by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#5YJ5N)
Bank puts aside £504m to cover unpaid loans as customers miss payments due to cost of living crisisProfits at HSBC tumbled nearly 30% in the first quarter due to fears of a surge in defaults linked to inflation and the “devastating consequences” of the war in Ukraine.The London-headquartered bank said profits fell to $4.2bn (£3.3bn) from $5.8bn a year ago, as it put aside $642m to cover potential defaults on loans in the first three months of the year. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#5YJ3J)
Data relating to about 120 army recruits was offered for sale on the dark webBritain’s computerised army recruitment system has been closed for most of the war in Ukraine after candidate data was compromised in a possible hack, prompting alarmed officials to suspend its operations.The enrolment portal has been offline since mid-March, when it was shut as a precaution when data relating to an estimated 120 army recruits was discovered being offered for sale on the dark web. Continue reading...
Investigation underway to find cause of death of two female and one male tiger in East Aceh, caught in traps often used to catch wild boarThree endangered Sumatran tigers have been found dead after being caught in traps on Indonesia’s Sumatra island.One female tiger was found dead, her head almost severed and a snare still stuck in her leg, near a palm oil plantation in Indonesia’s East Aceh district on Sunday. Five hundred metres away, the bodies of a male and female tiger were also found, both with leg injuries, according to local police chief Hendra Sukmana. Continue reading...
by Helen Livingstone (now); Dani Anguiano, Gloria Ola on (#5YGSN)
This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in our new live blogThe visit of US secretary of state Antony Blinken and US defence secretary Lloyd Austin to Kyiv had been kept tightly under wraps in advance for security reasons. Some images from the meeting have been sent to us via the newswires.The US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has just been speaking to the media at the Poland-Ukraine border. He has been meeting officials from Ukraine. He told reporters:Our focus in the meeting was to talk about those things that would enable us to win the current battle and also build for tomorrow. We talked about security force assistance. And we talked about training. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#5YJ2D)
More than one in three secondary school leaders quit at some point in five years after their appointmentThe number of school leaders under the age of 50 who quit their jobs within five years of being appointed has gone up, according to as yet unpublished government data uncovered by a freedom of information (FoI) request.More than one in three secondary school leaders in England and one in four primary school leaders left at some point in the five years after their appointment in 2015, the official Department for Education (DfE) statistics showed. Continue reading...
Home affairs committee calls for urgent improvements in reporting, investigating and prosecuting of spiking incidentsThe true prevalence of drink and needle spiking remains unknown because of inadequate data collection, MPs have warned, after hearing of victims dismissed as having had “one too many”.Describing spiking as a “heinous crime”, the home affairs select committee called for urgent improvements in reporting, investigating and prosecuting spiking incidents. Continue reading...
Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink warns security pact presents ‘potential regional security implications’One of the most senior US officials in the Pacific has refused to rule out military action against Solomon Islands if it were to allow China to establish a military base there, saying that the security deal between the countries presented “potential regional security implications” for the US and other allies.Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, was part of a high-level US delegation to the Pacific country last week. Continue reading...
Six teens lured to crew boats from their impoverished villages repeatedly told officials they were children – 12 years on, a court has finally believed them
Prevent has been criticised for discriminating against people of Muslim faith or backgroundsDavid Cameron and a right-leaning thinktank have warned the government to defend its flagship counter-extremism strategy from criticisms or risk enabling terrorism.In a controversial report from Policy Exchange, the former prime minister has demanded a robust defence of the Prevent strategy. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#5YHWZ)
Young children thought to be lagging behind in communication and skills due to Covid disruptionThe schools watchdog Ofsted is to increase its focus on early-years education as part of its new five-year strategy, to address the devastating impact of the pandemic on some of the youngest children in England.Ofsted is concerned that children in early years are lagging behind in their communication and language skills owing to Covid disruption, while the sector is under pressure as thousands of staff have left since the first lockdown and childcare providers are down by 5,000. Continue reading...
Defense secretary Lloyd Austin said he ‘wants to see Russia weakened’ – a sign Washington now defines its goals differentlyThe US defense secretary’s declaration that Washington wanted to see Russia weakened militarily and unable to recover quickly, marks a shift in Washington’s declared aims underlying its military support for Ukraine.At a press conference in Poland after a surprise visit to Kyiv, Lloyd Austin was asked if he would now define US goals differently from those set out soon after the Russian invasion. In response, he started out with the established administration line about helping Ukraine retain its sovereignty and defend its territory. Continue reading...
Sir Stephen Lovegrove tells MPs he cannot recall with whom he checked that Nowzad staff were eligible for helpThe UK national security adviser, Sir Stephen Lovegrove, has said he did not consult Downing Street before telling the Foreign Office it should allow staff from an animal charity to be listed for evacuation from Afghanistan, but said he has “a far from perfect memory” of precisely what happened.The foreign affairs select committee is investigating leaked emails from Foreign Office staff that say Lovegrove directed that the Nowzad staff be evacuated after consulting No 10 last August. Continue reading...
