UNITED KINGDOM

As cases of romance fraud soar by 27%, tricked woman tells of her £115,000 ordealThe first time Yvonne met Gary Rogers he arrived at her house in a shiny black Range Rover smelling of Armani Code perfume, with neatly gelled silver hair. It was August 2017, and Yvonne’s ex-husband had suggested she ask the motor dealer, known locally as the “Jag man”, to fix her car.Yvonne* says their relationship developed slowly. “Gary” boasted he had been spending time on his 42-ft boat, claimed to own two houses, and once turned up in a Porsche to take her for a drink.

Voters reflect on their priorities and mood shifts in their communities before a crucial contestWhen the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, resigned in early January, after months of pressure to quit, the approval ratings of the progressive firebrand had dropped from their peak of 65% in September 2016 to 22%.At the end of last year, the Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, described by many as “Trump Lite”, was the clear favourite to win Canada’s next general election, and the top pick of 45% of Canadians for prime minister. At the time, the three biggest issues for voters were all economic: reducing

Former shadow chancellor also says he is surprised at how poorly government has handled lead-up to policy changesBenefits cuts now? What’s the point of a Labour MP who votes for something so cruel, tin-eared and short-sighted?The former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has joined those criticising the government’s proposed benefit cuts, as he accused ministers of lacking empathy and understanding over the proposed changes.McDonnell, who sits as an independent MP after losing the Labour whip over a previous benefits vote, said he was surprised at how poorly Keir Starmer’s government had handled the lead-up to the policy changes. Continue reading... Source

British PM set to call on 25 world leaders to boost Kyiv in lead-up to any peace deal or be ready to ramp up pressure on RussiaMikhail Kasyanov, Vladimir Putin’s first prime minister and now an opponent of the Russian president, said Moscow was only interested in a conditional ceasefire, reports the PA news agency.He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:He rejected this proposal for an unconditional ceasefire, he wants conditional, he wants a ceasefire on his terms.”I don’t believe this, but he could accept – if his terms and conditions are accepted, for instance the stop of military supplies