General news

• Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani confirms bid for Manchester United

  17-02-2023 23:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Chairman of Qatari bank joins race to buy Premier League clubSir Jim Ratcliffe also makes his bid for the club officialManchester United were the subject of an official bid of a minimum £4bn on Friday from Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, the chairman of QIB, a Qatari bank. The offer comes with a promise to load no debt on the club and to redevelop the club’s infrastructure.The bid from Sheikh al-Thani, via his Nine Two Foundation, came before Friday’s 10pm “soft”
  
  Read more

• Rishi Sunak to call for new Nato charter to ensure ‘lasting peace’ for Ukraine

  17-02-2023 23:30 via theguardian.com
  
  UK PM expected to urge leaders at Munich Security Conference to ‘double down on our military support’ for KyivRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesRishi Sunak will call on world leaders to ensure a “lasting peace” for Ukraine with the establishment of a new Nato charter to help the country defend itself “again and again” in the face of any future declarations of war by Russia.Fresh from hosting the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in the UK l
  
  Read more

• Police release of Nicola Bulley’s personal details ‘as sexist as it comes’

  17-02-2023 23:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Former victims’ commissioner Vera Baird says revelations likely to hamper future missing person casesThe release of sensitive details about the missing woman Nicola Bulley was “as sexist as it comes”, the former victims’ commissioner has said, as Lancashire constabulary come under further pressure over their handling of the case.Dame Vera Baird condemned the force’s “dreadful” decision to divulge medical information about Bulley, saying it was “the
  
  Read more

• Three rescued from rubble 11 days after earthquake in Turkey

  17-02-2023 23:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Rescuers still pulling survivors from beneath collapsed buildings in defiance of the odds Rescue teams have pulled three people alive from under collapsed buildings in Turkey, 11 days after an earthquake that has killed more than 45,000, left millions homeless and sparked a huge relief effort.Mosques around the world performed absentee funeral prayers for the dead in Turkey and Syria, many of whom could not receive full burial rites given the enormity of the disaster. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Louis Rees-Zammit returns to inspire Gloucester to victory over Harlequins

  17-02-2023 23:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Gloucester 28-26 HarlequinsWing makes first appearance for eight weeks in bonus-point winLouis Rees-Zammit was in fine form as Gloucester climbed to third in the Gallagher Premiership by beating playoff rivals Harlequins 28-26 at Kingsholm.The Wales wing’s first appearance since sustaining an ankle injury eight weeks ago was capped by him scoring Gloucester’s bonus-point try four minutes from time. He featured for more than 30 minutes in two spells off the replacements’ bench,
  
  Read more

• Peruvian loggers given 28 years in jail for murder of four Indigenous leaders

  17-02-2023 23:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Victims – among them environmental defender Edwin Chota – were tortured before their deaths in Peruvian Amazon in 2014Five illegal loggers in Peru have been given 28-year jail sentence for the murder of four Indigenous leaders, among them the prominent anti-logging campaigner Edwin Chota, in a rare win for environmental justice.Nearly eight years after the 2014 quadruple murder, a court in Pucallpa in the Peruvian Amazon found the loggers, Eurico Mapes Gómez, and the brothers
  
  Read more

• ‘We didn’t realise how bad it was’: inside the England scrum with Mako Vunipola

  17-02-2023 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  England prop reveals the problems with his side’s scrum and how Steve Borthwick’s attention to detail could help them fix itPrecisely what takes place in the scrum, especially at the pointy end of the front row, remains somewhat of a mystery. There’s a reason those with intimate knowledge of this set piece are said to dabble in the “dark arts”.The details are not imperative for most England fans. What is important is that the English pack has been getting it wrong f
  
  Read more

• Psychic blasted for claiming he can find Nicola Bulley by 'looking into her eyes'

  17-02-2023 22:39 via express.co.uk
  
  A psychic has been slammed for claiming he can find missing mum Nicola Bulley by looking at a photo of her.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Tiger Woods apologises after handing tampon to Justin Thomas as a prank

  17-02-2023 22:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Incident occurred on 9th hole at Genesis Invitational‘If I offended anybody in any way, shape or form, I’m sorryTiger Woods has apologised after he handed his playing partner, Justin Thomas, a tampon in jest during the opening round of the 15-times major winner’s comeback at the Genesis Invitational.It occurred as the Americans walked off the 9th tee after Woods had outdriven his countryman, who laughed and then dropped the tampon on the floor. The incident caused a disapprovin
  
  Read more

• Strikes by university support staff called off after pay breakthrough

  17-02-2023 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Move follows agreement from employers on lowest-paid workers and review of salary gradesStrikes by university support staff over the next two weeks have been called off after a breakthrough in negotiations over pay, Unison has announced.Five unions – Unison, UCU, GMB, Unite and EIS – issued a joint statement with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), confirming three days of strikes will be suspended after talks at conciliation service Acas, though discussions w
  
  Read more

• Judge tells Just Stop Oil activists he is 'moved by their actions' as he convicts them

  17-02-2023 22:19 via express.co.uk
  
  A group of eco activists convicted of raiding an oil terminal have been praised as "good people" by a judge.
  
