Ockenden report live: largest maternity review in NHS history to be published

• The conflict in Iran has exposed the severe vulnerabilities of Asia's energy dependence, transforming a fragile situation into an economic emergency. • The Asian Development Bank warns that if oil prices remain around $96 per barrel for the year, GDP growth could drop by 0.7 percentage points in 2026.

• Iran and the United States have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to end the conflict in West Asia and ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains open. • As part of the agreement, fighting in Lebanon is set to cease to address the escalating humanitarian crisis in the region.

• Iran's economy nearly stagnated in 2025, recording a marginal growth rate of only 0.2% while non-oil GDP experienced a contraction. • The slowdown is attributed to a series of conflicts, including a 12-day war with Israel in the summer and a 40-day conflict involving the U.S. and Israel in the winter, alongside January's nationwide protests.

• President Donald Trump has dismissed claims that no visits are scheduled for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, insisting that Iran has already agreed to increased nuclear inspections. • This diplomatic tension occurs alongside ongoing military conflict, as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon continues despite a renewed ceasefire agreement reached on Friday.

• On June 23, 2026, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared that Iran will not engage in negotiations regarding its ballistic missile program. • This stance comes amidst an ongoing conflict involving the United States and Israel, signaling a hardening of Tehran's position on its strategic weaponry.

• A new book titled "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump" reveals that a former cabinet member referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "special needs child for the Europeans." • The comments reportedly surfaced during a meeting focused on discussing a proposed minerals deal between the United States and Ukraine.

Controversial agreement under which UK can return people who arrive by small boat will reportedly not be extendedThe “one in, one out” agreement on cross-Channel migration between the UK and France is due to end in October, according to French media reports.Under the terms of the deal, asylum seekers who arrive in the UK in a small boat can be forcibly returned to France, in exchange for others in France who have not tried to cross the Channel being brought to the UK legally. Continue reading...

Growing number of cases involve police working as rideshare drivers while carrying government-issued gunsWhen the gap between his salary and his family’s basic expenses began widening dramatically, Diego – like many other Argentinians – started working as a rideshare driver on top of his day job. He usually does a few hours at the end of his 12-hour shift; and more on his days off.It would be just another story from recession-ridden Argentina, but for the fact that Diego is a federal police officer. Continue reading...

Country is ‘militarily the strongest in Europe’, says Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who wants coalition ready in case US pulls troopsThe US’s attitude to the defence of Europe has changed permanently and a European coalition of the willing, including Ukraine, should be established to defend the continent, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former Nato secretary general, has said.A coalition of the willing compromising 45 states is already in theory poised to act as a reassurance and training force inside Ukraine in the event of a peace settlement with Russia. Continue reading...

Donna Ockenden inquiry finds ‘bullying’ culture and ‘cruel’, dismissive attitude to women contributed to avoidable deathsOckenden report: latest updates – liveMaternity care scandal review: what are the key findings?More than 500 mothers and babies came to harm or died as a result of inadequate care in Nottingham, an inquiry into the NHS’s biggest ever maternity scandal has revealed.A total of 444 women and 76 newborn babies suffered “potentially avoidable” outcomes because they received substandard treatment over 13 years from Nottingham University hospitals NHS trust (NUH), a damning report led by the childbirth expert Donna Ockenden has found.A “bullying and toxic culture” persisted at NUH over many years and impeded moves to improve care.Maternity service managers and the trust’s senior leaders were repeatedly warned about a host of serious problems in the maternity units at both hospitals but did not take effective action.Maternity staff displayed “a culture of not admitting women who were seeking admission in labour”, despite the risks this posed to them and their babies.Both maternity units were consistently seriously short-staffed and could not cope with the number of births and complexity of cases they had to handle.One baby girl who died early in gestation was “inadvertently disposed of as clinical waste by laboratory staff after her postmortem examination”, compounding her parents’ distress. Continue reading...

Review of 2,500 cases between 2012 and 2015 finds ‘systemic’ and ‘deep-rooted’ failures, a bullying culture and racismMore than 500 mothers and babies died or were harmed at ‘toxic’ Nottingham NHS trust, report finds‘Truly horrific’: the stories of five people affectedA review into the NHS’s biggest ever maternity care scandal has been published. Led by Donna Ockenden, an independent senior midwife, the review examined 2,500 cases involving mothers and babies dying or being seriously injured, or babies being stillborn, while under the care of Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust between 2012 and 2015. Below is a summary of the findings from the report. Continue reading...

Leaked letter to PM and military demands action to stop violence against Palestinians in occupied West BankDozens of Israelis from the country’s security, political and cultural elite have threatened legal action against their government over support for Jewish terrorism and an “ideology of ethnic cleansing” in the occupied West Bank, according to a leaked letter.Two former prime ministers, former heads of all Israeli security services, former judges, a Nobel laureate and the country’s most revered living novelist were among the signatories to a “final warning” over violence against Palestinians. Continue reading...