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MP Jess Brown-Fuller says at the current rate it could take more than a decade to complete the compensation processAn MP has raised alarm at the slow pace of a scheme to compensate LGBT service personnel dismissed or discharged from the forces because of their sexuality, saying that at the current rate it could take more than a decade to complete the process.Jess Brown-Fuller, the Liberal Democrat MP for Chichester, said she began examining the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme, formally launched in December, due to the experiences of a constituent, who is one of just 69 people to have been compensated, of more than 1,200 who have applied. Continue reading...

The execution of Takahiro Shiraishi would be the first instance of capital punishment in Japan since 2022Japan has executed a man dubbed the Twitter killer" who murdered and dismembered nine people he met online, in the nation's first enactment of the death penalty since 2022.Takahiro Shiraishi was sentenced to death for murdering and dismembering nine people he met on the social media platform, now called X, in 2017. He was hanged on Friday.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, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

LA police say suspects broke in through the front window, ransacked the home and fled with propertyPolice are investigating a break-in at a home reportedly owned by Brad Pitt, who has been on a globe-spanning promo tour for his new movie, F1, after three people allegedly ransacked" the property.The Los Angeles police department confirmed they responded to a break-in Wednesday night at a house on the 2300 block of North Edgemont Street in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. Continue reading...

The Argentinian composer also wrote the scores for Cool Hand Luke and Dirty Harry, and wrote one of the biggest-selling works in the history of classical musicLalo Schifrin, the composer who wrote the endlessly catchy theme for Mission: Impossible and more than 100 other arrangements for film and television, has died aged 93.Schifrin's sons, William and Ryan, confirmed the composer died on Thursday of complications from pneumonia. Continue reading...

Rates are higher in young women as in young men and mental ill health up across age groups, study showsSharp rises in rates of anxiety, depression and other disorders have led to one in four young people in England having a common mental health condition, an NHS survey shows, with young women more likely to report them than young men.The study found that rates of such conditions in 16- to 24-year-olds have risen by more than a third in a decade, from 18.9% in 2014 to 25.8% in 2024.More than a fifth (22.6%) of adults aged 16 to 64 have a common mental health condition, up from 18.9% in 2014.More than one in four adults (25.2%) reported having had suicidal thoughts during their lifetime, including about a third of 16- 24-year-olds (31.5%) and 25- to 34-year-olds (32.9%).Self-harm rates have quadrupled since 2000 and risen from 6.4% in 2014 to 10.3% in 2024, with the highest rates among 16- to 24-year-olds at 24.6%, especially young women at 31.7%. Continue reading...

Sister of Louise and Hannah Hunt and daughter of Carol, killed in their home by Kyle Clifford, calls for radical changes to address epidemic of gender violenceAmy Hunt, whose mother and two sisters were murdered in their home last year, has said the attack was rooted in misogyny", calling for radical societal changes to address the epidemic" of violence against women and young girls.Amy's mother, Carol, 61, and sisters Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were killed in July by Kyle Clifford, her youngest sister's former partner. Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans were shipped to the Caribbean island when it was a colony of the UKJamaica will ask King Charles to request legal advice on the issue of slavery reparations from the judicial committee of the privy council, the final court of appeal for UK overseas territories and some Commonwealth nations.Under the Judicial Committee Act of 1833, the king, who remains Jamaica's head of state after the country gained independence from Britain in 1962, has the authority to refer matters to the council for consideration. Continue reading...

Claudia Sheinbaum frustrated as US says trio - placed under sanctions - are vital cogs in the fentanyl supply chain'Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum expressed frustration at US sanctions against three Mexican financial institutions accused of laundering drug money, and said the US has not yet provided any evidence of criminal activity.Until now, the treasury department has not sent any proof that indicates there is money laundering," Sheinbaum said. We will act if there is proof." Continue reading...

High-profile case enters its final stage after more than a month of testimony from 34 witnessesClosing arguments began on Thursday morning in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean Diddy" Combs, signaling the final stage of the high-profile case.Assistant US attorney Christy Slavik opened by describing Combs as the leader of a criminal enterprise" who doesn't take no for an answer". Continue reading...

Celebrity guests for nuptials of Amazon founder and former TV journalist arrive as activists continue to protest against event

Backbenchers feel PM's chief of staff missed strength of feeling over cuts - and there are deeper tensions at playBeing the prime minister's right-hand man is a position of extraordinary power and privilege. But when things start to go wrong, you're directly in the line of fire. So has found Morgan McSweeney, the political mastermind credited with helping Keir Starmer win his election landslide, in recent days as the Labour party has collapsed into moral fury over planned welfare cuts.The softly spoken Irishman, now Starmer's chief of staff, has become the lightning rod for the frustration of many Labour rebels who backed a wrecking amendment designed to blow up the flagship welfare bill next week. Continue reading...

