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Dawn Butler police stop 'rooted in bias', says UK chief of black police officers Exclusive: Andrew George calls for urgent reform of system that views black people as ‘criminals or drug dealers’The police stop of the Labour MP Dawn Butler was rooted in systemic racism that is damaging the legitimacy of policing, the leader of black police officers has said.Inspector Andrew George, the new interim president of the National Black Police Association, also called for urgent reform of “a biased system that views black people as criminals or drug dealers”. Continue reading... Go to Source

Ofqual 'blindsided' government by revoking A-level appeals process Move by regulator could leave thousands of students without university placesThe government’s attempts to fix this summer’s broken A-level and GCSE results have been thrown into chaos after the exam regulator Ofqual revoked the appeals process for schools and students that it had published only a few hours earlier.The move, which was caused by internal disagreements over the appeals process, could leave thousands of A-level candidates in limbo, including those trying to secure places at universities this autumn by overturning the grades awarded to them by Ofqual’s algorithm. Continue reading... Go to Source

Tens of thousands gather in Minsk for biggest protest in Belarus history Alexander Lukashenko claims Vladimir Putin has offered him ‘comprehensive help’Tens of thousands of Belarusians have gathered in Minsk for the biggest protest in the country’s history, as an extraordinary week of rising sentiment comes to a close.Seven days after the country’s authoritarian ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, claimed to have secured 80% of the vote in a presidential election, his legitimacy is in tatters and his regime faces its biggest crisis since he came to power 26 years ago. The mood at Sunday’s rally was stoked further by egregious police violence against thousands of protesters earlier in the week. Continue reading... Go to Source

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Kyren Wilson: World Snooker Championship final – live! Frame-by-frame coverage of the action at the CrucibleO’Sullivan leads Crucible final despite fightback from Wilson Any comments? You can email Daniel | tweet @DanielHarris 4.20pm BST Anyway, join me at seven in order to celebrate one of the most ludicrous geniuses ever to illuminate our planet. Related: Ronnie O'Sullivan sparks snooker debate after an event like no other Related: Lewis Hamilton wins Spanish Grand Prix to extend championship lead Related: Rain descends after Rory Burns gets a duck in response to Pakistan's 236 Related: County cricket: Notts v Lancashire, Yorks v Derbyshire and more – live! Related: Frankie Dettori and Palace Pier complete perfect weekend in Deauville 4.18pm BST W...

Ministers criticised over plan to scrap Public Health England Critics say PHE is being scapegoated for government’s failings during pandemicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSenior doctors, hospital bosses and public health experts have accused ministers of scapegoating Public Health England for their own failings over Covid-19 by planning to axe the agency.The government’s decision to scrap PHE and merge it into a new body charged with preventing future outbreaks of infectious diseases produced a chorus of criticism on Sunday. Continue reading... Go to Source

Ofqual suspends A-level appeal criteria hours after announcing them Process for challenging grades on basis of mock results ‘being reviewed’, says exams regulator for England Students in England must meet eight criteria to appeal exam results The exams regulator for England has dramatically suspended its criteria for students hoping to challenge their A-level grades on the basis of their results in mock exams.In a brief statement, Ofqual said the policy was “being reviewed” by its board and that further information would be released “in due course”. Continue reading... Go to Source

Belarus prepares for biggest protest yet after week of anger Crisis-hit leader Lukashenko claims Putin has offered him ‘comprehensive help’ ahead of planned Minsk protestBelarusians are preparing for what could be the biggest protest in the country’s history on Sunday afternoon, as an extraordinary week of rising protest sentiment comes to a close.Just seven days after authoritarian ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, claimed to have secured 80% of the vote in a presidential ballot, his legitimacy is in tatters and his regime is facing its biggest crisis since he first came to power 26 years ago. The protest mood was stoked further by egregious police violence against thousands of protesters early in the week. Continue reading... Go to Source

Priti Patel: Migrants crossing Channel to UK as they believe France is racist Home secretary reportedly made comments to explain rise in risky journeys on small boatsMigrants are crossing the Channel to Britain because they believe France is a “racist country” where they may be “tortured”, Priti Patel has said.According to reports, the home secretary made her comments in a conference call with Conservative MPs concerned about the recent upsurge in numbers attempting the dangerous voyage in small boats. Continue reading... Go to Source

Makers of M&S sandwiches faced pay dock if they self-isolated, says union Workers at Greencore factory at centre of a Covid-19 outbreak found it difficult to comply due to sick pay warning, say reps Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Workers at a factory at the centre of a major coronavirus outbreak were told they would be paid less than £100 per week if they had to self-isolate, making it difficult for many to comply, their representatives have claimed.Bosses at the Greencore site in Northampton, where M&S sandwiches are prepared, acknowledged that, as at countless workplaces around the UK, many staff were entitled to no more than the statutory sick pay rate of £95.85 if they followed instructions to self-isolate. Continue reading... ...

