In today's newsletter: Over the weekend, Russian mercenary group Wagner marched on Moscow - only to turn back at the last moment. Why did one of Vladimir Putin's closest allies turn on him - and how was bloodshed averted?
Merseyside charity worker whose children are stuck in Khartoum says Foreign Office delays have trapped many in conflict zoneA British charity worker has called on the government to help evacuate his children from Sudan's capital, Khartoum, stressing that hundreds of people with the right to reside in the UK remain stuck in the conflict zone.Alhussein Ahmed, 32, who works for the Merseyside Refugee Support Network in Liverpool, is concerned that the Foreign Office should be doing more to assist hundreds of people who have UK residency rights who remain stuck in Sudan. Continue reading...
The Rapid Support Forces says it has seized a key police base and captured a large amount of military equipmentSudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) says it has seized the main base of a heavily armed police unit and captured a large amount of military equipment, during heavy fighting against the army in the capital Khartoum.In a statement on Sunday, the RSF said it had taken full control of the large base belonging to the Central Reserve Police southern Khartoum and posted footage of its fighters celebrating inside the facility, some removing boxes of ammunition from a warehouse. Continue reading...
Beijing says it supports Russia in maintaining national stability, without explicitly referring to Vladimir Putin personallyChinese officials have described an aborted rebellion by the Wagner group of mercenaries as Moscow's internal affairs", while one state media mouthpiece dismissed the divisions in Russia as an illusion" being exploited by the west.Russia's deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko held talks in Beijing on Sunday after the most serious challenge to president Vladimir Putin's grip on power since he came to power in 2000. Continue reading...
NHS pilot scheme to be rolled out nationwide in drive to save lives by detecting and treating cancer earlierEveryone who has ever smoked in England is to be offered lung screening in middle age under plans to detect and treat cancer earlier.Lung cancer kills about 35,000 people every year, and is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for one in five. It also has one of the worst cancer survival rates, which is largely attributed to diagnoses at a late stage when treatment is less likely to be effective. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6CFDF)
Major King's Fund report finds Britons more likely to die of biggest killer diseases than in many other richer countriesNHS's mounting failures and political neglect laid bare in sobering studyBritons die sooner from cancer and heart disease than people in many other rich countries, partly because of the NHS's lack of beds, staff and scanners, a study has found.The UK underperforms significantly" on tackling its biggest killer diseases, in part because the NHS has been weakened by years of underinvestment, according to the report from the King's Fund health thinktank. It performs poorly" as judged by the number of avoidable deaths resulting from disease and injury and also by fatalities that could have been prevented had patients received better or quicker treatment. Continue reading...
Kyriakos Mitsotakis of centre-right New Democracy party says he now has strong mandate' to modernise nationGreece's new prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, vowed to immediately press ahead with his ambitious reform programme after winning a decisive victory in the general elections on Sunday.The New Democracy leader said his commanding 24-point lead over the leftist main opposition Syriza party had given him a strong mandate" to modernise a country long seen as resistant to reform. Continue reading...
by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent on (#6CFC8)
Shadow arts minister highlights stark drop in number of students taking arts GCSEs, which has fallen by 40% since 2010Labour has accused the government of stifling children's creativity and damaging the talent pipeline" for Britain's creative industries by failing to provide proper arts and culture education.The party said the arts were being squeezed out of schools as a result of tightened budgets, teacher shortages and the decreasing importance of arts and culture subjects through school accountability measures such as English baccalaureate entries. Continue reading...
Muscovites tell of shock and anxiety in city blindsided by Prigozhin's short-lived revoltA sense of normal returned to Moscow on Sunday after Yevgeny Prigozhin halted his assault on the Russian capital under a deal that defused an unprecedented challenge to the authority of president Vladimir Putin.Security forces were seen disassembling barricades that had been hurriedly put up as Prigozhin's Wagner troops approached along the M4 road from Rostov-on-Don, while workers began repairing roads leading up to the capital that were destroyed to stop the warlord's advances before he ordered their withdrawal. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Channel 4 film says officials contacted the palace in 2020 owing to concerns about Lord Lebedev's father's links to Putin regimeGovernment officials asked whether the late Queen would block Evgeny Lebedev's peerage because of concerns that he could be a national security risk due to his father's links to the Putin regime, a documentary has claimed.The aides contacted Buckingham Palace in July 2020 to request that the monarch intervene, which she was constitutionally entitled to do, after Boris Johnson decided to press ahead with the controversial peerage despite warnings from the intelligence agencies, according to the film-makers. Continue reading...
Sarah Ferguson told by doctors her prognosis is good after routine mammogram revealed diseaseThe Duchess of York has had surgery after being diagnosed with breast cancer, her spokesperson has said.
