Commons report calls on Foreign Office to bail out soft-power flagship reeling from job cuts and asset sales

Ministers should explore writing off a crippling £197m loan to the British Council by converting as much of it as possible into “a grant or similar”, MPs have said.

The Commons public accounts committee said the government lacked a “positive vision” for the council, whose soft power value to the UK is put at £1bn a year. The MPs called on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to set out what more it could do to support the council and its work.

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I was a fan of the film, so when it came on the market, I snapped it up. Now I allow other fans to come and stay in this piece of Hollywood history

I first saw Poltergeist at the movie theatre with my mom and sisters, back when it came out in 1982. I remember being scared, especially during the part when the toy clown drags little Robbie Freeling under the bed. At that age, the idea of a family experiencing something terrifying in the kind of everyday suburban house I was familiar with made a big impression. Later, it became a ritual of mine to put the movie on every Halloween.

I grew up in the Chicago area, but moved to California in the early 90s to go to art college. My sister moved there, too – to Simi Valley, not far from the house used as the Freeling family’s home in the movie. I’d drive past it when I visited her. A couple of years ago, I had a gut instinct that it would soon go up for sale. Sure enough, just weeks later I was sitting with my sister in her back yard when she looked up from her phone and said, “Hey! The Poltergeist house went on the market!”

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As thousands of datacentres are constructed across Europe, the Guardian and Investigate Europe have uncovered disturbing evidence that some workers building them are exposed to dangerous conditions and living in fear of speaking out

Sandu* checked his watch. He was winding down the last 15 minutes of his shift at a vast Google datacentre site in Saint-Ghislain, Belgium, in March, when the call came in. The 34-year-old electrical tester had already worked almost 10 hours, but says such last-minute jobs were normal: “I had no choice. People have been fired after saying no.”

The task was one Sandu had done many times before and involved a series of tests measuring the safety and integrity of the electrical wiring. A protective suit was locked away in an equipment room. The round trip would have added another 15 minutes to the job, he says, and people were waiting, so he decided not to retrieve the suit.

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Critics cite Lana Nusseibeh’s denial of accusations the UAE is fuelling Sudan war by supporting paramilitary RSF

Members of the Sudanese diaspora and international human rights monitors have denounced the candidature of an Emirati diplomat for the top job at the UN, citing her denial of accusations that the United Arab Emirates is fuelling the war in Sudan by supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The UAE nominated Lana Nusseibeh last week to replace the UN secretary general, António Guterres, as he finishes his second five-year term ⁠this year, upending a race that had become gridlocked.

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There is no end in sight for the drivers of illegal mining, while police action appears ineffective

Cora Bailey has been encountering illegal miners ever since she first started treating injured animals in the townships around Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, in 1991. But as the price of gold has soared, so too has activity in the abandoned mine shafts that mark the area.

In late September, dozens of zama zamas – the name given to illegal miners in South Africa, meaning roughly “to take a chance” in Zulu – arrived to dig for gold across the dirt road from her charity, Claw (Community Led Animal Welfare).

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Swedish author was due to speak alongside Palestine Action co-founder at event discussing ban on the group

Andreas Malm, the climate academic and author of How to Blow Up a Pipeline, has been blocked from entering the UK before he was due to speak alongside a co-founder of the banned group Palestine Action.

Malm was told by immigration officials his presence in the UK “may not be considered to be conducive to the public good”. He said the decision was “scandalous” and urged the government to reconsider.

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About 25,000 members of public chip in £17m towards 3,800-hectare Rothbury estate, described as ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity’

One of the most ambitious nature recovery projects ever undertaken in England can go ahead after campaigners announced they had raised £30m to buy an estate in Northumberland.

The Wildlife Trusts’ bid to buy the Rothbury estate, an area the size of Athens, had been championed by David Attenborough who on Friday thanked the public for their help.

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Over de gevolgen van digitale media voor het leven van jongeren is heel veel nog onduidelijk. Wat is al wel uitgezocht? Het is een „uiterst emotioneel debat”.

Vanochtend beginnen veel plaatsen in de regio in een kleine wereld door dichte mist! Dit zijn zichten van soms minder dan 200 meter die het verkeer behoorlijk hinderen. Het kan tot in de tweede helft van de ochtend duren voordat alle mist verdwenen is.

Arutemu has added a photo to the pool: