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Rachel Reeves to encourage import of raw materials from Commonwealth countries to counter China’s grip on market Businesses that import critical minerals to the UK will be given access to state-backed loans in a move to counter China’s dominance in the market.The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to announce extra government support to encourage the import of critical minerals such as lithium, graphite and...

Starmer under pressure from Caribbean countries at Commonwealth talks but is refusing payments or apologyKeir Starmer has opened the door to non-financial reparations for the UK’s role in the transatlantic enslavement, as he came under pressure from Commonwealth leaders to engage in a “meaningful, truthful and respectful” conversation about Britain’s past.While Downing Street insists that the wider issue of reparations is “not on the...

Prime minister trying to secure tournament’s future at Commonwealth summit in SamoaKeir Starmer will try to find a host country for the 2030 Commonwealth Games this week as ministers try to shore up the tournament’s future.The prime minister’s spokesperson said Starmer wanted to see “a successful Commonwealth Games from 2030” and would spend time at this week “talking to partners about who may be...

Special investigation unit seized hard drives and camera footage on orders from the public prosecutor’s officeArgentinian police have raided the Buenos Aires hotel where ex-One Direction singer Liam Payne stayed before dying last week after falling from a third-floor balcony.A police special investigations unit went to the Casa Sur hotel late on Wednesday on orders from the public prosecutor’s office. Officers seized items including...

Russian president sidesteps claims after US said it had seen evidence 3,000 troops had been sentVladimir Putin has sidestepped claims that North Korea has sent soldiers to Russia, insisting that it was up to Moscow how to run its mutual defence clause with Pyongyang.Speaking at the close of the Brics summit in Kazan on Thursday, he accused the west of escalating the Ukraine war...

More than 20 lawmakers from his party sign letter asking Canadian prime minister to step down before electionJustin Trudeau has insisted that he will lead his Liberal party into the next election, dismissing a request by some party members to not run for a fourth term.The Canadian prime minister met with his Liberal members of parliament for three hours on Wednesday, where he learned...

Frelimo presidential candidate Daniel Chapo is said to have received 70% of vote, after claims of riggingThe candidate of Mozambique’s ruling party has won the presidential election with a thumping majority, after two opposition figures were killed by unknown gunmen and amid allegations that the results were rigged.Daniel Chapo, the candidate of Frelimo, received 70.7% of the vote, the election commission said on Thursday,...

Deaths in central Gaza come as Al Jazeera accuses Israel of targeting its journalists working in the war zoneMiddle East crisis – live updatesAt least 17 people, nearly all women and children, have been killed in Israeli bombing of a school turned shelter in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, medics in the territory have said.The strike, the latest bombing of...

Sakharov prize goes to María Corina Machado and Edmundo González after contested presidential electionThe European parliament has awarded its top human rights honor, the Sakharov prize for freedom of thought, to Venezuelan opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González for “representing the people of Venezuela fighting to restore freedom and democracy”.Machado was set to run as the democratic opposition candidate against the incumbent...

Citizen power forced Germany’s greenest city-state into a binding agreement balancing housing and natureWhen Fritz Schumacher laid out his vision for Hamburg a century ago, the sketch looked more like a fern than a town plan. Fronds of urban development radiated from the centre to tickle the countryside, bristling with dense rows of housing. The white spaces in between were to be filled with...

Chipmaker disputed 2009 decision that it abused its market position in case dating back two decadesThe US chipmaker Intel has won a long-running battle to quash a fine of more than €1bn imposed by the European Commission for allegedly abusing its market dominance in the sale of computer chips.In a final ruling on Thursday, theEuropean court of justice upheld an earlier judgment that had...

Call from head of Caribbean reparations body comes as Bahamas foreign minister claims UK PM will change his positionUK politics live – latest updatesBritain has a legal and moral case to answer over its historical role in slavery, the chair of the Caribbean’s slavery reparation commission has said, as Keir Starmer continues to reject calls to put the issue on the agenda at the...

