make some feel”. Continue reading...

Return from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace will be more direct than five-mile journey of Queen Elizabeth IIKing Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, will arrive at Westminster Abbey for the coronation on 6 May in the sovereign’s newest state carriage, and depart it in the oldest, during a day of celebrations that will see a procession route far shorter than that of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation, it has been revealed.The king and queen consort will leave Buckingham Palace in the diamond jubilee state coach, built to celebrate the late queen’s 60th anniversary on the throne in 2012. They will depart, as King Charles III and Queen Camilla, in the 260-year-old gold state coach, which has been used in every coronation since William IV’s in 1831. Continue reading...

Buckingham Palace creates Twitter hashtags with motif of 17th century crown to sit on king’s head during May ceremonyBuckingham Palace has revealed an official emoji to celebrate the coronation. The colourful cartoon motif depicts the 17th-century gold jewelled St Edward’s crown with purple velvet cap – the regalia which will be used to crown the king on 6 May.It is the first emoji created for a British coronation, as the last crowning in Britain, Elizabeth II’s 70 years ago, predated the internet, social media and mobile phones. Continue reading...

Most items of regalia used for coronation are at most 350-years-old, but there is one notable exceptionJewel-encrusted crowns, swords and sceptres may glitter the brightest at Charles III’s coronation, but of all regalia the most significant from a historical perspective may be a simple spoon.When the 2,000 guests witness the crowning at Westminster Abbey on 6 May, the regalia – sacred objects symbolising monarchical duties and powers – will play the part they have played in this same theatre for almost 1,000 years. Continue reading...

Sunak government could ‘swiftly’ end spoofing calls, says Emily Thornberry in criticism of delayed fraud strategyLabour has pledged a crackdown on global scammers who call UK phone numbers to con people out of their money, and criticised the government for a five-month delay in producing a new fraud strategy.The shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, said Suella Braverman, the home secretary, had said the strategy would be published “shortly” exactly five months ago. Thornberry said that 1.5m offences would have been committed in England and Wales in that time. Continue reading...

Support for prime minister wanes as his ‘plot to overturn Israel’s democracy’ is seen as threat to national securityOn Friday afternoon, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, found himself standing at the side of a remote road in the vast desert valley that runs the length of the occupied West Bank’s frontier with Jordan.Along with his defence minister, Yoav Galant, Netanyahu was inspecting the scene of a shooting attack earlier in the day that killed British-Israeli sisters Maia and Rina Dee, 20 and 15, and left their 45-year-old mother Lucy fighting for her life. An Israel Defence Forces (IDF) search for the perpetrator is still under way. Continue reading...

Douglas Ross amends proposal for tactical voting against SNP after fury from Tory central officeThe Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, has backtracked on comments he made suggesting Conservative voters could vote Labour at the next general election in seats where Keir Starmer’s party had a better chance of winning against the SNP.Ross, who has said he will step down at the next election, had told the Telegraph that unionist voters should consider putting country above party and “do what is best for the country” and support “the strongest candidate to beat the SNP”. Continue reading...

Police treating blaze at block of flats in which 15-year-old died as arsonPolice have named a 15-year-old girl who was killed in an east London fire as Tiffany Regis.Tiffany died in the blaze on Thursday at a block of flats in Beckton, the Metropolitan police said. Detectives are treating the fire as arson. Continue reading...

Hertfordshire police continue investigation into Met officer who was jailed for life in February for series of rapesMore than 10 people have contacted police investigating further allegations of offences by David Carrick since the disgraced Metropolitan police officer was jailed in February, Hertfordshire police have said.The 48-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum tariff of 32 years in February after pleading guilty to 85 serious offences including 48 rapes.Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...

British community study finds groups experiencing high levels of poor health, racist assault, job insecurity and deprivation

Ukrainian forces strengthen defensive lines along Belarus and Russian border; children illegally abducted by Russia reunited with families Continue reading...

Nicotine-addicted students are reportedly struggling with concentration, behaviour and are leaving class to vape

While many Potterheads celebrated reports of HBO Max show, some feel it would be tainted by JK Rowling’s stance on genderAt Platform 9 3/4 in King’s Cross station, Harry Potter devotees from around the world gathered to take their picture in front of one of the book’s most celebrated locations.Fans of all ages were enthused by a particular story that took the internet by storm this week – that a long-rumoured Potter TV series could be in the works after reports that a deal was imminent between HBO Max and JK Rowling. Continue reading...