Despite ending his revolt, the mercenary chief will continue be a thorn in the Kremlin's side unless he retires quietly to BelarusThe Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that the Wagner head had agreed to leave Russia for Belarus as part of a deal to end his armed revolt, while charges against him for organising the rebellion would be dropped. Peskov added that Vladimir Putin and the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko had guaranteed Prigozhin's personal safety. Continue reading...
Francesca Gino, a prominent Harvard Business School professor, allegedly has falsified results in behavioral science studiesIn an ironic twist in the world of behavioral science, a Harvard professor who studies honesty has been accused of data fraud.Over the last few weeks, allegations have surfaced against Francesca Gino, a prominent Harvard Business School (HBS) professor who has been accused of falsifying results in several behavioral science studies. Continue reading...
Dozens of people at Harmondsworth site in west London are complaining about overheated cells and lack of healthcareGuards at an immigration detention centre close to Heathrow airport are trying to end a protest involving dozens of detainees at the facility.Those held at Harmondsworth say they are protesting about conditions including poor access to healthcare services and soaring temperatures in cells. Continue reading...
Teenager was airlifted to hospital along with another child after going missing off Lincolnshire coastA 15-year-old girl has died after being pulled from the sea at Cleethorpes beach, police said.She was one of two teenagers airlifted to hospital just after 7.30pm on Saturday after a search by coastguards, the fire service and police for the missing pair. Continue reading...
Audience comes to Scottish singer's aid at Pyramid stage, while late-arriving US star performs a cappella after midnight curfewAs this year's Glastonbury festival comes to a close, here is a look back at some of the weekend's most memorable moments. Continue reading...
Witnesses say Jetline ride, which reaches 55mph and heights of 30 metres, partly left the tracksOne person has been killed and nine injured, including children, in a rollercoaster accident at an amusement park in Stockholm.Witnesses said the Jetline ride at the Grona Lund theme park had partly derailed during a ride on Sunday, sending people crashing to the ground. Continue reading...
Human remains were discovered near Mount Baldy and transported to the coroner's office for identification, five months after actor disappearedHikers have found human remains in a southern California mountain area where the British actor Julian Sands disappeared five months ago, authorities said.The body was discovered at around 10am on Saturday in wilderness near Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel mountains and was transported to the coroner's office for identification next week, the San Bernardino County sheriff's department said in a statement. Continue reading...
Latest financial pain in cost of living crisis comes from steep price increases for motor coverCar insurance is the latest household bill to go through the roof, with angry motorists complaining that prices are shooting up by as much as 70% when their policy comes up for renewal.While fuel prices have dropped back from 2022's record highs the latest inflation bulletin from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a new source of financial pain, with the price of car insurance up 43.1% in the last 12 months. Continue reading...
Thousands wait for hours at front of Pyramid stage armed with sun cream, sequins - and even tablets to suppress any toilet urgesGiven how many times Sir Elton John has announced his retirement from touring - the first almost half a century ago - diehard fans may be forgiven for thinking Glastonbury may not be his final encore.But the comeback king of British music, now 76, has insisted that Sunday's sequin-studded swansong really will be his last UK show - and that the bitch, unlike the song, will not be back. Continue reading...
The child died in hospital with his parents present following what Devon and Cornwall police say was an accidentA five-year-old boy has died after falling from a harbour wall in Cornwall, Devon and Cornwall police have said.Emergency services were called at a 11.45am on Saturday after reports of a child having fallen from the harbour wall in Padstow. Continue reading...
Rising interest rates expose widening generational gulf, with millennials facing large increases in monthly paymentsAvoid avocado toast. Ditch the flat white. And turn your back on the lure of Instagrammable holidays. Over the past decade, millennials have been ordered to scrimp, save and toil to get on the property ladder. Cutting out small luxuries won't have helped much in the pursuit of home ownership. But for those who managed to buy a home in recent years, there is a fresh insult.In Britain's exploding mortgage timebomb, young adults are paying the heaviest price - exposing yet again Britain's widening generational gulf. As the Bank of England whacks up interest rates to save the nation from the highest inflation rates since the early 1980s, it is those who hadn't even been born then who carry the heaviest burden for bringing it down. Continue reading...
Yacht belonging to world's second-richest man, Bernard Arnault, falls victim to new size restrictions at Italian city's Mergellina portA superyacht owned by Bernard Arnault - the world's second-richest man - has been banned from docking in Naples owing to a new regulation that has left multibillionaires thoroughly disappointed" about missing out on staying at the southern Italian city.Symphony, the LVMH boss's 101 metre long, six-deck vessel was cast adrift off the coast of Naples before being told it could not be hosted at Mergellina port due to a recently introduced limitation on size. Continue reading...
