General news

• Raids turn up legal heat on Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in sex-trafficking investigation

  26-03-2024 23:57 via theguardian.com
  
  Federal investigation comes amid multiple lawsuits including singer Cassie accusing him of rape and physical abuseThe rapper and mogul Sean Combs is facing mounting legal troubles after federal agents searched his properties in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a sex-trafficking investigation.On Monday morning, US Department of Homeland Security agents in tactical gear and armored vehicles raided two of Combs’ mansions as part of an investigation by federal authorities in New York, sources
  
  Read more

• The women behind a fugitive rapist's downfall

  26-03-2024 23:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Kim Avis faked his own death and went on the run but was eventually tracked down and convicted of rape.
  
  Read more

• Israel says UN resolution damaged Gaza truce talks

  26-03-2024 23:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Israel says the ceasefire demand led Hamas to reject a deal, but the US calls the claim inaccurate.
  
  Read more

• Former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel axed by NBC after intense backlash

  26-03-2024 23:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Severe criticism followed hiring as pundit of McDaniel, who headed Republican National Committee during Trump yearsThe former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel is on her way out of NBC less than a week after joining the network, NBC announced in a memo from NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde.Conde said he had listened to “the legitimate concerns” of many network employees. “No organization, particularly a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive an
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Labour will not commit to government childcare plan

  26-03-2024 23:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Bridget Phillipson tells the BBC the £4bn plan is a "mess" and calls for wider reform of provision.
  
  Read more

• Lost power, mayday call and crash before Baltimore bridge collapse

  26-03-2024 23:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Two minutes after the container ship sent a mayday call, it crashed and caused a key Baltimore bridge to collapse. Six people are missing.
  
  Read more

• Wales miss out on Euros after Poland shootout defeat

  26-03-2024 23:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rob Page's Wales miss out on Euro 2024 after a crushing penalty shootout defeat against Poland in their play-off final at Cardiff City Stadium.
  
  Read more

• Late Bellingham goal rescues draw for England

  26-03-2024 23:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Jude Bellingham's last-gasp equaliser spares England a second successive Wembley defeat after defensive errors threatened to prove costly in the friendly against Belgium.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Project to save children from the mafia extended to Sicily and Naples

  26-03-2024 23:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Scheme was founded in 2012 to prevent at-risk children being enticed by Italy’s most powerful mafia, the ’NdranghetaA project to save children from Italy’s biggest mafia by removing them from mob families is being extended to organised crime groups in Sicily and Naples, the justice ministry has announced.The scheme aims to prevent at-risk children from following their parents into a life of crime, breaking the cycle by which power is passed down the generations through blood ti
  
  Read more

• Bradley's first NI goal extends Scotland's winless run

  26-03-2024 23:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Conor Bradley's first Northern Ireland goal drains more life out of Scotland's Euro 2024 preparations by extending their winless run to seven games.
  
  Read more

• Robert F Kennedy Jr names tech lawyer Nicole Shanahan as 2024 running mate

  26-03-2024 22:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Independent candidate for president selects Shanahan, 38, a wealthy philanthropist formerly married to Sergey BrinRobert F Kennedy Jr selected Nicole Shanahan, a tech attorney and wealthy philanthropist, as his running mate in an independent campaign that could upset the 2024 race for the White House.Kennedy, an environmental attorney who gained notoriety as a vaccine sceptic and conspiracy theorist, announced his pick at a campaign event on Tuesday in Oakland, California, where Shanahan was bor
  
  Read more

• What we know about Baltimore bridge collapse

  26-03-2024 22:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How events unfolded when a cargo ship crashed into and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
  
  Read more

• ‘It seems impossible’: Baltimore residents grapple with bridge collapse

  26-03-2024 22:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Locals gather at convenience store near entrance of bridge – closest they could get – as search under way for missingAcross Baltimore residents were struggling to make sense of what had happened after waking up to news of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, one of the city’s main thoroughfares. “It seems impossible,” said Reginald Jones, a 67-year-old Baltimore resident.The bridge crumpled into the Patapsco River like a house of cards at 1.30am on Tuesday
  
