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GPS led driver on to the Broomway in the Thames estuary, where dozens of people are known to have diedAn Amazon delivery van got stuck trying to drive along one of Britain's most dangerous coastal paths as the driver followed GPS directions on to mudflats to try to get to an island in the Thames estuary used by the military, the coastguard has said.Rescuers were called to reports the van had been driven out on to the Broomway - a 600-year-old pathway across the flats to Foulness Island that has been called the deadliest in the country. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Victorian executive fast-tracks Mornington Peninsula mayor as former deputy opposition leader's successor in byelection

Much of Messina's cultural memory was destroyed in a 1908 earthquake, but the Italian government has secured a masterpiece by the port city's greatest sonOn 28 December 1908, the city of Messina was struck by what is still considered the deadliest natural catastrophe in modern European history. In just 37 seconds, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake killed half its population and levelled much of the city.Along with homes, churches and monuments, invaluable historical sources and documents were lost, including works by Messina's greatest son, Antonello da Messina, the artist widely credited with transforming the course of Renaissance art. Continue reading...

ACCC alleges the supermarket breached the law by offering illusory' discounts on many products with Down Down' promotion

Protesters welcome high court decision but many remain in legal limbo as government prepares to lodge appealRetirees making up some of the nearly 3,000 people arrested for supporting Palestine Action since the organisation was proscribed have said they feel vindicated" by the high court's decision to overturn the ban this week.However, uncertainty remains over whether their trials under terror laws may still go ahead after the government revealed it plans to appeal against the judgment made on Friday by three of the UK's most senior judges. Continue reading...

Fresh fruit and other items now available but at high prices in territory where unemployment is estimated at 80%Every morning, Mansour Mohammad Bakr sets out from the small rented room in Gaza City he shares with his pregnant wife and two very young daughters. The 23-year-old walks past the port and the breaking waves of the Mediterranean where he once earned his living.Before the two-year war that devastated Gaza, Bakr was a fisher, sharing tackle and a boat with his father and brothers. Now his brothers are dead, his father is too old, and his equipment was destroyed during the conflict. Like hundreds of thousands of others across Gaza, Bakr needs a job. Continue reading...

What is Blue Labour? Can Andy Burnham's Manchesterism' be replicated elsewhere? And is the two-party system over in British politics?In a special episode, Pippa and Kiran take your questions. Please keep sending them to politicsweeklyuk@theguardian.comYou can listen back to Pippa and Kiran's interviews with Andy Burnham at the Labour party conference here, and with the Green party leader, Zack Polanski, here.Watch John Harris's Anywhere But Westminster in Gorton & Denton here. Continue reading...

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Parents wish to take matters into our own hands' as William Blake House faces potential winding up orderA group of families have launched an audacious bid to take over their disabled children's residential care home after it emerged the charity running it faces closure after amassing huge tax debts and paying 1m in fees to one of its trustees.William Blake House faces a potential winding up order in seven weeks and is under investigation by regulators over serious financial governance concerns. The families said they no longer trust that the charity's board has their children's best interests at heart. Continue reading...

Institute of Public Affairs latest to raise free speech concerns over bill facing criticism from across the political divide

Crackdown on undocumented people could lead to home raids, surveillance and racial profiling, 75 organisations sayMore than 70 rights organisations have called on the EU to reject a proposal aimed at increasing the deportation of undocumented people, warning that it risks turning everyday spaces, public services and community interactions into tools of ICE-style immigration enforcement.Last March, the European Commission laid out its proposal to increase deportations of people with no legal right to stay in the EU, including potentially sending them to offshore centres in non-EU countries. Continue reading...

Leader vows to repay the young martyrs' who died as North Korea intensifies propaganda glorifying troops deployed to fight for RussiaNorth Korea has said it completed a new housing district in Pyongyang for families of North Korean soldiers killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, the latest effort by leader Kim Jong-un to honour the war dead.State media photos showed Kim walking through the new street - called Saeppyol Street - and visiting the homes of some of the families with his increasingly prominent daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju-ae, as he pledged to repay the young martyrs" who sacrificed all to their motherland". Continue reading...

The Guardian's community affairs correspondent, Chris Osuh, reports on the plot by two IS terrorists to massacre Jews in Manchester, and how it was thwarted by an undercover stingWalid Saadaoui had once worked as a holiday entertainer, organising dance shows and quizzes at a resort in his native Tunisia. After moving to the UK and marrying a British woman, he became a restaurateur and an avid keeper of birds.All the while, however - as the Guardian's community affairs correspondent, Chris Osuh, explains - he was hiding a secret: he had pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Continue reading...

