Minister defends disability benefit cuts, saying you can’t ‘tax and borrow your way out of need to reform state’ – UK politics live | Politics

Good morning. Nothing is permanent in politics. This year will be the 10th anniversary of Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Labour leader, in a contest where Liz Kendall, seen as the rightwing, Blairite candidate, came last, on a humiliating 4.5% of the vote. A decade on, Morgan McSweeney, who managed her campaign, is now more or … Read more

VR headsets, yoga mats and pool sliders added to UK ‘inflation basket’ | Inflation

Virtual reality headsets, yoga mats and men’s pool sliders have been added to the shopping basket used to calculate the cost of living in Britain, while local newspaper adverts and oven-ready gammon joints have been removed. In a snapshot of an increasingly online, time-pressed nation, the Office for National Statistics said the annual review of … Read more

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to hold call discussing Trump’s plans for ceasefire in Ukraine – Europe live | Ukraine

Morning opening: Waiting for the call Jakub Krupa US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin will speak on the phone today discussing the next step in Trump’s plans for bringing about a ceasefire in Ukraine. On Sunday, Trump said that negotiators had already talked about “dividing up certain assets”, including power stations. The … Read more

Victorian man charged for allegedly making death threats and antisemitic comments to federal MP | Victoria

A Victorian man has been charged for allegedly making death threats and antisemitic comments to a federal member of parliament. The 41-year-old was charged on Tuesday afternoon after the Australian federal police conducted a search of his home in the Melbourne suburb of Officer, the AFP said in a statement. The man had allegedly contacted … Read more

UK TV industry hit by ‘perfect storm’, says Elisabeth Murdoch | Elisabeth Murdoch

The UK’s television industry is being hit by a “perfect storm” that risks leading to British stories disappearing from the small screen, Elisabeth Murdoch has said. Murdoch, co-founder of the production company Sister, said that a crisis within British television was leading to an exodus of production talent – as well as a danger that … Read more

Tuesday briefing: At least 330 dead in major Israeli airstrikes that break fragile peace | Israel-Gaza war

Good morning. Just before 2.30am local time, Israel launched airstrikes on dozens of targets across Gaza. War planes hit sites across the territory, from Gaza City in the north to Khan Younis in the south. At least 330 people have been reported dead so far, Gaza’s health ministry said, and Benjamin Netanyahu’s office appeared to … Read more

Ex-boyfriend rehearsed murder of Sydney school coach Lilie James with ‘dry runs’, inquest hears | New South Wales

Paul Thijssen stalked his ex-girlfriend Lilie James and meticulously rehearsed how he would attack the 21-year-old water polo coach in a school bathroom before murdering her, a coronial inquest into their deaths has heard. James’s body was found with serious head injuries in a gymnasium bathroom at St Andrew’s Cathedral school, where she worked, in … Read more

‘It’s helping me build my future’: empowering migrant and refugee families in a London borough of sanctuary | Migration

On a cold morning in the heart of London, recently arrived refugees and more established migrants gather in a community centre. Their mission? To decide how £500,000 in funding will be used to support people like them. The initiative is part of the Borough of Sanctuary grants programme, which takes the government’s commitment to devolution … Read more

Chinese state media celebrates Trump’s cuts to Voice of America and Radio Free Asia | Media

Chinese state media has reacted gleefully to the Trump administration’s decision to slash government funding to media organisations such as Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA). The Global Times, a daily English-language tabloid and Chinese Communist party mouthpiece, celebrated the cuts to the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees broadcasters … Read more