Author: Loveworld UK

The man in charge of the Vatican’s finances is to face sex abuse charges in Australia. Cardinal George Pell is the most senior Catholic Church official to be charged with such offences, which relate to his time as a priest and bishop in Australia.Following a month-long pre-trial hearing, magistrate Belinda Wallington ruled that some of the historical allegations against the 76-year-old should be tested in court.Cardinal Pell has pleaded not guilty to the charges.He will next appear in court on Wednesday in Melbourne. He is facing at least one charge after being accused of sexually abusing multiple victims decades ago.The…

Claims by Israel and the US that Iran “lied” about its nuclear programme have caused international disagreement. Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said “half a ton” of secret Iranian documents obtained in a “great intelligence achievement” by his government showed Iran was “brazenly lying” when it said it never had a nuclear weapons programme.After signing a deal in 2015, Iran was obliged to limit its nuclear energy programme, amid fears the country could use the technology to make a nuclear weapon. Economic sanctions were lifted in return. Iran has denied ever seeking nuclear weapons.Mr Netanyahu claimed Iran did not honour…

Scotland has introduced a minimum unit price for alcohol – the first country in the world to do so. Retailers must now ensure a unit of alcohol is not priced below 50p, in a government bid to reduce the high number of alcohol-related deaths in the country each year.It means a standard 750ml 13% bottle of wine cannot be sold for less than £4.88, a 700ml 40% bottle of whisky for £14 and two litres of 5% cider for £5.The Scottish government has warned retailers there will be no period of grace and that if rules are broken licences could…

The Prime Minister has named Sajid Javid as the new Home Secretary, replacing Amber Rudd. Mr Javid, 48, was promoted from the position of Communities Secretary after scandals over the Windrush generation and deportation targets.Addressing the Windrush scandal is his “most urgent task”, he said.He added that he wants people caught up in the controversy to be treated with the “decency and fairness they deserve”.Speaking not long after being appointed, he said he wanted an immigration policy that was “fair”, and that “treats people with respect and with decency”.Ms Rudd resigned late last night after admitting “inadvertently” misleading a committee…

A double suicide bombing has killed at least 25 people in central Kabul, Afghan officials have said. At least 45 other people were injured after the coordinated attacks in the Shash Darek area, which is home to the NATO headquarters and a number of embassies.Khorasan Province, the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State group, has taken responsibility for the blasts, saying it was targeting the headquarters of the “renegade” intelligence services.The first bomb was detonated by an assailant on a motorcycle and left at least four dead and five injured, according to the interior ministry.The second explosion was meant to…

Sainsbury’s has agreed to merge with supermarket rival Asda – and plans to maintain both brands. The deal – likely to face close scrutiny by competition authorities – will create a grocery powerhouse overtaking Tesco as the number one player in the sector, with combined revenues of £51bn.There are no plans to close Sainsbury’s or Asda stores though executives are targeting savings of £500m, including “operational efficiencies” and by opening Argos concessions in Asda stores.Sainsbury’s also said customers would see benefits including price cuts of 10% on many of the products that customers buy regularly.Asda’s US owner Walmart would receive…

Hundreds of Central Americans have travelled to the US border wall in Mexico to claim asylum. About 1,000 people mainly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador made their way to the border in Tijuana with San Diego on Sunday.Organisers of the caravan of migrants say nearly 200 of them, many with children, have decided to turn themselves in to US authorities to gain entry to detention centres in the Californian city.However, US immigration officials announced the San Diego crossing, the nation’s busiest border, was already full so they may have to wait in Mexico while 300 people already in the…

Labour has pledged to help people caught in a “debt trap” by placing a cap on the total amount that can be paid in overdraft fees or interest payments. Labour claims it could help an estimated 2.7 million people who it says are stuck with permanent overdrafts, saving them the equivalent of £86 each per year.Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: “The Tories’ rigged economy has seen real wages fall and insecure work multiply, whilst they hand out huge tax giveaways to the super-rich and the banks.”Too many families are having to rely on borrowing just to get to the end of the…

Eighteen people were injured after a bus mounted an embankment and overturned in Glasgow. One person is said to be in critical condition and two others are in a serious condition following the crash on a slip road near the Clyde Tunnel at around 7pm on Sunday.Five other people, including the driver of the bus, are said to be in a stable condition, while the remaining 10 were treated for minor injuries at the scene.The single-decker First Bus overturned on the A739 slip road from the Clyde Tunnel heading to the city’s west end.Photos on social media showed passengers being…

Donald Trump has renewed his criticism of the new US embassy in London, describing its “lousy” location as a “Bush-Obama special”. The US president, who refused to come to London in January to open the new site in Nine Elms, south of the Thames, added at a rally that the spot where it was built was “horrible”.Speaking in Michigan, he said the previous US embassy in Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, had boasted the “best site in all of London”. Image: The move to the new embassy was initiated by George W Bush’s administation But he continued: “Some genius said we’re gonna…