The government has asked its new employment rights watchdog to reduce the regulatory burden on business, it has emerged, a request that worker advocates said risks turning the agency into “a dead duck”. The Fair Work Agency (FWA), which is being launched on Tuesday, is a cornerstone of Labour’s Employment Rights Act. It will bring together several existing labour enforcement ...

A number of ministers concerned about Shabana Mahmood’s immigration changes are working behind the scenes with backbenchers to secure more exemptions, the Guardian has learned. Keir Starmer is consulting on the proposed changes, which would make it harder to achieve settled status in the UK, and is under pressure from within his own party to say the measures should not ...

Armed police officers protecting the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, allegedly left a bag containing guns and a Taser on the street which was discovered by a member of the public. The Metropolitan police said on Friday it was investigating the incident and five officers had been removed from frontline duties while inquiries were being carried out. The bag was found ...

A musical exploring the global threat of antibiotic resistance has made its London premiere, featuring a chorus of 60 NHS healthcare workers. Lifeline follows the story of Sir Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington in 1928, weaving his historical journey with a contemporary narrative centred on a junior doctor in Edinburgh. The production aims to ...

Ahead of the local elections on Thursday 7 May, we have produced short guides to London’s 32 boroughs. Where is it? The London Borough of Croydon is in south London and is bordered by Sutton, Merton, Lambeth, Bromley and Surrey. What’s it like? Croydon has become a centre of high-rise living and a commercial hub with a tram system. The ...

Christian community in Bangladesh is observing Easter Sunday today with religious fervor, as observed elsewhere in the world. Easter Sunday is the most important festival in the Christian calendar, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. According to the New Testament, this event occurred on the third day after his crucifixion by the Romans. On the occasion, leaders ...

BNP Secretary General and Local Government, Rural Development & Co-operatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has accused certain political groups of misleading the public by claiming that BNP does not support the July reform agenda, asserting that his party has long stood for democratic values and political freedom in the country. He made the remarks on Saturday while speaking as ...

An investigation committee on Sunday submitted its report to the National Sports Council (NSC) over alleged irregularities in the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) last election, held in October, where the panel advised constitutional amendments to ensure free and fair elections in the future. Ministry of Youth and Sports Additional Secretary Selim Fakir and National Sports Council (NSC) Director of Sports ...

Bangladesh is not yet fully prepared to graduate from the list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has said. He warned that mounting economic pressures and structural weaknesses could complicate the transition. Speaking to reporters after a multi-stakeholder consultation at the NEC Conference Room in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Sunday (5 April), the minister ...

A special measles-rubella vaccination campaign has been launched in 30 selected upazilas across 18 districts in response to a rising measles outbreak in the country. Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain inaugurated the campaign at 9:00am on Sunday (5 April) in Nawabganj of Dhaka. The vaccine will be administered to children aged six months to under five ...