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.
Continue reading...Winter downpours also made 20% wetter and will occur every three years without urgent carbon cuts, experts warn
The seemingly “never-ending” rain last autumn and winter in the UK and Ireland was made 10 times more likely and 20% wetter by human-caused global heating, a study has found.
More than a dozen storms battered the region in quick succession between October and March, which was the second-wettest such period in nearly two centuries of records. The downpour led to severe floods, at least 20 deaths, severe damage to homes and infrastructure, power blackouts, travel cancellations, and heavy losses of crops and livestock.
Continue reading...Report calls for curb on many activities and recommends making protest organisers pay towards policing
Protest groups have condemned a long-awaited report on their activity that recommends a review of undercover surveillance of activists and making protest organisers pay towards policing.
The 292-page report by John Woodcock, now Lord Walney, entitled Protecting Democracy from Coercion, calls for a curb on many activities, including a blanket ban on face coverings at protests and making it easier for businesses to claim damages from protesters who cause disruption.
Continue reading...Matthew Trickett, 37, who was charged with spying on Hong Kong activists, was found on Sunday evening in Maidenhead park
A former Royal Marine who was awaiting trial after being charged with spying on Hong Kong activists in the UK has been found dead in a park.
Matthew Trickett, 37, a Home Office immigration enforcement officer, was found on Sunday evening by a member of the public in Grenfell park in Maidenhead, Berkshire. Police said his death was “unexplained”.
Continue reading...Retired insurance professional, 73, was en route to Australia with his wife for six-week holiday when plane hit by severe turbulence
The British passenger who died after a flight to Singapore was hit by severe turbulence has been named as a 73-year-old grandfather, Geoffrey Kitchen.
Kitchen, a retired insurance professional turned amateur dramatics performer, had travelled to Singapore on Monday on the 10pm flight from Heathrow.
Continue reading...Thai authorities say Geoffrey Kitchen, 73, probably had heart attack, and seven are critically injured as passengers describe ‘dramatic drop’
A British passenger has died and seven people have been critically injured after a flight from London to Singapore was hit by turbulence.
Passengers onboard the Singapore Airlines plane told of a “dramatic drop” that launched those not wearing a seatbelt into the cabin ceiling.
Continue reading...Andrew Mitchell preparing to share details of assessment that there is no clear risk in breaching international human law
The British government is preparing to publish a summary of its legal advice stating there are no clear risks that selling arms to Israel will lead to a serious breach of international humanitarian law (IHL).
In a pre-prepared concession to the business select committee, the deputy foreign secretary, Andrew Mitchell, said: “In view of the strength of feeling in the IHL assessment process, I will look to see what more detail we could offer in writing on the IHL assessments in relation to Israel and Gaza both in process and substance.”
Continue reading...Minister lays out details of compensation scheme day after damning report found NHS and government culpable for scandal
Victims of the UK contaminated blood scandal could receive more than £2.5m in compensation under a multibillion pound scheme announced a day after a damning report found the NHS and government culpable for the tragedy.
The paymaster general, John Glen, outlined details of the scheme in parliament on Tuesday, following criticism in Sir Brian Langstaff’s final report of the government’s failure to set up a compensation framework for those infected and affected by the scandal, which he had called for last year.
Continue reading...Planning experts are considering areas near Nottingham, Stafford and Northampton for housebuilding drive
Labour’s plan for new towns looks likely to focus on the Midlands as much as England’s overcrowded south-east, with planners already considering areas near Nottingham, Stafford and Northampton, the Guardian understands.
Close to the M1 and M6 motorways, some of the locations have the advantage of being in areas of Labour local political control, giving Keir Starmer’s government a better chance of delivering on its promise to have the first homes built by the end of a first Labour term.
Continue reading...One man dies and 18 hospitalised, with a further 12 requiring treatment in hospital, after plane encounters severe turbulence. This live blog is closed
In the US, there has been a recent spate of headlines about turbulent flights. Guardian columnist Emma Brockes wrote this piece on the topic.
In March, a Lufthansa flight en route from Texas to Germany diverted to Dulles airport in Washington DC after turbulence injured seven people. Last December, a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Honolulu encountered turbulence so bad that 20 people required hospitalisation. In July, another Hawaiian Airlines flight, from Honolulu to Sydney, hit turbulence that injured seven people. In August, 11 people were hospitalised when a Delta flight encountered turbulence on its descent into Atlanta. The injuries included lacerations, head trauma, broken bones and loss of consciousness, mainly among passengers not wearing their seatbelts.
Continue reading...Third parties could be required to do more to block tankers from operating in Baltic and the Channel
Britain and Finland are discussing plans to require third parties to do more to block the Russian shadow oil tanker fleet operating in the Baltic and the Channel, the Finnish foreign minister has said.
