Oklahoma tornado: rescue continues in Moore with 24 confirmed – live

A major disaster has been declared in Oklahoma after a tornado struck, killing scores of peopleHaroon Siddique

Call for police to be allowed to name some suspects on arrest

Director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, says naming certain suspects may prompt more victims to come forwardBritain's top prosecutor has called for more "wriggle room" in new rules which say that the police should not normally name suspects they have arrested before they are charged unless there are exceptional circumstances.Keir Starmer QC, the director of public prosecutions, h

Torture victims win test case over detention in UK immigration centres

High court orders Home Office to compensate four asylum seekers and says it failed to follow own policy on torture victimsThe Home Office has been ordered by the high court to pay compensation to four torture survivors who were unlawfully held in British immigration detention centres.More than 100 other torture victims who have been wrongly detained are expected to make compensation claims

Tamiflu stockpile cost taxpayers £74m in spoiled drugs

NHS lost track of bird flu drug shelf-life dates because of poor record-keeping, National Audit Office findsTaxpayers lost £74m when 6.5m doses of an anti-flu drug were written off as being past their shelf life because of poor record-keeping by the health service, the government's independent auditors have found.The government also spent £424m stockpiling 40m units of Tamiflu between 2006

Apple tax row: Ireland says its tax regime is not to blame

Deputy prime minister Eamon Gilmore insists any loopholes in international tax rules exploited by Apple were 'issues that arise from other jurisdictions'Ireland's deputy prime minister Eamon Gilmore has insisted any loopholes in international tax rules exploited by Apple were not the fault of the Irish tax regime.Some of the computing group's Irish subsidiaries have been criticised by a US

Police investigate historic abuse claims at school linked to Cyril Smith

Allegations from 1970s onwards relate to Knowl View school in Rochdale, where Smith was chairman of governorsThree former pupils at a residential school linked to the late Sir Cyril Smith have complained they were sexually and physically abused by adults.The historic allegations from the 1970s onwards relate to Knowl View school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, where Smith was the chairman

Public has right to know Boris Johnson fathered child during affair, court rules

Senior judges dismiss Helen Macintyre's attempt to hide paternity of child born after brief affair with mayor of LondonThe public has a right to know that Boris Johnson had an extramarital affair with a woman who later gave birth to their daughter, the appeal court has ruled.Three senior judges decided on Monday that voters were entitled to be told that the mayor of London conducted a "bri

Eurovision song contest: Russian foreign minister wades into voting row

Sergei Lavrov issues warning after reports that Russia's contestant was deprived of 10 points issued by AzerbaijanRussia's foreign minister has taken time out of a busy schedule that includes defending arms sales to Syria and criticising US policy around the world to wade into a growing scandal over the Eurovision song contest.Sergei Lavrov issued a stern warning over the contest on Tuesda

Nick Buckles quits as CEO of G4S

Chief executive of world's largest security company steps down ahead of AGM, to be replaced by chief financial officerNick Buckles has quit as chief executive of G4S, the company responsible for the botched handling of security at last year's London Olympics.Buckles is being replaced by the company's chief financial officer, Ashley Almanza, who joined G4S only three weeks ago.The world'

Royal Mail profits surge ahead of planned sell-off

Annual profits rise to £324m as the government prepares to sell the 497-year-old postal serviceRoyal Mail has reported a 60% increase in pre-tax annual profits to £324m, as the government prepares to sell off the 497-year-old postal service in the most ambitious privatisation since British Gas in 1986.The company, which ministers hope to float on the London stock exchange within a year, sa

Morecambe and Wise writer Eddie Braben dies

'Third man' behind the success of comedy duo also provided material for Ken Dodd, David Frost and Ronnie CorbettEddie Braben, the comedy writer best known for his work on the Morecambe and Wise show, has died after a short illness, aged 82.Braben, who also wrote material for BBC radio comedy show Round the Horne, Ken Dodd, David Frost and Ronnie Corbett, died on Tuesday morning, his manage

Met police defend decision not to pursue leaks

• Memo said 'inner sanctum' secrets were at risk• Scotland Yard tried to gag Leveson inquiry, says QCScotland Yard on Monday defended a decision it made not to take action over intelligence it received alleging leaks of internal secrets from its "inner sanctum", potentially to the News of the World (NoW).The intelligence is contained in a Met document generated in April 2006 at a time whe

Marks & Spencer profits fall again

Sales in womenswear division and general merchandise disappointProfits at Marks & Spencer have fallen for the second year in a row as its much maligned womenswear division continued to disappoint.UK sales fell 1% overall, dragged down by a poor performance in general merchandise, which dropped 4.1% on a like-for-like basis.The results might have been worse had it not been for a 4.5% ris

Number of Afghan women jailed for fleeing abuse soars

More women imprisoned for 'moral crimes' as fears grow that hard-won rights are at risk as western troops head homeThe number of Afghan women jailed for fleeing forced and abusive marriages, and other "moral crimes", has soared since 2011, according to Human Rights Watch.About 600 women and girls are in prison for offences including running away from their husband or family, even though fl

Senators accuse Apple of 'highly questionable' billion-dollar tax avoidance scheme

