‘I have no sense there was any conspiracy at all’, Paul Vennells tells Horizon inquiry – live

Former chief executive of the Post Office says she does not think there was a conspiracy but that mistakes were made

Paula Vennells has made an opening statement at the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry where she apologised to the victims of the scandal and offered to stand outside the old Post Office of one of the victims with them to explain to people what happened and what they went through. She said she had been deeply affected by victim impact statements heard by the inquiry.

She said:

I would just like to say, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to do this, how sorry I am for all that subpostmasters and their families and others who suffered as a result of all of the matters that the inquiry has been looking into for so long.

I followed and listened to all of the human impact statements, and I was very affected by them. I remember listening to one subpostmaster whose name I noted, who said that he would like somebody to go and stand outside his old Post Office with him so he could tell them exactly what he’d been through. I would do that.

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Labour says it ‘beggars belief’ police told to arrest fewer people because of prison overcrowding – UK politics live

Shadow justice secretary says Conservatives have ‘badly mismanaged criminal justice system’ as memo sent to chief constables by police chiefs

At the end of last week, in a long read on the state of play in the Conservative party, the Financial Times mentioned a rumour that Rishi Sunak might announce an election today.

In this surreal pre-election period rumours swirl, the latest unlikely one being that Sunak could bring the uncertainty to an end and call a snap election next Wednesday, when new data is expected by some economists to show inflation falling below the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target.

Jeremy Hunt not doing much to dispel Westminster rumours that Sunak could call election off back of inflation figures.

“Well that’s a matter for the prime minister, it’s not a matter for me,” he tells #Today.

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Israel-Gaza war live: Israel recalls ambassadors as Norway, Ireland and Spain say they will recognise Palestinian state

Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre said ‘there cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition’

Irish prime minister Simon Harris said on Wednesday that he expected other countries to join Ireland, Spain and Norway in recognising a Palestinian state in the coming weeks.

“Today, Ireland, Norway, and Spain are announcing that we recognise the state of Palestine,” Harris said at a press conference, reports Reuters.

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Majority of Americans wrongly believe US is in recession – and most blame Biden

Exclusive Harris poll for the Guardian shows 55% believe economy is shrinking, in troubling sign for president’s re-election bid

Nearly three in five Americans wrongly believe the US is in an economic recession, and the majority blame the Biden administration, according to a Harris poll conducted exclusively for the Guardian. The survey found persistent pessimism about the economy as election day draws closer.

The poll highlighted many misconceptions people have about the economy, including:

55% believe the economy is shrinking, and 56% think the US is experiencing a recession, though the broadest measure of the economy, gross domestic product (GDP), has been growing.

49% believe the S&P 500 stock market index is down for the year, though the index went up about 24% in 2023 and is up more than 12% this year.

49% believe that unemployment is at a 50-year high, though the unemployment rate has been under 4%, a near 50-year low.

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Inquest hears claim spiritual leaders conspired to mislead police about Jarrad Antonovich’s death after ‘kambo’ ritual

Antonovich died during a six-day retreat in NSW’s northern rivers after he took a cocktail of alternative ‘medicines’

A group of spiritual leaders at a retreat in the northern rivers conspired to mislead police about the death of a man who had just taken a cocktail of alternative “medicines”, a Bryon Bay courtroom has heard.

The inquest into the death of Jarrad Antonovich also heard that a Brazilian religious tradition fusing Christianity with Amazonian shamanic practices – including the drinking of hallucinogenic tea ayahuasca – gained increasing sway over an Australian community known as the “Church of Ayahuasca” in the lead-up to that fatal ceremony.

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Bodies of two women found in Nottingham house

Police say bodies at property in Radford had lain undiscovered for some time

The bodies of two women have been found inside a house in Nottingham, with police saying they had lain undiscovered for some time.

Nottinghamshire police said officers were called to a property in Radford, an inner-city area of Nottingham, at 11.04am on Tuesday after concerns were raised for the welfare of the occupants.

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Charlise Mutten murder trial: alleged killer’s ‘strange’ behaviour before nine-year-old went missing

Neighbour tells NSW court of conversations with murder accused Justin Stein shortly before schoolgirl disappeared

A man accused of murdering his partner’s daughter told a neighbour he was digging for “treasure” shortly before she went missing, a jury has heard.

“It seemed strange,” the neighbour told a court on Wednesday.

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Iran’s supreme leader leads prayers at Ebrahim Raisi funeral – BBC.com

  1. Iran's supreme leader leads prayers at Ebrahim Raisi funeral  BBC.com
  2. May 21, 2024 Israel-Hamas war, Iran president death news  CNN
  3. Trump campaign video includes references to a 'unified Reich'  The Associated Press
  4. Iran's Supreme Leader Leads Funeral Prayers for President  The New York Times
  5. From London to Los Angeles, many Iranians overseas cheer, and fear, after president’s death  The Hill
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Greg Lynn trial: Carol Clay ‘did not seem bothered’ her partner Russell Hill was married, court told

Former Jetstar pilot has pleaded not guilty to murdering Hill and Clay, who court hears were having an affair

Carol Clay “did not seem bothered” her partner, Russell Hill, remained married and “liked the situation”, a Victorian supreme court trial has heard.

Former airline pilot Gregory Stuart Lynn, 57, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Hill and Clay in the state’s alpine region in March 2020.

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Big drop in UK inflation rate disguises more disappointing details

Service sector inflation, monitored closely by Bank of England, barely budged in April

The annual inflation rate fell sharply in April. Prices are rising more slowly than at any time in almost three years. Inflation is lower in the UK than it is in the EU.

