Exclusive: Rochdale council settled case after it was revealed the school Hazel Healey worked in contained asbestosThe family of a teacher who died of cancer due to asbestos exposure at her school has won a settlement, prompting warnings that staff and pupils remain at risk in older buildings.Hazel Healey worked in St Gabriel’s school between 1971 and 1980, and died aged 73 in May 2022 after she was diagnosed with mesothelioma – which is nearly always caused by asbestos exposure – in October 2020. Continue reading...
Controversial former bandleader says he wanted to ‘re-address the political and emotional message’ of album that turns 50 years old this weekRoger Waters has revealed the first minute of music from his re-recorded version of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, after the original turned 50 years old this week.He posted a clip of himself listening to a new recording of the song Us and Them, along with an explanation of the project, which does not feature his former bandmates. Waters wrote the original album’s lyrics, confronting war, capital, death and other weighty existential themes, and said he wanted to “re-address the political and emotional message of the whole album”, adding:We are now in the process of finishing the final mix. It’s turned out really great and I’m excited for everyone to hear it. It’s not a replacement for the original which, obviously, is irreplaceable. But it is a way for the 79-year-old man to look back across the intervening 50 years into the eyes of the 29-year-old and say, to quote a poem of mine about my father, “We did our best, we kept his trust, our Dad would have been proud of us”. And also it is a way for me to honour a recording that Nick and Rick and Dave and I have every right to be very proud of. Continue reading...
Crime writers have paid tribute to the London-born author behind the long-running detective series, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2020Christopher Fowler, author of the Bryant & May series of detective novels, has died at the age of 69, having been diagnosed with cancer three years ago.Fowler was best known for his Bryant & May thrillers, featuring the veteran detectives solving unusual crimes in London from the second world war to the present day. The series began with Full Dark House in 2003, and 17 more novels followed, most recently London Bridge Is Falling Down, published in 2021. A further book exploring the London of the characters, Bryant & May’s Peculiar London, came out last year. Continue reading...
by Cait Kelly (now) and Mostafa Rachwani (earlier) on (#69D3E)
Australia, the US, India and Japan join to ‘counter new and emerging forms of terrorism, radicalisation to violence and violent extremism’. This blog is now closed
Loyal bank customers are not necessarily rewarded, so shop around for a better-paying accountMPs this week had a go at bank bosses about their stingy savings rates, particularly on instant access accounts, saying that they seemed to be “taking advantage” of loyal customers. But you don’t have to put up with rubbish rates, as there are savings accounts out there paying up to 7% interest.The official Bank of England base rate is now 4%, yet the returns offered by some widely held accounts are lagging way behind. The Barclays Everyday Saver easy access account offers only 0.55% interest and Santander Everyday Saver pays 0.6%, while the Lloyds Bank Easy Saver is offering only 0.65% unless you have got £25,000-plus stashed away. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent on (#69DGM)
Kem Sokha, an opponent of Cambodian dictator Hun Sen, sentenced after treason trial widely seen as politically drivenProminent Cambodian opposition politician Kem Sokha has been sentenced to 27 years in prison after being found guilty of treason, in a case widely condemned as politically motivated.The former leader of the dissolved opposition party the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was arrested in 2017 and accused of conspiring with the US to oust Cambodia’s authoritarian leader, Hun Sen, who has ruled for almost four decades. Continue reading...
Supreme court rules for freedom of association but landmark decision sparks backlash from government and churchesThe supreme court of Kenya has criticised the government for failure to register an association for LGBTQ+ people, saying the decision discriminates against the rights of the community.Although same-sex unions remain illegal in Kenya, the court ruled that everyone has a right of association. It is the culmination of a decade-long legal battle, and a victory for the LGBTQ+ community. Continue reading...
Los Angeles hospital accused of ignoring Black woman’s pain and neglecting her as baby’s father gave her CPRApril Valentine planned to have a complication-free delivery and to enjoy her life as a first-time parent to a healthy baby girl. Instead, California’s department of health and human services is investigating the circumstances of the Black woman’s death during childbirth at an Inglewood hospital.Valentine, a 31-year-old Black woman, went to Centinela hospital in Inglewood on 9 January and died the next day. Her daughter Aniya was born via an emergency caesarean section. Her family and friends say that staff at the hospital ignored the pregnant woman’s complaints of pain, refused to let her doula be in the hospital room during the birth and neglected Valentine as her child’s father performed CPR on her. Continue reading...
Half a million more women than men are paid below real living wage and 13% are on zero-hours contractsHalf a million more working women are paid below the real living wage than their male counterparts, according to data from the Living Wage Foundation.It says women have been harder hit by the cost of living crisis because they tend to earn less. Continue reading...
