Tories challenge Labour over council tax band changes as Labour say ‘we are not responding to fantasy plans’Sign up for the general election newsletterGood morning, and welcome to our continued coverage of the 2024 general election campaign.Labour and the Conservatives are set to continue clashing over tax on the campaign trail today, with the Tories...

Campaigner welcomes investigation into drug after hundreds of suspected adverse reactions An investigation has been launched by the European drugs regulator into a popular painkiller linked to a series of illnesses and deaths.The European Medicines Agency (EMA), one of the biggest EU regulators, confirmed on Friday it was reviewing the painkiller metamizole,...

Western countries and powers gather in Switzerland to pursue consensus on condemning Russia’s invasion of UkraineReuters provides some more detail on the hostage situation in Rostov: six detainees, some with links to Isis, took guards hostage at a pre-trial detention centre and demanded free passage in negotiations with the authorities, Russian media...

Many of those selected will be playing in their first major tournament this summerWhile several of England’s more experienced stars were sweating on their places in Gareth Southgate’s squad last month, Eberechi Eze was giving something back to the community that helped to raise him.The Crystal Palace midfielder set up the Eze Invitational tournament...

Wang Wang and Fu Ni have lived at the city’s zoo for 15 years but are due to head home by the end of 2024‘Twists and turns’ in Australia-China ties are over, Li Qiang says – but Penny Wong highlights tensionsGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastLi Qiang has announced a panda swap for Adelaide zoo, a diplomatic move...

Landmark powers to impose huge fines to tackle tax evasion and avoidance are ‘pointless’, figures showThe UK’s tax authority has not fined a single “enabler” of offshore tax evasion or noncompliance in five years, despite landmark powers to impose huge fines.Tory ministers claimed new laws introduced in 2017 allowed HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to...