Police decided there was no tangible benefit' to conducting disciplinary action against the officer and opted not to investigate

Year of the horse signals optimism and opportunity, with authorities keen that the extra day of holiday this year provides an economic boostChinese officials are hoping that this year's extra long lunar new year holiday will provide a boost to the country's economy, where increasing domestic spending has been identified as a key priority for the year ahead.The government expects a record 9.5 billion passenger trips to be made across China during the 40-day spring festival period, up from 9 billion trips last year. Hundreds of millions of people will be crisscrossing the country to make what is often their only trip home to see their families for the Chinese new year celebrations. Continue reading...

Cabinet Office minister commissioned report that made baseless claims' about reporters who were investigating Labour TogetherKeir Starmer is facing calls from the Conservatives and his own MPs for an inquiry into the commissioning of a report that made baseless claims" about journalists who were investigating a thinktank linked to the prime minister.The calls add to pressure on the Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons, who commissioned a report in 2023 on journalists investigating Labour Together, the thinktank that would help propel Starmer to power. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Research suggests official statistics could track as few as 6.5% of the true number of cases

After her death, police dropped a case examining Katie Madden's former partner, despite evidence he had repeatedly told her to kill herself

UK Health Security Agency urges parents in Enfield to get their children vaccinated as Easter holiday travels approachA big measles outbreak in north-east London is affecting unvaccinated children under the age of 10, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed.UKHSA previously reported 34 laboratory-confirmed measles cases among children who attend schools and nurseries in Enfield from 1 January to 9 February, with some requiring hospital treatment. Continue reading...

Director of public prosecutions says he is confident police would examine any evidence of potential misconductThe UK's top prosecutor has said nobody is above the law" amid growing pressure on police to fully investigate Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's links with Jeffrey Epstein.Thames Valley police said earlier this week they were in discussion with the Crown Prosecution Service over allegations of misconduct in public office against the former prince. Continue reading...

Unclear how encounter between Britain's shortest-serving PM and US president was initiated and how long it lastedAfter spending time and resources crisscrossing the Atlantic to cultivate the support of the Maga faithful, Liz Truss has finally got the prize she apparently craved: a photo with Donald Trump.Britain's shortest-serving prime minister tweeted a photo on Sunday showing her in the company of the US president at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Continue reading...

Defence leaders write joint appeal urging public on need to be prepared for war with Russia and resulting costs

Israel says strikes were in response to Hamas violations of ceasefire as Hamas calls attacks massacre' of displaced peopleAt least 12 Palestinians were killed and several more injured across the Gaza Strip on Sunday as the Israeli military said it carried out airstrikes in response to ceasefire violations by Hamas.The Gaza civil defence agency said five people were killed and several others hurt when an airstrike targeted a tent sheltering displaced people in the northern city of Jabaliya. Continue reading...

Flooding expected in parts of south-west of England and Midlands and chance of snow showers in far northAnyone hoping for relief from the UK's wet weather may be disappointed next week, with more flooding expected and patches of snow forecast.The Environment Agency has issued 73 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, mainly in areas of the south-west of England and the Midlands. There are also 177 flood alerts - which indicate possible flooding - in place across England. Continue reading...

Tragedy has prompted a wave of support for town from neighbouring communities and across countryWhen Jim Caruso heard the news of the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, he knew immediately he needed to be there. He packed his bags and boarded a plane for the community 700 miles away. I wanted to be here to bring some level of comfort," he said. I wanted to hug people, pray for them and, most importantly, to cry with them."On Tuesday, a shooter opened fire in the town's secondary school, killing eight people, most of them young children. It was one of the deadliest attacks in Canada's history and has left the country reeling. Continue reading...

Members of Gorton byelection candidate's team reported to have expressed support for far-right groupsReform UK's candidate in the Gorton and Denton byelection must distance himself from racist content" shared by members of his campaign team, the Labour party has said.In a letter to Matt Goodwin, Lucy Powell, Labour's deputy leader, said an investigation by the Manchester Mill revealed five separate members who had campaigned with Goodwin had shared racist content online and had expressed support for far-right groups. Continue reading...

Yvette Cooper says claim against Kremlin deeply serious' while Russia dismisses western feeblemindedness'The UK is mulling fresh sanctions against Moscow after pinning blame on the Kremlin for the poisoning of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Yvette Cooper has suggested.The Foreign Office and four of the UK's allies - Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands - announced on Saturday they had determined that Navalny's death was most likely the result of poisoning using dart frog toxin arranged by the Russian state. Continue reading...