  Read more

• Andrew Wilkie tells parliament of alleged secret drug tests on AFL players

  26-03-2024 22:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Allegations include ‘prevalence of drug abuse’ across the sport, MP tells House of RepresentativesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA whistleblowing doctor has revealed allegations of secret illicit drug tests conducted to enable AFL players to avoid detection on game days, the federal MP Andrew Wilkie has told parliament.Wilkie told the House of Representatives of the allegations from a form
  
  Read more

• WATCH: Dramatic video captures moment Baltimore bridge collapsed

  26-03-2024 21:25 via abcnews.go.com
  
  Dali, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship, struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning.
  
  Read more

• Church limited Clapham attacker's attendance

  26-03-2024 21:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Abdul Shokoor Ezedi's won asylum in 2020 but new documents detail a sexual assault conviction in 2018.
  
  Read more

• Twelve people reported drowned off a Gaza beach trying to reach aid drop

  26-03-2024 20:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Palestinian authorities say deaths resulted from attempts to recover crates that fell in water after parachutes went wrong Twelve people drowned trying to get to aid dropped by plane off a Gaza beach, Palestinian health authorities have said, amid growing fears of famine nearly six months into Israel’s military campaign.Video of the airdrop on Monday showed crowds of people running towards the beach, in Beit Lahiya in north Gaza, as crates with parachutes floated down, then people standing
  
  Read more

• 'Unlikely' baby died of hypothermia, trial hears

  26-03-2024 20:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An witness called by Constance Marten's lawyers said he did not think her newborn died from exposure.
  
  Read more

• Campaigners in Spain call for more to be done about racism in football

  26-03-2024 20:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior’s tearful comments prompt questions over why racist fans can still act with impunityAntiracism campaigners in Spain have called on the country’s institutions to do more to crack down on racism in football, after Real Madrid winger Vinícius Júnior laid bare the personal toll exacted by years of racist insults.Breaking down in tears as he spoke of the systematic barrage of abuse he had faced at more than 10 Spanish grounds, t
  
  Read more

• Baltimore bridge collapses after being hit by ship

  26-03-2024 20:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Six people are unaccounted for after the landmark Francis Scott Key Bridge gave way.
  
  Read more

• Bill Shorten to introduce NDIS reform bill as fight looms with states

  26-03-2024 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Legislation aims to cut ballooning costs and return the scheme to its original intent of supporting people with a permanent disabilityFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe Albanese government is forging ahead with planned changes to the NDIS, including plans to curb the amount participants can claim in budget top-ups, amid a looming fight with state and territory leaders over who should pay for disabilit
  
  Read more

• Steve Barclay apologises for not recusing himself sooner from incinerator decision

  26-03-2024 19:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Environment secretary opposed waste plant plans that must be approved by body he overseesThe environment secretary has refused to say whether he abused his position when he tried to stop an incinerator being built in his constituency.But Steve Barclay apologised for not properly declaring his interest and recusing himself, when questioned about it on Tuesday. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Two ministers quit government in mini-reshuffle

  26-03-2024 19:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Education minister Robert Halfon and armed forces minister James Heappey are also standing down as MPs.
  
  Read more

• Brazil and Colombia voice concern as Venezuela bans opposition candidate

  26-03-2024 19:46 via theguardian.com
  
  South American neighbours respond to blocking of Corina Yoris, who was favoured to beat strongman Nicolás Maduro in electionsA chorus of Latin American nations, including Brazil and Colombia, have voiced concern over the deteriorating political situation in Venezuela after the opposition politician best-positioned to challenge its strongman leader, Nicolás Maduro, in July’s presidential election was prevented from registering for the vote.Corina Yoris, an 80-year-old philosop
  
  Read more

• Pupils injured in crush at school gate

  26-03-2024 19:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The head teacher says a "surge" developed when the gate was not opened at the end of the school day.
  
