Running

Weak and sick mammal has twice become stuck on a sandbank, with news of the rescue efforts captivating the German publicThe fate of a humpback whale stranded in shallow bays off Germany’s Baltic coast hangs in the balance after several rescue attempts.The roughly 10-metre-long (33ft) mammal appeared weakened and sick on Sunday and was struggling to find a route back to the Atlantic. Continue reading...

Fossil-fuel burning at Ohio facility could burn longer, leaving Middletown residents to face environmental risksSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxIt was just a few months after moving from Louisville to Middletown, Ohio, four years ago that Vivian Adams’s six-year-old daughter’s asthma problem worsened.“My daughter was born prematurely so she already had lung issues,” she says, “[but] it’s gotten worse. She stays sick and coughing and can’t breathe. She’s had to go on everyday medication for her asthma, plus she has a rescue inhaler.” Continue reading...

Chris Bowen says move aimed at accessing fuel imports from markets with lower burning temperatures, including the US, Canada and EuropeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s diesel standards have been temporarily lowered as the federal government rushes to shore up fuel supply, with hundreds of service stations running empty and warnings deliveries from key Asian suppliers could slow as soon as early April.The energy minister, Chris Bowen, said on Tuesday the government had lowered the technical threshold for diesel, known as the flashpoint, in order to access supply from imports from markets with marginally lower burning temperatures, including the US, Canada and Europe. Continue reading...

Republican Chad Bianco investigating Prop 50 vote despite officials denying claims of ballots being cast unlawfullyA California sheriff who is running as a Republican for governor has seized more than 650,000 ballots from last year’s election, escalating an ongoing conflict with state officials.Chad Bianco, Riverside county’s sheriff, says he is carrying out an investigation into allegations that ballots were unlawfully cast in last year’s election that resulted in the passage of Proposition 50. The proposition redrew congressional districts to help gerrymander the state in favor of Democrats, in response to similar measures in Republican states like Texas. Continue reading...

Charity Commission appoints interim manager at William Blake House in Northamptonshire, under investigation after families raised alarmA charity watchdog has taken control of a learning disability care home in Northamptonshire that is under investigation after residents’ families raised concerns over its management, including payments of £1m to a trustee.The Charity Commission has appointed an interim manager to run William Blake House, which faces potential insolvency in three weeks’ time if it cannot head off a winding-up order brought by the tax authorities over £1.6m in unpaid tax bills. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester mayor says the party ‘would always do well to listen to what Angela has got to say’Good morning. Keir Starmer has been handling the Iran war reasonably well, according to the consensus view at Westminster, and certainly better than Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch, who have been in contortions over whether they do or do not support Donald Trump. But this has not altered the fundamental, big-picture assessment of British politics, which is that he is deeply unpopular with voters and that Labour can’t win the next election if he remains in charge. This may be a flawed analysis – consensus views often are – but it is what many Labour MPs think, which is why a question mark hovers over Starmer’s leadership.And that is why Angela Rayner’s speech last night, at a private meeting with the soft-left Mainstream group, are so significant. She did not explicitly call for new leadership, but she did convey that message implicity – and more bluntly than in any of her other interventions since she resigned as deputy PM in September last year.It is down to us to rebuild this nation and this party – the question is are we up for this fight? I know we in this room are.As a party, and as a movement, we cannot hide, we cannot just go through the motions in the face of decline. There’s no safe ground and we’re running out of time.We cannot talk about earning a settlement if we keep moving the goalposts. Because moving the goalposts undermines our sense of fair play. It’s un-British.Let us be a country that has sustainable economic migration rules, but one that upholds the British values we want all who live here to respect. Not special treatment. But the stability and a fair pathway forward after the sacrifices many have made to build a lawful life in the UK.We’ve got to, all of us, haven’t we, work together to pull together a plan that turns the country around …I understand the frustration people feel. We heard that at the by-election, and of course, Angela is reflecting some of that.I think where I would agree, and I think everybody across government would agree, is sharing an impatience with the pace of change, and that applies to every single one of us.And I get the sense, I haven’t read the full context of Angela’s remarks, but I get the sense that that frustration is actually what is running through her remarks. It absolutely runs through every government minister as well. Continue reading...

Former deputy prime minister says Labour’s immigration changes are un-British and Starmer must respond to fall in party’s popularityAngela Rayner has said the very survival of the Labour party is at stake and warned Keir Starmer that he “cannot go through the motions” in the face of declining support.In a speech at campaign group Mainstream’s spring reception, the former deputy prime minister said she believed the government was “running out of time” to show it can deliver the changes that the public needs. Continue reading...