- Merck's Keytruda: A lifesaving drug, a global divide dw.com
- How Merck turned its wonder drug into a blockbuster — and priced out cancer patients worldwide International Consortium of Investigative Journalists - ICIJ
- The miracle cancer drug that saves lives but costs €8,086 per dose The Irish Times
- Rs 1.5 lakh a shot, ‘magic’ cancer drug leaked from top hospitals, fakes sold to desperate patients The Indian Express
- Keytruda: what’s the true cost of the world’s bestselling cancer drug? TBIJ
Private firms providing services to NHS made £1.6bn profit in two years, research finds
Exclusive: MPs say profit-making levels in England are ‘scandalous’ and call for cap on amount private companies can make from NHS
Private firms providing services to the NHS including healthcare and consultancy have made £1.6bn in profits over the last two years, research reveals.
The findings – on the basis of contracts worth £12bn – have prompted claims of “scandalous” profiteering, concern that the health service is being “taken for a ride” and calls for ministers to impose a cap on maximum profit levels.
£2bn of the £12bn of contracts went to firms with owners based outside the UK.
£533m of that £2bn went to companies owned by people living in tax havens such as Jersey and the Cayman Islands.
Firms, especially those owned by private equity outfits, used £353m of their £12bn NHS income to pay interest on debts.
Continue reading...More than a fifth of UK’s ‘austerity children’ scarred by poverty, study says
Researchers say hardship is a direct legacy of welfare benefit cuts imposed by Tory governments in recent years
More than a fifth of all “austerity generation” British children have been scarred by poverty for at least half their childhood, a direct legacy of the welfare benefit cuts imposed by Conservative governments in recent years, research reveals.
The proportion of children born after 2013 who spent at least six of their first 11 years of life in hardship surged after ministers froze working age benefits levels and imposed policies such as the two-child limit, it found.
Continue reading...Is Gout Gout faster than Usain Bolt? Australian sprinter sets sights on Jamaican great’s 200m record
Coach believes there’s no limit to 18-year-old’s talent while athlete himself says he’s ‘ready for more’
Having cracked the 20-second barrier with a sizzling run over 200m – and in the process fulled comparisons with the great Usain Bolt – the question now is, how fast can Gout Gout go?
“How long’s a piece of string?” said Gout’s coach and mentor, Di Sheppard, after he clocked 19.67sec at the Australian championships in Sydney on Sunday.
Continue reading...Australia names Coyle first woman to lead army – Yahoo
- Australia names Coyle first woman to lead army Yahoo
- Australia appoints woman to lead its army for the first time Reuters
- Australia appoints female army chief for the first time in history Al Jazeera
- Afternoon Update: first female chief of army announced; rapist sacked from One Nation; and a show-stopping poodle The Guardian
- Albanese names new defence force chief Australian Broadcasting Corporation
‘Hungary has chosen Europe’: EU leaders jubilant after Péter Magyar’s victory over Orbán
Congratulations pour in from across EU, with leaders from Spain, Poland, France, Britain, Denmark, Romania, Sweden and beyond hailing a new chapter
EU leaders heaped praise on Péter Magyar after his decisive election victory in Hungary against the long-serving prime minister Viktor Orbán, who many saw as a direct threat to Europe’s peace and prosperity.
The outpouring reflected a deep frustration with Orbán across the EU’s 27 member states and its institutions.
Continue reading...Mysterious Lake District barn joins national treasures on heritage list
Officials grant Grade II* protection to ‘rare building that raises more questions than it answers’
It is an elite list with some of the most significant and beautiful buildings and structures in England, including Battersea power station, Middlesbrough’s Transporter Bridge and the London Coliseum.
Now the Grade II* landmarks are being joined by a mysterious, limestone rubble “barn” on a grassy knoll in the Lake District, which was most recently used as a shelter for sheep and cows.
