Category Archives: UK news

Battery passports: how a meeting at Davos helped set a car industry standard

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Mining groups hope their joint project, ReSource, will have an influence on the global business

“It’s incredibly exciting,” said Benedikt Sobotka, the chief executive of mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG). Sitting in front of an audience in January at Davos, the ski resort that hosts an annual gathering of the world’s business elite, he waved a piece of paper with a QR code that he hopes will eventually be attached to every electric car battery in the world.

Sobotka’s excitement reflected his involvement in setting up ReSource, a joint project with fellow miners Glencore and IXM to provide battery “passports” for electric cars. It also hinted at his bigger hopes: that his mining company and its partners could take an influential role in the future of the automotive industry.

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Boy, 17, stabbed to death in High Wycombe

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Police searching for four suspects after ‘targeted attack’ on Sunday in which another boy was also hurt

A 17-year-old boy has been stabbed to death in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in what police described as a “targeted attack”.

Officers said they were searching for four suspects, all of whom had their faces covered during the attack, which took place between 7pm and 7.30pm on Sunday. No arrests have been made yet.

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UK mortgage lender to offer first 100% loans since 2008 crisis

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Skipton building society aims product at renters who cannot save enough for a deposit

A leading lender plans to launch a 100% mortgage aimed at would-be first-time buyers who cannot save for a deposit, the first since the 2008 financial crisis.

Standard home loans where the borrower does not have to put down a deposit used to be fairly commonplace but the last was axed in the wake of the financial crisis.

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Second homes ‘destroying’ Welsh-speaking areas, say campaigners

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More than 1,000 people gather at Caernarfon Castle to demand new law to regulate market and protect communities

More than 1,000 people gathered outside Caernarfon Castle in north Wales for a rally protesting against second homes, which they say are “destroying” Welsh language strongholds.

Members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith (the Welsh Language Society) are calling for a new Property Act to protect communities in language heartlands such as Gwynedd in the north and Pembrokeshire in the south-west.

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Lone child refugees stranded in Sudan may ‘risk travelling to UK on small boats’

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Charities say British government not doing enough to facilitate family reunions through available safe and legal route

Lone child refugees stranded in Sudan could be forced to travel to the UK in small boats because British ministers are not helping those entitled to family reunion to escape the fighting, charities have warned.

Asylum seekers granted refugee status in the UK are able to apply to bring their spouse, children or younger siblings – one of the few safe and legal routes open to refugees.

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Take That, Katy Perry and more entertain 20,000 at coronation concert

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Prince of Wales also appears on stage, saying to King Charles III: ‘Pa, we are all so proud of you’

Thousands danced and waved their flags underneath Windsor Castle in the first concert ever held in the grounds to celebrate King Charles’s coronation.

Stars including Katy Perry, who sang Roar and Firework, and Lionel Richie, who played Easy and All Night Long, entertained the 20,000-strong audience, including the royal family, and millions at home on Sunday. Take That provided a rousing finale, drawing the night to a close with Never Forget, featuring an intro from the choristers of Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

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Met stands by officers after man Tasered and two dogs shot dead in London

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Footage on social media showed officers pursuing a man holding two dogs on a short lead along a canal in Limehouse

The Metropolitan police has defended its officers after a suspect was Tasered and two dogs were shot in front of screaming witnesses.

Footage posted on social media showed officers pursuing a man holding the two dogs on a short lead along a canal in Limehouse, east London, on Sunday afternoon. The situation appeared to become heated, as the man was Tasered to the floor and the animals were shot dead.

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15-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of murder after Bath city centre death

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Ben Moncrieff, 18, was found critically injured in the Southgate Street area of the city on Saturday and died at scene

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man died in Bath city centre.

Emergency services were called to the Southgate Street area of the city at about 3.30am on Saturday. The victim, Ben Moncrieff, 18, was found critically injured and died at the scene.

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King Charles complained ‘we can never be on time’ at coronation, lip reader claims

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Monarch reportedly said ‘there’s always something’ during the build-up to the ceremony

King Charles grumbled “we can never be on time” and “there’s always something” at the start of his coronation, a lip reader has claimed.

The monarch and Camilla arrived at Westminster Abbey early and were forced to wait outside, sat in their diamond jubilee state coach.

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Coronation aimed for diversity but real challenges still lie ahead

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Bid to reflect an inclusive modern Britain countered by ‘terribly white’ Buckingham Palace balcony

For many, King Charles III achieved his ambition for a diverse and inclusive coronation, though not everyone agreed.

There were far more black and brown faces in Westminster Abbey than 70 years ago, as would be expected given societal change over Elizabeth II’s reign.