  Read more

• Pupils are injured in crush at school gate

  26-03-2024 19:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The head teacher says a "surge" developed when the gate was not opened at the end of the school day.
  
  Read more

• Tory MP Robert Halfon quits as minister and James Heappey confirms resignation, paving way for mini reshuffle – as it happened

  26-03-2024 19:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Robert Halfon quits as skills, apprenticeships and higher education minister as James Heappey confirms decision to step downIn interviews this morning Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, admitted that special educational needs provision was in crisis, Ben Quinn reports.Universities in England could be told to terminate their arrangements with foreign countries if freedom of speech and academic freedom is undermined, the government’s free speech tsar has said. As PA Media reports, Prof
  
  Read more

• Foreign Office summons senior Chinese diplomat over ‘malicious cyber activity’

  26-03-2024 19:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Beijing’s chargé d’affaires told that UK government will not tolerate ‘threatening’ cyber-attacksMinisters summoned a senior Chinese diplomat to the Foreign Office on Tuesday after accusing Beijing-backed hackers of a cyber-attack on the British elections watchdog and a surveillance operation on politicians.The department called in China’s chargé d’affaires and told him the UK would not tolerate “threatening” cyber-attacks. Continue r
  
  Read more

• ONS scraps plans to stop reporting the deaths of homeless people

  26-03-2024 18:57 via theguardian.com
  
  U-turn comes after campaigners attacked proposal by data body for England and Wales as ‘callous’The Office for National Statistics has scrapped plans to no longer report the deaths of homeless people after an outcry.The data body for England and Wales proposed cutting the release of the figures to help increase the efficiency of health data. But the idea was attacked as “callous” by campaigners. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• ‘Madness’: Netanyahu’s handling of US relations under scrutiny after UN vote

  26-03-2024 18:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Tone in parts of Israeli media borders on contempt, as prime minister’s growing friction with Biden linked to US abstentionThe Israeli prime minister’s handling of relations with the Biden administration, which led the US on Monday to decline to veto a ceasefire resolution at the UN security council, has been greeted by sharp criticism by Israeli commentators.After the US abstention, prominent columnists across the Israeli media condemned Benjamin Netanyahu’s growing friction w
  
  Read more

• North Korea censors Alan Titchmarsh's trousers

  26-03-2024 18:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The gardening presenter fell foul of the secretive state's strict rules because of his choice of attire.
  
  Read more

• Exit of two more Tory ministers forces Sunak into mini-reshuffle

  26-03-2024 18:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Robert Halfon and James Heappey join exodus of Tory MPs from Commons as party languishes in pollsTwo Tory ministers have quit the government in a double blow to Rishi Sunak, who has been forced to carry out a mini-reshuffle of the junior ranks.The veteran MP Robert Halfon unexpectedly announced he would step down as education minister and would be leaving the Commons at the next general election. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• British Gas owner doubles boss’s pay to £8m – despite qualms over previous rise

  26-03-2024 18:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Details of Chris O’Shea’s ballooning package emerge in Centrica’s annual report after company reports bumper profitsThe boss of the British Gas owner, Centrica, has seen his earnings nearly double to £8.2m, despite having admitted that his smaller pay packet the previous year was “impossible to justify”.Chris O’Shea earned a basic salary of £903,000, which was topped up by cash and share bonuses worth an extra £7.3m. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• British Gas chief's pay package jumps to £8.2m

  26-03-2024 18:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Centrica chief executive Chris O'Shea gets £4m more in 2023, up from £4.5m the year before.
  
  Read more

• Springsteen first US musician to land Ivors honour

  26-03-2024 18:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The award recognises writing that has enriched the cultural fabric of the UK.
  
  Read more

• Care worker migrant surge 'should've been obvious'

  26-03-2024 17:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The former independent borders watchdog has criticised the Home Office's approach foreign care staff and airport security.
  
  Read more

• Tory's mayoral contest ad showed New York not London

  26-03-2024 17:48 via bbc.com
  
  The clip showed a stampede in a New York subway station and was replaced with the scenes cut.
  