Senators claim Apple has avoided paying billions in US tax by creating offshore entities that are not tax resident anywhereApple uses a "highly questionable" web of offshore entities to avoid paying billions in US income taxes, a Senate committee alleged on Monday.The complex arrangement includes three subsidiaries, based ostensibly in Ireland, which appear not to be designated as tax resi

Syria crisis: Israel returns fire

Israeli troops have shot at targets in Syria in response to gunfire at its forces in the Golan Heights as the violence in Syria also spills over into Lebanon and IraqMatthew WeaverGuardian readers

David Cameron: I would never work with those who sneer at activists

Prime minister sends personal note to party members as senior figure claims he is 'worse than John Major'David Cameron moved to repair relations with a bruised Conservative party by emailing a "personal note" to all members in which he said he would never work with anyone who "sneered" at activists.Amid anger in the party at the allegations that a senior member of his inner circle had refe

Guatemala overturns former dictator's genocide conviction

Trial of Efrain Rios Montt, convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity committed in 1980s, thrown into disarrayGuatemala's top court has overturned the genocide conviction of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, ordering that the trial be taken back to the middle of proceedings.The ruling late on Monday threw into disarray a process that had been hailed as historic for delivering the

Oklahoma tornado: 51 people killed as mile-wide storm hits Moore

Oklahoma City suburb of Moore flattened by mile-wide tornado, with TV footage showing schools and homes reduced to rubbleFollow live updates on the Oklahoma City tornadoA devastating mile-wide tornado hit the US state of Oklahoma on Monday, flattening neigbourhoods, causing widespread fires and landing a direct hit on an elementary school.Homes and buildings were reduced to rubble in Moor

Oklahoma tornado: at least 51 dead and children missing – live updates

Tornado hits town of Moore, Oklahoma at 3pm local time as pictures show extensive damage with homes flattened and fires burningTom McCarthyBen QuinnAdam Gabbatt

Ríos Montt genocide case collapses

Conviction of Guatemala's former dictator is thrown out by constitutional court after row among judges over jurisdiction

Labour saves David Cameron's gay marriage bill

Rebel Tories are defeated in Commons after PM's last minute plea to Ed MilibandThe government's gay marriage bill was saved after David Cameron was forced to rely on Ed Miliband to defeat an attempt by his own MPs to derail the measure by trying to extend civil partnerships to heterosexual couples.An 11th-hour plea to the Labour leadership by the Tory chief whip Sir George Young, who warne

Scottish nightclub investigated over alleged spy mirror in women's toilets

Shimmy nightclub accused of fitting two-way mirror between bathroom and function room without notifying female guestsAllegations that a nightclub in Glasgow has secretly fitted a two-way mirror to allow male guests to spy on the women's toilets "as a bit of fun" are being investigated by police and council licensing officers.Glasgow city council said it had received complaints that the Shi

Disabled woman died after NHS blunders, ombudsman finds

Mother and charity claim doctors provided inadequate care because of attitudes based on woman's disabilitiesA catalogue of mistakes by an out-of-hours GP service and a hospital contributed to the death of a young woman with physical and learning disabilities, the NHS ombudsman says on Tuesday in a highly critical report that has led to fresh claims of prejudicial attitudes leading to poor car

Family of Maria Stubbings call for inquiry into police failings

Relatives of domestic violence victim say her murder in 2008 by former boyfriend Marc Chivers must be catalyst for changeThe family of a woman strangled by her former boyfriend has called on the home secretary, Theresa May, to set up a Stephen Lawrence-style public inquiry to examine why victims of domestic violence are still not getting sufficient protection from the police and other governm

Thein Sein becomes first Burmese president to visit US since 1966

Former general's trip sparks human rights protests as President Obama uses controversial name Myanmar for countryFormer general Thein Sein became the first Burmese president to visit the White House in almost 50 years on Monday – a visit human rights groups protested was premature, citing alleged ethnic cleansing and civil rights abuses.Barack Obama, talking to the press alongside Thein Se

Sudden infant death risk greater when parents share bed with babies

Bed-sharing newborns five times more likely to die suddenly than those who sleep in a cot, study showsThe controversy over whether parents should share a bed with newborns has been reignited by research showing that babies who do are five times more likely to die suddenly than those who sleep in a cot.Ministers have asked health advisers to urgently reappraise official guidance on co-sleep

Gay marriage bill survives after Ed Miliband votes against amendment

Labour leader votes against amendment extending civil partnerships to heterosexual couples after appeal by Tory whipsThe gay marriage bill has been saved after Ed Miliband agreed at the last minute to vote against an amendment to extend civil partnerships to heterosexual couples that had prompted government warnings that it would derail the entire measure.The Labour leader, who had planned

Yahoo announces Tumblr acquisition deal – as it happened

Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer announces deal to buy blogging platform for $1.1bn – and gives Flickr a revamp, tooAmanda Holpuch

MPs debate gay marriage: Politics live blog

Andrew Sparrow's rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen, including MPs debating the gay marriage bill at report stage and latest developments in the 'swivel-eyed loons' rowAndrew Sparrow