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Justin Welby backs chief rabbi after Labour antisemitism remarks Archbishop says Ephraim Mirvis’s comments highlight fear felt by many British JewsLatest election news – live updatesThe archbishop of Canterbury has in effect backed the chief rabbi’s comments on the Labour leadership’s record on antisemitism with a tweet highlighting the “deep sense of insecurity and fear felt by many British Jews”.Justin Welby does not explicitly refer to the Labour party, but his intervention a few hours after the chief rabbi’s excoriating public criticism of Jeremy Corbyn is significant. Continue reading... Go to Source

Malta PM's chief of staff quits as Daphne Caruana Galizia inquiry continues Keith Schembri understood to be assisting police in case of journalist killed in 2017The Maltese prime minister’s chief of staff has resigned in an escalation of the political turmoil surrounding the investigation into the murder of the prominent anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017.“Yesterday evening, my chief of staff informed me that from today he would be relinquishing his post,” the prime minister, Joseph Muscat, confirmed at a brief press conference on the steps of his office on Tuesday morning. Continue reading... Go to Source

Albania earthquake: at least nine dead and hundreds injured Magnitude 6.4 quake strikes at shallow depth, bringing down buildings in Tirana and nearbyAt least nine people have died and 600 people have been injured after a powerful earthquake hit Albania in the early hours of Tuesday, causing damage along the country’s Adriatic coastline and in the capital, Tirana. Several buildings collapsed, burying residents in the rubble.The 6.4-magnitude quake struck shortly before 4am local time (0300 GMT), the US Geological Survey said, and was the second powerful tremor to hit the region in two months. It was centred 19 miles west of Tirana, at a shallow depth of 12.4 miles. Scores of aftershocks included three with preliminary magnitudes of between 5.1 and 5.4. Continue reading... Go to Sourc...

Birmingham anti-LGBT school protests: judge makes ban permanent High court rules that exclusion zone around Anderton Park primary will remain in placeA high court judge has permanently banned activists against LGBT equality lessons from demonstrating outside a Birmingham primary school.Protesters went head to head with a local authority during the five-day trial to stop protests outside Anderton Park school. The school, in the Sparkhill area of the city, has become the focus of a long campaign to halt LGBT equality messages being taught in the classroom. Continue reading... Go to Source

Man pleads guilty to New Year's Eve knife attack in Manchester Mahdi Mohamud admits terrorism offence and three counts of attempted murderA man who launched a knife attack on commuters and police at Manchester Victoria railway station on New Year’s Eve has pleaded guilty to attempted murder.Mahdi Mohamud, 26, raised a fillet knife and walked up behind James Knox, shouting Islamist slogans as he stabbed him repeatedly in the back, shoulders and head. He then turned on Knox’s companion, Anna Charlton, and slashed her across the face. The couple, in their 50s, had been heading for a tram platform shortly before 9pm on 31 December. Continue reading... Go to Source

Fears child poverty may rise to record 60-year high under Tories Thinktank Resolution Foundation predicts social crisis will worsen if Boris Johnson wins general electionChild poverty is at risk of rising to a record 60-year high under a Conservative government because its manifesto retains the coalition’s benefit cuts, according to the Resolution Foundation thinktank.An analysis by the organisation predicted a rise in the number of children living in relative poverty under a Boris Johnson-led government to 34.5% in 2023-24 up from 29.6% in 2017-18. Continue reading... Go to Source

Labour has let poison of antisemitism take root, says chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis says Jews have justified anxiety over prospect of Corbyn election winThe chief rabbi has accused Jeremy Corbyn of allowing a “poison sanctioned from the top” to take root in Labour, saying Jews are justifiably anxious about the prospect of the party forming the next government.Ephraim Mirvis, the spiritual leader of the UK’s 62 orthodox synagogues, made a rare intervention in politics to argue that the “soul of the nation is at stake” as the country goes to the polls in just over two weeks’ time. Continue reading... Go to Source

Man arrested in east London over Essex lorry deaths case Thirty-six-year-old arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic peopleA 36-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people in a lorry trailer found in Grays, Essex.The man, from Purfleet in the same county, was arrested on Monday morning at a property in Dalston, east London, Essex police said. He was also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. He remains in custody for questioning. Continue reading... Go to Source