Victim in his 20s found with gunshot wounds when emergency services arrived at Gleadless Valley estateA murder investigation has been launched after a man in his 20s was shot dead in Sheffield.Shortly after 1.30am on Sunday, emergency services were called to the Gleadless Valley housing estate in the south of the city, after reports that a man had been shot. The victim was found with serious gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

In Easter sermon, archbishop of Canterbury says money was not set aside because of ‘postcolonial guilt’The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has used his Easter sermon to say that £100m pledged by the Church of England to compensate for its complicity in the international slave trade is not “postcolonial guilt” but “the presence of the risen Christ alive in the church”.Welby said the social impact investment fund announced in January was the right thing to do because the C of E “had done actions that denied the reality of God’s universal power and love”, which the church was “meant to live”. Continue reading...

Latest figures show 1,210 households in hotels and B&Bs for longer than the six-week legal limitThe number of homeless families being housed in hotels and B&Bs over the legal limit by English councils has doubled within a year, figures reveal.The latest figures released by the government show 1,210 families were in hotels and B&Bs for longer than the six-week legal limit between 1 July to 30 September in 2022, up from 570 in 2021 for the same period. These are the highest figures since 2017. Continue reading...

Ochakiv was ‘paradise’ before unwelcome visitors began raining down missiles from spit of land nearbyThe view from the Ukrainian town of Ochakiv appears idyllic. Beyond the beach, a narrow strip of land stretches out across the sea. The peninsula in Mykolaiv province is known as the Kinburn spit. In happier times holidaymakers would take a boat from Ochakiv and camp among the dunes. The nature reserve is home to swans, pelicans and migrating birds.Last June it got a new and unwelcome visitor: Russia. Soldiers captured the rustic territory, with its summer houses and mini-lakes, and turned it into a military base. Ever since the Russian army has bombarded Ochakiv, which is five miles (8km) away. Truck mounted launchers release Grad missiles, sending them over the Black Sea. Afterwards the crews speed off and take cover amid the mazy sands. Continue reading...

Prospective tenants are being asked to provide personal details in order to secure a contract, raising fears of discriminationRenters are being subjected to extreme vetting procedures by letting agents and landlords who are demanding personal statements – and even photographs – to choose between prospective tenants.Amid the worst rental market conditions to date, campaigners say that letting agents and landlords are increasing the potential for discrimination by telling renters to submit personal biographies to try to sell themselves as desirable tenants. Continue reading...

Sixty years ago, a little-known Liverpudlian band took to the stage at Stowe school in Buckinghamshire• Samira Ahmed: A tape that takes us back to an era of optimismIt was a sweet slice of cultural history and, at the same time, evidence of an unlikely clash of English social classes. The discovery of a tape recording of an early Beatles concert made in 1963 at a Buckinghamshire private school last week has astonished music experts and fans alike.And now the crackling, hissing 60-year-old tape, complete with audible banter from the Fab Four, is to be restored for wider listening, according to the BBC journalist who uncovered the story, Samira Ahmed. The former student who made the tape, John Bloomfield, hopes to have it enhanced with the same kind of technology that has recently improved other early Beatles demo tapes and first studio takes. Continue reading...

At 27 years old, he served as a prosecutor as Nazi defendants faced a series of trials for crimes against humanity including genocideBenjamin Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials in Germany that brought Nazi war criminals to justice after the second world war and a longtime apostle of international criminal law, died on Friday at age 103, US media reported, citing his son.Ferencz, a Harvard-educated lawyer, secured convictions of numerous German officers who led roving death squads during the war. Circumstances of his death were not immediately disclosed. The New York Times reported that Ferencz died at an assisted living facility in Boynton Beach, Florida. Continue reading...

Dario Gambarin recreates 1907 Picasso self-portrait after similar images of Pope Francis and US leaders in Verona fieldAn Italian land artist has used a tractor to create a portrait of Pablo Picasso on wasteland in Castagnaro, Verona.Dario Gambarin said he was inspired by Picasso’s 1907 self-portrait to create what he says is the largest portrait of the Spanish artist in the world. Continue reading...

