Calculations from the Center for Global Development say spending next year is likely to be £410m less than anticipated
The UK is on course to miss its target of spending 0.3% of national income on international aid by an estimated £400m by the end of next year.
Calculations from the Center for Global Development (CGD) found the UK was on course for a large shortfall in promised official development assistance at the end of 2027.
Continue reading...Cabinet minister says PM’s plea is ‘pragmatism’ but comments risk causing concern among some red wall MPs
Andy Burnham’s call for the UK to consider a return to free movement with Europe has been backed by senior cabinet ministers including Angela Rayner but risks causing concern among fellow red wall MPs.
The prime minister made his plea for an “honest discussion” about free movement in an interview with the Sunday Times, making clear that staying out of it would no longer be a red line in talks with the EU.
Continue reading...Exclusive: People from marginalised groups more likely to be diagnosed via urgent referral or in emergency setting, research finds
People from minority ethnic backgrounds in England are up to a third less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer via routine screening, and are more likely to be diagnosed in an emergency setting, analysis has found.
The research, carried out by academics at the University of Surrey and funded by the charity Breast Cancer Now, involved analysis of 86,564 adults diagnosed with the disease between 2009 and 2019, from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and the Cancer Registration Tumour and Treatment datasets.
Continue reading...Police closed case of Andrew Frederick despite autopsy report ruling his death a homicide
A time-critical investigation into the death of a British father whose body was found in a ransacked property on the Caribbean island of Grenada has stalled because of diplomatic delays between the two countries.
Charity workers supporting the family of Andrew Frederick are demanding immediate government intervention to clear the path for a full investigation to begin almost 10 months after his death, which has been ruled a homicide by a pathologist.
Continue reading...The story of the emirates’ presence in Manchester winds from the Arab Spring to some of the most deprived places in England – with complicated results
When Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s long-ruling dictator, was toppled from power in the Arab spring protests of 2011, his downfall sent shock waves across the Middle East. It also helped change the face of modern Manchester.
Mubarak’s successor, the Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi, was a sworn enemy of the United Arab Emirates, whose rulers feared the advance of Morsi’s Islamism.
Continue reading...Chancellor will build on Burnham’s promise that local leaders in England will no longer have to ‘come cap in hand to Westminster’
Andy Burnham has promised that local leaders in England will no longer have to come “cap in hand to Westminster” ahead of a fresh drive to devolve spending power in next week’s budget.
In his statement on Wednesday, the chancellor, John Healey, will include plans for a new £1.5bn borrowing facility, to be drawn up in collaboration with mayors over the next two years.
Continue reading...Fund will support feasibility study for potential bid to host Games in 2040s, backed by northern mayors and top athletes
John Healey is to announce a £7m fund to examine a potential future bid to host the Olympics in northern England in his first budget as chancellor.
The fund will be used to carry out a full feasibility study for a northern Games, which, if successful, would be held in the north of England in the 2040s.
Continue reading...Scotland Yard says it shared letter about Thomas Markle Sr allegations in 2019 but did not pass claims to other agencies
The Metropolitan police have confirmed they gave a letter to the Duchess of Sussex in 2019 concerning “alleged offending” involving her father, after accusations arose on Friday about Thomas Markle Sr having child sexual abuse images.
Scotland Yard said it had received a letter in January 2019 making a number of allegations about offending outside Britain.
Continue reading...Leading restaurateur says Gulf countries actively help businesses set up, while east Asia has a better work ethic
Some of London’s top restaurants are opening branches in Dubai because of a “tax tsunami” in the UK and better work ethic abroad, according to a leading restaurateur.
James Robson, a co-owner of Fallow in St James’s Market, regarded as the capital’s hottest restaurant, serving 1,000 people a day, has just signed a deal to open an outpost in the Gulf.
Continue reading...Lobby group’s figures, shared with John Healey, are misleading as they do not include major rival Paris, say campaigners
A banking lobby group has been accused of cherrypicking data and trying to mislead the British government by claiming a tax rise for banks at next week’s budget would leave London less competitive than rival financial hubs.
UK Finance, which represents banks including Lloyds, JP Morgan and Revolut, commissions an annual report tallying up all the taxes shouldered by a large bank, including corporation tax, social security, VAT and bank-specific levies.