Continue reading...€1m Picasso painting to be won for €100 in charity raffle
Number of tickets to win Tête de Femme will be capped at 120,000 and proceeds will go to Alzheimer’s research
A raffle in France is offering the chance to win a portrait by Pablo Picasso for the price of a €100 (£87) ticket, with proceeds going to Alzheimer’s research.
Picasso painted the gouache-on-paper Tête de Femme (Head of a Woman) in 1941. The raffle organisers’ online sales platform says the number of tickets will be capped at 120,000, meaning the draw could net €12m if they are all sold.
Continue reading...Spanish premier urges China to take bigger role in multipolar order – Reuters
- Spanish premier urges China to take bigger role in multipolar order Reuters
- Leaders of China, Spain pledge closer ties amid 'crumbling' world order Reuters
- Spain’s Sánchez Calls for Chinese Diplomacy to Solve Iran War Bloomberg.com
- Spain's Sanchez calls China trade imbalance with EU 'unsustainable' France 24
- Xi and Sánchez say China and Spain should help safeguard multilateralism AP News
Leading candidate quits California governor race amid sexual misconduct claims
Top Democratic allies intensified pressure on him to exit the gubernatorial race.
Susan Coyle to be first woman to lead Australian army in ‘deeply historic moment’
Appointment part of senior defence changes as navy chief Mark Hammond promoted to chief of defence force
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Lt Gen Susan Coyle, an officer of more than three decades standing, will become the first woman to lead the Australian army.
Coyle has been announced as the new chief of army, with her term beginning in July.
Continue reading...Viktor Orbán’s Hungarian experiment runs out of steam
Péter Magyar's historic win offers peace for a country exhausted by the tensions of Viktor Orbán's rule, Nick Thorpe reports from Budapest.
Eight to be awarded for bravery in Bondi Junction stabbing
Six people were killed and ten injured after a man went on a stabbing rampage in an Australian mall.
Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja among 500 arrested at Palestine Action protest
Musician says he wanted to attend the protest despite the consequences a potential arrest could have on his music career
Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja has been arrested on suspicion of showing support for a proscribed organisation after attending a mass protest against the ban on Palestine Action in central London on Saturday.
Del Naja, also known as 3D, was among hundreds of fellow demonstrators in Trafalgar Square on Saturday afternoon, holding a sign that read “I Oppose Genocide, I Support Palestine Action”.
Continue reading...UK will not join Trump’s blockade of Iran’s ports in the Strait of Hormuz – BBC
- UK will not join Trump's blockade of Iran's ports in the Strait of Hormuz BBC
- Starmer refuses to join Trump’s Hormuz blockade Yahoo
- UK rejects tolls on Strait of Hormuz politico.eu
- Starmer refuses to join Trump’s Hormuz blockade as oil prices expected to rise The Independent
- UK to host officials for Strait of Hormuz talks next week politico.eu
Congressman Eric Swalwell quits California governor race amid sexual misconduct claims
Top Democratic allies intensified pressure on him to exit the gubernatorial race.
‘A truly historic moment’: Hungarian opposition wins election landslide
Rajini Vaidyanathan broadcasts from outside Hungary's parliament as crowds hear about the prime minister's concession.
John Donaldson, the father of Denmark’s Australian-born Queen Mary, dies at 84 – AP News
- John Donaldson, the father of Denmark’s Australian-born Queen Mary, dies at 84 AP News
- Queen Mary of Denmark's father dies in Tasmania aged 84 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- Queen Mary announces death of father at 84 after declining health: 'My thoughts are grey' HELLO! Magazine
- Royal family hit with heartbreak as Queen releases official statement Geo News
- Queen Mary's father John Donaldson has died in Tasmania just three weeks after she made the trip from Denmark to Australia Daily Mail
Oil back above $100 as US to blockade Iranian ports after peace talks fail
The failure of negotiations at the weekend has raised concerns that the global energy crisis will deepen.
Orbán era swept away by Péter Magyar’s Hungary election landslide
Viktor Orbán's 16 years in power is over, defeated by a 45-year-old ex-party insider who convinced a majority of Hungarians to oust him.