  Read more

• Journalist who exposed plot to kill Alexei Navalny claims family banned from Baftas

  17-02-2023 22:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Christo Grozev features in the film, Navalny, based on plan to poison Kremlin critic and nominated at the awardsAn investigative journalist who helped to reveal the plot to kill Russian dissident Alexei Navalny has claimed he and his family have been “banned” by police from attending the ceremony on Sunday in London due to “a public security risk”.Christo Grozev features in the 2022 film Navalny, which is nominated in the best documentary category. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• West Indies knock Ireland out of T20 World Cup with narrow victory

  17-02-2023 22:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Ireland 137-9; West Indies 140-4 | West Indies win by six wicketsHayley Matthews leads West Indies home with one ball to spareHayley Matthews’ unbeaten half-century knocked Ireland out of the T20 World Cup as West Indies secured a six-wicket victory in Cape Town.With both teams having lost their opening two games, the meeting was a must-win encounter for either side, yet despite Orla Prendergast’s half-century helping set West Indies a target of 138, captain Matthews was able to stee
  
  Read more

• Two BA flights forced to make emergency landings after 'smoke' in cabin

  17-02-2023 22:01 via express.co.uk
  
  Passengers reported smoke and a burning smell in the cabin.
  
  Read more

• Huge fire in London tower block sees residents evacuated and 'avoid area' warning

  17-02-2023 21:55 via express.co.uk
  
  The fire broke out on the sixth floor of Kenneth Robins House in Northumberland Park in Tottenham.
  
  Read more

• Mississippi: six people shot and killed, reports say

  17-02-2023 21:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Shootings happened in various locations within the community of Arkabutla while suspect taken into custodySix people have been shot and killed in various locations in Mississippi’s Tate county, and a 52-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the slayings, local media have reported.The shootings all happened within the community of Arkabutla, local television station NBC5 reported, citing the Tate county sheriff, Brad Lance. Lance identified the suspect in custody as Richard Dale
  
  Read more

• ‘Discriminatory’ messages about Katie Price’s son allegedly shared by Met officers

  17-02-2023 21:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Model ‘disgusted’ following letter from force concerning Whatsapp messages about son, HarveyKatie Price’s disabled son has allegedly been the target of “inappropriate and discriminatory” WhatsApp messages shared by Metropolitan police officers.In a post on Instagram, Price shared a letter from the police force informing her that “a number of Metropolitan police officers are alleged to have breached the standards of professional behaviour in regards to discredi
  
  Read more

• Michigan professor calls for tighter gun control after students fatally shot

  17-02-2023 21:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Marco Díaz-Muñoz asks lawmakers to not act in ‘self-interest’ after two of his Michigan State University students killedA college professor who taught two of the three students killed in the mass shooting at Michigan State University on Monday night – and came face-to-face with their murderer – is pleading with lawmakers to tighten controls on access to guns in the US.In an interview with the Detroit Free Press newspaper published Friday, 64-year-old Marco D
  
  Read more

• BBC chief Davie's 'arrogant and sickening' remarks prove licence fee should be abolished

  17-02-2023 21:01 via express.co.uk
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Campaigners and MPs have slammed a series of "arrogant and sickening" remarks by the BBC's director general about forcing households to pay the licence fee.
  
  Read more

• Martin Rowson on Rishi Sunak trying to reach Northern Ireland protocol deal – cartoon

  17-02-2023 20:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• How MI5 caught UK embassy spy selling secrets to Russia

  17-02-2023 20:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The BBC's Tom Symonds explains what David Smith did, and how he was stopped.
  
  Read more

• Syria: at least 53 people killed while truffle hunting in suspected IS attack

  17-02-2023 20:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Foragers in central region targeted by Islamist group, says UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human RightsAt least 53 people were killed on Friday in an attack east of Homs in central Syria that was blamed on Islamic State, state media reported.“Fifty-three citizens who were truffle hunting were killed during an attack by the terrorists of IS to the south-west of the town of Al-Sukhna,” state television said. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Police launch internal probe into own 'deeply troubling' tactics in Nicola Bulley's case

  17-02-2023 20:25 via express.co.uk
  
  Police in Lancashire will conduct an internal review of their investigation into missing mortgage advisor Nicola Bulley.
  
