Wood-burning stoves will be allowed to heat new-build homes in England despite growing evidence showing their significant contribution to air pollution and carbon emissions. The government is writing its future homes standard, a set of rules for developers, aimed at decarbonising England’s housing stock. Heating the UK’s 28m homes accounts for about 18% of greenhouse…
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has said it is prepared to let companies avoid prosecution if they self-report suspected financial crime and cooperate with investigators, in an important change to its previous guidance. The SFO, which investigates complex financial crimes, fraud and corruption, said companies that flag potential breaches would be offered the chance to…
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s government and the Rwandan-backed M23 group have issued a landmark joint statement saying they have agreed to halt fighting in the east of the country while they work towards a permanent truce. The surprise announcement follows talks mediated by Qatar. The two sides said they had “agreed to work towards…
Social media and other internet platforms will be legally required to block children’s access to harmful content from July or face large fines, Ofcom has announced. Tech firms will have to apply the measures by 25 July or risk fines – and in extreme cases being shut down – under the UK’s Online Safety Act….
India has summoned Pakistan’s top diplomat in New Delhi, local media reported on Thursday, a day after it announced measures to downgrade ties with Islamabad over a deadly militant attack in Kashmir. A day after suspected militants killed 26 men at a tourist destination in Kashmir – in the worst attack on civilians in the…
The largest ever global study into the safety of Covid-19 vaccines has been terminated just 13 months shy of completion, after becoming caught up in the Trump administration’s sweeping funding cuts. The Global Vaccine Data Network, which was established in 2019 by the New Zealand-based vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris and the US-based vaccinologist Steven Black, has…
Harvard University filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday on the grounds that a recent $2bn (£1.5bn) funding freeze was unlawful. It is the most significant act of resistance taken by a US college in response to Trump’s crackdown on higher education. Ed Pilkington, chief reporter for Guardian US, explains to Michael Safi…
Donald Trump signed executive orders on Wednesday targeting universities as his administration seeks to reshape higher-education institutions and continues to crack down on diversity and inclusion efforts. The actions address foreign gifts to universities, directing the federal government to “enforce laws on the books” related to the disclosure of large donations, and college accreditation, which…
Police have launched a manhunt after a convicted murderer escaped from an open prison in Scotland. Raymond McCourt, 59, was reported missing from HMP Castle Huntly in Dundee at 5.30pm on Tuesday. Police Scotland have warned the public not to approach him. McCourt is described as 6ft 2in, stocky, with short grey hair and a…
A party of party poopers? Or defenders of the “quiet majority”? Either way, the Liberal Democrats are redefining “political battlebus” by proposing a ban on people playing music and videos out loud on their phones on public transport. Under the plan, those who blast out songs and TV shows from their phone on public transport,…
