Lucy Letby’s acting was Oscar-worthy if she really is guilty, former boss says

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Former head of nursing at Countess of Chester says Letby ‘cried in my arms’ after being removed from the ward

Lucy Letby’s former boss has said “if she was acting she deserves an Oscar” as she described tearful meetings with the neonatal nurse after accusations against her first emerged.

Karen Rees, the head of nursing at the Countess of Chester hospital before her retirement in March 2018, revealed to the Sunday Times that she had always believed in Letby’s innocence. The pair developed a close relationship in the months after Letby was removed from the ward over concerns she was connected to a sharp rise in infant deaths.

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UK hopes to be a bridge between Europe and Trump’s US, minister says

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Jonathan Reynolds says Britain has not given up on persuading the US to allow Ukraine to join Nato

The UK hopes to act as a bridge between Europe and Donald Trump’s US, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has said before what could be a crucial week of diplomacy in deciding Ukraine’s future.

With Keir Starmer expected to travel to Paris on Monday for an emergency summit of European leaders, in advance of a possible trip to Washington the following week, Reynolds said the UK had still not given up on persuading the US to allow Ukraine to join Nato.

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Contraception for capybaras: Buenos Aires suburb’s rodent plan stirs debate

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Government in Nordelta approves plans to control numbers of world’s largest rodent – but not all are in agreement

A contraception debate is gripping one of Argentina’s most notable luxury neighbourhoods – not for its wealthy residents, but for its original occupants, the capybaras.

In recent years, the lovable rodents have been accused of overrunning the Nordelta, a meticulously landscaped and manicured suburb north of Buenos Aires.

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Who are the Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for Israeli hostages? – The Associated Press

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  1. Who are the Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for Israeli hostages?  The Associated Press
  2. Israel and Hamas Make 6th Exchange, Keeping Cease-Fire Intact for Now  The New York Times
  3. Three Israeli hostages released in Gaza  CNN International
  4. Interrogations, isolation, undrinkable water: Hostages describe torture in Hamas captivity  Haaretz
  5. Thanking Trump, PM says 'can't share when gates of hell will be open' but 'they surely will if all our hostages are not released'  The Times of Israel
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PM refused to approve entry of mobile homes, earthmoving equipment to Gaza – report – The Times of Israel

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  1. PM refused to approve entry of mobile homes, earthmoving equipment to Gaza – report  The Times of Israel
  2. Displaced Palestinians wait for aid amid the rubble of Gaza’s destruction  Al Jazeera English
  3. Israel considers placing caravans in Gaza in coordination with US  The Jerusalem Post
  4. Too few tents entering Gaza threatens the truce. Here’s what’s happening  The Associated Press
  5. ‘Unacceptable’ – Arab League Slams Pace of Aid Entering Gaza  Palestine Chronicle
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At least 15 dead after stampede at New Delhi railway station, city’s chief minister says – Reuters India

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  1. At least 15 dead after stampede at New Delhi railway station, city's chief minister says  Reuters India
  2. 7-Year-Old Child Among the at Least 18 People Killed in Stampede at Train Station: Reports  PEOPLE
  3. 2,600 Extra Tickets Sold in 2 Hours, Could Extra Trains, Better Security Have Prevented It?  The Indian Express
  4. Indian crowd crush survivors describe chaos as death toll rises  Yahoo
  5. Colour-Codes, War Rooms: Crowd-Control Overhaul After Delhi Station Stampede  NDTV
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AP PHOTOS: 6-month-old twin panda cubs climb and sleep at their debut in Hong Kong – The Associated Press

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  1. AP PHOTOS: 6-month-old twin panda cubs climb and sleep at their debut in Hong Kong  The Associated Press
  2. Hong Kong’s newest stars? Meet the panda cub twins  NBC News
  3. Panda Mania sweeps Hong Kong as naming contest is underway for first locally-born cubs  WKRC TV Cincinnati
  4. Panda-stic! Twin cubs attract hundreds of visitors on debut  BBC
  5. Hong Kong’s Ocean Park to consider extending panda cub enclosure opening hours  South China Morning Post
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Queensland council denies ‘trying to make homelessness illegal’ as residents threatened with $8,000 fines

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People living in tents at Suttons Beach Park, Redcliffe, forced to move to avoid fines for ‘storing goods on public land’

A Brisbane council has issued compliance notices threatening fines of more than $8,000 while implementing its second homeless clearance in a day.

On Friday, four of the approximately eight homeless residents at Suttons Beach park in Redcliffe were given just two days to vacate the area.

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‘They may be Russian some day’: was this the week that changed the war in Ukraine?

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As Donald Trump and his officials rip up three years of US rhetoric on supporting Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is walking an unenviable diplomatic tightrope

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has had some tough weeks in the past three years, but this past one may be up there with the worst of them.

Back on Monday, in an hour-long interview with the Guardian at his Kyiv offices, the Ukrainian president was in a cautiously optimistic frame of mind. He said he had received “positive signals from the Americans” over upcoming negotiations. His team was working to fix a date for a meeting with Donald Trump, he said, and he was sure that the US president understood the importance of coordinating his position with Kyiv before talking to Russia.

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Rubio expected to push Trump plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza on trip to Israel

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US secretary of state is making his first trip to region and is expected to advocate Trump’s plan to create ‘Riviera of the Middle East’

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will discuss the Gaza ceasefire with Israel’s prime minister in Jerusalem, launching a Middle East tour a day after the latest hostage-prisoner exchange.

On his first visit to the region as Washington’s top diplomat, Rubio is expected to push the US president Donald Trump’s widely condemned proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip and relocate its more than 2 million residents – which experts say would amount to ethnic cleansing.

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