Adris Mohammed, 44, went back to the home of David Varlow, 78, to hunt for further items to steal, murder trial hearsA pensioner died after being tied to a chair by a burglar who returned to the crime scene more than a week later to free his victim’s body, a murder trial has heard.Prosecutors allege Adris Mohammed went back to the home of David Varlow, knowing the pensioner would be dead, to hunt for further items to steal. Continue reading...
Defence secretary Ben Wallace says UK will send Stormer missile launchers as part of effort to drive out RussiansThe UK has supplied £200m of military aid to Ukraine, the defence secretary has said, as he confirmed Britain would send a “small number” of Stormer missile launchers to Ukraine and offer a deployment of Challenger 2 tanks to Poland.In a statement to MPs, Ben Wallace said gifts of weapons by Britain could eventually total £500m, and he said 15,000 Russian soldiers had died since the invasion began on 24 February. Continue reading...
Police say 50-year-old suspect is known to Katie Kenyon, 33, who has not been seen since FridayA man arrested by police investigating the disappearance of a 33-year-old woman in Burnley is said to be known to her.Detectives have been given 36 more hours to question a 50-year-old man, from Burnley, on suspicion of kidnap. In a statement on Monday, Lancashire constabulary said the man was known to Katie Kenyon, who has not been seen since Friday morning. Continue reading...
by Mark Brown North of England correspondent on (#5YHEX)
Manuscript entitled A Book of Ryhmes (sic) measures 10cm by 6cm and was written by the author when she was 13A tiny book, smaller than a playing card and containing 10 tantalisingly unpublished poems, is returning home to the West Yorkshire parsonage where it was lovingly written in 1829 by the 13-year-old Charlotte Brontë.Thought lost, it was bought in New York for $1.25m (£1m) with Haworth in mind and given it measures just 10cm by 6cm it is probably the most valuable literary manuscript ever sold. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#5YHEY)
Met says drug gangs in capital finding it difficult to source and move around firearmsDrug gangs are finding it increasingly difficult to get guns to terrorise rivals and their own members as London approaches six months without anyone being shot dead, Scotland Yard has said.Met police chiefs are trying to work out what has led to the fall in gun deaths and gun attacks in the capital. Not since 31 October 2021 has anyone been killed in a shooting on the streets of London. Fifteen people were shot dead in London in 2018, one fewer the year after, and 12 in 2021. Continue reading...
Lawyers for Melissa Lucio say she was coerced into confessing and was falsely convicted of killing her toddler daughterNearly half the jury members who sentenced a Texas woman to death for the murder of her young child in 2007 are asking for her execution to be halted and for her to receive a new trial.Five of the 12 jurors who sentenced 52-year-old Melissa Lucio of Cameron county to death for killing her two-year-old daughter, along with one alternate jury member, have questioned their original decision and asked for a new trial, reports the Associated Press. Continue reading...
Two countries could apply for membership simultaneously as soon as mid-May, according to reportsSweden and Finland have agreed to submit simultaneous membership applications to the US-led Nato alliance as early as the middle of next month, Nordic media have reported.The Finnish daily Iltalehti said on Monday that Stockholm had “suggested the two countries indicate their willingness to join” on the same day, and that Helsinki had agreed “as long as the Swedish government has made its decision”. Continue reading...
Numbers ticking up again after Canadian border police had refused entry to all asylum seekers to try to stop Covid spreadSnowy northern winters tend to see a drop in asylum seekers crossing from the United States into Canada at Roxham Road in Quebec. Not this past winter.In December, the number of asylum seekers entering Canada outside formal land border crossings reached its highest point since August 2017, government statistics show. Continue reading...
Gap at birth is 19.3 years for girls and and 18.6 years for boys, and overall life expectancy for poorest has fallenGirls born in the poorest areas of England will have almost 20 fewer years of good health compared with those in the wealthiest, according to figures that also reveal overall life expectancy in the most deprived areas has dropped significantly.Female healthy life expectancy at birth in the most deprived areas was 19.3 years less than in the least deprived areas in 2018 to 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). For males it was 18.6 years less. Continue reading...
President is touring Brazil in bid to win back voters before October election – and appears to be making headwayHe came on horseback and wore a scowl as he spoke, telling thousands of yellow-clad believers they faced a momentous battle of good versus evil.“Good has always triumphed – and this time it will be no different. Good will prevail!” the outsider bellowed as his followers encircled the stage that had been erected to welcome him to this sweltering satellite town in north-east Brazil. Continue reading...
ONS says a quarter of households in survey are struggling to pay bills such as fuel and foodAlmost 90% of British households reported an increase in their cost of living last month as they were hit by escalating fuel, food and borrowing costs.Heaping further pressure on Rishi Sunak to increase his support for those on low and middle incomes, the Office for National Statistics said a quarter of all those in its survey were struggling to pay their bills and 17% had turned to loans or borrowing on credit cards to make ends meet. Continue reading...
Olha, 36, says she was told to leave Brighton home when she was unable to pay money being demanded of herA Ukrainian refugee has been left homeless just days after moving in with a host in Brighton who demanded money from her to pay for utility bills.Olha, 36, who asked for her real name not to be used, moved in with her host who had registered with the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme. But she was told to leave when she said she was unable to pay the money her host demanded. Continue reading...