Exclusive: University College London to develop language programme in secondary schools over three yearsMinisters have awarded an almost £15m contract to tackle the systemic decline in the number of pupils in England taking foreign languages at GCSE and A-level.University College London’s Institute of Education will develop and roll out the Department of Education’s £14.9m language programme in primary and secondary schools over the next three years, with a focus on increasing opportunities among disadvantaged pupils. Continue reading...
by Mark Brown North of England correspondent on (#69DJB)
K8 boxes are last in the line of classics, say campaigners as nine still in working order get heritage protectionNine rare cream-coloured public phone boxes that are still in working order have been given heritage protection by the government.The K8 phone boxes are all cream – rather than red – because they are in Hull, the only place in England where the local council ran the public telephone network. Continue reading...
Auction of 43 props and costumes held by film studio A24 raises more than US$500,000 for charitiesHotdog hand prosthetics, a raccoon puppet dubbed Raccacoonie and a rock with googly eyes have fetched thousands of dollars in an online auction of props from the award-season favourite film, Everything Everywhere All at Once.The week-long auction, which ended on Thursday, featured 43 props and costumes from the multiverse comedy-drama, which is nominated for 11 Oscars. The film stars Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American laundromat owner who is trying to hold her life and family together while hopping between universes to save the world.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...
by Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington on (#69DF4)
Lawyers for survivors and families of victims had urged postponement due to sheer volume of disclosure and delays in receiving, accessing and reviewing itAn inquest hearing into the deaths of 51 Muslims in a white supremacist terror attack on two Christchurch mosques has been postponed, after bereaved families and survivors raised “reasonable concerns” that vital evidence could be missed if it went ahead as scheduled, the coroner heading the inquiry says.The inquiry will address questions not covered by previous investigations into the 15 March 2019 terrorist attack, in which an Australian gunman opened fire on worshipers during Friday prayers while livestreaming the massacre on Facebook. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#69DCT)
Gender-sensitive audit also urges quotas for governing bodies and a new permanent proxy-voting schemeHolyrood’s presiding officer is calling for a ban on all-male committees, alongside quotas for key governing bodies and a new permanent proxy-voting scheme, in order to improve gender equality within the Scottish parliament.Publishing the findings of the first gender-sensitive audit on Friday, Alison Johnstone – the Holyrood equivalent of the Commons speaker – warned “equal representation of women is not yet embedded within the parliament, nor is it guaranteed going forward”. Continue reading...
Highlands-London service will be run by state-owned company after operator Serco loses contract seven years earlyThe Caledonian Sleeper rail service will be nationalised after Scottish ministers moved to terminate the operating company’s franchise agreement seven years early.It will be operated by an arm’s length company owned by the Scottish government from 25 June, transport minister Jenny Gilruth told MSPs in Holyrood on Thursday. Continue reading...
Pair also charged with concealing birth of a child and perverting the course of justice after infant was found dead on WednesdayA couple have been charged with gross negligence manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice after the remains of a baby were found in woodland in Sussex.The Metropolitan police said Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, had been charged with three offences. They are due to appear in custody at Crawley magistrates court on Friday. Continue reading...
Friends of former PM say appointment calls into question parliamentary inquiry into whether Johnson misled MPsAllies of Boris Johnson have launched an all-out effort to scupper a parliamentary inquiry into Partygate after the senior official who led an initial inquiry into the scandal was unexpectedly unveiled as Keir Starmer’s new chief of staff.The hire is a major coup for Starmer, who has been looking to appoint a veteran civil servant to prepare the party for government. Continue reading...
Christopher Kunzelman was renovating a home in a village on Maui in 2014 when he was attacked and called a ‘haole’In a case that reflects Hawaii’s nuanced and complicated relationship with race, two Native Hawaiian men are scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday for a federal hate crime in the brutal beating of a white man who tried to move into their remote traditional fishing village.A jury convicted Kaulana Alo-Kaonohi and Levi Aki Jr in November, finding that they were motivated by Christopher Kunzelman’s race when they punched, kicked and used a shovel to beat him in 2014. His injuries included a concussion, two broken ribs and head trauma. Continue reading...
The children of the late singer-songwriter have filed a motion claiming that his signed trust, valued at $48m, was forgedThe children and heirs of the late Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen have accused his former manager and his attorneys of forgery.A motion filed by 48-year-old Lorca and 50-year-old Adam Cohen and reviewed by Variety indicates that Cohen’s two adult children accuse Cohen’s former manager Robert Kory along with his legal representatives of forgery of Cohen’s signed trust that is valued at $48m. Continue reading...