Continue reading...Mother, 36, died after current off North Bimini reportedly swept away two boys, who were later rescued, police say
A British woman has died in the Bahamas while trying to rescue her two sons after a current swept them away as they were snorkelling.
The Royal Bahamas police force said it had launched an investigation after the death of a 36-year-old woman on Tuesday.
Continue reading...BBC series deliberately uses ‘more organic’ shots to assure viewers animals are not AI-generated, producers say
The David Attenborough-narrated series Blue Planet III deliberately includes cloudier, less polished footage to counter AI fakery and assure viewers it is “authentic”, its producers have said.
Nearly a decade after Blue Planet II shone a light on plastic pollution, and 25 years since the first Blue Planet aired, the hit BBC series is returning with more animal behaviour and cutting-edge technology, including the world’s first underwater CCTV camera – dubbed “stonefish” cam.
Continue reading...Houses being targeted because they are thought to hold immigrants, with dozens of properties affected in recent weeks
Criminals are recruiting vulnerable people, including children, to damage houses suspected of being HMOs, police in Manchester believe.
In recent weeks, dozens of properties have been targeted across Greater Manchester, mostly in Salford, but also in Stockport and Tameside.
Continue reading...Prosecution says Robinson guilty of harassment of Daily Mail journalists because we do not live in a ‘vigilante world’
Tommy Robinson is guilty of harassing two journalists because we do not live in a “vigilante world”, jurors have been told, as the prosecution sought to use the far-right activist’s words against him.
Robinson had posted a video in which he told Daily Mail journalists he would find them after they wrote about his alleged role influencing England’s 2024 riots. He told them he had obtained details of where they and their families lived and warned them to abide by “men’s rules”.
Continue reading...Meghan reveals she was made aware of ‘disturbing allegations’ against him in 2018 by Met police
The Duchess of Sussex has said she is “deeply distressed” over accusations involving child sexual abuse images against her estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr, and revealed she was made aware of “disturbing allegations” against him in 2018 by the Metropolitan police.
Meghan issued a statement after the Sun newspaper published claims that her half-brother Thomas Markle Jr alleged he had found a stash of images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines.
Continue reading...Official forecasts show country will meet energy demand by paying high prices to secure imports
Great Britain is expected to pay some of the highest energy costs in Europe this winter as its reliance on imports to ensure a steady supply is forecast to deepen.
Energy system operators have said the country will have enough gas and electricity to meet demand over the coldest months – in part because of paying higher market prices than neighbouring markets to secure imports.
Continue reading...Exclusive: West Streeting says MoD in talks amid legal challenge by LGBT staff forced out of military
Wes Streeting is pursuing an out-of-court resolution to a legal battle over compensation for gay veterans who were forced to resign from the armed forces because of their sexuality.
The defence secretary told the Guardian the Ministry of Defence was holding talks this week in the midst of a high court challenge over rules that blocked some veterans receiving £50,000 payments despite being forced out of military service.
Continue reading...People succumbed to heat at highest rates in Malta, Italy and Hungary, with health issues, loneliness and poverty exacerbating toll
Heat killed a record 50,000 people in European cities this summer, new research suggests, with scientists blaming climate breakdown for two in every three of the deaths.
Morgues and funeral homes filled with bodies from June to August as the heat added by planet-baking pollution cut short an extra 32,000 lives in urban areas, the researchers found. Hot days pushed vulnerable bodies into overdrive and warm nights prevented them from recovering.
Continue reading...CQC research finds long delays are making conditions harder to treat and highlights regional disparities in care
Thousands of children in England are experiencing some of the sharpest rises in waiting times for healthcare in the history of the NHS, a report has revealed.
While some adult waiting times have improved, children and young people are being “hit hardest” amid soaring demand and falling numbers of staff, according to the annual state of care report by the Care Quality Commission.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Sasan Ghandehari’s partnership with religious foundation raises questions about past dealings with republic criticised by Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage’s newest billionaire donor was in business with a powerful Iranian religious foundation under the authority of the country’s supreme leader, raising questions about his past dealings with the hardline republic.
Hossein Ghandehari, also called Sasan, was little known in the UK until he pledged to give millions to Reform UK this summer and donated £50,000 to Farage to cover the cost of two passes for the Davos World Economic Forum.
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