Trial is an attempt to uncover the truth' behind the deadliest attack in Argentinian history, says judgeA judge in Argentina has ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people.The attack, which caused devastation in Latin America's biggest Jewish community, has never been claimed or solved, but Argentina and Israel have long suspected Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah group of carrying it out at Iran's request. Continue reading...

Disciplinary hearing finds police officers' search of Child Q, 15, was disproportionate and humiliatingTwo police officers who were involved in the strip-search of a black teenager at her school have been dismissed after they were found to have committed gross misconduct.The search at a school in Hackney, east London, was disproportionate, inappropriate and unnecessary" and made the girl, known as Child Q, feel degraded and humiliated, a panel concluded at the end of a four-week misconduct hearing. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Leading rebels say they have been promised significant changes to planned cuts which could help bill avoid defeatKeir Starmer has offered Labour MPs massive concessions" on his controversial welfare bill in a move that has won over key rebels and is likely to have saved the prime minister from a damaging Commons defeat next week.Leading MPs told the Guardian they had been promised significant changes, which will cost the government several billion pounds over the next few years but would shore up the prime minister's precarious authority. Continue reading...

Olympic cyclist and his wife are recognised for their charitable work and contribution to sportBritish Olympic cyclist legend Chris Hoy and his wife, Sarra Hoy, have been honoured with the freedom of the City of London.The pair have been recognised for their charitable work raising awareness for cancer and neonatal care, alongside Hoy's contribution to sport as a six-time Olympic gold medallist. Continue reading...

Guidance issued to ensure ministers are the only government spokespeople, but critics say move damages public discourseNo 10 has been accused of control freakery" after issuing guidance that effectively bans civil servants from any level of speaking at events where journalists are present or from answering questions.The guidance, sent out from No 10 several weeks ago, was issued to ensure that ministers, rather than senior civil servants, were the spokespeople for the government and at the forefront of communications with the public. Continue reading...

Iran's supreme leader says attack on US base in Qatar was slap to America's face'

In his first comments since the ceasefire, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the US gained no achievement' when it joined the war with Israel against Tehran

Sense of helplessness pervades Kafr Malik where IDF killed three Palestinians after locals resisted masked maraudersThe men from Fatah arrived on Thursday morning, hours after the attack on Kafr Malik, to put out more flags along the main streets, adding bright primary colours to a mournful scene, but they did nothing to relieve the all-encompassing sense of helplessness.Three men from this central West Bank town, one a teenager, lay dead and several others were still in hospital after an attack by about 100 Israeli settlers on Wednesday evening. The men of Kafr Malik had run to its south-western edge to form a screen against the settlers and rescue women and children trapped in a house set alight by the masked attackers. Continue reading...

Actor and director who worked on Kinds of Kindness and Poor Things reunite for a dark comedy about a kidnappingThe first trailer for Bugonia has arrived, offering a first look at the latest collaboration between Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone.The acclaimed Greek film-maker and the American actor have previously worked on The Favourite, Poor Things and, most recently, Kinds of Kindness. The relationship has netted Stone an Oscar nomination and a win.Well, actually just this one is one of the few times that I read a script that I hadn't generated or I hadn't been developing for a long time, and I was immediately drawn to it. And then I did a little bit of work with the writer Will Tracy in order to make it a little bit more my own. It's just one of these things that something clicks in the story, in the tone. Again, something you probably haven't done before, working with the same actors, like working with Emma again and Jesse, it's just exciting to get into it, do something different, but also with that kind of familiarity. Continue reading...

Revealed: crossbench peers scrutinising proposed law change say they were told not to share the companies involved

Daniel Erver cites fast-moving situation' as US administration has changed rules on several occasions

Result upholds Financial Conduct Authority's lifetime ban on former Barclays CEO holding senior City postThe former Barclays chief executive Jes Staley has lost a legal challenge against the UK regulator, leaving him banned from the City for life for misleading the watchdog over his relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The case centred on a letter that Barclays sent to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2019, which declared that the pair did not have a close relationship" and that Staley's last contact with Epstein was well before" he joined Barclays four years earlier in 2015. Continue reading...

