Biden says he will visit North Carolina after devastating storm destroys entire communities across several states
As the south-east US continues recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene’s devastation, the storm’s death toll keeps climbing, with more than 120 killed across several states.
Joe Biden will visit North Carolina, where the western part of the state has been devastated by flooding, on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Draft documents say defence and security will make up 40% of government spending as Putin continues war against Ukraine
Russia is to increase its spending on defence by 25% to its highest on record, as Vladimir Putin vows to continue his war efforts in Ukraine and further escalate his standoff with the west.
The latest planned increase in spending will take Russia’s defence budget to a record 13.5tn rubles (£109bn) in 2025, according to draft budget documents published on Monday on the parliament’s website. That is about 3tn rubles more than was set aside for defence this year, which was the previous record.
Continue reading...On Cast Away, the former presenter says he was let go due to the bad press generated by his sibling’s child sex offences
Phillip Schofield has blamed his brother for his departure from ITV, saying he was “fired for someone else’s crime”.
In the final episode of Channel 5’s Phillip Schofield: Cast Away, the 62-year-old former This Morning presenter said he had always been “open and honest with everyone at work about what was happening” with his 54-year-old brother, Timothy, who was convicted in April 2023 of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child.
Continue reading...Israel tells US state department it is targeting infrastructure just inside Lebanon, while Beirutis are urged to evacuate
Israeli forces appeared to have launched what sources called “limited ground operations” targeting Hezbollah inside southern Lebanon, US and other officials said late on Monday.
“This is what they have informed us that they are currently conducting, which are limited operations targeting Hezbollah infrastructure near the border,” the state department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, told journalists.
Continue reading...Tory leadership candidate made claim in video calling for UK to leave European convention on human rights
Robert Jenrick is facing condemnation for claiming that UK special forces are “killing rather than capturing” terrorists because of fears that European laws would free any detained assailants.
In a campaign video launched on X, the Conservative leadership candidate made the statement while listing reasons for leaving the European convention on human rights.
Continue reading...Exclusive: London mayor boosts counter-hate funding as British Jewish group warns of danger of ‘reprisal’ attacks
Sadiq Khan has warned of a potential increase in hate crime in Britain triggered by the rise in Middle East violence, as a leading British Jewish group warned of the danger of “reprisal” attacks here.
The London mayor’s warning comes after a series of Israeli airstrikes against targets in Lebanon, which have killed Hezbollah’s top leaders as well as its followers, and it is feared, scores of civilians. Khan is pumping extra emergency funding into groups in London countering hate.
Continue reading...NEU snap poll shows 95% of members voting for 5.5% pay rise, ending months of industrial action
Teachers in England have voted overwhelmingly to accept a 5.5% pay rise but warned ministers that without further “corrections” pay would remain uncompetitive and teacher shortages would persist.
Of those members who responded to the National Education Union’s snap poll, 95% voted to accept the 2024-25 offer, which would give schools an additional £1.2bn to cover the pay rise.
Continue reading...Health secretary is examining case for a comprehensive plan for England to tackle UK’s second-biggest killer
Wes Streeting may revive the use of a dedicated cancer strategy to tackle the UK’s second biggest killer after experts warned the Conservatives’ scrapping of it was “a disaster” for patients.
The health secretary is considering publishing a new comprehensive plan for England, amid record numbers of people being diagnosed with the disease and NHS cancer services struggling to meet demand.
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