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Home Office had planned to scrap the police commissioner role held by Labour's Simon Foster and give powers to mayorThe police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands has won a high court challenge against government plans to transfer his powers to the region's mayor.Simon Foster, a Labour politician, took legal action against the Home Office's move to scrap his role in time for local elections in May. Continue reading...

The regulator released its draft default market offer' for 2024-25 which sets the maximum amount retailers can charge for power

Libertarian faction of Conservatives expected to stage a rebellion but measure has widespread supportRishi Sunak's public health policy banning the next generation from being able to buy cigarettes is to be introduced in parliament this week, with officials braced for a backlash from Conservative rebels.While the policy commands considerable support in Conservative ranks, the scale of an expected rebellion by libertarian Tories - whose ranks includeLiz Truss - has yet to become clear. Continue reading...

US embassy says absurd' to suggest Washington behind protests in Santiago de Cuba led by parents struggling to feed their childrenThe Cuban government has summoned the US ambassador, Benjamin Ziff, to its foreign ministry, accusing Washington of stoking a protest which saw hundreds of people take to the streets in the island's second city of Santiago de Cuba.The demonstration late on Sunday was a rare public show of disenchantment against Cuba's communist government, and was apparently led by parents struggling to feed their children in the face of a worsening food crisis. The protesters reportedly chanted: Without electricity and food, the people get hot." Continue reading...

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Israel claims to have killed 20 militants at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City following early morning raidFierce fighting has continued around al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, as Israeli troops battled Hamas militants after seizing control of the strategically situated medical complex in an early morning raid.Witnesses reported multiple airstrikes and ferocious firefights as fears rose for the safety of hundreds of civilians in the immediate vicinity of the hospital. Continue reading...

Allies of Commons leader say other future candidates for top job are trying to make her look disloyalPenny Mordaunt's rivals in a future Conservative leadership contest have been blamed for briefing coup rumours meant to ruin her chances of eventually taking over from Rishi Sunak, the Guardian has been told.The Commons leader, who came a close third in the leadership contest won by Liz Truss in 2022, has in recent days been at the centre of speculation over an alleged plot to try to oust the prime minister to avert a general election disaster for the Conservatives. Continue reading...

Gunmen looted homes in Laboule and Thomassin, forcing residents to flee previously peaceful neighborhoods Haiti: what caused the gang violence and will it end now the PM has quit?Gunmen have assaulted two upscale neighborhoods in Haiti's capital in an attack that left at least a dozen people dead in surrounding areas and suggested that a gang insurrection that prompted the prime minister to resign is far from over.Assailants looted homes in the communities of Laboule and Thomassin before sunrise on Monday, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police. Both neighborhoods had previously remained largely peaceful despite a surge in gang attacks across Port-au-Prince that began on 29 February. Continue reading...

Company is using legal loophole UK government promised to close two years ago, Guardian analysis suggestsP&O Ferries, which controversially sacked about 800 workers in 2022, has paid some crew members less than half the UK minimum wage thanks to an ongoing legal loophole the British government promised to close two years ago.Agency workers at the company, which is owned by the Dubai-based DP World, have in some cases been earning about 4.87 an hour - even lower than the 5.15 an hour the company suggested was its lowest pay rate - an analysis of recent payslips conducted by the Guardian and ITV News suggests. Continue reading...

Attempted murder suspect was carrying knuckle duster and substance in bottle when he was detained in Shoreditch, say policeA man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two people were injured by crossbow bolts in east London.The 47-year-old was carrying a knuckle duster and a bottle containing a substance" when he was detained at 11pm on Sunday in Shoreditch, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Details made public for first time prompt anger over how many influential figures belong to club that bars women

Thomas Rawle tells court his mother's husband, Ian Rawle, hit her with a riding crop and shovel and pushed her through a windowThe son of a woman on trial for the murder of her husband has told a jury the dead man had subjected his mother to years of physical and psychological abuse.Thomas Rawle, the son of Christine Rawle, said her husband, Ian, hit her with a riding crop and shovel and once pushed her through a closed bay window. Continue reading...

Incident near Paris 2024 Olympic village follows death last week of teenager after police chaseNine people, including two minors, have been arrested after a group of about 50 people attacked a police station near the Paris 2024 Olympic village with heavy-duty rocket fireworks, the French capital's top police official has said.The attack on Sunday evening in La Courneuve followed the death last Wednesday of a teenager after a police chase. Authorities announced a reinforced police presence across the northern Paris suburb. Continue reading...

