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Keir Starmer to make Iceland boss Richard Walker a Labour peer
Appointment marks a rapid political transformation for a former Tory donor and potential candidate for MPThe formerly Conservative-supporting boss of the supermarket Iceland is to be made a Labour peer when the party appoints another 25 representatives to parliament’s upper house later this month.Keir Starmer will appoint Richard Walker to the House of Lords, the Guardian understands, the culmination of an unusual and rapid political transformation for someone named as a prospective Tory MP candidate a little over three years ago. Continue reading...
Thousands of patients in England at risk as GP referrals vanish into NHS ‘black hole’
Exclusive: Healthwatch study discovered 14% of cases are not put on hospital waiting lists for treatment GPs requested for themOne in seven people in England who need hospital care are not receiving it because the referral by their GP gets lost, rejected or delayed, the NHS’s own patient watchdog has found.Three-quarters (75%) of these patients trapped in this “referrals black hole” suffer harm to their physical or mental health as a result of not being added to the waiting list for tests or treatment. Continue reading...
MAGA senator makes startling admission after reviewing controversial boat strike footage
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) made a startling admission Sunday on NBC News that at no time during his briefings on the potentially “illegal” strike last month on a suspected drug-carrying sea vessel was he provided proof that the boat was actually headed toward the United States.According to a whistleblower, the Trump administration approved a follow-up strike on a boat last month in an effort to kill its survivors, who were observed clinging to the wreckage, which, if accurate, would likely constitute a war crime.Cotton has received a private briefing on the strike, which included video of the incident. On Sunday, however, he may have potentially undercut one of the Trump administration’s potential justifications for the strike, that the boat was deemed an imminent threat.“Senator, is there any hard evidence that shows that this particular boat was headed to the United States?” asked NBC News’ Kristen Welker.“That didn’t come up in my briefing,” Cotton admitted. “But again, there’s very reliable multiple sources of intelligence that tells us that this boat had drugs on it, that everyone on that boat is associated with these designated terrorist organizations that are trying to kill American children.”President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February to designate drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, a designation that gives the administration far more leeway in targeting suspected drug traffickers with lethal force. Even so, targeting enemy combatants who pose no imminent threat and are surrendering would still constitute a war crime in most cases, regardless of the combatants designation.Given as much, Welker pressed Cotton on the matter, asking if he was “comfortable” with the Trump administration targeting a boat that he hadn’t seen evidence proving it was “actually heading to the United States.”“Any boat loaded with drugs that is crewed by associates and members of Foreign Terrorist Organizations that are trying to kill American kids, I think is a valid target,” Cotton said. “I’m not just comfortable with it, I want to continue it.”WELKER: Is there any hard evidence showing this particular boat was headed to the US?TOM COTTON: That didn't come up in my briefingWELKER: Are you comfortable having the US target a boat that you're not sure is heading to the US?COTTON: I'm not just comfortable with it -- I… pic.twitter.com/JObokcszyn— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 7, 2025
Let it be: Paul McCartney urges EU to drop ban on veggie ‘burgers’ and ‘sausages’
Former Beatle argues use of terms for meat-free products ‘encourages attitudes essential to our health’Paul McCartney has joined calls for the EU to reject efforts to ban the use of terms such as “sausage” and “burger” for vegetarian foods.The former Beatle has joined eight British MPs who have written to the European Commission arguing that a ban approved in October by the European parliament would address a nonexistent problem while slowing progress on climate goals. Continue reading...
Kremlin hails Trump’s national security strategy as aligned with Russia’s vision
Moscow welcomes White House document critical of the EU as talks to end the Ukraine war enter a key phaseThe Kremlin has heaped praise on Donald Trump’s latest national security strategy, calling it an encouraging change of policy that largely aligns with Russian thinking.The remarks follow the publication of a White House document on Friday that criticises the EU and says Europe is at risk of “civilisational erasure”, while making clear the US is keen to establish better relations with Russia. Continue reading...
Hegseth gives defiant speech defending ‘drug boat’ strikes amid scrutiny
At event in California, US defense secretary says Trump has power to take military action ‘as he sees fit’Pete Hegseth on Saturday doubled down on his defense of US military strikes on alleged drug cartel boats in the Caribbean, arguing that Donald Trump has the power to take military action “as he sees fit” and dismissing concerns that the strikes violate international law.Hegseth spoke on Saturday at the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California, amid growing scrutiny over the legality of the attacks and his leadership of the Pentagon. Continue reading...
Louisiana officials continue search for last of three escaped inmates
Three men fled Opelousas jail after removing concrete blocks from wall in state’s second inmate escape of yearAuthorities on Sunday were hunting for the last of three inmates who escaped from a Louisiana jail after removing concrete blocks from a deteriorating wall.“We would prefer that he surrender himself peaceably,” St Landry parish sheriff Bobby J Guidroz said in a statement, “but we will not rest until he is captured.” Continue reading...
Senior DWP civil servant blames victims for carer’s allowance scandal
Neil Couling said failings by individual claimants ‘at the heart’ of crisis, despite a report finding DWP shortcomings ‘unacceptable’ One of the most senior civil servants in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has placed the blame for the carer’s allowance benefits crisis on victims, many of whom have been left with life-changing debts.In an internal blogpost written for Whitehall colleagues, Neil Couling, the director general of DWP services, said individual failings by carers were “at the heart” of the issue that has been likened to the Post Office Horizon scandal. Continue reading...
First phase of Gaza ceasefire plan nearly complete, says Netanyahu
Israeli PM to discuss next steps with Donald Trump this month but timetable for lasting peace remains unclearBenjamin Netanyahu has said that the first phase of the UN-endorsed Gaza ceasefire plan is close to completion, and that the second phase must involve the disarmament of Hamas.The Israeli prime minister said he would discuss the next steps later this month in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were codified in a UN security council resolution on 17 November. Continue reading...
70,000 Ukrainian Women Join Army To Fight Russia War, 20% Rise Since 2022
Over 70,000 women are serving in Ukraine's armed forces in 2025, a 20 per cent increase since 2022, with more than 5,500 deployed directly to the front line.
One injured after second stabbing on North Carolina commuter train in months
Man charged with attempted murder less than four months after Iryna Zarutska was killed in unrelated knife attackPolice in North Carolina have charged a 33-year-old man with critically injuring another person in a stabbing on a Charlotte commuter train, just a few months after a Ukrainian refugee riding one of the city’s trains was killed in an unrelated knife attack.Oscar Solarzano, 33, was charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon and other crimes stemming from the Friday afternoon attack in which he wielded a large knife, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said in a news release. Continue reading...
Maha v Maga: feud grows as Trump EPA rolls back rules on toxic chemicals
‘Make America healthy again’ leaders call for Lee Zeldin to quit for favoring chemical companies over US families“Make America healthy again” (Maha) movement leaders have put out a petition calling for Donald Trump to fire Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin, who, since being appointed in late January, has quickly moved to undo toxic chemical regulations and fast-track pesticide approvals.The petition represents the latest salvo in a growing Maha-Maga feud over the Trump administration’s policies around toxic chemicals and pesticides. Trump campaigned on cleaning up the nation’s water and food supply, a priority for the Robert F Kennedy Jr-led Maha movement that helped propel the US president to office. Continue reading...
