Asylum appeal backlog doubles in a year, Home Office statistics show 12. March 2026 (14:20) More than 80,000 people waiting to be reassessed after rejection at end of 2025 – 91% more than a year beforeUK politics live – latest updatesThe backlog of people awaiting asylum appeals after having their initial application turned down has nearly doubled in a year, threatening to undermine a key pledge of Keir Starmer’s government.Home Office statistics released on Thursday show more than 80,000 cases were waiting to be reassessed at the end of 2025 – a 91% increase on a year before. The backlog significantly outnumbers the number of people waiting for their initial decision, which was 64,000 at the end of December 2025. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
EPA chief met with Bayer CEO over supreme court fight, agency records show 12. March 2026 (14:10) Top US regulators met with Bill Anderson to discuss ‘supreme court action’ over glyphosate weed killerTop US regulators met with Bill Anderson, Bayer’s CEO, last year to discuss “litigation” issues – including “supreme court action” over its glyphosate weed killer – just months before the Trump administration took a series of steps to boost Bayer’s case at the high court, internal government records show.The 17 June meeting, between officials at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Anderson and two other top Bayer executives, came as the Germany-based company was working to quash costly US litigation brought by tens of thousands of people who allege they developed cancer from their use of the company’s glyphosate-based herbicides, such as Roundup. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK government axes flagship global health project 12. March 2026 (13:59) Programme which supports schemes in six African countries was previously hailed as vital protection for Britain against future pandemicsA flagship health project in Africa, which UK ministers said would play a vital role in protecting Britain from future pandemic threats, is being axed due to aid cuts, the Guardian can reveal.The Global Health Workforce Programme (GHWP) which supported development and training for healthcare staff in six African countries, will close at the end of the month, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sussex therapist who claimed he could heal trauma with sex jailed for 11 years 12. March 2026 (13:58) Exclusive: Judge describes Gerald Peck, who was banned from practising in the 1980s, as ‘a charlatan and a fraud’A therapist who claimed he could heal birth trauma through sexual touching and oral sex has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.Gerald Peck, who has live profiles promoting his work as a bodywork psychotherapist, was convicted of five sexual offences on 2 February, after being charged in October 2024. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘She didn’t want me to hug her’: carer of enslaved woman describes her recovery 12. March 2026 (13:56) Foster carer dismayed at time it took to help woman, who is having therapy, attending college and growing her hairWhen she finally arrived in a safe place after suffering a quarter of a century of mental and physical torment, she was frail and timid. She could not bear to be hugged, and craved hot showers, getting up at 3am to try to get clean.The foster carer who took in the woman who had been held and forced to work in “Dickensian conditions” in a house in an English market town said the victim remained terrified of her abuser, Amanda Wixon, whom she called “the witch”. Wixon was jailed for 13 years on Tuesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US officer having a ‘mild anxiety attack’ took ambulance meant for man shot by police 12. March 2026 (13:34) Dyshan Best later died after having to wait 10 extra minutes for next ambulance, according to Connecticut investigationA man who was shot by police and later died had to wait 10 extra minutes for an ambulance after an officer having a “mild anxiety attack” took the first one that arrived at the scene, according to a newly released state investigation.Dyshan Best, 39, was shot in the back last year as he fled from officers in Bridgeport, Connecticut. A report released this week by the state’s inspector general found that the shooting was justified because Best had a gun in his hand and the officer pursuing him had reasons to fear for his own safety. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Iran-linked group says it hacked US company in retaliation for Minab school bombing 12. March 2026 (12:50) Hacker group Handala claimed responsibility for attack that caused ‘global disruption’ to Stryker Corporation’s systemsAn Iran-linked group said it hacked a US medical company, causing “global disruption” to its systems, in retaliation for the bombing of the Minab school in Iran, in an attack seen as widening the Middle East into the cyber realm.Handala, a hacker group, claimed responsibility for the attack on Wednesday on the Stryker Corporation, which makes medical devices and is based in Michigan. It affected thousands of employees using the company’s Microsoft systems. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Shell CEO’s pay jumps 60% despite slump in oil firm’s profits 12. March 2026 (11:31) Campaigners say people unlikely to ‘look favourably’ on package for Wael Sawan, which rose to £13.8m in 2025The chief executive of Shell saw his pay jump more than 60% to almost £14m in 2025 despite a slump in profits at the oil company and prospects of rising pump prices related to war in the Middle East.The package for Wael Sawan, who took the top job in 2023 and has refocused the company on fossil fuels, rose from £8.6m in 2024 to £13.8m in 2025. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump says Iran war is ‘very complete, pretty much’ as economic toll rises | First Thing 12. March 2026 (11:15) President delivered a vague and contradictory forecast on the future of the war in Middle East. Plus, how to recognize a psychopathDon’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.Donald Trump has said the war in Iran is “very complete, pretty much”, as the economic toll of the joint US-Israeli operation rises, disrupting global oil trade and threatening to engulf the Middle East in a regional war.Any unintended consequences so far? Among others, it has probably reinforced North Korea’s decision to build a nuclear arsenal.Do we know yet who bombed the Minab school? Trump blamed Iran without evidence. All the actual evidence indicates the US was responsible.This is a developing story. Follow the latest updates here.Who did X say were the most prolific state actors? Russia, followed by Iran and China. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
We attacked Iran with no clear plan for regime change, Israeli security sources say 12. March 2026 (11:12) If regime holds, control of enriched uranium may be ultimate measure of US-Israeli success, insiders sayMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael did not have a realistic plan for regime change when it attacked Iran, multiple Israeli security sources have said, with expectations that airstrikes could lead to a popular uprising having been driven by “wishful thinking” rather than hard intelligence.Iran has survived nearly two weeks of bombing raids and the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Trump is publicly contemplating ending the increasingly costly war. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