Landlords should be required to make homes fit and healthy to live in through summer, Better Renting says

Find out who's up and who's down in the latest polls - and how many seats each party is likely to win in the next general election

Casualties reported after raids on complex, where hundreds are reportedly sheltering and IDF claims is being used by Hamas

Business secretary dismisses reports of plot and rejects calls for her party to return donations from Frank HesterReports of Conservative plots against Rishi Sunak are the work of just one or two" MPs, and the party needs to unite before May's local elections, Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary has argued.In a sometimes combative media round, Badenoch also said the Tories did not need to return 10m in donations from Frank Hester, saying that it was only the media that were still interested in his comments about Diane Abbott, widely condemned as racist and misogynist. Continue reading...

Under Operation Regional Mongoose, 153 people - including 109 children - have been charged since September, the youngest 11 years old

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First 1001 Days Movement says five-year decline in toddler development is a ticking time bomb' for the UKAn incoming Labour government must revive the 1997 spirit of Sure Start and put babies at the heart of policies if it is to achieve its goals, a coalition of charities has said.The First 1001 Days Movement, a coalition of more than 200 charities and professionals, said a five-year decline in toddler development was a a ticking timebomb" for the UK, and called for vulnerable babies and their families to be seen as mission critical". Continue reading...

Former lord mayor Graham Quirk's review recommended a new $3.4bn stadium be built in Victoria Park instead of Gabba rebuild

Victorian opposition leader facing prospect of three defamation cases, as Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull and Angie Jones flag legal action

Mayor says May election is a once in a generation' chance to tackle the city's housing crisisSadiq Khan will launch his campaign for a record third term as mayor of London by promising the greatest council homebuilding drive in a generation".Appearing at an event in London on Monday, alongside the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, with whom the mayor has had public policy clashes in recent months, Khan will promise to build 40,000 new homes in his next term. Continue reading...

Louise Powell says she hopes new guidance means fewer pregnant women are jailed and it can be the legacy of her child BrookeA former prisoner who gave birth to a stillborn baby in a jail toilet has welcomed changes that campaigners hope will reduce the number of pregnant women locked up, as a legacy" for the daughter she lost.The Sentencing Council is announcing significant new guidance on Monday that judges and magistrates in England and Wales must consider before passing sentences on pregnant women and new mothers. A new mitigating factor in sentencing has been introduced - pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal care - which replaces current guidance relating to this group of women who currently come under the broader heading of sole or primary carer". Continue reading...

Lady Zahida Manzoor was paid 148,000 for the part-time role, showing Hester's party links date back further than first thoughtThe company run by the Tory donor Frank Hester, whose remarks about Diane Abbott have been widely condemned as racist, paid a Conservative peer 148,000 to act as a trade envoy, the Guardian can reveal, as evidence of his links to the party deepen.Zahida Manzoor, a former deputy chair of the Commission for Racial Equality in the 1990s who went on to be a Lords whip under Theresa May's government, took on the part-time role as chair of a Middle East advisory council for Hester's health tech TPP in September 2016. Continue reading...

Awards depict bikini-clad woman, Usain Bolt and Aboriginal flag as police investigate questions of racism raised by former officer Zachary RolfeWARNING: This article contains offensive images and content

Emergency services called to an accident scene in Preston about 7.30am

Drowning incident in ocean near Victoria's Apollo Bay claimed the life of a man and left two swimmers in hospital, with one fighting for his life

Healthcare delays in deprived communities mean greater need for expensive emergency treatment, research findsPeople living in poverty find it harder to live a healthy life and face barriers to accessing timely treatment, new research suggests.A report by the King's Fund, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, finds that the delays people living in deprived communities face for healthcare mean they are more likely to need expensive emergency treatment. Continue reading...

Data from property website Rightmove finds average asking price has reached almost 370,000An increase in buyer demand and stronger house sales during March have combined to push the average UK home's asking price up by a further 5,279 to almost 370,000, as the market picks up after a muted 2023".According to the UK's biggest property website, Rightmove, this month's 1.5% price growth is notably higher than the historical March average of 1%, and is the biggest monthly increase for 10 months. Continue reading...

A five-mile stretch of the London orbital motorway had been closed since Friday night to demolish a bridgeThe M25 in Surrey reopened eight hours ahead of schedule on Sunday after the first planned daytime closure of the motorway.The five-mile stretch of the motorway between junctions 10 and 11 had been closed in both directions at 9pm on Friday and was scheduled to remain inaccessible until 5.30am, in order to demolish a bridge and install a huge gantry". Continue reading...

Screenwriter who had stammer as a child wrote script about George VI, played by Colin Firth, overcoming speech impedimentDavid Seidler, best known for his Oscar-winning writing on The King's Speech, has died aged 86, according to reports.The London-born screenwriter, who had a stammer growing up, was inspired to write about the true story of how King George VI overcame his speech impediment with a speech and language therapist. Continue reading...