Reza Pahlavi, son of the last shah, tells 200,000 in Munich he is ready to lead country to a secular democratic future'Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in rallies around the world to show their solidarity with anti-government demonstrators in Iran whose continued protests have been met with brutal and deadly repression.On Saturday, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah, addressed a crowd of 200,000 people in Munich, telling them he was ready to lead the country to a secular democratic future". Continue reading...

Pentagon tracked sanctioned Veronica III from Caribbean Sea after it left Venezuela on day Maduro was capturedUS military forces boarded another sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea in an effort to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela, the Pentagon said on Sunday.Venezuela had faced US sanctions on its oil for several years, relying on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains. Donald Trump ordered a quarantine of sanctioned tankers in December to pressure the president, Nicolas Maduro, before Maduro was apprehended in January during a US military operation. Continue reading...

Kaja Kallas says other countries look up to us' and rejects idea Europe faces civilisational erasure'The EU's foreign policy chief denied claims levelled by the US that Europe was facing civilisational erasure, rejecting what she condemned as fashionable euro-bashing" by Washington.Kaja Kallas also insisted the US was discovering that it could not settle the war in Ukraine without Europe's involvement and consent. Continue reading...

Exclusive: National security adviser previously held the role under Blair but is considering plans to step down this yearJonathan Powell, Keir Starmer's national security adviser (NSA), has rejected overtures to become the prime minister's chief of staff after the resignation of Morgan McSweeney, the Guardian has been told.Powell's allies say his decision not to take forward discussions about the job - the same role he undertook under Tony Blair's premiership from 1997 to 2007 - was largely motivated by an intention to return to the mediation consultancy that he set up in 2011, with little interest in returning to a job he has already done. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Delay at Glascoed is latest setback for armed forces and for UK's capacity to supply shells to UkraineA new factory in Wales seen as crucial to boosting UK munitions production remains unopened more than six months after its planned launch, adding to a string of delays dogging the armed forces.The explosives facility at Glascoed, south Wales, was expected to bring a 16-fold increase in Britain's capacity to make artillery shells, replenishing dwindling stock and increasing supplies for Ukraine. Continue reading...

Safeguarding minister says she wants to use momentum to invest in prevention and get more than quick-fix policies

MP who fell out with Nigel Farage and has backing of Elon Musk launches anti-immigration party in Great YarmouthOn a cold night in a dilapidated theatre tucked away at the end of Great Yarmouth's Britannia Pier, Rupert Lowe was launching a far-right revolution. Millions will have to go," the MP said, pledging a policy of mass deportations, to rapturous applause and foot stamping from hundreds gathered for what had been billed as the launch of a local Great Yarmouth First" party.But after introducing five councillors who will stand at the next Norfolk county council elections under that banner, the former Reform UK figure went further by announcing that his Restore Britain movement would become a national party. Continue reading...

Our food environment has been built to put profit over health - Australians can't overcome that without stronger regulation and accountability

The tax has climbed by 60% since 2020 and accounts for three-quarters of the legal cost of a packet of cigarettes

Consular officials told son of unconscious, critically ill man they could not discuss the situation for privacy' reasons

Experts question convicted sex trafficker's motivations as she claims she can reveal truth' in exchange for freedomWhen Ghislaine Maxwell refused to testify before Congress last week, she nonetheless insisted on her willingness to help.Maxwell, who was convicted of helping Jeffrey Epstein draw teenage girls into a world of sexual abuse, dangled the prospect of revealing truth before Congress and American public - so long as she was freed from jail. Continue reading...

High court said the then home secretary had not followed her own policies when bringing in the ban last summerShadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel, said she was appalled" by the high court's ruling on Friday that the proscription of Palestine Action was unlawful and supports the government's intention to appeal against the decision (see post at 09.35 for more details).Speaking to Sky News this morning, Patel, a former home secretary between July 2019 and Septmeber 2022, said:I'm pretty appalled by that ruling, and clearly it's now going to be subject to a legal appeal. And I think it's right that it should be appealed ...It is right that they feel the full force of our laws, including the proscription that has been put in place. They are on par with how terrorist organisations conduct themselves, and they plan their attacks.Four directors of communicationsTwo chiefs of staffTwo cabinet secretariesUS ambassador Continue reading...

