Exclusive: Former British PM urges police to reopen inquiry – and claims media executive Will Lewis attempted to incriminate him
The former prime minister Gordon Brown has made a new complaint to British police over allegations that Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper empire obstructed justice, after stating he has spoken to officers involved in the original phone-hacking inquiry.
Writing in the Guardian, Brown said one of the detectives had alleged they believed there was “significant evidence” that News Group Newspapers (NGN) deleted millions of emails to pervert the course of justice.
Continue reading...US president admits to concern Russian counterpart does not want to ‘stop the war’ and ponders new approach to Moscow
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have sat down for a face-to-face talk in the opulent halls of a Vatican basilica to discuss a possible ceasefire, after which the US president accused his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, of not wanting to “stop the war”.
The White House described Trump’s meeting with the Ukrainian leader before Pope Francis’s funeral as “very productive”, while Zelenskyy said on X that the talk with the US president was symbolic and had the “potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results”.
Continue reading...Applause rings out as late pontiff’s wooden coffin carried from altar of St Peter’s Basilica for open-air ceremony
Pope Francis has been eulogised as “a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone” during a funeral mass that brought 400,000 mourners to Rome, from pilgrims and refugees to powerful world leaders and royalty.
Francis, 88, died on Monday after a stroke and subsequent heart failure, setting into motion a series of centuries-old rituals and a huge, meticulously planned logistical and security operation not seen in Italy since the funeral of John Paul II in April 2005.
Continue reading...Family issue statement on alleged Jeffrey Epstein victim who said she was trafficked to Prince Andrew
Virginia Giuffre has been hailed as an unflinching campaigner for survivors of sexual abuse, who took on the wealthy and the powerful during the course of her life.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors,” her family said in a statement confirming her death.
Continue reading...12min: Lamine Yamal makes a bright run down the right for Barcelona. The score is nil-nil.
“I’d love to watch the game but a 10pm kick-off is getting a bit too near my bedtime,” emails Mark. “How do the players put up with it? It must be hard to be at your peak performance level so late in the day. Good night.
Continue reading...Noel and Liam believed to have filmed promo video at Mildmay club in Newington Green ahead of summer’s sold-out Oasis tour
Liam and Noel Gallagher have performed together for the first time in 16 years in a working men’s club in north London, according to reports.
The brothers were pictured arriving at the Mildmay club in Newington Green, north London, on Thursday where they are believed to have filmed a promotional video for this summer’s sold-out Oasis reunion tour.
Continue reading...Anthony Yarde has won a close but uncontroversial unanimous verdict over Lyndon Arthur in the final undercard bout. The judges’ scores were 115-113 and 116-112 (twice). It’s Sweet Caroline time in North London. We should be seeing Eubank Jr and Benn making their entrances shortly.
The Tottenham Stadium looks almost full as the main undercard fight between Anthony Yarde and Lyndon Arthur reaches the halfway stage. This is a 60,000-plus crowd that currently seems more enthused by the musical breaks than the boxing. I am not sure too many were watching closely, but they missed young Aaron McKenna utterly dominate a proud old fighter in Liam Smith. McKenna calls himself ‘The Silencer’ and I’ve followed him closely for a few years and been with him in dressing rooms before fights. I always knew he was good; but tonight he was outstanding as he won a near shutout victory and knocked Smith down in the last round. He has moved up to a significant level – not that the Tottenham crowd cared much. They will only really start making noise once the undercard is over.
Continue reading...Victims’ injuries not life-threatening after incident in Headingley that followed a threat on social media
Three people have been injured in Leeds and a man seen with weapons has been detained, police have said.
Officers were called to Otley Road in the Headingley area at 2.47pm on Saturday and found three people with injuries that are not being treated as life-threatening. The nature of their injuries has not been disclosed.
Continue reading...Trump scores poorly on economy and immigration as some fear he is ‘exceeding powers’ and focussed on wrong issues
Americans, including some Republicans, are losing faith in Donald Trump across a range of key issues, according to polling released this week. One survey found a majority describing the president’s second stint in the White House so far as “scary”.
Along with poor ratings on the economy and Trump’s immigration policy, a survey released on Saturday found that only 24% of Americans believe Trump has focussed on the right priorities as president.
Continue reading...Official suggests blast in southern port of Shahid Rajaee in Bandar Abbas due to explosion of chemicals in containers
An immense blast in Iran’s southern port of Shahid Rajaee has killed at least 14 people and injured more than 700, according to state media, with an official suggesting the fire was caused by the explosion of chemical containers.
A spokesperson for Iran’s crisis management body pointed to poor storage conditions of chemicals as the trigger for the port explosion. “The cause of the explosions was the chemicals inside the containers,” Hossein Zafari, a crisis management spokesperson, told Iran’s ILNA news agency. He added that the port administration had previously been warned about the danger these chemicals posed.
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