Three people die after house fire in Northamptonshire village

Emergency services called on Friday night to blaze at 19th-century former railway station in Rushton

Three people have died after a fire at a Grade II-listed former railway station in a village in Northamptonshire.

Police, fire and ambulance services were called at about 10.30pm on Friday to reports of a large blaze at a property in Beswick Close in Rushton, near Kettering.

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Remember When the Pope Was at Death’s Door? Not Anymore – Newser

  1. Remember When the Pope Was at Death's Door? Not Anymore  Newser
  2. Pope Francis Came Near Death in Hospital, His Doctor Says  The New York Times
  3. Pope Francis' doctors considered stopping treatment to 'let him go' after serious breathing crisis  The Associated Press
  4. Pope Francis' voice slowly recovering as Vatican convalescence continues  National Catholic Reporter
  5. Pope Francis came so close to death that his medical team considered stopping treatment  CNN
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Doctor cites the pope’s ‘surprising improvement’ after surviving life-threatening crises – ABC News

  1. Doctor cites the pope's 'surprising improvement' after surviving life-threatening crises  ABC News
  2. Pope's willingness to show his frailty provides an example to young and old alike in aging world  The Associated Press
  3. Pope Francis Came Near Death in Hospital, His Doctor Says  The New York Times
  4. Pope Francis' voice slowly recovering as Vatican convalescence continues  National Catholic Reporter
  5. Did our prayers help the Pope? His doctor’s take  Aleteia
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Kenyan man who spent decade on death row sues London police for role in wrongful conviction

New emails reveal ‘panic’ inside the Home Office at the case of Ali Kololo, who was wrongly imprisoned for the 2011 murder of British tourist David Tebbutt

A Kenyan man who was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death over an attack on British tourists is suing the Metropolitan police over its role in the case.

Ali Kololo was imprisoned for more than a decade in what his lawyers called “appalling conditions” before being released when his conviction was quashed in 2023.

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Pete Hegseth’s wife reportedly attended meetings with foreign defense officials

Defense secretary, already under fire for chat group blunder, faces new scrutiny for having wife in high-level meetings

The wife of the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, attended two meetings with foreign defense officials during which sensitive information was discussed, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal’s report on Hegseth arrived late on Friday as he faced scrutiny for detailing plans of a military strike in a group chat on Signal, made public by a journalist at the Atlantic who was added to the chat. Multiple Democrats have called for his resignation while a bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to the defense department calling for an inquiry into the group chat.

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From more tax to rewriting budget rules: six alternative ways Rachel Reeves could raise money

The chancellor has been slated by politicians, the public and campaigners for pushing ahead with brutal welfare cuts – but there were other options

There is growing criticism of Rachel Reeves for her orthodox approach to managing the public finances. While it is clear that modest reductions in spending put forward in the spring statement cannot be described as a return to austerity, they are expected to deliver considerable harm to vulnerable people at a time when wealth inequality continues to rise.

Critics also believe the chancellor’s policies to improve living standards are flawed, and more radical reforms of the way Britain’s economy operates need to be supported by the government. Here we look at some of the options open to the chancellor.

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‘A common humanity’: the British families who tended graves of German soldiers

Across the country men and women have cared for the resting places of their enemy’s fallen, finding peace and hope

For some, tending the graves was an act of reconciliation. For others, it was about acknowledging shared losses and shared grief.

Thousands of Germans who died in Britain during the first and second world wars were laid to rest in local graveyards. British people tended these graves for decades, even laying flowers and wreaths for their former foes.

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‘You can’t trust Russians’ — Europe’s Ukraine peacekeeping plans face one obvious hurdle – Kyiv Independent

  1. 'You can't trust Russians' — Europe's Ukraine peacekeeping plans face one obvious hurdle  Kyiv Independent
  2. European bid for Ukraine ‘reassurance’ force is fraught with risk  CNN International
  3. French president says not all European allies agree on a proposed force for Ukraine  The Associated Press
  4. France-U.K. Plan for European Troops in Ukraine Falters  The Wall Street Journal
  5. Europeans back strong Ukraine army, differ on future 'reassurance force'  Reuters
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Trump grants clemency to Ozy Media co-founder convicted of fraud

Carlos Watson was on way to begin serving 10-year sentence when news reached him of his presidential commutation

Hours before he was scheduled to report to prison and begin serving a nearly 10-year sentence for a federal fraud conviction, former talkshow host and media executive Carlos Watson received clemency from Donald Trump, sparing him from the punishment Friday.

Watson was traveling to the Lompoc, California, federal correctional institution when he learned of the presidential commutation afforded to him, as CNBC reported. He published a statement which thanked the president and insulted the Trump-appointed federal judge who sentenced him, Eric Komitee, as “conflicted and unethical”.

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Partial solar eclipse: moon blocks part of sun for people in northern hemisphere – as it happened

This blog is now closed, you can read our story here

Here’s a view of the sun from Dakar, Senegal:

How visible today’s partial eclipse will be depends, unsurprisingly, on how clear the sky is where you are.

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