Author: News Desk

Labour urged to focus on Midlands in plan for new towns Labour’s plan for new towns looks likely to focus on the Midlands as much as England’s overcrowded south-east, with planners already considering areas near Nottingham, Stafford and Northampton, the Guardian understands. Close to the M1 and M6 motorways, some of the locations have the advantage of being in areas of Labour local political control, giving Keir Starmer’s government a better chance of delivering on its promise to have the first homes built by the end of a first Labour term. One planner involved in early thinking said other potential…

Labour, Lib Dems and Britain First fined by Electoral Commission for breaking election law Labour and the Lib Dems have been warned by the Electoral Commission that they need to comply with electoral law after being fined for multiple offences. Four investigations carried out by the democratic watchdog concluded that Labour was guilty of five offences and one contravention of the rules and handed a fine of £400. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems were found guilty of four offences of late reporting of donations and fined £350. Labour was reprimanded for a failure to notify a change in accounting unit treasurer,…

Funeral held for remains of medieval man found on Hampshire beach | Hampshire There is no bias in the original title provided. Nobody knew his name or exactly how he died half a millennium ago but 50 mourners gathered to pay their respects at an unusual church service to lay to rest the remains of a medieval man found on a Hampshire beach.The funeral and burial for the man, who may have been a murder victim, his body hidden by the killer, took place at St Mary’s church in the village of South Baddesley, near where he was found in…

Safety institutes to form ‘international network’ to boost AI research and tests Ten nations and the European Union have agreed to establish an international network of publicly backed AI Safety Institutes to advance global research and testing of AI. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the agreement would mean “international progress” could be made on AI safety, after it was announced at the end of the first day of the AI Seoul Summit. The UK announced it would create the world’s first AI Safety Institute during the AI Safety Summit held at Bletchley Park in November last year, to carry out…

Jeremy Hunt looks to cut NICs again despite IMF warning of £30bn fiscal hole | Economics There is no bias in the original title provided. Jeremy Hunt is preparing a pre-election cut in national insurance despite a warning from the International Monetary Fund of a looming £30bn hole in the public finances, Downing Street has indicated.Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said the government rejected the IMF’s argument that there was no room for a third cut in NI in less than a year and that the Treasury should instead be thinking about tax increases or spending cuts.“I think on that we respectfully…

Army personnel fear for their jobs after huge MoD cyber attack Army personnel fear losing their jobs after they had their details hacked in a cyber attack on the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Personal data of service personnel and veterans, including names, bank details and addresses, was in the payroll system which was accessed in the large-scale hack. Barings Law said it had signed up more than 1,000 claimants who were potentially affected. Up to 272,000 service personnel may have been affected by the breach. Adnan Malik, head of data breach at the Manchester-based law firm, said: “There is a…

British passenger dies after severe turbulence on London to Singapore flight | Air transport A British passenger has died and dozens have been injured after a flight from London to Singapore was hit by turbulence. Passengers onboard the Singapore Airlines plane told of a “dramatic drop” that launched those not wearing a seatbelt into the cabin ceiling. The airline said the Boeing 777 carrying more than 200 passengers encountered severe turbulence on its way from Heathrow. The aircraft was diverted to Bangkok, where it landed at 3.45pm local time (0945 BST) on Tuesday. According to Thai authorities, the unnamed passenger…

Marcus Rashford has been left out of England’s Euro 2024 squad which is set to be named by Gareth Southgate later today. The Manchester United star has endured a difficult season for his club, during which he was disciplined by his manager Erik ten Hag and struggled to maintain his fitness. Rashford returned from his latest injury setback last week during United’s 3-2 win over Newcastle and also played the last 15 minutes against Brighton on Sunday in his bid to cement a start in the upcoming FA Cup final against Manchester City. Despite his lack of form, Rashford maintained…

Crystal Palace sensation Adam Wharton has been called up to the preliminary England squad for Euro 2024. Gareth Southgate named his 33-man squad on Tuesday, which will be whittled down to a maximum of 26 ahead of the tournament in June. Wharton has received his first ever call-up, taking the place of Three Lions stalwart and former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson. It is quite simply a remarkable achievement given that just five months ago, barely anyone, let alone Southgate, had heard of the tenacious midfielder… Breakthrough at Blackburn Wharton made his senior debut for boyhood club Blackburn Rovers in August…

Gareth Southgate has named a 33-man provisional England squad for the upcoming European Championships as the Three Lions look to end 58 years of hurt at Euro 2024. The England men’s team will bid to end their long wait for a major trophy in Germany this summer. The Three Lions have reached the latter stages of three successive tournaments, suffering semi-final and quarter-final defeats at the last two World Cups either side of a run to the Euro 2020 final, where they were beaten on penalties by Italy. England’s Euro 2024 campaign begins on June 16 when they face Serbia,…