Doctor Hilary Cass, who led youth gender identity services review, warns of unrealistic images and expectations'The expert who led the review into youth gender identity services has said young people are being misinformed by unrealistic" portrayals of transitioning on social media.Hilary Cass, the British paediatrician whose review of NHS gender care led to a significant shift including a ban on puberty blockers, warned of unrealistic images and expectations on social media" when it came to what transition would really mean and how hard it would be", including quite intensive medical treatments" and sometimes quite brutal surgeries". Continue reading...

Foreign secretary says Reform not taking Russian threat seriously while Green leader leaves open possibility of leaving alliance

EU's foreign policy chief says many countries still want to join our club'EU's Kallas appears to be slightly sceptical about the idea of appointing an EU envoy for talks on ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine.She earlier said that what matters more than having a seat at the table is knowing what to ask [for] when you are sitting there."That's why I proposed to the member states [a] concrete mandate [of] the asks that we would have to Russia. So whoever goes to that table, whether it's individually or bilaterally, they should ask [for] these things from the Russians.We have a saying in Estonian that if you demand a lot, you get little; if you demand little, you get nothing, and if you demand nothing, you pay on top." Continue reading...

Trades Union Congress says women have worked a month and a half for free this year and legislation is neededWomen in the UK will not be paid the same as men until 2056 at the current rate of progress, according to a Trades Union Congress report.The gender pay gap, which stands at 2,548 a year, means that women have in effect worked for free so far this year, the TUC said. Continue reading...

Mohan Karki - one of many people ICE has deported to countries with which they have little connection - leaves behind his wife and seven-month-old baby he has yet to holdTika Basnet sat facing the glow of her iPhone, a red tika pressed into the center of her forehead. Seven-month-old Briana slept on her lap, her breathing soft and uneven. On the other side of the screen was Mohan Karki, Basnet's husband, who had yet to hold his daughter.For Karki, nearly 9,000 miles (14,500km) away, it was already morning. He was in hiding in south Asia, his exact location withheld for his safety, his face breaking into pixels as he watched his daughter sleep. Continue reading...

Egyptian with history of disruptive behaviour was taken to hospital and then returned to detentionA Home Office private deportation flight for one man had to be cancelled on Thursday morning after he was able to swallow a lithium vape battery shortly before being taken to the plane.Officials are now investigating the circumstances around the incident. The man, an Egyptian foreign national offender with a history of being disruptive during removal attempts, was due to take a flight from the UK via Albania to Egypt. Continue reading...

Acquisition by Premier Group Recruitment boss Andrew Woosnam appears to be example of phoenixism'A recruitment business that went bust owing the tax authorities and other creditors almost 3m has promised to send its staff on an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas after being repurchased by its former owner for an initial 10,000.Premier Group Recruitment went into administration in September with debts of 2.9m - including 647,000 owed to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which had commenced enforcement proceedings against the company. Continue reading...

Jim Boyling gave evidence under his fake identity during prosecution of activists he had infiltratedSenior police officers praised an undercover officer who had lied to a court about his real identity during a prosecution of environmental activists, secret documents aired at the spycops public inquiry have revealed.Jim Boyling, an undercover officer, gave evidence under his fake identity when he was prosecuted while masquerading as an activist. He was prosecuted alongside six campaigners for public order offences, but senior officers decided not to tell the court that he was actually a police spy. Continue reading...

Worst weather forecast to hit late on Sunday, a day after floods caused power outages, road collapses and home evacuationsNew Zealand's weather bureau has warned more flooding could hit the country's North Island, a day after floods caused power outages, road collapses, home evacuations and caused the death of a man whose vehicle was submerged on a highway.There was threat to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and slips" as a deepening low-pressure system east of the North Island brought heavy rain and severe gales to several regions, the weather bureau said. Continue reading...

Man charged after 2,600-year-old cat sculpture, mummy mask and necklace stolen from Caboolture museum

Diplomats in Havana are preparing for an alternative Trump tactic: the country being starved until people take to the streets and the US can step inAmong the verdant gardens of Havana's diplomatic quarter, Siboney, ambassadors from countries traditionally allied to the United States are expressing increasing frustration with Washington's attempt to unseat Cuba's government, while simultaneously drawing up plans to draw down their missions.Cuba is in crisis. Already reeling from a four-year economic slump, worsened by hyper-inflation and the migration of nearly 20% of the population, the 67-year-old communist government is at its weakest. After Washington's successful military operation against Cuba's ally Venezuela at the beginning of January, the US administration is actively seeking regime change. Continue reading...