Children among those hurt after Afghan man aged 24 drove vehicle into demonstration, police say

A 24-year-old Afghan man has driven a car into a trade union demonstration in Munich, injuring at least 28 people including children, some of them critically, German police said.

The Bavarian state premier, Markus Söder, told reporters the incident was “suspected to be an attack”, 10 days before the German general elections in which the campaign has been dominated by heated debate about public security and immigration.

Group says it will stick to agreed timeframe to release hostages following threats from Israel it would resume war if they were not freed

Hamas has confirmed its commitment to continue implementing the Gaza ceasefire deal according to an agreed timeframe, Reuters is reporting in a breaking news line.

More details soon …

France also criticises Trump’s approach to ending war, resting on Kyiv forfeiting territory and Nato membership

The US should not have made concessions to Russia in advance of peace negotiations by ruling out Nato membership for Ukraine and accepting the country would have to forfeit some of its territory, Germany’s defence minister has said.

Boris Pistorius, arriving at a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, echoed European frustrations in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s declaration on Wednesday that he was ready to negotiate with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.

Social media driving demand for US products containing banned additives linked to cancer and behaviour issues

Illegal imported sweets that contain banned additives linked to cancer and behavioural problems are “flooding UK high streets”, councils have said.

The warning first came from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), which said that demand for American confectionery was being driven by influencers on social media platforms.

Farmers sounded tractor horns while prime minister was speaking to workers during visit to housing development to promote government’s plans for new towns

Keir Starmer has been forced to cut short a visit to a housing development after a protest by farmers, PA Media reports. PA says:

A group of tractor-driving protesters staged a noisy demonstration as Keir Starmer visited a housing development in Buckinghamshire.

The vehicles could be heard sounding musical horns while the prime minister spoke to workers at the site.

ONS data showing British national output rose in final quarter of 2024 confounds forecasts of 0.1% decline

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Britain’s economy unexpectedly picked up in the final three months of 2024, official figures have shown, easing pressure on Rachel Reeves after flatlining during the summer.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show gross domestic product rose by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024 – after zero growth in the previous three months – to beat the forecasts of City economists and the Bank of England for a decline of 0.1%.

Photo appears to show UK ambassador to Iran meeting pair, whose detention comes after tit-for-tat releases with Germany and Italy

Two British nationals have been arrested in Iran and given access to the UK ambassador, Hugo Shorter, according to reports.

State media published photographs purportedly showing Shorter meeting two British “national security” suspects at the general and revolutionary prosecutor’s office in Kerman province, about 500 miles south-east of Tehran.

Postal Museum says research featured in new exhibition shows how global postal service was ‘tool of empire’

A British shipping company that became the largest in the world at the height of empire continued to use the labour of enslaved people after the abolition of slavery, research has found.

The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (RMSPC), which received a royal charter from Queen Victoria in 1839, used enslaved workers on the tiny island of St Thomas, which was a Danish colony at the time and is now part of the British Virgin Islands.

Members of Aslef union plan action beginning on 27 February in dispute over pay

Train drivers on the Elizabeth line are to strike on four separate days over the coming weeks in a dispute over pay.

Members of the union Aslef will take industrial action on Thursday 27 February, Saturday 1 March, Saturday 8 March and Monday 10 March.

• Attempt at 800m short-track record at Keely Klassic
• BBC has rights but will not show race on terrestrial TV

The BBC has snubbed a world record attempt by the Olympic star Keely Hodgkinson on its main terrestrial channels in favour of showing a film it aired as recently in October 2024 and a repeat of Flog It!

It had been hoped in athletics circles that the BBC would grant prime time to Hodgkinson’s attempt on the 800m world indoor record on Saturday – especially after she attracted 9.1m viewers when winning gold in Paris and went on to win the Sports Personality of the Year award in December.