The waters around Finland act as a key choke point for the estimated 100 Russian-bought oil tankers that navigate the Baltic monthly using opaque ownership structures to carry 90m tonnes of oil.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak says 16 international firms have committed, but standards have been criticised for lacking teeth
The first 16 companies have signed up to voluntary artificial intelligence safety standards introduced at the Bletchley Park summit, Rishi Sunak has said on the eve of the follow-up event in Seoul.
The standards, however, have been criticised for lacking teeth, with signatories committing only to work toward information sharing, invest in cybersecurity and prioritise research into societal risks.
Amazon
Anthropic
Cohere
Google / Google DeepMind
G42
IBM
Inflection AI
Meta
Microsoft
Mistral AI
Naver
Open AI
Samsung Electronics
Technology Innovation Institute
xAI
Continue reading...Safety of Jewish community ‘canary in mine’ for British political system, communities secretary will warn in speech
Michael Gove is to warn that Britain risks “descending into the darkness” if it fails to tackle growing antisemitism in the wake of the 7 October attacks.
In a major speech, the communities secretary will say the safety of the Jewish community in the UK is the “canary in the mine” for the health of the whole political system.
Continue reading...Employers in UK, one of 15 countries studied, willing to pay 14% wage premium for jobs requiring AI skills
The sectors of the global economy most heavily exposed to artificial intelligence (AI) are witnessing a marked productivity increase and command a significant wage premium, according to a report.
Boosting hopes that AI might help lift the global economy out of a 15-year, low-growth trough, a PwC study found productivity growth was almost five times as rapid in parts of the economy where AI penetration was highest than in less exposed sectors.
Continue reading...Report from group set up by Catherine says business can improve early years and benefit all of society
Business investment in early childhood could unlock £45.5bn in value a year for the UK economy, according to a report by a taskforce created by the Princess of Wales.
In the report, CEOs from eight leading companies urged “businesses of all sizes across the UK, to join us and help build a healthy, happy society for everyone”.
The Co-operative Group creating a specific early childhood fund as part of its unique apprenticeship levy share scheme, and committing to raise £5m over the next five years, creating more than 600 apprenticeships.
Deloitte focusing its ongoing investment in Teach First to include the early years sector for the first time, supporting 366 early years professionals in 2024.
NatWest Group extending its lending target for the childcare sector to £100m, launching an early years accreditation scheme to its staff and producing a financial toolkit for childcare providers to help them grow and succeed.
Ikea UK and Ireland expanding its contribution of support, design expertise and products for babies and young children to six new locations across the UK to help families with young children experiencing the greatest disadvantage.
The Lego Group donating 3,000 LEGO® Education Build Me “Emotions” sets, supported by training materials, to early years providers in the UK.
Iceland Foods providing learning, awareness and support in all 1,000 Iceland and The Food Warehouse stores by featuring emoji posters at a child-friendly height – a practical tool to help customers with young children and to create a space of understanding and support in stores.
Continue reading...Angela Rayner to promise party will build homes on sites by end of its first term and support private developers
A Labour government would aim to announce the sites for a series of new towns within a year of taking office, with the promise that homes would be built in them by the end of a first term, Angela Rayner is to say in a speech.
Giving more detail to a plan first outlined in Keir Starmer’s party conference speech in October, Rayner will tell a housing conference that Labour will strongly support private developers who create high-quality and affordable housing.
Continue reading...Harry Whittaker, 31, arrested after ‘very small traces of radiological material’ found at property in Caddington
A man has been charged with possessing explosives after “very small traces of radiological material” were found at a Bedfordshire property during a counter-terrorism investigation.
Specialist Metropolitan police officers have been searching a house in Caddington, near Luton, after suspicious substances were found earlier this month.
Continue reading...Victim, who was in her 50s, pronounced dead at scene in Hornchurch and the animals seized
A woman has been fatally attacked by her two XL bully dogs at her home in east London.
The woman, who was in her 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene in Cornwall Close, Hornchurch, and the two registered dogs were safely seized having been contained inside a room, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan police said.
Continue reading...Bim Afolami’s comments distance British government from protectionist moves by US
The UK cannot afford to give the “cold shoulder” to China, the City minister said on Monday, in comments that will distance the British government from the Biden administration’s protectionist crackdown.
Addressing financial services bosses at the City Week conference in London’s Guildhall, Bim Afolami said it was “crucial” to engage with strategic competitors such as Beijing, and that the UK risked losing control of its economic future if it failed to find common ground.
Continue reading...Ability to preserve tissue in a special gel solution for at least a week will help doctors identify most effective drug treatments
Scientists say they have a made a potentially “gamechanging” breakthrough in breast cancer research after discovering how to preserve breast tissue outside the body for at least a week.
The study, which was funded by the Prevent Breast Cancer charity, found tissue could be preserved in a special gel solution, which will help scientists identify the most effective drug treatments for patients.
Continue reading...