PM says conversations over changes to bill will continue in coming days' with more than 120 MPs poised to rebel

Rob Howard says health challenges' are behind resignation and teenage deputy George Finch will lead until replacement found

Council says series of concerts in Bute Park featuring Stevie Wonder and Alanis Morissette will raise much-needed cashBute Park, the 56 hectares of gardens and parkland that were formerly the grounds of Cardiff Castle, is known as the Welsh capital's green heart". The space, almost unique in the UK because of its proximity to the city centre, is visited 2.5m times a year.This week the beeps of reversing lorries and the clanging of construction could be heard as event staff built a huge stage and fenced off swathes of the usually tranquil park for the new Blackweir Live music festival, an event many argue does not strike the right balance between public and private use of the park. Continue reading...

ABF threatens to shut Vivergo site in Hull in September amid warnings bioethanol industry could collapse

Heinous and racially motivated' attack on Indigenous teenager left mother and community traumatised, court hears

Premium experience' for US users will include BBC News livestream as broadcaster looks overseas for income boostThe BBC is to begin charging US-based users for unlimited access to its news content and rolling televised coverage, as it searches for new ways to ease the pressure on its finances.In the first scheme asking users outside the UK to pay a direct subscription for its news content, US users will be offered the chance to pay for a premium experience", including unlimited news and feature articles and a livestream of the BBC News channel. Continue reading...

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Shell doubles down on denials after media reports of early talks with rival BP to create 200bn UK oil company

Police allege the woman's hacking escalated to allegedly threatening to sell confidential student data on the dark web

Goal of reconciliation has become undisguised unionist veto', some argue amid dwindling momentum for voteIn Northern Ireland, it used to be the one goal that everyone could agree on: reconciliation. Whether the region stayed in the UK or united with Ireland, all sides acknowledged the need to heal wounds from the Troubles and to bridge differences between Catholics and Protestants.Even those who riled the other side invoked reconciliation. How could they not? It was self-evidently a good thing. Continue reading...

Move comes as former state opposition leader avoids bankruptcy with court-ordered costs payment to fellow Liberal Moira Deeming

In today's newsletter: No 10 was expecting a handful of MPs to rebel against the controversial bill - but the number supporting an amendment to the bill could lead to a decisive defeatGood morning. Last week, Downing Street was bracing for a painful rebellion of up to 50 MPs on the welfare reform bill that comes before the House of Commons next week. A couple of days later, government whip Vicky Foxcroft resigned, and the government insisted it was not a sign of serious trouble, referring to the rebels as a handful".On Monday, an amendment that would put the bill on pause was published with the support of 108 MPs. And by last night, that number had risen to more than 120 - comfortably enough to create the most humbling day of Keir Starmer's premiership, and throw the future of the government's flagship welfare reforms into chaos.Nato | Leaders of the 32 Nato countries have committed to investing 5% of GDP on defence by 2035. Donald Trump, who had complained that other nations were not paying their fair share, praised the move, adding: Nato is going to become very strong with us".Iran | Senior White House officials claimed yesterday that new intelligence" supported the claim that the US attack on Iran's nuclear programme was a complete success despite a previous leaked intelligence assessment suggesting it was set back by only a few months. Donald Trump had earlier acknowledged that the intelligence was inconclusive".Fertility | The proportion of women giving birth after fertility treatment in the UK has increased by more than a third in a decade, with the equivalent of one child in every classroom now born as a result of IVF, figures show. The number of women freezing their eggs also increased sharply, with cycles up from 4,700 in 2022 to 6,900 in 2023.West Bank | Dozens of Israeli settlers have attacked a Palestinian West Bank town, sparking a confrontation that ended with Israeli forces killing three Palestinians.Eurostar | Denis Villeneuve will direct the next James Bond film, Amazon MGM Studios has announced. The Dune and Arrival director's appointment comes as the search continues for the actor who will replace Daniel Craig in the role. Continue reading...

Auditor general's report on LSCA scheme calls for new rules to deal with election promises that later lead to government funding

Edi Rama attacks British return hubs scheme as looking for places to dump immigrants'A UK plan to send refused asylum seekers to return hubs" in third countries shows post-Brexit Britain is in a very dark place", Albania's prime minister has said.In his first interview with the international media since leading his socialist party to a historic fourth term in office, Edi Rama said the idea of the UK wanting to look for places to dump immigrants" would have been inconceivable a decade ago. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Appeal charity says some defendants in England and Wales charged with murder over voluntary presence' at crime sceneResearchers who spent six months observing joint enterprise trials have found excessive use of powers, with individuals charged with murder despite only tenuous connections with the crime.The findings from the miscarriage of justice charity Appeal add to concerns surrounding the doctrine, which allows defendants in England and Wales to be convicted of crimes they did not physically carry out if they are deemed to have encouraged or assisted the perpetrator. Continue reading...