  Read more

• Hire factcheckers to fight election fake news, EU tells tech firms

  26-03-2024 17:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Parliamentary elections thought vulnerable to fake news will test social media firms and bloc’s new DSA lawsSocial media firms including TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram will be required to put an army of factcheckers and moderators in place with a collective knowledge of 24 EU languages amid fears that the European parliamentary elections will be a prime target for disinformation campaigns run by Russia and others including the far right.The new rules flow from the EU’s Digital Ser
  
  Read more

• Assange judges seek no death penalty pledge from US

  26-03-2024 17:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Court postpones decision on the Wikileaks founder's case to give the US time to make assurances.
  
  Read more

• Six killed after suicide bomber rams convoy of Chinese engineers in Pakistan

  26-03-2024 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver killed while en route from Islamabad to dam construction siteSix people have been killed after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a dam project in north-west Pakistan, in the third significant attack on Chinese interests in the country in a week.The first two attacks targeted a Pakistani naval airbase and a strategic port used by China in the south-west province of Balochistan where Beijing is investin
  
  Read more

• Russia-Ukraine war: 200,000 without power in Ukraine since Friday; Nato could ‘shoot down Russian missiles near borders’ – as it happened

  26-03-2024 16:57 via theguardian.com
  
  Attack on energy infrastructure on last week still causing blackouts; Poland’s deputy foreign minister warns Russia of consequences if missiles enter territory. This live blog is closedThe Kremlin has refused to be drawn on whether it believed there was a link between the Ukrainian leadership and Friday’s Moscow concert hall attack, in which at least 139 people were killed.Asked during a call with reporters whether there was a direct link between Ukraine and the attack, Kremlin spoke
  
  Read more

• UK approach to China is 'robust', Sunak says

  26-03-2024 16:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  It comes after some MPs criticised the response to cyber-attacks blamed on Beijing-linked hackers.
  
  Read more

• Jamaica condemns Frank Hester’s Diane Abbott comments amid concern over contract

  26-03-2024 16:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Ministers condemn allegedly racist remarks and say they knew about them only after signing deal The Jamaican government has joined widespread condemnation of comments by the Conservative’s party’s biggest donor, Frank Hester, amid concerns about a contract it signed with his digital health company.Earlier in March, the Guardian revealed that during a meeting in 2019 Hester had said Diane Abbott, Britain’s first black female MP, made you “want to hate all black women&rdquo
  
  Read more

• How do I know if my smart meter is broken?

  26-03-2024 16:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Almost four million smart meters in Great Britain were not working at the end of 2023.
  
  Read more

• Kate rumours linked to Russian disinformation

  26-03-2024 16:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers say a co-ordinated campaign deliberately heightened rumours about the Princess of Wales.
  
  Read more

• Russia blames West and Kyiv for Moscow jihadist attack

  26-03-2024 16:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ukraine accuses the Kremlin of lies, after it alleges Kyiv and the West were involved in the atrocity.
  
  Read more

• Council and firm fined over engineer's storm death

  26-03-2024 16:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Matt Campbell died in Slieve Gullion Park when a tree fell on him during Storm Ali in September 2018.
  
  Read more

• Russian detention of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich extended by three months

  26-03-2024 15:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Friday will mark one year since the journalist was arrested on espionage chargesUkraine war – live updatesA Russian court has extended by three months the pre-trial detention of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter arrested almost a year ago on suspicion of espionage while on a reporting trip in the city of Ekaterinburg.Gershkovich, 32, became the first US journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the cold war when he was detained by the Federal Security Servi
  
  Read more

• Northern Ireland record fine win over struggling Scotland - reaction

  26-03-2024 15:06 via bbc.co.uk
  All the best reaction as Northern Ireland beat Scotland at Hampden thanks to Conor Bradley's first goal for his country.
  
  Read more

• Thief sold stolen gems to at least 45 buyers on eBay, British Museum says

  26-03-2024 15:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The museum launches proceedings against a former member of staff who they believe stole items.
  
  Read more

Follow @newslock_news on Twitter!