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Extra social media checks brought in amid growing threat to politicians from extremistsThe security company that provides bodyguards for MPs has tightened its vetting processes after it sent a bodyguard with far-right links to protect a politician who was under threat from extremists.Mitie, which has a £31m contract for the work, is updating its CPO (Close Protection Operative) vetting processes to include regular social media checks. There will also be random checks on the social media activity of those already taken on. Continue reading...

Leader of leftwing Economic Freedom Fighters was convicted last year for firing rifle in the air at 2018 rallyThe South African leftwing politician Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison for firing a rifle in the air at a political rally in 2018.Lawyers for the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, South Africa’s fourth largest political party, immediately sought leave to appeal. Legal arguments are ongoing. Continue reading...

Regulator says tool, which creates reports for humans to review, has helped classify entire UK catalogue of HBO MaxTV shows including Game of Thrones and Euphoria have received age ratings for the first time in the UK, after the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) deployed an AI tool to help assess content.The BBFC has developed a tool to identify content that triggers compliance issues, such as violence, nudity and bad language. The flagged scenes are then passed over to BBFC staff for human review. Continue reading...

2015 nuclear deal negotiators say cutting off strait of Hormuz has shown Iran how it can ‘balance asymmetry of power’ with USMiddle East crisis – live updatesFormer US envoys who dealt with Iran have said that the US-Israeli attack on Iran and Tehran’s subsequent closure of the strait of Hormuz have given Iran new tools and resolve to resist pressure to shutter its nuclear programme.Two senior negotiators for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Obama-era agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief, said that the Trump administration’s war had handed Iran a coveted weapon by demonstrating its ability to cut off the strait of Hormuz, an economic chokehold that one negotiator said would help Iran “balance the asymmetry of power” with the US. Continue reading...

Delo, pardoned by Trump after violating US banking law, describes himself as champion of free speechA British billionaire convicted in the US for failing to implement adequate anti-money-laundering controls in his cryptocurrency business has given £4m to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.Ben Delo, 42, who is now based in Hong Kong, wrote in the Telegraph that he had made the donation since the start of the year, before the government’s cap on donations to political parties by British citizens living abroad. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Sources believe AI tech company’s engineers have been granted access to directory of up to 1.5m staff UK politics live – latest updatesHealth service staff have expressed alarm that engineers working for controversial tech company Palantir have been given NHS email accounts.Employees using NHS.net email accounts have access to a directory with the contact details of up 1.5 million staff. Sources believe Palantir staff were granted the same access. Continue reading...

As the war in Iran continues, ministers debate several options for extending support to households Middle East crisis – live updatesFamilies hardest hit by the looming energy crisis caused by the conflict in the Middle East could be given funds dispensed by local councils, under plans being considered by UK ministers keen to keep a lid on costs.As concerns increase about the impact of rising fuel and energy costs in response to a drawn-out war in Iran, a government official said several options for extending support were being debated inside Whitehall. Continue reading...

Shaine March fatally stabbed Alana Odysseos, who was in early stages of pregnancy, after being released on licence for killing teenager in 2000A man who murdered his pregnant girlfriend after being released from prison on licence must spend the rest of his life in jail, the court of appeal has ruled after finding that the original 42-year sentence was “too lenient”.Alana Odysseos, 32, was in the early stages of pregnancy with her third child when she was killed by Shaine March last July at her home in Walthamstow, east London. She died at the scene from 23 slash and stab wounds. Continue reading...

Son-in-law of former United player is among 1,100 fans forced to give up prime seats under cash-boosting plansA Manchester United fan said he feels “helpless and hopeless” after being evicted from the seat his family have held since just after the second world war to make way for £300-a-head VIPs.Tony Riley, whose father-in-law played for United under Sir Matt Busby, is among 1,100 supporters forced to move under cash-boosting plans overseen by Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Continue reading...

Carie Hallford, 48, whose husband Jon received 40-year term, pleaded guilty to defrauding grieving familiesSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA former Colorado funeral home owner who helped her ex-husband hide nearly 200 decomposing bodies in a building was sentenced Monday to 18 years on a federal fraud charge, nearly the maximum allowed under the law.Carie Hallford, 48, faced up to 20 years in prison for taking over $130,000 from families for funeral services, including cremations, and often giving them urns full of concrete mix instead. In two cases, investigators found the wrong body was buried. In August, she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and admitted that she and her ex-husband Jon Hallford cheated customers and also defrauded the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in pandemic small business aid. Continue reading...