Whitehall ‘power grab’ raises fears about who's really running London From TfL to planning laws, allies of Sadiq Khan say figures close to the prime minister are steadily eroding the mayor’s influenceWhen Sadiq Khan recently announced plans to move his team out of City Hall, the striking Thames-side building that has been headquarters for the London mayoralty for almost 20 years, close observers noted some worrying symbolism in the cost-cutting measure. The proposal would see the mayor move from this prime spot, across the river from the regal pomp of the Tower of London, to less-prominent digs five miles away in London’s Royal Docks. Was this to be a diminished seat of power for a diminished office?For months now, allies of Khan have complained about an alleged power grab b...

Controversial exams algorithm to set 97% of GCSE results 4.6 million will not reflect teachers’ grades, as Ofqual suspends A-level appeals policyNearly 5 million GCSEs will this week be awarded using a controversial model which education experts fear could lead to even more results being downgraded than in last week’s A-levels fiasco.According to analysis shared with the Observer, more than 4.6 million GCSEs in England – about 97% of the total – will be assigned solely by the algorithm drawn up by the exam regulator Ofqual. Teacher rankings will be taken into consideration, but not teacher-assessed grades submitted by schools and colleges. Continue reading... Go to Source

NHS chiefs’ plea: we need more cash for ‘winter risk’ Rishi Sunak accused of breaking a pledge to give the NHS ‘whatever it needs’ after request for more beds is rejectedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageNHS chiefs are calling for the funding settlement unveiled by Theresa May to be drastically renegotiated, as they warn the service is already at increased risk this winter thanks to a shortage of resources.The settlement, announced in 2018, promised an average budget increase of 3.4% per year for the next five years, leading to an extra £20bn for the NHS in England in 2023. However, significant long-term costs created by the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with Tory manifesto pledges for new hospitals and higher staff numbers, mean that NH...

Belarus's leader pleads for Putin's help as post-election protests grow Alexander Lukashenko tells the Kremlin that unrest could spread to Moscow next if his regime is destabilisedThe embattled Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has called on Vladimir Putin to help him quell the growing wave of protest inside the country, which has left his legitimacy in tatters and his regime facing its biggest crisis since he first came to power 26 years ago.Lukashenko appealed to the Russian president’s visceral fear of revolution at home and suggested that if his regime fell, Putin too was in danger. “This is a threat not just to Belarus … if Belarusians do not hold out, the wave will head over there too,” he said in televised remarks to a meeting of advisers on Sat...

Trump says he will 'take a look' at pardon for Edward Snowden President said at press conference he did not know much about whistleblower’s case Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would look at the issue of giving a pardon to whistleblower Edward Snowden.Snowden disclosed highly classified information from the National Security Agency in 2013. He revealed the news covertly to the Guardian after he fled to Hong Kong, before flying to Moscow to avoid extradition back to America. He currently lives in Russia. Continue reading... Go to Source

Iran calls US defeat over UN arms embargo a 'humiliation' Hassan Rouhani triumphant after only two countries vote in favour of prolonging embargoIran’s president said on Saturday that the US had suffered a humiliating defeat after the UN security souncil refused to extend an arms embargo on Tehran. US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, meanwhile, called the action a “serious mistake”.The UN security souncil on Friday voted on the US effort to extend the arms embargo on Iran. Russia and China voted against, while 11 members – including France, Germany and Britain – abstained. The US and the Dominican Republic were the only votes in favour. Continue reading... Go to Source

Students in England must meet eight criteria to appeal exam results Ofqual confirms process for those whose A-level and GCSE mock results were higher than gradeStudents in England hoping to appeal their A-level and GCSE exam results based on their mock grades will need to meet a set of eight criteria to be considered “valid”, the exams regulator Ofqual has revealed. Related: A-levels row: Oxford college to honour all offers despite results Continue reading... Go to Source

Up to a third of National Trust's historic homes have slave trade links Heritage charity plans to keep controversial art and statues in place, framed by historical contextAlmost a third of stately homes owned by the National Trust have links to slavery or colonialism, a report is expected to announce next month, as the heritage charity announced plans to keep most controversial objects on its sites to avoid “shutting down debate”.It is unclear which pieces of art displaying racist undertones are to be removed from National Trust properties following the report into its collection’s imperial past, but Dyrham Park in Bristol is to place a critical poem in front of a pair of 17th-century sculptures of African men kneeling in chains. Continue reading... Go to Source