Nearly 20 councils have warned publicly that they are at risk of insolvency because of multibillion pound debts caused by years of overspends on special educational needs support, the Guardian can reveal. Overspending on special educational needs and disability (Send) services in England is forecast to grow by nearly £2bn over the next 12 months, … Read more
Richard Chamberlain, the hero of the 1960s television series Dr Kildare who found a second career as an award-winning “king of the miniseries,” has died. He was 90. Chamberlain died on Saturday night in Waimānalo, Hawaii of complications after a stroke, according to his publicist, Harlan Boll. Martin Rabbett, his lifelong partner, said in a … Read more
Comedy is off the menu at the annual White House correspondents’ dinner, a once convivial get-together for reporters to meet with federal governments officials that has become too fraught for light-heartedness amid the second Donald Trump presidency. The dinner, scheduled for 26 April, is organized by the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), and it typically … Read more
Donald Trump has said he is “very angry, pissed off” with Vladimir Putin for questioning Ukraine’s leadership. In a sharp change of tone towards Moscow, the US president told an NBC reporter he was angered at his Russian counterpart’s querying of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s credibility. Trump threatened “secondary tariffs” on Russian oil and said he planned … Read more
The US biotech industry’s main lobby group issued a rare warning following the forced and abrupt resignation of the nation’s top vaccine official at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), saying the loss of his experienced leadership would “erode scientific standards” and affect the development of transformative therapies to fight disease. The statement, issued on … Read more
Police officers have described being ostracised for taking paternity leave, as it is revealed that back-office staff in the Metropolitan police are entitled to nearly three times as much paternity pay as frontline fathers. A freedom of information request has revealed that most serving police officers in England and Wales only take one week of … Read more
For the past 37 years, on the anniversary of his nephew’s death, Don Craigie has made a pilgrimage to the Tamworth police station to hold a press conference demanding answers about the grim mystery he has made it his life’s mission to solve. This week, he hopes to get some. The body of 17-year-old Mark … Read more
Rejecting claims from Hamas and Israeli protesters that his government is not engaged in serious negotiations aimed at securing the release of those held captive in Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he was committed to reaching an agreement to free the hostages and military pressure had been effective. “We are willing,” Israel’s prime minister … Read more
Several elections on Tuesday will be a crucial test of the popularity of the chaotic and extremist first two months of Donald Trump’s second term and the clout of his close ally, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man who has been tasked with radically reforming the US federal government. They could also offer a glimmer … Read more
An unnamed superannuation fund took more than 500 days to approve a death benefit payment to an Indigenous woman grieving the loss of her husband and ignored her concerns about financial hardship and a confusing claims process. The “distressing” case has been highlighted by the financial regulator as one of many “poor industry practices” by … Read more