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The UK's Foreign Office says the Taliban will have to live up to their obligations on women's rights if they want acceptance The Taliban will have to live up to their obligations on the rights of women if they want acceptance, the Foreign Office has said. It follows the announcement that Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership has ordered all Afghan women to wear the all-covering burka in public. An FCDO spokesperson said: […]

Dylan Tippetts has said he hopes his election will “dial down hate and division” after becoming Plymouth’s first openly trans councillor. The 21-year-old is Labour’s first councillor in the city’s Compton Ward. Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Tippetts said he is “still in shock”, adding: “I didn’t think I was going to win the seat last night. “If I can help someone realise that trans people are just […]

Balmy weather in the south of England saw conditions come close to the hottest of the year so far, but the top temperature was missed by “a smidgen”. The mercury rose to 23.3C (73.9F) at St James’s Park in London on Friday, just shy of the 23.4C (74.1F) recorded on April 15 at the same location, the Met Office said. Warm conditions are expected to continue into the weekend in […]

Michelle O’Neill has topped the poll for Sinn Fein in Mid-Ulster, becoming one of the first MLAs elected in what could be a historic Assembly election. Both Sinn Fein and the Alliance Party are expected to have a good day, with Alliance leader Naomi Long topping the poll in East Belfast to be re-elected on the first count. DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was elected on the first count in […]

The first results are in, with more expected throughout the day Boris Johnson faced a backlash from local Tory leaders as his party lost major London authorities to Labour and suffered setbacks across England. Sir Keir Starmer’s party further strengthened its grip on the capital, taking the totemic Tory authority in Wandsworth, making a significant breakthrough in Barnet and closing in on Westminster City Hall. As dozens of Tory councillors […]

More than half of English councils are counting votes overnight Boris Johnson’s Tories are braced for losses in London as the first votes start being counted following elections across the UK. Council seats are up for grabs in Scotland, Wales and many parts of England, while Northern Ireland is electing its new assembly in what could be the most significant vote of them all, with Sinn Fein seeking to become […]

Hewa Rahimpur is suspected of being a leading figure in a network engaged in organising human trafficking via small boats A suspected “kingpin” of people-smuggling operations across the Channel has appeared in court for extradition proceedings. Iranian Hewa Rahimpur, 29, who was living in Ilford, is suspected of being a leading figure in a network engaged in organising human trafficking via small boats, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard. He was arrested […]

The country music legend had said she'd not 'earned the right' Dolly Parton said she was “honoured and humbled” to accept her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The country music legend initially resisted the honour, saying she felt she had not “earned the right” and would “respectfully bow out” of the process. But the organisation said the decision was up to voters to decide on the […]

They're being asked to continue working part-time or from home in 'virtual wards' Retiring doctors have been urged by NHS England to continue to work to help clear the country’s health backlogs. In a letter to hospital trusts, NHS urged for retiring and recently retired doctors to be asked to continue working part-time or from home in virtual wards. The letter, seen by the PA news agency, also suggested they […]