Teenager charged with trying to kill two teachers and fellow pupil after incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman A 13-year-old girl has been charged with attempting to murder two teachers and a fellow pupil in a school playground stabbing in Wales. The two adults and child all received knife wounds in the incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire. Dyfed-Powys police said they were also investigating threats allegedly made by a 15-year-old boy that alluded to the incident ..read more

Chronic workforce shortages have put nursing staff under unbearable pressure, says union chief Nurses in England took an average of a week off sick last year because of stress, anxiety or depression, NHS figures reveal. The disclosure has prompted concern that the intense strains nurses face in their jobs, including low pay and understaffing, are damaging their mental health and causing many to quit ..read more

Radio DJ Richie Brave, whose ancestors were enslaved, says organisers should be ‘asking themselves some questions’ The Radio 1Xtra host Richie Brave has said the Booker prize should consider changing its name because of its links to enslavement. Brave’s legal surname is Booker and his ancestors were enslaved by the founders of the company that originally sponsored the prize ..read more

Charity Commission opens ‘compliance case’ into soup kitchen founded by Mike Butcher after allegations about use during campaign Reform UK’s candidate in the Blackpool South byelection has denied any wrongdoing after the Charity Commission launched a probe into allegations that the soup kitchen he founded was used to promote his campaign. Mark Butcher, who is standing for the party in next week’s election, posted a Facebook message this month which said that the campaign would be starting at the kitchen, Amazing Graze. He was later pictured shaking hands with the Reform leader, Richard Tice, a ..read more

Party wants to fully nationalise train network within five years of coming to power, in ‘biggest rail reform for a generation’ Labour has made one of its most radical proposals yet in the run-up to an election campaign: to fully nationalise the train network within five years of coming to power. The party has pledged to guarantee the cheapest fares as part of “the biggest reform of our railways for a generation”, bringing all passenger rail into national ownership under the Great British Railways (GBR) body ..read more

Councillors unanimously refuse permission for 42-storey block of flats on top of former residence and hospital Councillors in Birmingham have unanimously refused to grant planning permission for a controversial 42-storey skyscraper on top of a Grade-II listed former hospital. The proposal for the city centre site included a large glass tower block, including more than 300 flats and a cafe and roof terrace, erected on top of a Georgian building that has stood there since the early 19th century ..read more

Shadow minister Steve Reed vows to uphold targets on biodiversity loss and protecting land and sea Labour has pledged to halt the decline of British species and protect at least 30% of the land and sea by 2030 if it is elected. Steve Reed, the shadow environment secretary, also vowed to set a new land use framework that would prioritise the protection of nature, and to deliver on targets to improve the UK’s environment ..read more

Coalition agreement has frustrated many in the SNP who fear the party is losing support by focusing on the wrong priorities In August 2021, Nicola Sturgeon, then the dominant figure of Scottish politics, announced a “groundbreaking” alliance with the Scottish Greens at Bute House, the elegant Edinburgh residence of Scotland’s first ministers ..read more

Angela van den Bogerd questioned about 2018 testimony about remote access to Horizon IT system A former senior Post Office executive gave “false” evidence to the high court about the ability of the Horizon IT system to be accessed remotely, a public inquiry has heard. Angela van den Bogerd, who was business improvement director at the postal company, was asked about testimony she gave in 2018 in a lawsuit brought by the former branch operator Alan Bates and 554 others suing the Post Office over their persecution and prosecution because of the Horizon system ..read more

Former coalition partners’ decision brings Scottish first minister to brink of losing vote, which could make his position untenable Humza Yousaf could be forced to quit as first minister next week after the Scottish Greens announced they would back a Conservative motion of no confidence against the man who “betrayed” the Greens by unilaterally ending a coalition deal. Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Greens’ co-leader, said the party was furious Yousaf had suddenly torn up the Bute House agreement, which had seen the Greens share power with the Scottish National party (SNP) for nearly three years ..read more