Even so, the latest bulletin on the cost of living from the Office for National Statistics was mildly disappointing. April’s inflation figure was always going to be good, with a sharp fall guaranteed by the fact the energy price increases of a year earlier were not repeated.

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Dutton won’t rule out a Coalition government quitting ICC – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

Chris Bowen says nuclear energy is ‘slow, expensive and risky’

Chris Bowen is also asked about the latest CSIRO report released today, showing electricity from nuclear power in Australia would be at least 50% more expensive than solar and wind.

CSIRO and Aemo have looked at large-scale nuclear for the first time. It finds that that would be far more expensive than renewables, despite claims from the opposition – quite inappropriate attacks on CSIRO and Aemo from the opposition, that they hadn’t counted the cost of transmission. The cost of transmission and storage is counted, and still renewables comes out as the cheapest.

And of course, CSIRO points out that nuclear will be … very slow to build. So nuclear is slow and expensive and is risky when it comes to the reliability of Australia’s energy system.

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Medical cannabis: cross-party committee says Australia needs new roadside impairment test

Researchers have questioned whether existing drug-driving laws can be relied on as an accurate measure of driver impairment

Greens senator and medicinal cannabis user Peter Whish-Wilson said the federal government had a “duty” to fund research into drug driving impairment levels, as leaders grapple with how to balance existing laws with medicinal THC use.

The joint committee on law enforcement has looked at the “challenges and opportunities” in tackling the nation’s drug problem, identifying the mismatch between medicinal cannabis use and existing drug-driving laws as an issue needing to be addressed.

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Marks & Spencer plans to step up cost cuts despite 41% jump in annual profits

Pre-tax profits increased to £672.5m but retailer says it will reduce costs further as part of five-year plan

Marks & Spencer has said it will step up cost cuts in the year ahead despite increasing annual profits by a better-than-expected 41%.

Stuart Machin, the chief executive of the clothing, homeware and food retailer, said it was “at the beginnings of a new M&S” with “wind in our sails, and confidence that our plan is working” as pre-tax profits rose to £672.5m in the year to 30 March. Sales rose 9.4% to £13bn.

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Mother of murdered two-year-old shares grief over ‘evil’ act as NSW health minister condemns email to killer’s colleagues

Email sent to NSW Health staff remembering James Harrison as a ‘wonderful colleague and beloved friend’ labelled ‘unacceptable’

The mother of a two-year-old killed in a suspected murder-suicide by his father has expressed grief at the “evil and cowardly act of violence”, while the New South Wales health minister condemned an email describing the killer as a “wonderful colleague and beloved friend” .

The bodies of 38-year-old James Harrison and his two-year-old son, Rowan, were found three days ago in a unit in East Lismore, after the child’s mother, Sophie Roome, raised concerns after Harrison failed to hand over the child after an access visit. Police suspect the deaths were a murder-suicide.

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UK inflation falls by less than expected to 2.3%, reducing chance of June rate cut

Drop in April is smaller than forecast but level is still lowest in almost three years

UK inflation fell to 2.3% in April – its lowest level for almost three years – but the decline was smaller than expected, denting hopes of an early interest rate cut.

City analysts had forecast the annual increase in the cost of goods and services would fall to 2.1%, close to the Bank of England’s 2% target.

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Palestinian state: Ireland, Spain and Norway formally recognize amid Israel-Hamas war – NBC News

  1. Palestinian state: Ireland, Spain and Norway formally recognize amid Israel-Hamas war  NBC News
  2. Live updates: Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Palestinian statehood recognition, Iran President Raisi funeral  CNN
  3. Ireland, Norway and Spain to recognise Palestine as independent state – video  The Guardian
  4. Israel orders recall of ambassadors to Ireland and Norway  Reuters
  5. Norway, Spain and Ireland to back Palestinian statehood  Al Jazeera English
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Ukraine athletes warned to ignore Russian provocation at Olympics

  • Sports minister tells his country’s squad to keep a ‘cold head’
  • ‘We consider Russian athletes to be agents of hybrid influence’

The acting sports minister of Ukraine, Matviy Bidnyi, has told his country’s athletes to keep a “cold head” and pay no attention to any provocation from their Russian counterparts at the Olympic Games this summer.

Speaking to the Guardian at the ministry of youth and sports in Kyiv, Bidnyi predicted that Russia will use its representatives in Paris as part of their propaganda operation and explained recommendations have been drawn up to help the Ukraine team avoid becoming embroiled in controversy.

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Multnomah County prosecutor Nathan Vasquez leads incumbent Mike Schmidt in DA race – OregonLive

  1. Multnomah County prosecutor Nathan Vasquez leads incumbent Mike Schmidt in DA race  OregonLive
  2. Vasquez leads Schmidt in Multnomah County DA race  KOIN.com
  3. Democrats Beware: A Progressive DA Fights for His Job — in Hipster Portland  POLITICO
  4. Multnomah County District Attorney election results  KGW.com
  5. Nathan Vasquez has sizable lead over Mike Schmidt in race to be Multnomah County district attorney  Oregon Public Broadcasting
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China warns of reprisals against Taiwan after president’s inauguration speech

Lai Ching-te’s inauguration speech has been panned by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, which labelled the new president a “dangerous separatist”.

Beijing has warned of undefined reprisals against Taiwan after the inauguration speech of new president Lai Ching-te in which he maintained his government’s position on sovereignty, and did not concede to Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is a province of China.

In a statement late Tuesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) called Lai’s speech “a downright confession of Taiwan independence”, and again labeled Lai a “dangerous separatist”.

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