  Read more

• At least three killed as Pakistani Taliban militants storm police HQ in Karachi

  17-02-2023 20:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Officials say three attackers also dead as police and paramilitary forces clear building in gun battleMilitants launched a deadly suicide attack on the police headquarters of Pakistan’s largest city on Friday, with the sound of gunfire and explosions rocking the heart of Karachi for several hours.Two police officers and a civilian were killed and 18 security force members wounded, according to government officials and Ghulam Nabi Memon, the police chief of Sindh province, where Karachi is
  
  Read more

• Met officer tells court DNA on woman’s breast may have been result of handshake

  17-02-2023 20:05 via theguardian.com
  
  PC Fabian Aguilar-Delgado denies sexual assault after DNA found on woman who requested police supportA Metropolitan police officer accused of sexually assaulting a woman while on duty has told a court his DNA may have ended up on her breast after she shook his sweaty hand.PC Fabian Aguilar-Delgado has been accused of putting a hand down the woman’s top and sucking on her breast after offering to search her house for her abusive ex-partner. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• The King co-writes children's climate change book

  17-02-2023 20:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  King Charles also met with global leaders on Friday at Buckingham Palace to discuss biodiversity.
  
  Read more

• Qatar buying Manchester United would be a disaster – just look at the state of PSG | Barney Ronay

  17-02-2023 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Putting all but basic football competence aside, the cautious progress made under Erik ten Hag would be destroyed in an instantAnd here’s one we made earlier. Please ignore the noises from the basement. We, the sovereign state of Qatar, are here to restore the lost soul of your prized social-sporting institutions. And it’s all going to be fine. There was an unavoidable significance this week in the coincidence of two apparently unrelated events. First the suggestion that Qatar really
  
  Read more

• ‘I had to get out of there’: an Australian survivor of homosexuality ‘cures’ tells her story

  17-02-2023 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Lee Clayton’s account of being hospitalised, sedated and almost undergoing brain surgery has inspired a storyline in a new play on at WorldPrideGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailLee Clayton was a shy and innocent teenager, “cotton woolled” in parental love and protection while growing up in Wahroonga, on Sydney’s north shore. She didn’t know what a lesbian was, having never even heard the word – but she knew she had a crush on her English teacher, a k
  
  Read more

• India accuses BBC of tax evasion amid Modi documentary row

  17-02-2023 19:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Country’s finance ministry claims broadcaster has not fully declared its income and profitsIndia’s finance ministry has accused the BBC of tax evasion, saying that it had not fully declared its income and profits from its operations in the country.Indian tax authorities ended three days of searches of the British broadcaster’s Delhi and Mumbai offices on Thursday night. Opposition political parties and other media organisations have criticised the searches as an attempt to inti
  
  Read more

• Macron makes provocative speech but Zelenskiy’s questions not all answered

  17-02-2023 19:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Munich Security Conference also saw Scholz defend Germany’s steady approach in supporting UkraineZelenskiy urges west to speed up arms support to head off Russia offensiveOn 19 February 2022, a year ago this weekend, a kempt if callow Volodymyr Zelenskiy took to the stage at the Munich Security Conference wearing suit and tie to confront the west with the reality of the imminent return of war to Europe and a possible full-scale Russian invasion of his country.He spoke with the bluntness fo
  
  Read more

• Sunak facing threat of Tory rebellion over Northern Ireland protocol plans

  17-02-2023 19:44 via theguardian.com
  
  PM is embarking on frantic weekend of diplomacy in attempt to break post-Brexit deadlockRishi Sunak faces the threat of a fresh Conservative rebellion as he sets off on a weekend of frantic diplomacy in an attempt to break the post-Brexit deadlock in Northern Ireland.With some in his party fearing an intervention by Boris Johnson, the prime minister has been warned his proposed deal on the Northern Ireland protocol does not go far enough after talks with unionists in a Belfast hotel on Friday. C
  
  Read more

• Questions raised about BBC Panorama episode on Labour and antisemitism

  17-02-2023 19:41 via theguardian.com
  
  The programme’s John Ware and Neil Grant, and Richard Sanders, the producer of an Al Jazeera documentary that criticised it, respond to an article by George MonbiotIn mentioning criticism about the 2019 BBC Panorama episode Is Labour Anti-Semitic?, George Monbiot unfortunately omits some important details despite these having been published (This senseless lawsuit could bankrupt the Labour party and let the Tories win again, 15 February).He refers to a tape recording which he suggests show
  