Online marketplaces this week found to be selling items that can exceed legal power or speed limitsMPs are calling on Amazon and eBay to tighten controls on the sale of ebikes and chargers after it emerged the online marketplaces are selling unsafe items that can exceed legal power or speed limits.This week Amazon and eBay were selling bikes and chargers from the Chinese brand Ridstar that are identical to, or very similar to, three items that were last week identified by the UK government's Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) as posing a serious fire risk because of substandard electrical components and charging equipment. Continue reading...

Stags in Bradgate Park, commissioned by 7th earl of Stamford after his marriage to an ex-circus performer, rediscovered decades after it was deemed lostA stunning silver sculpture inspired by the defiant love between a Victorian aristocrat and a former circus performer has been rediscovered after decades during which it was thought to have been lost or melted down.The work, crafted by royal goldsmiths and depicting two rutting stags, had a sensational reception when it was seen by millions at exhibitions in London and Paris in the 1860s. It featured in the pages of the Illustrated London News. Continue reading...

Leighton Allen, who cannot bring his family to the UK, says it feels as if he is being punished for not earning enoughA British father separated from his partner, son and stepson by UK visa rules says he feels as if he is being punished for being working class and in love".Leighton Allen met his partner, Sophie Nyenza, who is from Tanzania, while travelling in the country in 2022. The pair had a son, Myles, and planned to settle in the UK. Continue reading...

Observes shocked at scale and speed of deregulation drive they say is watering down European Green Deal and lawsThe European Union's rollback of environment policy is gaining momentum, campaigners have warned, in a deregulation drive that has shocked observers with its scale and speed.EU policymakers have dealt several critical blows to their much-vaunted European Green Deal since the end of 2023, when opinion polls suggested a significant rightward shift before the 2024 parliamentary elections. Environment groups say the pace has picked up under the competition-focused agenda of the new European Commission. Continue reading...

The Dune, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 director - and die-hard Bond fan' - will helm next movie in the spy franchise with Amazon MGM StudiosDenis Villeneuve will direct the next James Bond film, Amazon MGM Studios has announced.The Oscar-nominated Canadian film-maker most recently directed the hugely successful blockbusters Dune and Dune: Part Two, as well as Arrival, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049 and Prisoners. Continue reading...

Greek island has been battling several wildfires that broke out at the same time on Sunday and have so far ripped through an estimated 40,000 hectaresA Georgian woman accused of accidentally igniting one of several wildfires that have raged relentlessly across the eastern Aegean isle of Chios will appear in court to face charges of unintentional arson.Greek fire brigade officials said the woman, employed as a housekeeper on Chios, the ancestral home of some of Greece's wealthiest shipping families, had confessed" to triggering the blaze when she negligently discarded a cigarette. Continue reading...

Real-terms gains of $33.9tn for world's richest 1% enough to end annual global poverty 22 times over', charity saysThe wealth of the world's 3,000 billionaires has surged by $6.5tn (4.8tn) in real terms over the past decade, according to Oxfam, equivalent to 14.6% of global output.In total the richest 1% of the global population has gained at least $33.9tn in real terms, which the charity said was enough to end annual global poverty 22 times over". Continue reading...

President calls intelligence inconclusive', while defence secretary describes harm to facilities as moderate to severe'Donald Trump and the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, have admitted to some doubt over the scale of the damage inflicted on Iran's nuclear sites by the US bombing at the weekend, after a leaked Pentagon assessment said the Iranian programme had been set back by only a few months.The intelligence was very inconclusive," Trump told journalists at a Nato summit in The Hague, introducing an element of uncertainty for the first time after several days of emphatic declarations that the destruction had been total. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ministers said to be considering watering down reforms, with more than 120 MPs poised to oppose billNumber 10 is preparing to offer concessions to Labour MPs amid a major rebellion over the government's planned welfare cuts.

Iranian rights group has recorded 705 arrests on political or security charges since the start of the war with IsraelIranian authorities are pivoting from a ceasefire with Israel to intensify an internal security crackdown across the country with mass arrests, executions and military deployments, particularly in the restive Kurdish region, according to officials and activists.Within days of Israel's airstrikes beginning on 13 June, Iranian security forces started a campaign of widespread arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Opposition leader to outline plan for lowering costs amid state's ongoing housing crisis

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer wins 2,025 for compelling tale that, like all good stories about robots, is ultimately about the human condition'A novel told from the perspective of a robot girlfriend has been named winner of the Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction.Annie Bot by Sierra Greer is a tightly focused first-person account of a robot designed to be the perfect companion, who struggles to become free," said chair of judges, the academic Andrew M Butler. The speculative novel follows Annie, the narrator, programmed to cater to the needs of her boyfriend/owner Doug, who treats her in a way that would be abusive if she were human. Continue reading...