Met police ‘maintain concerns’ about China super-embassy plan

Exclusive: Force, which had dropped objection to plan, says protests of more than 500 people would impede traffic and require extra resources

China’s proposed “super-embassy” in London would require additional police officers to deal with any large protests involving thousands of people, the Metropolitan police have said before a decision by ministers.

Despite having dropped its official objection to the proposals, the Met “maintains concerns” that large protests of more than 500 people outside the embassy would impede traffic and “require additional police resource”, said the deputy assistant commissioner Jon Savell

Continue reading...

Dutton claims majority of veterans don’t want welcome to country at Anzac Day ceremonies

Opposition leader says opening of parliament is an appropriate time for ceremonies but that acknowledgment on planes is ‘over the top’

Peter Dutton has confirmed he does not believe welcome to country ceremonies are necessary at Anzac Day dawn services and on commercial flights, continuing to stoke a culture war in the final week of the election campaign.

It comes days after a neo-Nazi booed and heckled a welcome to country ceremony at a dawn service in Melbourne.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

China and Philippines display competing flags on disputed South China Sea sandbank

Beijing and Manila accuse each other of illegal activities around Sandy Cay near the Spratly Isles, as joint US-Filipino military drills get under way in region

China and the Philippines have displayed their national flags in competing photo opportunities on a disputed sandbank in the South China sea, ratcheting up longstanding regional tensions between the two countries.

The dispute played out at Sandy Cay, which is part of the disputed Spratly Islands, and comes days after the US and the Philippines launched their annual joint military drills called “Balikatan”, or “shoulder to shoulder”, which this year will include an integrated air and missile defence simulation for the first time.

Continue reading...

RedBird Capital confident of tabling a deal to take control of Telegraph

Guardian understands plan from US private equity firm to form a consortium or self-fund could come as soon as next month

The US private equity firm RedBird Capital is confident of tabling a deal to take control of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph as soon as next month, in an attempt to end two years of “paralysis and unhappiness” at the 170-year-old titles.

The firm’s founder, Gerry Cardinale, is personally involved in drafting a plan to either form a consortium or self-fund a takeover at Telegraph Media Group, the Guardian understands.

Continue reading...

UK banks brace for first-quarter reports after Trump tariff turmoil

Lenders expected to split into two camps: those focused on domestic customers and those with large operations in the US, China and the EU

UK banks’ earnings reports will be studied this week for signs of turmoil linked to Donald Trump’s tariff drama, with uncertainty over global growth likely to weigh on lenders with heavy exposure to China, including HSBC.

First-quarter profits only reflect the January-to-March period that preceded the US president’s “liberation day” tariff announcements on 2 April. But investors will be concerned about any hints of caution around earnings forecasts, as well as an uptick in money put aside for defaults by tariff-hit borrowers.

Continue reading...

Synthetic opioids linked to spate of overdose deaths found in wastewater across Australia

Detection of powerful nitazenes in samples from 60 sites a ‘red flag’ amid surging use to lace street drugs

Synthetic opioids a thousand times stronger than morphine and an animal sedative used to lace street drugs have been detected in Australia’s wastewater.

The discovery has been described as a “red flag” and comes as the deadly class of synthetic opioids – nitazines – claims dozens of lives in Australia.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

Murder charges filed against suspect in ramming attack on Vancouver street festival that killed 11 – WMUR

  1. Murder charges filed against suspect in ramming attack on Vancouver street festival that killed 11  WMUR
  2. Lapu Lapu killings: Suspect charged with multiple counts of second-degree murder in Vancouver  CBC
  3. A man drove a car into a crowd in Vancouver Saturday night, killing at least 11  NPR
  4. Suspect in Vancouver ramming attack charged with eight counts of murder  The Guardian
  5. At Least 11 People Killed After Car Plows Into Vancouver Filipino Festival  The New York Times
Posted in Uncategorized

Ultra-processed food increases risk of early death, international study finds

About 14% of premature deaths in England attributable to unhealthy food, the most among surveyed countries

Consuming large amounts of ultra-processed food (UPF) increases the risk of an early death, according to a international study that has reignited calls for a crackdown on UPF.

Each 10% extra intake of UPF, such as bread, cakes and ready meals, increases someone’s risk of dying before they reach 75 by 3%, according to research in countries including the US and England.

Continue reading...

With China and the US at intense economic odds, nations are being forced to choose sides – AP News

  1. With China and the US at intense economic odds, nations are being forced to choose sides  AP News
  2. Xi Is Ratcheting Up China’s Pain Threshold for a Long Fight With Trump  WSJ
  3. Why Trump is losing his trade war with China  vox.com
  4. Trump’s fixation on a tariff battle win against China could cost him the trade war  Politico
  5. What If China Wins the Trade War?  The Atlantic
Posted in Uncategorized

Being shouted at by parents can alter child’s brain, experts tell UK MPs

Meeting will hear how exposure to verbal abuse leads to biological changes and can make mental ill-health likelier

Being shouted at by their parents reshapes children’s brains and makes them more likely to have mental ill-health and struggle to maintain friendships, MPs will hear on Monday.

Verbal abuse by adults can leave children unable to enjoy pleasure and seeing the world as threatening, experts in child development and mental health will tell a meeting at Westminster.

Continue reading...

Reform UK challenged to give details on donations after £2m mailshot campaign

Exclusive: Liberal Democrats say voters need to know sources of funding for Nigel Farage’s party before local elections

The Liberal Democrats have publicly challenged Nigel Farage to give details of his party’s donations after calculating that Reform UK spent more than £2m on personalised letters to postal voters before the local elections.

In a letter to Farage, Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader, said people needed to know the source of the money before Thursday’s elections, given that Reform received only £281,000 in donations in the last set of publicly available figures, for the final quarter of 2024.

Continue reading...

Pope’s final journey: 11 symbolic moments from Francis’ funeral procession – Catholic News Agency

  1. Pope’s final journey: 11 symbolic moments from Francis’ funeral procession  Catholic News Agency
  2. Trump Gets Called Out in Front of Millions at Pope’s Funeral  Yahoo
  3. Photos: Pope Francis’ Last Journey  The New York Times
  4. Cardinal Parolin at Novemdiales Mass: ‘Mercy takes us to heart of faith’  Vatican News
  5. Vatican releases pictures of Pope Francis' tomb, as it opens for public viewing  ABC News
Posted in Uncategorized