Planned fuel duty rise to be scrapped, says Keir Starmer

Exclusive: 3,500 social homes could switch to private sector after companies run by Heylo Housing group go into administrationMore than £52m in public money earmarked for social housing is at risk after the partial collapse of one of the England’s fastest-growing housing providers.Two of the investment companies run by the Heylo Housing group, which is backed by the asset managers Blackrock, have gone into administration leaving the government regulator scrambling to find a rescue deal to protect taxpayers’ money and prevent 3,500 social homes switching to the private sector. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Employer of woman who cares for disabled mother was asked to deduct ‘debt’ from salary despite court ruling she had nothing to payPatrick ButlerSocial policy editor Continue reading...

Young Americans are suing the president for violating rights with executive orders that fuel the climate crisisEva Lighthiser was at a dorm party on her Colorado college campus last month when she had to call it an early night.“I said, ‘Hey, I’ve got to go to bed, I’m flying out to Portland tomorrow,’ and then of course follow-up questions get raised,” she said. “I’m like, ‘Well, it’s a lot to explain.’” Continue reading...

Priya Dogra says she believes channel acted appropriately, but that she is ‘deeply sorry’ for distress of participantsChannel 4’s chief executive has stood by the broadcaster’s treatment of concerns raised by contestants on Married At First Sight, as she said she was “deeply sorry” for the distress of female participants making allegations of rape and sexual misconduct.Priya Dogra said she believed the channel had acted appropriately at the time of the allegations, but had commissioned an external review to ensure the show was safe for those taking part. Continue reading...

Dr Peter Stafford’s wife and four children are also being monitored for symptoms amid Ebola outbreak in the DRCAn American doctor who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been flown to Germany for treatment, along with his wife and four children, as the World Health Organization warned of the “scale and speed” of the outbreak.Authorities have reported at least 134 suspected deaths and more than 500 cases of the hemorrhagic Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved treatments or vaccines. The outbreak, which has spread into urban areas, has been declared a public health emergency requiring international response. Continue reading...

Billionaire philanthropist’s Open Society Foundations has worked to advance justice and human rights around worldFor decades, the Open Society Foundations have worked to advance justice and human rights in Africa, the Middle East and trouble spots around the world. But the OSF’s latest major investment is aimed at a crisis closer to home.On Tuesday, the organisation, founded by the billionaire philanthropist George Soros and headquartered in New York, announced a $300m spend aimed at boosting economic security and defending civil liberties in the US. Continue reading...

The singer was one of her country’s most’s popular musical exports, and travelled the world with an evangelistic vision for spreading cumbia musicTotó la Momposina, one of the most celebrated musicians in Colombian history, has died aged 85.Her three children announced her death from a heart attack on Instagram. “Totó was a woman who, with her voice and extraordinary dedication, carried the culture and memory of the Colombian people to the far corners of the world,” they added. Continue reading...

US president, like a cult leader whose commune keeps getting smaller, commands fierce loyalty from a shrinking base“Thomas Massie caught in a throuple!” screamed the AI-generated attack ad that showed the Republican congressman supposedly dining with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar then checking into a hotel with the two progressives. “Thomas Massie betrayed President Trump!” it added.Crude but effective, as it turns out. Massie, from northern Kentucky, lost the most expensive House of Representatives primary election in history on Tuesday to Ed Gallrein, a farmer and former US Navy Seal backed by Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Seven-term incumbent had spoken out against Iran war, government spending and Jeffrey Epstein files. Plus, Trump’s ‘board of peace’ receives just $23m to rebuild GazaGood morning.Voters in northern Kentucky on Tuesday rejected the incumbent congressman Thomas Massie, who has been critical of Donald Trump, in favor of the president’s hand-picked candidate.Where else held primaries on Tuesday? Pennsylvania, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon and Idaho. Georgia also delivered a defeat to a prominent Trump critic, while a Trump ally won in Alabama, too.How significant was Kentucky? Massie, a seven-term incumbent, has been an outspoken GOP opponent to Trump – repeatedly clashing with the president over Iran, government spending and the Jeffrey Epstein files. In response, Trump treated the primary as a personal vendetta.What is at the top of the agenda? For Putin, it is likely to be reciprocal trade and investment, as Russia’s economy continues to suffer over the cost of its war in Ukraine and related sanctions. China, Russia’s largest trading partner, buys almost half of Moscow’s oil exports.What about foreign policy? Xi said the world was in danger of returning to the “law of the jungle”, adding that further hostilities in the Middle East were “inadvisable”, and calling for a ceasefire, state media reported. Continue reading...

Ukrainians lament appalling toll of fighting on their country’s bird populationRussia sent kamikaze drones to attack the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia in February. They hit buildings and killed several people. One unreported victim of the bombardment was a male long-eared owl, blinded in one eye and found with a badly broken wing. A passerby scooped up the stunned bird, put him in a box and took him to the city of Dnipro.The owl – nicknamed Sunny – is now recovering in a cosy room belonging to Veronica Konkova. No longer able to fly or hunt, Sunny instead hops around. Continue reading...

UK report argues people have greater control over longevity than widely understood, but others say claim is simplisticIndividuals bear at least 80% of the responsibility for their ill health in old age, according to a report aimed at challenging the belief that physical decline is either inevitable or primarily the responsibility of the state.The report, launched at the Smart Ageing Summit in Oxford last week, argues that individuals have far greater control over their longevity than is commonly understood. The authors call on the government to take legislative action on alcohol comparable to restrictions on smoking. Continue reading...