  Read more

• Ian Baum had good reason to bring his HIV case against Gareth Thomas | Letter

  17-02-2023 19:41 via theguardian.com
  
  The former rugby player’s ex-partner was not just ‘unlucky’ to become HIV-positive, says solicitor Matthew JuryJames Greig’s article (The Gareth Thomas case proves it: no one wins when an HIV transmission fight goes to court, 7 February) says that “it is regrettable that such a popular figurehead [Gareth Thomas] found himself at the centre of a legal controversy”. The message seems to be that Thomas’s ex-partner Ian Baum, who was represented by our law f
  
  Read more

• Boris Johnson ‘agrees to buy’ £4m nine-bed Georgian manor house (with moat)

  17-02-2023 19:37 via theguardian.com
  
  The 400-year-old Grade II-listed Brightwell Manor in Oxfordshire boasts five acres and a moat fed by its own natural springBoris Johnson is understood to have agreed to buy a nine-bedroom Grade II-listed Georgian manor house in Oxfordshire valued at £4m.The former prime minister and his wife Carrie have in recent weeks viewed Brightwell Manor, in the picturesque village of Brightwell-cum-Sotwell near Wallingford. The Guardian has been told they have now made an offer which has been accepte
  
  Read more

• Hugh Jackman: I want to score against Wrexham

  17-02-2023 19:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The star would prefer to play for a football club instead of owning one like his 'rival', Wrexham FC co-owner Ryan Reynolds.
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on disinformation online: a 21st-century growth industry | Editorial

  17-02-2023 19:27 via theguardian.com
  
  An undercover investigation reveals the threat to public discourse posed by private mercenaries dealing in lies and distortionThe healthy functioning of democracies depends on the quality of the information that frames debate within them. But digitalisation, the rise of social media and increasingly sophisticated forms of artificial intelligence are delivering new opportunities to poison the well of public discourse. Unfortunately, as a Guardian investigation this week illustrates, exploiting th
  
  Read more

• KPMG settles £1.3bn lawsuit from Carillion creditors over alleged negligence

  17-02-2023 19:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Collapse of outsourcer in 2018 with debts of £7bn came after annual accounts were approved by KPMG KPMG has settled a £1.3bn lawsuit brought by Carillion’s liquidators, who claimed the auditor was negligent and missed serious red flags in the outsourcing firm’s accounts ahead of its disastrous collapse in 2018.The lawsuit – which related to audits of Carillion accounts between 2014 and 2016 – had been launched by Britain’s official receiver, which is att
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on China-US tensions: distrust? Then verify | Editorial

  17-02-2023 19:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Never mind high-flying balloons. The two sides should aim low, concentrating on preventing further deterioration in relationsIn the closing years of the cold war, as relations between the Soviet Union and US thawed, Ronald Reagan adopted a Russian proverb: trust, but verify. These days, with Sino-US relations chilling rather than warming, there is precious little trust, and limited ability to read the other’s intentions accurately.Relations were deteriorating long before the Chinese balloo
  
  Read more

• Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything review – erotic obsession in East Germany

  17-02-2023 19:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Emily Atef’s drama, following a dreamy teenager into an affair with a middle-aged man, addresses difficult material with a driving narrative forceMore Than Ever director Emily Atef’s new film is a tale of erotic obsession and despair in the farmlands of Thuringia on the eastern side of Germany’s now vanished internal border: it is the summer of 1990, the last historic moments of the GDR. This is a movie to raise the possibility that Germany has still not perhaps made a full rec
  
  Read more

• Zelenskiy urges west to speed up arms support to head off Russia offensive

  17-02-2023 19:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Ukraine president tells world leaders in Munich to ‘hurry up’ before Putin gains military advantageRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesThe west needs to hurry up its support for Ukraine as Vladimir Putin will gain a military advantage unless arms deliveries and further sanctions arrive soon, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said in a video address to world leaders at a security conference in Munich in the face of mounting fears that Russia is planning a new offensive.“We need
  
  Read more

• Digested week: US’s ‘spy balloon’ explanation enough to spark panic

  17-02-2023 19:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Plus, New Yorkers gawp at an owl living the high life and actors seeking the Oscars spotlightIs it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it, per the Whitehouse, simply one of “thousands of used car lot balloons?” floating innocently across American airspace? Any week that starts with a Whitehouse briefing reassuring us that “this is not an invasion of the aliens”, promises to be a good week, and then it promptly gets better. Liz Sherwood-Randall, White House homeland security adviser
  