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‘Everyone’s welcome’: community unites at Coronation Big Lunch in Leeds

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‘Pay as you feel’ celebration in Armley, one of city’s most deprived wards, is one of more than 67,000 across bank holiday weekend

Parishioners had put out enough chairs in the grounds of Christ Church in Armley, Leeds, to seat about 80 people for their Coronation Big Lunch – but it was starting to become clear they may have underestimated.

Helped by sunny weather on Sunday, numbers were nearly twice as high, and it was not long before pews were being brought outside to seat the diverse gathering, one of more than 67,000 Big Lunches being held across the bank holiday weekend as part of the official coronation celebrations.

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UK ‘was urged to investigate’ Nigerian politician before organ trafficking plot

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Exclusive: Former US intelligence analyst says he warned authorities about activities of Ike Ekweremadu

A former US intelligence analyst warned the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate the activities of a senior Nigerian politician before he trafficked a man to London in an attempt to harvest his kidney, the Guardian can reveal.

On Friday, Ike Ekweremadu was sentenced to more than nine years in prison for being the driving force in a plot to harvest a kidney for his sick daughter in the first organ trafficking conviction under the Modern Slavery Act.

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Colonialism and controversial guests inform Africa’s reaction to Charles’s coronation

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While some paid tribute to the British monarch, the presence in London of certain guests proved less than welcome

In South Africa, as across the African Commonwealth countries, Saturday’s coronation of King Charles III prompted mixed reactions.

There was much interest in Pretty Yende, the South African soprano who sang at the beginning of the ceremony, and some high-profile public figures sent their best wishes to the monarch.

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Bearskins but no drones: did coronation parade reflect modern UK military?

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Observers split on whether armed forces’ high-profile ceremonial role could help or hinder their image

The British military deployed 9,000 personnel in ceremonial and supporting duties on Saturday’s coronation, nearly 5% of all the UK armed forces, in the largest display of official pageantry for more than 70 years.

But the carefully choreographed effort, eight months in the planning, comes at a time when recruitment is falling and the image projected by the army on parade is, some observers say, far removed from the needs of the modern military.

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Anti-coronation protest leader hits out at police over arrests

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Graham Smith said Met officers should hang their heads in shame after 52 detained in central London

Police who arrested anti-monarchy protesters before King Charles III’s coronation have “destroyed whatever trust might have existed between peaceful protesters and the Metropolitan police,” the chief executive of the campaign group Republic has said.

After six members of the group were arrested at about 7.30am on Saturday – before their protest had begun – and had their placards seized, Graham Smith said officers “should hang their heads in shame” and that police had shown “no judgment, no common sense and no basic decency”.

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Labour criticised for giving global banks access to parliament

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Exclusive: HSBC and NatWest staffers seconded to shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds’s team

Labour has been criticised for giving global banks access to parliament after taking an HSBC staffer into its shadow business team, despite the financial giant coming under fire over its links with China.

One senior policy manager from HSBC has been seconded to the team of Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, and has been given a parliamentary pass since February.

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Two people shot in ‘hostage situation’ at house in Kent

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Police say man and woman admitted to hospital with serious injuries after incident in Dartford

Two people were shot at a house in Kent in what witnesses described as a “chilling” hostage situation involving a standoff with police.

The incident in Priory Road, Dartford, happened on Saturday afternoon. Kent police said a man and a woman were admitted to hospital with serious injuries consistent with gunshot wounds. They remain in a serious condition.

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ENO chief says Liverpool and Manchester ‘strong contenders’ for new home

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Stuart Murphy says other cities in running but stresses chances of either northern city hosting opera company

Liverpool and Manchester are “really strong contenders” to be the new home of the English National Opera (ENO), its chief executive has said, after the cultural body was forced to leave London.

Stuart Murphy, who steps down later this year, said three potential bases would be selected by the end of May and a winner chosen by the end of this year.

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Ad watchdog cracks down on misleading health and beauty claims

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ASA reports rise in complaints about ads that mislead customers about benefits of treatments like Botox

The advertising watchdog is banning growing numbers of advertisements that exaggerate the benefits of health and beauty treatments such as Botox, lip fillers and diet aids.

The Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) action is part of a crackdown against beauty clinics and manufacturers of aesthetic products over how they promote themselves.

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French left attacks ‘nauseating’ coronation but right gives praise

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Jean-Luc Mélenchon also criticises French TV coverage while National Rally MP hails ‘magnificent’ ceremony

Almost 9 million people watched King Charles’s coronation live on TV in France, where the pomp and ceremony sickened the radical left while impressing the far right.

As the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who is close to Charles, attended the service at Westminster Abbey, congratulating the monarchy who he said were “friends to France”, the French media’s massive focus on the event – with souvenir front pages and lengthy TV specials across different channels – caused high emotions across the polarised political landscape.

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