Police called to Parklea correctional facility have charged a 20-year-old inmate with murder

PM's allies fight rearguard action as rebellious MPs reportedly plot coup to avoid wipeout at the polls

US says vote was obviously not free, nor fair' with exit poll suggesting 88% of Russians voted for the incumbentInvestment demand and agricultural exports are two of several factors" which have driven an increase in Ukraine's GDP seen during the first two months of this year.According to Reuters, economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Sunday that Ukraine's GDP rose 3.6% during this period. Continue reading...

Police appeal for information about incident as woman held on suspicion of murder is released on bailTwo men have been found dead at a house in Hartlepool in County Durham, police said.The bodies were discovered shortly before midnight on Friday. A woman in her 30s has been arrested on suspicion of murder and released on police bail while inquiries continue. Continue reading...

Police say images of black pupil being taunted and made to kiss shoes are being treated as a hate crimeFour teenage boys have been arrested in connection with racial abuse of a black schoolboy that was filmed and shared on social media.Cumbria police said the images circulating online were abhorrent and that the incident in the Upperby area of Carlisle was being treated as a hate crime. Continue reading...

The outgoing watchdog for England says there are still too many examples of care not being safe'

Even centrist Tories are questioning if the PM can last until autumn after twin blows of donor scandal and rightwinger's move to ReformOn the fringes of cabinet last Tuesday ministers chatted in hushed tones about the Tory mega-donor Frank Hester's clearly racist" remarks about Diane Abbott, revealed by the Guardian the previous night, but concluded that we've got to get the money in".It took No 10 until the end of the day to condemn his words as racist and wrong" - 24 hours after the original story broke - while Sunak himself didn't comment until prime minister's questions the next day. It went on too long," admits one cabinet minister. Continue reading...

Experts question if bigger is better' and whether members should be consulted on the 2.9bn dealThe Nationwide building society is facing growing calls to give its 16 million members a say on its proposed 2.9bn takeover of high street rival Virgin Money which would be the biggest UK banking deal since the financial crisis.

Earl says public schools have at times had brutalising effect on those who have ended up in powerCharles Spencer, the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, has said the brutalising effect of boarding schools on people who have come to power has been devastating for society.Spencer was speaking on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme after the release of his memoir, A Very Private School, in which he revealed he was sexually assaulted as a child at the boarding school Maidwell Hall in Northamptonshire. Continue reading...

Samuel Kasumu frustrated and disappointed', as minister denies Tories have a problem after Frank Hester rowA former Downing Street race adviser has warned the government not to use its diversity as a get-out-of-jail-free card" on tackling racism after a senior minister denied that the Conservatives had a problem after the Frank Hester row.Samuel Kasumu, a former No 10 adviser on civil society and communities, said he was frustrated and disappointed" by the party's response to the scandal, adding: I know that we can do better." Continue reading...

Comments come after Benjamin Netanyahu insisted Israeli military would go ahead with plans for operations in RafahThe Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said Israeli forces released Tamer Fouad Salim Al-Qarm, a PRCS volunteer, yesterday after a 36-day detention during the occupation's raid on al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis".The PRCS added in its post on X that Israeli troops continue to detain 13 PRCS members and volunteers, whose fate remains unknown to this moment". Continue reading...

Defences redirect flows away from key infrastructure in Grindavik but threat to nearby sites remainsDefensive barriers that were bolstered overnight around the fishing town of Grindavik appeared to have held, but a steadily slowing lava flow from the fourth volcanic eruption on Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula since December remained a threat on Sunday.After weeks of warnings that semi-molten rock was building up under the ground, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said on Saturday night the eruption, at 8.23pm local time (2023 GMT), had opened a nearly 3km-long fissure in the earth between two mountains. Continue reading...

Voters in some cities answer Yulia Navalnaya's call to turn up at midday to signal dissent against president

Wine Society describes planned alcohol duty changes as ludicrous, expensive and probably unworkable'British consumers have been told that the price of some of their favourite red wines could increase by more than 40p next year after the government ignored pleas from the wine industry to abandon complex post-Brexit tax changes.The chief executive of Majestic Wine, John Colley, said the new alcohol duty system, which comes into effect in February 2025, would increase the number of tax bands for wine from one to 30, and cost businesses huge sums of money to administer. Continue reading...

Transparency International calls for tightening of rules but MPs claim the events help them connect with stakeholders

Most sexual assault survivors and other victims feel silenced and sidelined' by the justice system, landmark report says

Conservative senator Alex Antic promoted to first place as preselection battle causes unease in party striving to win back female voters

Exclusive: 10m needed for regulator charged with developing tools to thwart financial crime and protect consumersBanks are under pressure to stump up millions of pounds in interim funding for the organisation that polices open banking, with regulators saying the new money is needed to prevent financial crime and protect consumers if things go wrong".Large banks including NatWest, HSBC, Lloyds and Santander UK were among more than 40 City firms summoned by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last week to discuss a cash injection into Open Banking Limited (OPL), the body that oversees innovation in this area. Continue reading...