3 h. ago Live facial recognition to expand across the country amid Government overhaul of neighbourhood policing

The technology will be deployed to catch 'high-harm' offenders with new rules to support its use and ensure 'safeguards and oversight', the Home Office said.

Politics

4 h. ago Facial recognition vans to be deployed across Britain to help police target serious criminals

The Home Office has announced 10 new Live Facial Recognition vans will be distributed across seven forces, allowing officers to use cutting-edge technology to target and locate wanted criminals

Events

4 h. ago Live facial recognition to be widened in neighbourhood policing drive

A new legal framework will be drawn up to support the expanded use of the technology, the Government said.

Events

64 h. ago Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza deepens rift between government and IDF | Lorenzo Tondo

Israelis are united behind the army, and a clash with the military could have irreparable consequences for the administrationIsrael’s decision to approve a plan to occupy the Gaza Strip has reportedly deepened tensions between the government and the country’s military leadership, while also exposing fresh fractures within the army’s senior ranks and straining relations with reservists summoned for what could become the most dangerous phase of the war.According to Israeli media reports, a bruising week of leaks and public recriminations has laid bare the rift between Israel’s political leaders and its military high command. Continue reading...

Politics

65 h. ago Foreign criminals to be deported from UK immediately after sentencing

Offenders would be barred from re-entering the country under new government plans

Events

4 d. ago Grenada government and opposition join forces to drop oath of allegiance to King Charles

Move comes amid calls for reparations for slavery and king’s removal as head of state of Caribbean countryThe government and opposition in the Caribbean island of Grenada have joined forces to drop the oath of allegiance to the British crown amid growing calls to remove King Charles as the country’s head of state.A statement from the government announcing the move said that in “a commendable display of national unity” the country’s parliament had agreed bills to amend the country’s constitution. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Polish president attacks rivals’ ‘propaganda and lies’ as he is sworn in

Combative speech in parliament sets Karol Nawrocki on course for collision with Tusk’s pro-European governmentThe nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki has been sworn in as the Polish president, using his inaugural address to criticise the EU as he vowed to represent “sovereign” Poland, in a sign of potential clashes to come with the country’s pro-European government.In a combative speech in parliament aimed squarely at the prime minister, Donald Tusk, and his allies, Nawrocki said on Wednesday that the voters in June’s presidential election had “sent a strong message that things cannot continue to be governed in this way”. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Texas senator asks FBI to help locate and arrest Democrats for leaving state

John Cornyn ramps us gerrymandering showdown between lawmakers and Trump administration seeking GOP seatsThe US senator John Cornyn of Texas has asked the FBI to aid Texas law enforcement in locating and arresting Democrats who left the state to forestall a plan sought by Donald Trump to aggressively redraw the state’s congressional map in a way that could help Republicans keep their House majority after the 2026 midterm elections.The senator’s request is a significant escalation in the fast-moving showdown that could set up a confrontation between the blue state leaders shielding the Democratic state lawmakerss and the Trump administration. Earlier on Tuesday, Texas Democrats denied a legislative quorum for the second day in a row by scattering across the country, with many decamping to Chicago, Illinois, where the Democratic governor, JB Pritzker, has vowed to protect them. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago ‘We didn’t vote for Chat GPT’: Swedish PM under fire for using AI in role

Tech experts criticise Ulf Kristersson as newspaper accuses him of falling for ‘the oligarchs’ AI psychosis’The Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has come under fire after admitting that he regularly consults AI tools for a second opinion in his role running the country.Kristersson, whose Moderate party leads Sweden’s centre-right coalition government, said he used tools including Chat GPT and the French service LeChat. His colleagues also used AI in their daily work, he said. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago ‘We didn’t vote for ChatGPT’: Swedish PM under fire for using AI in role

Tech experts criticise Ulf Kristersson as newspaper accuses him of falling for ‘the oligarchs’ AI psychosis’The Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has come under fire after admitting that he regularly consults AI tools for a second opinion in his role running the country.Kristersson, whose Moderate party leads Sweden’s centre-right coalition government, said he used tools including ChatGPT and the French service LeChat. His colleagues also used AI in their daily work, he said. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Journey times up, deaths down: Welsh 20mph speed limit still divisive two years on

Protests continue against default lower limit in urban areas that supporters say is working ‘exactly as intended’A few weeks ago, two groups of protesters gathered on the steps of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. One demonstration was against the war in Gaza, the other against the Welsh government’s two-year-old default 20mph speed limit in urban areas.The change from 30mph was brought in by the Welsh Labour government across about 35% of the country’s roads in September 2023, at a cost of £34m. The reduced speed limit applied to any built-up area, defined as roads where lamp-posts were no more than about 180 metres apart. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago US envoy doubles down on support for Syria's government and criticizes Israel's intervention

A U.S. envoy has reaffirmed Washington's support for Syria's new government, stating there is "no Plan B" for uniting the country

Politics

3 w. ago NHS facing ‘absolutely shocking’ £27bn bill for maternity failings in England

Exclusive: Legal actions rise after death or injury of hundreds of babies and women in recent yearsThe NHS is facing an “absolutely shocking” £27bn bill for maternity failings in England, the Guardian can reveal, after a series of hospital scandals triggered a record level of legal claims.Hundreds of babies and women have died or suffered life-altering conditions as a result of botched care in NHS trusts across the country in recent years, prompting the government to launch a “rapid” national inquiry. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago Top human rights group leaves El Salvador after threats made by country’s president

Cristosal says decision to leave country and relocate employees comes after organisation was targeted by Nayib BukeleEl Salvador’s top human rights organisation, Cristosal, announced on Thursday it is leaving the country because of mounting harassment and legal threats by the government of President Nayib Bukele.The organisation has been one of the most visible critics of Bukele, documenting abuses in the strongman’s war on the country’s gangs and the detention of hundreds of Venezuelan deportees in an agreement with the US president Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Top rights group leaves El Salvador after threats from its government

Cristosal says decision to relocate employees was because of organisation being targeted by President Nayib BukeleEl Salvador’s top human rights organisation, Cristosal, announced on Thursday it is leaving the country because of mounting harassment and legal threats by the government of President Nayib Bukele.The organisation has been one of the most visible critics of Bukele, documenting abuses in the strongman’s war on the country’s gangs and the detention of hundreds of Venezuelan deportees in an agreement with the US president Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Syrian forces withdraw from Sweida after days of clashes with Druze fighters

President Ahmed al-Sharaa says move avoids dragging country ‘into a new, broader war’ after Israel attacks DamascusSyrian government forces have withdrawn from the Druze-majority province of Sweida, ending four days of clashes between the army and local Druze fighters.In a speech on Thursday, the Syrian president said Druze groups would be left to govern security affairs in the southern province, in what he described as a choice to avoid war. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago The way a child plays is the way they live’: how therapists are using video games to help vulnerable children

Minecraft and other creative games are becoming recognised as powerful means of self-expression and mental health support, including for traumatised Ukrainian refugeesOleksii Sukhorukov’s son was 12 when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. For months, the family existed in a state of trauma and disarray: Sukhorukov was forced to give up his work in the entertainment industry, which had included virtual reality and video games; they became isolated from friends and relatives. But amid the chaos, his boy had one outlet: Minecraft. Whatever was happening outside, he’d boot up Mojang’s block-building video game and escape.“After 24 February 2022, I began to see the game in a completely different light,” says Sukhorukov. I discovered that Ukrainian children were playing together online; some living under Russian occupation, others in government-controlled areas of the country that were the targets of regular missile attacks; some had already become refugees. And yet they were still ab...

Society