Long ignored' but crucial workers honoured in touring show marking 75 years of the health serviceThe untold stories of Filipino nurses and other migrant workers in Britain is celebrated in a new roving exhibition to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS.The Migration Museum is launching its touring exhibition, Heart of the Nation: Migration and the Making of the NHS, at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery on 30 June until 29 October, the first leg of a national tour. The exhibition will go to Leeds in November and to London in 2024. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#6CF30)
Bold Girls Ken seek youth-led changes in curriculum to help children understand concept earlierEvery young person should know what consent looks and feels like, online and offline, according to a group of Perthshire teenagers who are pioneering a youth-led upgrade of sex education.Taking a bracingly honest approach to the deluge of normalised" soft pornography they say most children are familiar with by the time they enter high school, Bold Girls Ken is the first campaign of its kind in Scotland, with young women designing their own learning materials. Continue reading...
Future of UK battery making thrown further into doubt after company founded by David Collard was visited by federal policeA company owned by the buyer of Britishvolt has been raided by the Australian authorities, throwing the future of UK battery-making further into doubt.Britishvolt, based in Blyth, Northumberland, and which the UK government lauded for its potential role in British battery production and UK-built electric vehicles before it fell into administration, was bought by the Australian entrepreneur David Collard earlier this year. Continue reading...
by Kiran Stacey Political correspondent on (#6CF24)
Minister hints at government uncertainty as Jacob Rees-Mogg warns against sly' reintroduction of chargesConsumers are in line to pay an extra 170 in green levies as the government's energy price cap comes to an end for most billpayers.John Glen, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said on Sunday that ministers were considering what to do about the levies, which the government has paid since last year and are designed to fund schemes such as subsidised home insulation. Continue reading...
Arnon Milchan appears by video from UK to answer questions about alleged lavish gifts to Israeli PMThe Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan is testifying at the corruption trial of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to answer questions about an alleged supply line" of champagne and cigars funnelled to Israel's leader and his wife in exchange for help with Milchan's personal and business needs.Milchan, who appeared by video link on Sunday from the English city of Brighton, near where he is based, is a key witness whose testimony is essential for prosecutors who are trying to prove that Netanyahu committed fraud and breach of trust in one of three cases brought against him. Continue reading...
by Kiran Stacey Political correspondent on (#6CF11)
Chief secretary to the Treasury confirms some recommended rises could be blocked despite prospect of strikesThe government is prepared to block the pay rises that public sector review bodies recommend, a senior minister has confirmed, as unions threaten to strike over the issue.The chief secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, said on Sunday that ministers might overrule the review bodies. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Musicians and MPs say banning tests for harmful pills without onerous licence puts festival-goers at riskFatboy Slim and a cross-party group of MPs have condemned the Home Office's decision to block onsite drug testing at festivals this summer as shortsighted and dangerous".In a letter to Suella Braverman the DJ, alongside the musicians Billy Bragg and Olugbenga Adelekan of Metronomy has called for the government to allow the resumption of tests of confiscated pills in tents and temporary buildings at festival sites. Continue reading...
Crean, former opposition leader and ACTU president, died suddenly while overseas on SundayThe former Labor leader and cabinet minister, Simon Crean, has died age 74.Crean died suddenly while overseas on Sunday, Guardian Australia understands. Continue reading...
BT says back-up platform now working so people should make emergency calls to police, ambulance and fire services as usualPolice forces, ambulance services, and fire and rescue teams across the UK urged people not to phone 999 for more than an hour on Sunday morning because of a technical fault".The issue was confirmed shortly after 8.30am, but at 9.52am, BT announced that its back-up platform was now working" and confirmed people should call 999 as usual". Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#6CF0D)
Relatives angry that investigation of Essex Partnership trust over mental health patients' deaths can't make witnesses give evidenceA recently bereaved mother has added her voice to calls for a proper inquiry" into the Essex Partnership university NHS trust after her son died, having been told he had to wait up to 28 days for an in-person assessment by its mental health team.The trust (EPUT) is currently the subject of an independent inquiry into the deaths of almost 2,000 mental health patients under its - or its predecessors' care - but bereaved relatives are angry that the inquiry has not been granted legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence. Continue reading...
Many LGBTQ+ Americans remain on edge and fearful of what the recent backlash means for their futureSt Cloud, Florida, a suburb of Orlando, hosted its first official Pride celebration just last year. This year, the organizers made the difficult decision to cancel, in large part because of the state's recent law effectively banning drag shows with minors in attendance.The other reason was a death threat; a sign appeared in a nearby community that read: Kill all the gays." Continue reading...
Move aims to ensure only adequately trained professionals are used in trialsFamily judges who appoint unregulated psychologists as expert witnesses in the courts should issue a judgment to explain their decision, according to updated guidance designed to protect the public from inadequately trained professionals.Crucially, additions to existing joint guidance from the Family Justice Council and the British Psychological Society (BPS) also set out the distinction between a psychologist who is registered with the regulator, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and an academic psychologist who would not have the same clinical competencies. Continue reading...