Leaked WhatsApp exchanges from then health secretary to top civil servant in 2020 reveal concerns over enforcement of rulesMatt Hancock told Britain’s most senior civil servant they would need to “get heavy with the police” in order to enforce lockdown rules during the Covid pandemic, leaked messages have revealed.WhatsApp correspondence from a Daily Telegraph investigation shows how Hancock and Simon Case feared that officers were not doing enough to stop people from breaking the rules in August 2020. At the time, Case was in his last month as Downing Street permanent secretary. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent and H on (#69D53)
People who lost loved ones and their representatives speak out as MI5 is accused of a ‘devastating’ failureFamilies of the victims of the Manchester Arena attack accused MI5 of a “devastating” failure after an official inquiry found the spy agency had missed a “significant opportunity” to stop the blast carried out by Salman Abedi. Here, they respond to the inquiry’s verdict: Continue reading...
by Aletha Adu, Political correspondent on (#69D3F)
Ex-PM criticises sensitivity edit of author’s works – and also rejects sending Parthenon marbles to GreeceBoris Johnson has criticised a publisher’s rewriting of some language in Roald Dahl’s stories by reciting a song by the Oompa-Loompas.The former prime minister expressed his “irritation at wokeness and political correctness” after Puffin made extensive changes to the author’s work to remove language it deemed offensive. Continue reading...
Government says rail projects beset by ‘chronic public sector ills’, as death toll from crash rises to 57Thousands of Greeks have taken to the streets for a second day of protests as anger mounts over the loss of life in Tuesday night’s head-on train crash.Braving torrential rain and thunder, demonstrators marched from the office headquarters of Hellenic Train in Athens to the Greek parliament, chanting “this crime will not be forgotten”. Continue reading...
Mayo says it is surprising Bruce was allowed to carry on for so long after announcing switch to GHRSimon Mayo has said it was surprising that the BBC let Ken Bruce continue broadcasting his Radio 2 show after announcing his departure to a rival station.Bruce will host his last BBC show on Friday after it was axed one month early amid concerns that it was essentially free advertising for his new show. Continue reading...
Drug with street value of £133m found in two batches of watertight packagesSealed bags containing a total of 2.3 tonnes of cocaine have washed up on the northern French coast in the past few days, a source with knowledge of the find has said.The drug was found in two batches of watertight packages on the Normandy coast, one on Sunday and one on Wednesday, the source told Agence France-Presse on Thursday. Continue reading...
Senior employee caused ‘lasting disability’ to former partner, who appealed against decision not to disclose judgmentA senior social worker found to have abused his ex-partner and caused “lasting disability” has lost his fight to block details being shared with the regulator Social Work England (SWE).In a high court ruling, Mrs Justice Knowles said details of the case should be disclosed to the organisation, overturning a decision by a family court judge. Continue reading...
School says move by English department after removal of mirrors was meant to be provocativeParents have criticised the decision of a school in Worcester to replace mirrors with posters describing makeup as a “harmful drug”, saying it is misguided, “controlling behaviour”.The posters included slogans suggesting that if girls wore comfortable clothes and no makeup, “guys would have no choice but to fall for girls because of natural beauty”, and that “makeup is a harmful drug that once you start using you’ll feel ugly without”. Continue reading...
Journalist says ex-minister ‘vanished’ at key moment for book, as she faces questions over leak to TelegraphIsabel Oakeshott has has said her relationship with Matt Hancock soured after he abandoned her in the middle of writing their book in order to appear on I’m a Celebrity.As she faced ethical questions over her decision to breach her non-disclosure agreement with Hancock and take his WhatsApps to the Daily Telegraph, Oakeshott said she chose the newspaper for ideological reasons, because it “pushed back against lockdown during the pandemic”. Continue reading...
The final season of the award-winning drama will see the Roy children take on their father with chaos expectedThe Roys are almost back, and with more evidence that the final season of Succession will be as dramatic and vicious as ever.The first full-length trailer for the hit HBO show’s fourth season, which creator Jesse Armstrong revealed last week will be its last, expanded on hints from January’s teaser. The media conglomerate family loosely based on the Murdochs and other billionaire dynasties appears to be deep in a titanic power struggle following the failed coup by three of the siblings in the third season finale, after patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) sold part of the company to a mercurial Swedish tech mogul Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård). Continue reading...
Political outsider says says he will prove he won, after official result awarded victory to ruling party’s Bola TinubuThe third-party candidate Peter Obi said he would challenge the outcome of Nigeria’s fiercely fought presidential elections after official results awarded victory to the ruling party’s candidate, Bola Tinubu.“We will explore all legal and peaceful options to reclaim our mandate. We won the election and we will prove it to Nigerians,” Obi, the Labour party candidate, told reporters on Thursday in the capital, Abuja. Continue reading...
