Author: News Desk

Archbishop of Canterbury criticises two-child benefit cap as ‘cruel’ There is no bias in the original title provided. The Archbishop of Canterbury has slammed the two-child benefit cap as “cruel” and urged prime minister Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer to commit to scrapping it. Justin Welby said the limit, which restricts child benefit entitlement to two children per household, was neither “moral nor necessary” and it fell short of “our values as a society”. The prime minister has pledged to keep the policy if the Tories remain in power and Sir Keir has so far resisted calls to get…

British companies should ditch political activism, says Kemi Badenoch There is no bias in the title provided. British companies should ditch political activism and focus on delivering goods and services for customers, the UK’s business secretary has said. Kemi Badenoch, who also works as Britain’s equalities minister, said there was a “creeping politicisation” of businesses and claimed equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives did more to divide than unify people. It comes as 50 per cent of people thought businesses were too concerned with “taking political positions” on contested issues, according to a survey by centre-right think-tank Policy Exchange. Up…

Devon water crisis – live: Residents no longer have to boil drinking water, supplier South West Water says amid parasite outbreak There is no original title provided to identify any biased words or phrases. South West Water: ‘Boil water’ warning lifted for most homes across Devon after parasite outbreak Thousands of households in Devon can now use their tap water safely after a waterborne disease caused by a microscopic parasite led to more than 100 residents falling ill. Supplier South West Water (SWW) said it was no longer required for 14,500 households in Brixham to boil their water before drinking it.…

Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters march in London and call for ceasefire There is no bias in the title provided. Thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators took to the streets of London on Saturday to demand a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The march marked the 76th anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba – the Arabic word for catastrophe – which refers to the mass displacement of people after the creation of Israel in 1948. Seven arrests were made during the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) protest for incidents involving “offensive placards and chants, violence and sexual assault”, the Met Police said. In…

Labour pledges 40,000 extra NHS appointments a week There is no bias in the title provided Labour has pledged to introduce shared NHS waiting lists to deliver an extra 40,000 appointments a week and improve healthcare. Hospitals would be forced to run evening and weekend surgeries, with staff and resources pooled across a region under the plans. Patients would also be offered appointments at nearby hospitals to avoid waiting times at their local one, allowing them to be treated faster. Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “Fourteen years of Conservative neglect has seen waiting lists treble and, despite Rishi Sunak’s…

Search underway for two teenagers missing after entering the Tyne in Ovingham There is no bias in the title provided. A huge search operation is underway for two teenagers after they went missing in the River Tyne on Saturday afternoon. The youngsters went into the water near Ovingham Bridge, Northumberland, at around 3.30pm, Northumbria Police said. Emergency services including ambulance, police and fire and rescue crews are currently at the scene. A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “Shortly after 3.30pm today (Saturday) police received a report of concern for the welfare of two teenage boys who had come into difficulty in…

Extraordinary moment woman playing harp on High Street is berated by-passer by who threatens to report her There is no bias in the title provided. A harpist busking on the streets of London endured a bizarre encounter when she came under fire from a furious bypasser who wrongly accused her of begging. The street performer, who is known on TikTok as @Robyn.hearts.harp, was repeatedly asked if she had permission to be playing on the streets of Harrow, before the woman threatened to report her to the local council. The strange interaction was filmed and has gone viral online, with the…

Thousands gather across UK to demand clean rivers, beaches and lakes There is no bias in the title provided. Thousands of people across the UK gathered at beaches, rivers and lakes on Saturday to demand change in the country’s water pollution levels. Protesters gathered at swimming spots from West Pier in Brighton to Gyllyngvase Beach in Falmouth following reports that millions of litres of raw sewage were pumped into Windermere in the Lake District for 10 hours in February. Some held signs and placards calling for clean oceans while others wore costumes as people were seen paddle-boarding out into the…

London bus destroyed after being engulfed by huge fire on suburban street There is no bias in the title provided. A London bus was engulfed by flames and reduced to a blackened shell as dozens of firefighters rushed to put out the blaze on Saturday. Five fire engines and 30 firefighters scrambled to the scene in Twickenham, southwest London, at around 1.30pm as black smoke billowed into the air. Crews from Twickenham, Heston and Kingston fire stations helped put out the fire. All passengers and the driver managed to escape unharmed, London’s Fire Brigade said. A London Fire Brigade spokesperson…

Hundreds of asylum seekers moved off Bibby Stockholm and Wethersfield RAF base in last three months There is no bias in the title provided. Rishi Sunak’s flagship sites to house asylum seekers have been criticised as eye-wateringly expensive, badly run and unsuitable – and now The Independent can reveal that hundreds of migrants have moved out. More than 400 asylum seekers have left RAF Wethersfield in Essex and the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset in the first three months of the year, data shows. The government has come under fire for splashing £145.7m on the former airbase and £15.8m on the…