Category Archives: UK news

British army to investigate conduct of troops in Kenya amid rape and murder claims

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Defence secretary to meet family of woman allegedly killed by soldier, as ITV airs documentary alleging fresh abuses

The army is to launch an inquiry into the behaviour of British troops posted to a military base in Kenya, after multiple allegations of serious abuses committed by soldiers, including rape and murder.

The inquiry is to examine the conduct of military personnel posted to the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK). It is where the soldier alleged to have murdered a Kenyan woman, Agnes Wanjiru, was posted at the time of her death in 2012.

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Azealia Banks likens Bull Ring fish stalls in Birmingham to ‘Wuhan wet market’

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US rapper says her visit to indoor market led to her spending two days ‘sweating out’ an illness

The US rapper Azealia Banks has accused Birmingham’s fish market of making her ill, comparing it to a “Wuhan wet market”.

In an unlikely intervention, the American star posted on X that city officials needed to “do something” about the stalls before comparing the market to the site in China identified as the place where the Covid pandemic most likely began.

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Events arm of Economist group to stop signing tobacco sponsorship deals

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Exclusive: Move signals change of policy that was causing health groups to withdraw from conferences and disquiet within media brand

The division of the Economist’s parent group that has come under fire over its commercial ties with the world’s three biggest tobacco companies is to stop doing any “new work” with tobacco companies.

The decision follows a Guardian investigation which revealed that Economist Impact, a division separate from the newspaper that runs events and includes paid-for and sponsored content on its website, was forced to cancel a high-profile cancer conference due to a backlash from speakers and organisations over its ties with big tobacco.

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Promise of ‘glass skin’ drives surge in sales of K-beauty products in UK

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South Korean skincare brands expected to follow country’s music, film and TV exports in becoming blockbusters

We’ve had South Korean pop, film, fashion and food, and now the latest trend is K-beauty, with sales of Korean skincare brands taking off in the UK as consumers are seduced by products that promise to conjure a radiant complexion.

Britons are cutting back in other areas, but they are still chasing what the beauty industry describes as the “glass skin” look, with retailers reporting a rise in spending on high-end skincare.

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Stock markets hit record highs after news of a fall in US inflation

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S&P 500 index of major US companies registers near 100% gain on year ago amid expectation of interest rate cuts

A fall in US inflation expected to pave the way for further cuts in interest rates pushed stock markets to record highs on Friday.

Ending a week of gains that began when the Chinese authorities approved a huge economic stimulus package, the S&P 500 index of major US companies soared above 5,750 to register a near 100% gain on a year ago.

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Peer gave Keir Starmer more clothes worth £16,000, declared as money for private office

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Exclusive: Donations worth £10,000 in October 2023 and £6,000 in February 2024 bring gifted clothes total to £32,000

Keir Starmer was given a further £16,000 worth of clothes by the Labour peer Waheed Alli, which was declared as money for his private office, the Guardian can reveal.

The donations, comprising £10,000 in October 2023 and £6,000 in February 2024, bring the total amount in gifted clothes to £32,000.

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New relationship with EU possible but will not be easy, Keir Starmer says

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PM hopes to work more closely on defence, borders and trade with EU as he sets meeting with von der Leyen

Keir Starmer has said a new relationship with the European Union will not be easy “but is possible” before a meeting with Ursula von der Leyen next week, as he set out defence, borders and trade as areas where he hopes for improvement.

The prime minister spoke of his hopes for a reset and did not rule out accepting an EU proposal for greater youth mobility – including easier travel, study and work for under 30s.

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Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group raises offer to buy Rightmove to £6.2bn

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Australian group calls on Rightmove board to ‘engage now’ after fourth offer for UK online property portal

Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group has made a fourth attempt to buy Rightmove, increasing its offer to £6.2bn as it steps up its pursuit of the UK’s largest online property portal.

The Australian property group, which is controlled by News Corp, raised its cash and shares offer from the £6.1bn offered earlier this week and called on Rightmove’s board to “engage now” after it refused repeatedly to meet the suitor.

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Labour urged to scrap UK road schemes such as £9bn Lower Thames Crossing

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Suggestion would allow government to divert money earmarked for new roads to rail and other public transport

Campaign groups have urged the government to cancel major road building schemes including the Lower Thames Crossing, amid growing speculation that ministers could divert money earmarked for new roads into rail and other public transport.

The transport secretary, Louise Haigh, is due to decide in a week whether to sign off a development consent order [DCO] for the £9bn road crossing linking Essex and Kent.

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Calls for regulation of gambling ads in football as number of promotions soars

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Premier League fans exposed to almost 30,000 messages in one weekend despite restrictions, research finds

Ministers have been urged to intervene to stop football clubs from setting their own rules on curbing gambling advertising, after research showed Premier League fans were bombarded with nearly 30,000 gambling messages on a single weekend.

Clubs in the top flight have so far avoided compulsory restrictions on gambling sponsorship, instead addressing public concern through voluntary measures such as a ban on front-of-shirt logos, starting in 2026.