‘Armed terrorist groups’ attacked two villages in northeastern Burkina Faso, near the Niger borderForty-four civilians have been killed by “armed terrorist groups” in two villages in north-eastern Burkina Faso, near the Niger border, a regional governor said Saturday.The provisional toll of “this despicable and barbaric attack” which targeted the villages of Kourakou and Tondobi overnight on Thursday “is 44 civilians killed and others wounded,” said Rodolphe Sorgho, lieutenant-governor of the Sahel region. Continue reading...

Rina and Maia Dee, aged 15 and 20, identified on Twitter by Benjamin Netanyahu as mother remains in intensive careThe two British-Israeli sisters killed in a gun attack in the occupied West Bank on Friday have been named as Rina and Maia Dee.Rina, 15, and Maia, 20, who were born in London, were identified on Twitter by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Continue reading...

Resurrection shows cruel rulers and the sufferings they cause will vanish, archbishop of Canterbury to sayThe archbishop of Canterbury will use his Easter sermons to warn that “those who oppress and subjugate others will face divine justice”.Justin Welby will tell Canterbury Cathedral that while “cruel and oppressive rulers” may look as though they are only becoming stronger, they will “vanish”. Continue reading...

Scotland records its highest temperature yet for 2023 and whole of UK could follow suit on Easter SundayThe UK was hotter than Rome on Saturday, while Scotland recorded its highest temperature of the year so far.The mercury rose to 17.3C in Kinlochewe in the Scottish Highlands as Britons basked in glorious sunshine over Easter weekend. Continue reading...

Three-times Wimbledon champion describes eight months in jail as ‘very, very different experience to what you see in the movies’Boris Becker has spoken of his “brutal” prison experience in the UK, adding that during his incarceration he had to surround himself with “tough boys” for protection.The three-times Wimbledon men’s singles champion served eight months of his two-and-a-half-year sentence for hiding £2.5m of assets and loans in a bankruptcy fraud case. He was released from prison in December and deported from the UK. Continue reading...

All ski tourers survived the slide near summit of the Alphubel with light to moderate injuriesNine skiers survived a major avalanche high in the Swiss Alps on Saturday, emerging with only light to moderate injuries.All nine were found by rescuers and airlifed to hospital, police said. Continue reading...

Women who break Islamic dress code will be identified, warned on first instance and then taken to courtPolice in Iran plan to use smart technology in public places to identify and then penalise women who violate the country’s strict Islamic dress code, the force said on Saturday.A statement said police would “take action to identify norm-breaking people by using tools and smart cameras in public places and thoroughfares”. Continue reading...

Consultants who refuse to do extra work threatened with having their pay docked as NHS trusts race to empty their wardsHospital trusts are taking desperate measures to limit the predicted loss of life from this week’s NHS strikes – including threatening consultants who refuse to do extra work, and tempting junior doctors to cross picket lines by increasing locum pay – as fears grows that many wards could be left without medical cover.NHS leaders and senior clinicians fear the four-day walkout by junior doctors – starting at 6.59am on Tuesday and continuing until 6.59am on Saturday – will lead to the cancellation of hundreds of thousands of operations and appointments, while putting seriously ill patients at greater risk. Continue reading...

Co-host of Frank Skinner’s Absolute Radio show dies from injuries sustained in car crash in late MarchComedians across the UK have paid tribute to the comic Gareth Richards, who has died aged 41 from injuries sustained in a car crash on the M25 last month.Richards’ wife, Laura, said in a statement on Saturday: “It is with great sadness that I have to share that Gareth passed away on Friday 7 April (Good Friday) at 6.30pm. Continue reading...

Former first minister says she ‘will get on with her job’ in statement outside Glasgow home raided by police last weekNicola Sturgeon has pledged to “fully cooperate” with police after the arrest of her husband, the SNP’s former chief executive, during an investigation into party finances.Speaking publicly today for the first time since Peter Murrell’s arrest, the former first minister admitted that recent days had been “obviously difficult” in a brief statement outside the couple’s Glasgow home, which police had raided three days earlier. Continue reading...