Mech Dara, charged with incitement, freed on bail after video of him apologising to country’s leaders appearsMech Dara, one of Cambodia’s most prominent journalists, known for exposing the country’s billion-dollar scam industry, has been released on bail after a video of him apologising to the country’s leaders appeared in pro-government media.Dara was arrested last month while travelling with his family, and charged with incitement...

Airstrikes launched against suspected Kurdish militant targets after PKK blamed for Tusaş attackTurkey has launched airstrikes against suspected Kurdish militant targets in Syria and Iraq after blaming the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) for a deadly attack on the headquarters of the Turkish national aerospace company on Wednesday that killed five people.Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization said it had targeted numerous “strategic locations” used by the...

PM tries to reassure businesses and investors in UK, while chancellor is in New York for IMF meetingGita Gopinath, deputy managing director at the IMF, has implied the IMF would support the UK changing the debt definition to allow more public investment, the BBC’s economics editor, Faisal Islam, reports. He posted this on social media.IMF top official Gita Gopinath tells BBC when asked about...

French president also tells Hezbollah to stop operations and says international conference will support strengthening of Lebanese armyWarning sirens have again sounded in northern Israel.Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that later today India will deliver 33 tons of medical aid to Lebanon. Continue reading...

French president is hoping to raise about £300m in funds to address humanitarian crisis caused by Israeli bombingMiddle East crisis – live updatesEmmanuel Macron has opened a conference in Paris in support of Lebanon, with the twin aims of raising about £300m in funds to address the mounting humanitarian crisis caused by Israeli bombing and finding a way to fill the security vacuum created...

Group including academics say they are ‘in solidarity with terminally ill people’ on option of having ‘a good death’UK politics live – latest updatesA group of disability rights campaigners and academics have urged MPs and peers to back the legalisation of assisted dying, saying everyone deserves the chance of a good death.Led by Tom Shakespeare, an author, broadcaster and professor of disability research at...

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson accuses Canberra of double standards after Australia’s top diplomat raises human rights concernsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese has dismissed criticisms by China’s foreign ministry that Australia is plagued by “systemic racism” and “hate crimes” after Australia’s top diplomat raised concerns about rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet.The ministry’s spokesperson, Lin Jian, accused Australia...

Protective cover on acclaimed artist’s famous painting ‘an effective palette for this radical protest’, great-granddaughter saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA close descendant of the acclaimed artist Frederick McCubbin has come out in support of the Western Australian Museum after it came under fire over an unusual acquisition.The museum confirmed this week it had acquired the perspex glass protecting...

Force to pursue further lines of inquiry into incident that killed two schoolchildren last yearThe Metropolitan police will reopen their investigation into last year’s Wimbledon school crash to pursue further lines of inquiry.Two children were killed and another injured when a Land Rover veered off the road and ploughed into the Study prep school in Wimbledon last July. Continue reading...

Experts warn that setting KPIs could create perverse incentives rather than improving outcomesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIf the Liberal National party wins power in Queensland at the weekend’s election as many expect, its cabinet ministers will be assigned targets – and face consequences if they fail to meet the grade.The opposition leader, David Crisafulli, again confirmed on Thursday...

Move is designed to combat environmental damage from single-use vapes and their widespread use by childrenDisposable vapes will be banned from sale in England next summer, the government has confirmed.From June 2025 it will be illegal to sell single-use vapes, in a move designed to combat environmental damage and their widespread use by children. Continue reading...

Ashley’s Frasers Group, which owns 27% of online retailer, seeks vote on overhaul to ‘set new course’ for futureBusiness live – latest updatesThe Sports Direct owner, Frasers Group, is attempting to install its founder, the retail tycoon Mike Ashley, as chief executive of Boohoo, as he accused the board of having “lost its ability to manage” the online fashion company.Frasers, which owns 27% of...