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‘Trees of hope’: Sycamore Gap tree saplings to be planted around UK

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Project asks people to make ‘promises to nature’ after ‘rollercoaster’ year for the Northumberland landmark

Its illegal felling brought feelings of grief, distress and anger but after a “rollercoaster” 12 months custodians of the Sycamore Gap tree say they want its legacy to become one of hope.

The National Trust and Northumberland national park have announced an initiative inviting the public to request one of 49 saplings from the tree.

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‘Head of deckchairs on the Titanic’: Tory leadership hopefuls head to low-key conference

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Demoralised and in opposition, party delegates are showing little enthusiasm for the candidates – or the event itself

On Tuesday, from a conference stage in Birmingham, four candidates will make their pitches to lead the Conservative party. Their immediate challenge after the Tory rout this summer will be to reinvigorate a hugely demoralised set of MPs and members.

Starting on Sunday, the annual gathering of the Tory faithful – the first in 14 years to be held from opposition – is expected to be a low-key affair. The evening schedule, ordinarily packed with corporate receptions, is sparse.

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Netanyahu says Israel ‘will not stop’ attacks on Hezbollah despite ceasefire calls

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Israeli airstrikes killed 92 people in Lebanon on Thursday; John Kirby says White House had believed Israel was ‘on board’ with ceasefire proposal

Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel “will not stop” its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon despite calls from the US, France and other allies for an immediate three-week ceasefire aimed at containing the spread of a conflict that is beginning to engulf Lebanon.

The calls for an immediate ceasefire were backed on Thursday night by Lebanon’s minister for foreign affairs, Abdallah Bouhabib, who told the UN general assembly his country was enduring a crisis that “threatens its very existence”.

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Keir Starmer meets with Donald Trump in push for good relationship

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The PM and foreign secretary David Lammy met with the Republican candidate, but were not able to schedule a meeting with Kamala Harris

Keir Starmer has met Donald Trump for a two-hour dinner in New York, as he sought to establish a good relationship with the Republican presidential candidate.

The prime minister was accompanied by his foreign secretary David Lammy, who described Trump as a neo-Nazi sympathiser in 2018 but has since said he would work with him in office.

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‘Pretty farcical’: Keir Starmer downplays use of Waheed Alli’s £18m penthouse

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PM says the public can make their own judgments about gifts and maintains no rules have been broken

Keir Starmer has said the row over him borrowing Labour donor Waheed Alli’s luxury flat for filming was “farcical” and that the public would come to their own judgments about his reasons for taking support from the peer.

The prime minister sought to downplay the row over the flat when he was asked about his gifts from the Labour peer while on a trip to New York, after weeks of questions about receiving clothing, spectacles and temporary use of a £18m penthouse from Alli.

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Southern Water considers shipping supplies from Norwegian fjords to UK

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Contingency plan using sea tankers to deal with future shortages would be paid for from customers’ bills

Southern Water, one of Britain’s biggest water companies, is drawing up contingency plans to tanker water from Norway to deal with future supply shortages and drought.

Southern, which has 2.7 million customers for drinking water supply in the south-east of England, could import water from Norwegian fjords to provide up to 45m litres a day, and would pay for it from customers’ bills.

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Badenoch says she’s a ‘huge fan’ of Elon Musk, as other Tory leader candidates decline to praise him – UK politics live

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The billionaire owner of X has reportedly not been invited to Labour’s international investment summit next month

Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, a thinktank specialising in race and identity issues, says that it is “courageous” for Kemi Badenoch to endorse Elon Musk as enthusiastically as she has done. (See 9.55am.) As he explains, he is using “courageous” in the Yes Minister sense, as a synonym for rash or unwise.

But Katwala is citing polling about the views of Conservative party voters. It is hard to know what Conservative party members think, because they are harder to poll, and so less polling is available, and they are the group that will ultimately elect the next Tory leader. If their views align with the views of Reform UK voters, then her stance on Musk might help her.

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Brontë sisters finally get their dots as names corrected at Westminster Abbey

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Amended memorial to the writers unveiled at Poets’ Corner 85 years after misspelled plaque first installed

An 85-year injustice has been rectified at Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey with the corrected spelling of one of the greatest of all literary names. Reader, it is finally Brontë, not Bronte.

An amended memorial to Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë was unveiled on Thursday with added diaereses (two dots) that ensure people pronounce it with two syllables. As if it rhymed with Monty, not font.

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Harrods chief apologises for failing colleagues over Fayed allegations

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Michael Ward says former Harrods owner ‘presided over a toxic culture’, describing it as ‘shameful period’

The managing director of Harrods has apologised and said the business “failed our colleagues” following sexual misconduct allegations against the department store’s former owner, Mohamed Al Fayed.

In a statement, Michael Ward said it is clear Fayed “presided over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct”.

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Morrisons agrees £331m property deal on extra long leases to cut debt pile

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Transaction will reportedly provide investment firm Song Capital with ground rent on 76 supermarkets for 45 years

Morrisons has raised £331m to cut its debt pile through the sale of ground leases on 76 supermarkets as part of a turnaround plan under the new chief executive, Rami Baitiéh.

If all the proceeds are used to pay down debt, Morrisons would have net debt of £3.6bn, down from as much as £8.6bn at the end of last year.

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