Battle Lines: Israel's new offensive to seize 'all' of Gaza
Meanwhile, Britain and the EU sign a new trade and defence pact that could open the door to billions in European defence funding — and as centrists outperform expectations in European elections, questions rise over whether the populist wave is finally losing steam.
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The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
End to school rating system could play havoc with house prices, says Ofsted chief
House prices in England could be put in turmoil by the government's scrapping of headline school grades such as outstanding or inadequate, according to Ofsted's chief inspector. Speaking at an education conference, Martyn Oliver said parents and schools had become familiar with headline grades after 30 years of use, saying he knew of house prices shooting up by £15,000 after nearby schools were graded as outstanding. But from November schools and colleges will be given more nuanced 'report cards' with up to 11 different grades given to each institution. Oliver said: 'We're about to take that away and change it to something else that for more than three decades people were used to. I mean, here's the burning question: what's Rightmove going to do?' Rightmove and other property websites prominently display Ofsted's headline ratings for nearby schools on their listing. After laughs from the audience, Oliver said: 'It's a serious point. Ofsted is probably one of the best-known regulators and inspectors in the world, let alone in this country.' Asked what impact the new report cards would have on house prices, Oliver said: 'I don't know but I do know that where I live … we've got two special measures schools right where I live, and the house prices shot up. They were both in special measures, both went outstanding, and the house prices went up £15,000 in a week. It does make a difference. 'Parents obviously put a value on it.' Ofsted inspections and gradings were criticised after the suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry, after an Ofsted inspection downgraded her school from outstanding to inadequate. Perry's husband told her inquest that she worried local house prices would fall as a result of the downgrade. Doing away with headline school grades and bringing in report cards was a manifesto pledge by Labour at the last general election. From November, schools and colleges in England will get ratings issued on up to 11 different areas. Each area will be given one of five grades: exemplary, strong, secure, attention needed or causing concern. But there will be no overall or summary grade. So far, headteachers and teaching unions have been unimpressed by Ofsted's proposals, while Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, is said to be monitoring the results closely. The chief inspector apologised for the rushed nature of the changes and consultations. He said: 'The system was saying Ofsted needed urgent and quick reform. And so I chose to put something out that I knew would be just the beginnings, just the foundations.' Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union, said: 'The mess Ofsted have got themselves into is entirely of Sir Martyn Oliver's making and it is disappointing that he has tried to pass the buck.' In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@ or jo@ In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at
The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on Labour's NHS plan: it is right to celebrate medical science, but delivery is the hard part
The NHS is a totemic institution in Labour's history and that of the country, and voters care more about it than most things the government does. So the publication of Labour's 10-year plan for health in England was a crucial opportunity for ministers to show that they are in tune with the public. Given that satisfaction with the health service has hit a record low of 21%, and doctors are again threatening to go on strike, the announcement was also a moment of peril – even before the damage suffered by the prime minister and chancellor earlier this week, when rebels forced a U-turn on planned cuts to welfare. The overarching principles of Labour's reforms were set out last year: more prevention, more technology, more care delivered in the community (as opposed to in hospital). So the challenge was to find something fresh, original and hopeful to say. The promise of science and the potential of localism are what Wes Streeting's team has come up with. The strand of DNA pictured on the document's cover points to high expectations of genomic medicine and other cutting-edge technology. Neighbourhood clinics, by contrast, represent a prosaic recognition of demand for more ordinary services and treatments, from an ageing and increasingly unhealthy population. The aim is to deliver most outpatient care away from hospitals by 2035. This could mean GP surgeries becoming more like hospitals, or hospital trusts taking a bigger role in primary care. The plans for new contracts make it clear that both are possible. But while this sounds fine in theory, questions remain over how, and by whom, such crucial decisions will be taken, and whether the new model will be better than the old one. With the abolition of NHS England, and scaling back of integrated care boards, the existing administration is being radically downsized. One of the risks of the next few years is that this backstage upheaval will distract time and energy from the frontline. Plans to shift resources from richer areas to poorer ones deserve an unequivocal welcome. There is no great secret about expertise being concentrated in prestigious teaching hospitals, or about richer, better educated people being more confident advocates for themselves and their loved ones. Shifting the 'best to the rest' is both a neat slogan and an acknowledgment of present unfairness. Plans to integrate employment support and services such as debt advice into healthcare hubs signal an encouraging awareness that illness and disability have socioeconomic as well as biological causes. The plan tells a promising story. Healthcare is an area of human progress that all can celebrate. It is plausible that proactive Labour ministers can both drive advances and ensure that they are more equitably shared than in marketised systems. Embedding more healthcare workers in communities, and focusing on outreach, could help to improve population health. But there are some worrying gaps. Social care reform is due to be tackled separately, but worsening mental health, particularly in young people, also needs dedicated attention and research. Ministers should also be pressed on the contradictions between their health plan and their pro-growth, anti-regulation message to businesses – including those that sell alcohol and the high-sugar foods that cause obesity. Having brought control of the NHS in England back in-house, to the heart of government, Mr Streeting must now find the people with the imagination to further develop his plan, while turning it into action.
Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Switzerland warns of Iran threat as diplomats' deaths re-examined
Switzerland's intelligence service has warned that Iranian espionage poses a growing threat to Swiss diplomats in Tehran. The warning comes after an investigation re-examined the mysterious deaths of embassy staff and a tourist in the Islamic Republic. The Federal Intelligence Service listed Iran alongside Russia, China and North Korea as states that had intensified intelligence activity against Switzerland. It said Switzerland's role representing US interests in Tehran 'increases the visibility of Swiss personnel to hostile service'. The warning followed an investigation by the Swiss broadcasters SRF and RTS that examined four deaths in Iran – a diplomat's fall from a balcony, a military attaché's sudden illness, a local employee of the Swiss embassy who was stabbed and shot in the hand while walking to work, and a Swiss tourist's alleged suicide in prison. Sylvie Brunner, a diplomat, fell from the 17th floor of her Tehran flat in May 2021. Iranian authorities ruled it suicide, citing mental-health problems. But in the investigation by SRF and RTS, a man who identified himself as a former officer in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) alleged that the diplomat was pushed after a surveillance operation went awry. Initial Iranian emergency responder statements about insufficient evidence for suicide were later retracted, and the official responsible was removed. Ms Brunner's brother said Iranian security agents had visited her apartment before her death, deliberately leaving boot prints. A suicide note was found, but was unsigned. Her body was returned without major organs, preventing comprehensive toxicology tests. A Swiss pathologist said suicide was 'plausible' but could not exclude involvement of others. In 2023, a Swiss military attaché suddenly fell ill in Tehran and was transferred to Switzerland in a coma before dying in hospital. The investigation revealed he was actually a covert intelligence officer. Experts suggested he may have been identified and poisoned during operations in Iran. A former Iranian intelligence officer told a Swiss broadcaster: 'My colleagues in the IRGC intelligence unit openly talked about the death of the Swiss female diplomat. They said it was an operation by IRGC intelligence that resulted in murder – a spy mission that went wrong.' In another incident around the embassy, a local employee was stabbed and shot in the hand while walking to work. Tehran police blamed a robbery, an explanation Swiss analysts say is rare in the heavily policed capital. In a fourth case, a Swiss tourist in his 60s was arrested for espionage earlier this year after allegedly photographing a military site and collecting soil samples. Iranian authorities announced two months later he had committed suicide in Semnan prison. Swiss officials were denied access during his detention. After his body was returned, an autopsy was performed but results have not been released. An Iranian judiciary spokesman said the Swiss embassy staff had 'confirmed' their citizen's suicide in prison. Increased risks due to regional conflict Swiss officials now consider the cases linked. A Swiss security source cited IRGC 'paranoia', saying Iran viewed the Swiss embassy as a CIA infiltration point. Since 1980, Switzerland has represented US interests in Iran, handling consular affairs and passing messages between Washington and Tehran. The role makes Swiss diplomats prime surveillance targets, former intelligence officials said. The intelligence service warned that regional conflict had increased risks of 'direct pressure' on Swiss personnel abroad. Switzerland's foreign ministry said it 'continues to seek full clarity' but lacks investigative authority in Iran. The attorney general closed its criminal probe into Ms Brunner's death in November due to lack of evidence. Opposition lawmakers said they would raise the deaths at parliament's next foreign affairs committee meeting. No date has been provided for the meeting.