Big chains try to preserve market share amid rising inflation and competition from Aldi and LidlAsda has said it will spend £73m to cut or freeze prices on 100 products, while Morrisons says it will cut prices on 500 products as Britain’s supermarkets fight to keep customers amid rising inflation.The Morrisons products subject to price cuts represent 6% of its total sales, and include items such as eggs, cereal, cooking sauces, chicken and sausages. Asda said its price reductions would be on fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh meat, rice and noodles. Continue reading...
After belatedly realising rationality wasn’t enough to win, the president needs to heal a ‘fractured’ society’s sense of injusticeOn the campaign trail in Denain, one of the poorest towns in France, Emmanuel Macron walked into a crowd of voters to “take the pulse of the nation” and a woman pushed forward to sum up the mood. “We’re living in misery,” she said. Others shouted: “This country doesn’t work” and “We’ve had enough”. When one father described not managing to make ends meet, Macron said: “That’s what I’m fighting for.” The man shot back: “That’s not the impression I have.”Macron, a young, former banker, who had loosened labour laws and promised the biggest overhaul of the French welfare state since the war, was lauded internationally for making France a “star economic performer” of the pandemic era – growth had bounced back faster than expected from the Covid crisis, unemployment was at its lowest level for more than a decade, and government caps on gas and electricity prices kept French prices from rising as fast as those in European neighbours. Continue reading...
Trenches are dug and teachers receive gun training in last large city in south-east under Ukrainian controlOutside Zaporizhzhia there are several lines of deep trenches, ringed by sandbags, armed men, and more sandbags and armed men.But life in the city is surprisingly normal – even busy – for wartime Ukraine. As the only large city in south-east Ukraine under Ukrainian control, Zaporizhzhia has become a destination for the hundreds of thousands of people who fled Russian occupation. Continue reading...
Fifteen remain missing as questions grow as to why the Kazu I sailed in rough weather off the hazardous Shiretoko peninsulaRescuers searching since a tour boat carrying 26 people apparently sank off far north-eastern Japan have found the body of an 11th victim – a child – as questions intensify about why the vessel sailed in rough weather at a known hazardous location.The child was found late Sunday and later confirmed dead, the coast guard said Monday. The bodies of 10 victims – seven men and three women – were found earlier Sunday. Continue reading...
Defence force works to match medals with families of up to 500 men who served in decorated unit during second world warNew Zealand is working to get medals to the rightful homes of up to 500 men from the country’s Māori Battalion, who were not properly recognised for their service.The Māori Battalion, also known as the “28th”, was one of New Zealand’s most-decorated units during the second world war, fighting in Italy, Egypt, Crete and north Africa, but many of the men who served never received their medals. Continue reading...
Freedom Movement predicted to have won 35.8% of parliamentary election vote over populist PM Janez JanšaExit polls in Slovenia’s parliamentary election suggest an opposition liberal party won by a landslide, dealing a major defeat to the populist prime minister, Janez Janša, who has been accused of pushing the small EU country to the right while in office.The Sunday polls showed that Freedom Movement won 35.8% support, compared with 22.5% for the ruling conservative Slovenian Democratic party.
Luke Symons was captured by Houthi rebels and accused of being a spy but was never put on trialA British man who was held captive in Yemen without charge or trial for five years has been released from jail.In 2017, Luke Symons, 30, was detained by Houthi rebels at a security checkpoint on suspicion of espionage. Continue reading...
by Harriet Sherwood Arts and culture correspondent on (#5YG8V)
National Trust exhibition reveals the riches of Surrey country house that hosted royalty and heads of stateA Fabergé egg with a tiny diamond clasp in the shape of a snowflake and a miniature frog carved from Siberian nephrite jade are among more than 100 treasures on show in a exhibition at Polesden Lacey, the home of the Edwardian society hostess Dame Margaret Greville.The objects – many of them gifts to Greville from royalty, aristocracy and heads of state – include a delicately carved jasper owl on a perch that is attributed to Fabergé for the first time. Four other objects are also confirmed as creations of the master craftsman. Continue reading...
Tory MP calls for more support for victims, and confirms he intends to transition to living as a womanThe Conservative MP Jamie Wallis has said “a part of me died” when he was raped, as he called for more support for victims and confirmed he intends to transition to living as a woman.Wallis, who is the MP for Bridgend, said since making a statement last month about being raped he had been contacted by a “shocking” number of men and women who had had similar experiences. Continue reading...
by Toby Helm Political editor & Michael Savage Po on (#5YG2A)
Boris Johnson’s government faces new defeat over what critics say is democratic meddlingBoris Johnson is facing another damaging parliamentary defeat on Monday over controversial plans that would give ministers new powers to determine the remit of the independent watchdog that oversees UK elections.A cross-party group of peers is this weekend rallying behind an amendment to the elections bill that would strike out key clauses which, they believe, would seriously undermine the Electoral Commission’s independence and open the way for political interference in the conduct of elections. Continue reading...
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