Composer and performer traversed numerous phases of jazz history, and fused his playing with the likes of Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell and Carlos SantanaWayne Shorter, one of America’s greatest jazz saxophonists whose career spanned bop, fusion and more, has died in hospital in Los Angeles, aged 89. His publicist confirmed his death to the New York Times.Shorter was a central force in three of the 20th century’s great jazz groups: the Jazz Messengers, led by drummer Art Blakey, who established the mid-century “hard bop” style; the second iteration of Miles Davis’s quintet in the mid to late 1960s that led Davis to his electric period; and the hugely successful fusion group Weather Report, formed in 1970. Continue reading...
Former EU chief says Rishi Sunak’s deal gives Europe more authority than it seems and says, though he liked Johnson, he could not be categorisedIn an interview with Times Radio this morning Isabel Oakeshott said that she wanted to maintain “the moral high ground” in her dispute with Matt Hancock. Echoing what she told Today about not wanting to engage in a “slanging match” with him (see 9.09am), she told Times Radio:I would prefer to maintain the moral high ground. If Matt Hancock wants to enter into an ugly fight with me, then that would be an interesting judgment on his part. I wouldn’t advise it. Continue reading...
Flight from Austin to Frankfurt, Germany, forced to land at airport in Virginia after encountering severe turbulence at 37,000ftA Lufthansa flight from Texas to Frankfurt that experienced “significant turbulence” was diverted to Washington Dulles international airport and seven people on board were taken to area hospitals, officials said.Flight 469 from Austin, Texas, landed safely on Wednesday evening at the airport in Virginia, a Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesman, Michael Cabbage, said. Continue reading...
Conte, ex-health minister and 17 others placed under investigation on suspicion of ‘aggravated culpable epidemic’ and manslaughterItalian prosecutors have placed the former prime minister Giuseppe Conte, the former health minister Roberto Speranza and 17 others under investigation on suspicion of “aggravated culpable epidemic” and manslaughter in connection with the government’s response at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.The investigation, launched by prosecutors in Bergamo, the Lombardy province worst hit during the first wave of the virus, follows a preliminary inquiry that began in mid-2020 and was driven by relatives of Covid-19 victims. Continue reading...
Sarah Merker’s goal to eat a scone at all 244 sites with a tearoom or restaurant was spurred by death of her husband in 2018A woman from London has completed a decade-long mission to sample a scone at every National Trust location with a tearoom or restaurant.Sarah Merker, 49, from Isleworth, west London, tasted scones at 244 National Trust sites across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Merker ranked and reviewed each scone on her blog, nationaltrustscones.com. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent on (#69CQK)
Report into atrocity concludes failure to act on intelligence means ‘realistic possibility’ to stop plot was missedThe failure of MI5 to act swiftly on crucial intelligence was a “significant missed opportunity” to take action that might have prevented the Manchester Arena attack, a long-awaited report on the atrocity has concluded.Sir John Saunders, the chair of the Manchester Arena inquiry, said there was a “realistic possibility” that investigators could have thwarted the plot had they acted more decisively on two key pieces of evidence in the run-up to the bomb.Abedi’s return from Libya four days before the blast would have been taken “extremely seriously” by MI5 had key pieces of intelligence been taken more seriously in the months before the blast.The spy agency could have found Abedi’s homemade device, stored in a car in Manchester, if an investigation begun at this stage. The attack “might have been prevented” if MI5 had found the vehicle.MI5 failed to share two significant pieces of intelligence with counter-terrorism police in the run-up to the blast, amid what Saunders described as a “communication breakdown” between the agencies.Abedi’s family holds “significant responsibility” for his extremist beliefs but he should have been referred to the anti-radicalisation scheme, Prevent, up to two years before the attack. Continue reading...
Western sanctions are causing serious pressure, with budget deficit forecast to jumpThe oligarch Oleg Deripaska has said Russia could run out of money by next year unless the country secures investment from “friendly” countries as western sanctions bite.Deripaska, an energy and metals tycoon who was once Russia’s richest person, told an investment conference in Siberia on Thursday: “There will be no money already next year. We will need foreign investors.” Continue reading...
Decision by CRH a set back for PM’s hope of making City a more attractive place for companies to listThe FTSE 100 will lose one of its biggest companies after the building materials group CRH said it plans to move its primary stock market listing to the US, in a further blow to Rishi Sunak’s ambitions for London as a global financial centre.CRH, which has its headquarters in Dublin, said it will aim for “US equity index inclusion as soon as possible” in a statement to the stock market. Continue reading...
The charity was taken to court for its work in the Middle East by the US body, whose director justifies litigation against NGOs that ‘cross the line’A leading NGO has broken its silence on a bruising legal battle with a pro-Israeli advocacy group, describing it as an act of “lawfare” aimed at inflicting financial and reputational damage on organisations that do charitable work with Palestinians.Christian Aid, the UK-based charity, was forced to spend about £700,000 defending itself against accusations that it had provided “material support” to terrorists, chief executive Patrick Watt has said. Continue reading...
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