Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Șoșoacă, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier in March, the electoral bureau barred Călin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40% before the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and…
Adam Gabsi is unequivocal on the subject of his personal independence payment: “It really is an essential lifeline. I don’t feel that I would be able to function without it.” Gabsi receives his Pip disability benefit for multiple sclerosis, with which he was diagnosed 18 years ago, when he was 21. “It’s supposed to cover the costs…
Donald Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, on Saturday, promising to use “overwhelming lethal force” until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor. The Houthis reported a series of explosions in their territory Saturday evening. Images circulating online show plumes of black smoke…
A long-awaited mission to return stranded US astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station has been launched by Nasa and SpaceX. The pair were due to spend eight days on the ISS in June, but technical problems with the experimental spacecraft that took them there have left them stuck on the…
Donald Trump expanded on his threats to the media on Friday, suggesting actions of the press should be deemed illegal and subject to investigation. “I believe that CNN and MS-DNC, who literally write 97.6% bad about me, are political arms of the Democrat [sic] party and in my opinion, they’re really corrupt and they’re illegal,…
The Trump administration is considering issuing travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo seen by Reuters. The memo lists a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups. The first group of 10 countries, including…
A Eurovision contestant has reworked her song after a word in the lyrics sounded like an English swearword. Miriana Conte’s song was originally titled Kant, the Maltese word for singing. The song now includes the voice of the BBC economics editor Faisal Islam after he interviewed Conte on Newsnight about having only days to alter…
Five people have been charged after a 40-year-old woman was shot dead in south Wales last week. Joanne Penney died at a block of flats in Talbot Green, near Pontyclun, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, on Sunday. South Wales police said they had charged two women and three men, who will appear at Cardiff magistrates court…
The captain of the Russian container ship that crashed into a US oil tanker in the North Sea, killing a crew member, has appeared in court. Vladimir Motin of Primorsky, St Petersburg, in Russia was charged with gross negligence manslaughter over the collision earlier this week. Motin, 59, appeared at Hull magistrates court on Saturday…
A bin collection strike in Birmingham could lead to rats thriving on a “banquet” of food waste and pose a public health danger, pest controllers have said. About 400 council bin workers in Birmingham began an indefinite strike on Tuesday as part of a dispute over pay and conditions. The trade union Unite has argued…