  Read more

• ‘I still haven’t cried’: Cyclone Gabrielle survivors return to valley laid waste

  17-02-2023 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Residents of Eskdale, in New Zealand, recount fears on night of flooding as they return to salvage belongings and rescuers continue search for bodiesCrouched in the dark, gripping the slick corrugated iron, Michael and Kelly McKendry hauled themselves and their daughter on to their rooftop. A few feet below, the flood moved in a seething brown mass, roiling under the gutters. “I couldn’t feel anything, I was just doing,” says Kelly. “As we went out our kitchen window, we
  
  Read more

• Lifeline for bus routes as £2 cap on local fares wins extension

  17-02-2023 18:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Government announces three-month continuation of fare initially introduced during Covid lockdownsThe government has extended a £2 cap on local bus fares in England for another three months, amid concerns that operators would be forced to slash the number of routes on offer without the subsidy.The fare cap, introduced initially from January to March, will continue to run from 1 April to 30 June, the Department for Transport said on Friday. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Body of missing Nathan Cole found in north London canal, say police

  17-02-2023 18:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Formal identification yet to take place but officers believe man to be Cole, last seen in Walthamstow on 21 JanuaryThe body of a 32-year-old man who went missing last month has been found in a north London canal, police have said.While formal identification is due to take place at a later date, police believe the man to be Nathan Cole and have informed his family, who are being supported by specialist officers. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Three men convicted of far-right plot to stab Emmanuel Macron

  17-02-2023 18:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Trial heard members of Facebook group discussed using ceramic knife to attack French president in 2018A French anti-terror court convicted three people on Friday over a plan to attack President Emmanuel Macron after a trial that put the spotlight on a radical far-right online group.The three men, part of a Facebook group known as the Barjols, were convicted for conspiracy to commit a terrorist act after the court heard how they discussed using a ceramic knife to stab Macron in 2018 at a first wo
  
  Read more

• Object downed by US missile may have been amateur hobbyists’ $12 balloon

  17-02-2023 18:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Illinois hobby group says balloon went missing the day military missile costing $439,000 destroyed unidentified entity nearbyA group of amateur balloon enthusiasts in Illinois might have solved the mystery of one of the unknown flying objects shot down by the US military last week, a saga that had captivated the nation.The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade says one of its hobby craft went “missing in action” over Alaska on 11 February, the same day a US F-22 jet downed an u
  
  Read more

• Kinks-shamed: Dave Davies asks Elon Musk to stop flagging band-related tweets

  17-02-2023 18:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Guitarist pleads with Twitter owner after one of his tweets carried a sensitive content warningThe Kinks’ Dave Davies has appealed to Elon Musk to stop putting content warnings on posts related to the band.The lead guitarist and co-founder of the band pleaded with the Twitter owner after one of Davies’s tweets promoting a video carried a sensitive content warning, thought to be because of the band’s name. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• At least 18 people found dead in truck near Sofia

  17-02-2023 17:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Bulgarian interior ministry says vehicle was transporting timber with people hidden in a compartmentAt least 18 people, including a child, have been found dead in Bulgaria in an abandoned truck near the capital Sofia, officials said.The truck was transporting timber and carrying illegal migrants hidden in a compartment, the country’s interior ministry said on Friday, adding it was found near the village of Lokorsko. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• UK woman obsessed with serial killers guilty of murdering boyfriend

  17-02-2023 17:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Shaye Groves, 27, convicted of stabbing Frankie Fitzgerald 17 times at her home in Hampshire last yearA serial killer-obsessed woman has been found guilty of the murder of her on-off boyfriend who she stabbed to death after using tips from true crime documentaries to plan her alibi.Shaye Groves, 27, was convicted at Winchester crown court of slitting the throat of Frankie Fitzgerald, 25, before stabbing him 17 times in the chest at her home in Havant, Hampshire, in July last year after trying to
  
  Read more

• Scottish Labour leader attacks ‘tired and arrogant’ Sturgeon government

  17-02-2023 17:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Anas Sarwar attempts to exploit SNP disarray and tells conference in Edinburgh ‘our opponents’ time is up’UK politics live – latest news updatesThe Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, has launched a detailed attack on Nicola Sturgeon’s record as he moved to exploit the Scottish National party’s disarray after her resignation.Sarwar told Labour activists and MSPs that Sturgeon’s government had grown “tired and arrogant” after 15 years, and ha
  
  Read more

Follow @GeneralnewsUK on Twitter!