Developers will qualify for fast-track planning status if they include 20% affordable housing instead of current 35% target Ministers have confirmed plans to reduce affordable housing quotas in London as they try to reverse the recent collapse in housebuilding in the capital. Steve Reed, the housing secretary, said on Thursday that developers would be allowed … Read more
In 2005, the Guardian documented the births of 10 babies as a way to tell the story of millions across the continent. We caught up with three of them, finding hardship – and hope Twenty years ago, the Guardian featured 10 newborn babies in countries across Africa, describing their births, their families and the environments … Read more
Over a quarter of a million refugees live in Mbera and nearby villages, and more than half are under 18. But aid cuts mean providing essentials has become even harder Several mornings a week, Mohamed ‘Momo’ Ag Malha walks at least 7 miles (11km) around the vast Mbera refugee camp in south-eastern Mauritania that has … Read more
Disabled people and their advocates are exhausted and frustrated but say it’s worth fighting for a system that ‘really does change lives’ Scott Hallett, 49, has that country stoicism. He’ll tell you that, at any point in time, his legs will stop working and he’ll collapse – but it’s not that bad. He’ll tell you … Read more
Myanmar’s military moved in to tackle a major online scam operation near the Thailand border, state media reported Myanmar’s military has raided a major online scam operation near the border with Thailand, detaining more than 2,000 people and seizing dozens of Starlink satellite internet terminals, state media has reported. According to a report in Monday’s … Read more
The move, welcomed by UN, will allow thousands of people living in camps to support themselves and their families Thailand is setting a regional precedent this month by giving refugees permission to work in the country in an effort to tackle aid cuts and its own labour shortages. More than 87,000 refugees living in nine … Read more
Sanae Takaichi has made history but will have little time to settle in before negotiating the pitfalls of rising prices, power struggles and a mercurial US president It is hard to overstate the symbolism of Sanae Takaichi’s achievement in becoming the first female prime minister of Japan, a country that consistently ranks poorly in global … Read more
Teachers, nurses and public service staff among those walking off job and also pressing for more government investment in health and education An estimated 100,000 nurses, teachers and public sector staff walked off the job in New Zealand on Thursday to call on the government to better fund and resource public services, in one of … Read more
Lindsay Sandiford, 68, has been on death row in Indonesia since 2012, after authorities found 3.8kg of cocaine in her suitcase A British woman will avoid execution for drug smuggling in Indonesia under an agreement between the two nations to repatriate her and another Briton serving a life sentence. Lindsay Sandiford, 68, has been imprisoned … Read more
Officials say they have no evidence man had committed a crime, after Trump called people on submarine ‘terrorists’ CIA playing ‘most important part’ in US strikes in the Caribbean, sources say Ecuador has released a man who survived a US strike on a suspected drug-trafficking submarine, after finding no evidence that he had committed a … Read more