Andy Burnham confirmed as Labour candidate for Makerfield byelection

Yvette Cooper and Jonathan Reynolds urge colleagues to support each other and remember ‘who we’re here to serve’UK politics live – latest updatesTwo cabinet ministers have warned Labour colleagues against damaging anonymous briefings as the party prepares for a probable leadership contest, arguing it is disrespectful to voters to wage a factional war in public.The comments by Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, and Jonathan Reynolds, the chief whip, came as Labour MPs gathered late on Monday for the weekly meeting of the parliamentary Labour party. Continue reading...

A ‘thrillingly fresh’ 30th-anniversary production of Jonathan Larson’s musical will open at the Duke of York’s theatre in London, directed by Luke SheppardThe Pulitzer prize-winning musical Rent will return to London this autumn in a 30th-anniversary production starring Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo in his West End debut.The rock opera, based on Puccini’s La Bohème and set in New York’s East Village during the Aids crisis, ran for more than 5,000 performances on Broadway and won four Tony awards. Jonathan Larson, who wrote the book, music and lyrics, died aged 35 of an aortic aneurysm shortly before it opened in 1996. The musical also ran for 18 months in London, became a 2005 film and has had several major revivals including one directed by Luke Sheppard at Manchester’s Hope Mill theatre in 2020. Sheppard, who last month won an Olivier award for Paddington: The Musical, is staging the new revival, directly inspired by his Manchester production. Continue reading...

Smotrich vows to retaliate by waging ‘war’ on Palestinian Authority and orders evacuation of a West Bank villageMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has said the international criminal court (ICC) prosecutor has sought a confidential arrest warrant against him, and promised to retaliate by waging a “war” on the Palestinian Authority.He said he had ordered the evacuation of the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as part of measures against the authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank under agreements with Israel. Continue reading...

Russian leader says relations between two countries have reached ‘unprecedented level’ on eve of 25th visit to ChinaVladimir Putin is due to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday for a state visit, four days after Donald Trump left China.Putin’s visit to China – his 25th, according to Chinese state media – reflects Beijing’s growing confidence on the world stage as a centre of global diplomatic activity. Continue reading...

Transport secretary says first official estimate in 2026 prices shows ‘obscene increase’ after ‘shocking legacy’ of previous governmentBusiness live – latest updatesThe HS2 high-speed railway will now cost up to £102.7bn and trains will not start running between London and Birmingham until as late as 2039, the government has admitted – £70bn more and 13 years later than originally promised.The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said that the truncated railway would not be entirely completed until as late as 2043. Continue reading...

The emergency caused by the Bundibugyo variant has revived fears shaped by conflict, mistrust and delayed detection, even as the WHO moves quicklyTo be around the centre of an Ebola outbreak is to become used to the smell of chlorine. At hospitals and government buildings, surfaces are sprayed with it and hands washed in a 0.05% solution that can kill the virus in 60 seconds.Infrared handheld thermometers take temperatures at airports and border crossings. Any indication of a fever prevents passage. Contact-tracing teams crisscross the countryside. Continue reading...

Ruling blocks detentions at three federal courthouses except in rare cases amid protests over tacticsA federal judge in New York has banned US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from arresting immigrants in or around three federal courthouses in lower Manhattan, where vigorous confrontations have played out since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidency.Under an order issued on Monday by P Kevin Castel, a US district judge, federal agents are no longer allowed to make arrests of immigrants except under exceptional circumstances at the sites where hearings are held before immigration judges. Continue reading...

Scotland Yard to send files to CPS with ‘strong evidence’ of potential wrongdoing – but any trials could be years awayScotland Yard has said it hopes to bring criminal charges against 77 companies and individuals for the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, in which 72 people died.The lead investigator, Garry Moncrieff, said his team of 220 detectives had gathered “strong evidence” of potential wrongdoing. Continue reading...

Grayson the Musical will explore ‘identity, creativity and self-acceptance … with life coaching from a six-foot teddy bear named Alan’Grayson Perry’s life story is to be told in an “outrageous” new stage musical co-created with the composer of Jerry Springer: The Opera.Grayson the Musical is a portrait of the artist from his childhood in Chelmsford to his international fame as a Turner prize-winning ceramicist, tapestry-maker and frock-lover. As well as fabulous dresses, the show will include a supporting role for Alan Measles, the beloved teddy bear who has featured in Perry’s work. Continue reading...

Government announces a near tenfold increase but forces fear it will not cover anticipated cost of dedicated teamsKeir Starmer’s government has announced a near tenfold increase in funding for detectives hunting grooming gangs but has been warned by police that the amount will “likely fall short” of what is needed.Operation Beaconport, which was set up last year to review closed group-based sexual exploitation inquiries in England and Wales, will receive nearly £38m, a Home Office statement said – up from £4m given last year. Continue reading...

Retired NHS worker Nicholas Stone died after becoming unwell at protest against far-right Bristol PatriotsThe police watchdog is investigating the use of force against a retired NHS worker who attended a counter-demonstration against the far right and died shortly after contact with officers there.Nicholas Stone, 65, who lived in Bristol, died on 10 January after becoming unwell at a protest opposing the rightwing group Bristol Patriots, who were demonstrating in the city centre. Continue reading...