5 h. ago Reform UK suspend local election candidate after they were revealed to have praised sex predator Jimmy Savile as a 'working class hero'

Stephen Hartley, who was listed as a Reform candidate for Oxfordshire County Council, described the notorious paedophile as a 'innocent man' and a 'scapegoat'.

Politics

28 h. ago At least 27 killed in Israeli bombing of shelter in Gaza City, rescuers say

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee from southern city of Rafah in one of war’s biggest mass displacementsAn Israeli bombing of a school turned shelter in Gaza City has killed at least 27 people, rescuers said, and hundreds of thousands in the Rafah area are fleeing in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war amid Israel’s newly announced campaign to “divide up” the Gaza Strip.Three missiles hit Dar al-Arqam school in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon, the civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal said, killing several children and wounding 100 people. Continue reading...

Events

43 h. ago Netanyahu to visit Hungary as Orbán vows to defy ICC arrest warrant

Israeli prime minister begins four-day trip after Hungarian counterpart says court ruling would ‘have no effect’Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to begin a four-day official visit to Hungary on Thursday, marking the first time the Israeli prime minister has stepped foot on European soil since the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for him over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.Hours after the ICC announced the warrants in November, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, made it clear he would defy the court to host Netanyahu, telling reporters that he would “guarantee” the ICC’s ruling would “have no effect in Hungary”. Continue reading...

Events

43 h. ago Netanyahu visits Hungary as Orbán vows to defy ICC arrest warrant

Israeli prime minister begins four-day trip after Hungarian counterpart says court ruling would ‘have no effect’Benjamin Netanyahu has begun a four-day official visit to Hungary, marking the first time the Israeli prime minister has stepped foot on European soil since the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for him over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.Hours after the ICC announced the warrants in November, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, made it clear he would defy the court to host Netanyahu, telling reporters that he would “guarantee” the ICC’s ruling would “have no effect in Hungary”. Continue reading...

Events

52 h. ago Hostage families urge Keir Starmer to take ‘bold steps’ in helping to end war

Two British families of Israeli hostages have written to the Prime Minister asking for ‘diplomacy’ and ‘bold steps’ to help end the war in Gaza.

Events

64 h. ago Israel announces plan to seize ‘large areas’ in Gaza – latest updates

Defence minister Israel Katz says large areas of the territory will be seized and added to the security zones of IsraelAirstrikes continued on Gaza on Wednesday morning after the Israeli defense minister announced that Israel intended to expand its war. In a statement, Israel Katz said the offensive was “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the state of Israel.”The move has been condemned by the Hostages Families Forum, who said it appeared that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government were making the return of 59 hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas “a secondary task” that had been “pushed to the bottom of the priority list.”I wish success to the IDF soldiers who are fighting bravely and powerfully in Gaza for the return of the kidnapped and the defeat of Hamas. The goal of Operation “Strength and Sword” is first and foremost to increase pressure for the release of all the hostage...

Politics

69 h. ago Hamas 'has quietly dropped more than 3,000 deaths' off its Gaza war toll

Hamas has quietly dropped thousands of deaths from its count of the number of people killed by Israel in Gaza, a pressure group has claimed. 

Events

3 d. ago Reform UK candidate in row after page gloats about Gaza war pushing up gold prices

The company of Alexander Jones, Reform UK candidate for mayor of Doncaster, shared several posts appearing to celebrate the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on gold

Events

3 d. ago Palestinian doctors ‘tortured into confessions’ in harrowing claims of abuse against Israel’s soldiers

Dr Khaled Al-Serr, a surgeon at Al-Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, claims he was brutally beaten and other inmates told him they had been raped in Sde Teiman military detention centre, southern Israel. Chief International Correspondent Bel Trew reports

Events

3 d. ago Who is Ollie Williams? Meet the Love Island star running for Reform UK candidate spot

Love Island star Ollie Williams has embarked on a totally different career path from reality television, as he wants to be part of Nigel Farage's Reform UK party - but who is he?

Politics

5 d. ago 'Eid of sadness': Palestinians in Gaza mark Muslim holiday with dwindling food and no end to war

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had little to celebrate on Sunday as they began marking a normally festive Muslim holiday with rapidly dwindling food supplies and no end in sight to the Israel-Hamas war

Events

7 d. ago Reform UK announces Brexit architect Aaron Banks as mayoral candidate in quirky local election campaign launch featuring Nigel Farage riding JCB digger and Richard Tice waiting at mock

The businessman founded the Leave EU campaign with now-Reform MP Richard Tice and was previously one of the largest donors to Ukip .

Politics

7 d. ago Wes Streeting’s plan to fix the NHS – Politics Weekly Westminster

The government has put improving the NHS at the heart of its plans, but will it be able to deliver on its promises? And how long could it take to turn the health service around? Pippa Crerar asked health secretary Wes Streeting at a special Guardian Live event. In a wide-ranging discussion, he also took questions on others issues including assisted dying, transgender rights and the war in Gaza. To purchase the full event video on demand, go to the theguardian.live Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago 'I can’t turn a blind eye': Nicola Coughlan discusses Gaza activism as she lands first Bafta TV nod

The Derry Girls star previously revealed she had been advised against speaking out on Israel’s war on Gaza, warned that doing so could harm her Hollywood career

Politics

9 d. ago Gazans launch 'Hamas out' protest as thousands march and more rockets hit Israel

Protests against Hamas and the war break out among the rubbled streets in Gaza as fears escalate of a huge increase in bloodshed - sirens blare in border towns as more rockets are fired at Israel

Events

9 d. ago ‘A warning for students of color’: Ice agents are targeting certain protesters, say experts

Despite the diversity of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, officials go after non-white visa and scholarship holders ‘to create a wedge in solidarity’For more than a year, students at US colleges and universities have participated in protests in support of Palestine, as Israel’s war has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. Students have faced suspensions and expulsions over encampment demonstrations and other actions, as schools crack down on participation.Now, at least five students and academics of color at US universities have been targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), as a part of the Trump administration’s ongoing punishment on Palestinian support. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Palestinians protest Hamas in rare public show of dissent in Gaza

Videos circulating online show Palestinians chanting against Hamas during an anti-war protest in the Gaza Strip

Events

1 week ago Moment protesters storm Reform UK event before being booted out by security guards

The party leader was interrupted by at least six protesters at the unveiling of Reform's mayoral candidate for Doncaster.

Events

1 week ago Inside horror of bombed Gaza hospital after boy recovering from surgery killed in his bed

Feroze Sidhwa tells The Independent of the destruction bomb wrought on Nasser Hospital – which Israel says was targeting senior Hamas leader

Events

1 week ago Reform UK selects Runcorn candidate to challenge Labour at by

Sarah Pochin, a former Conservative councillor and mayor for Cheshire East, will be the party’s candidate for the upcoming by-election.

Politics