Plans to impose a ban on UK imports of diesel and jet fuel made from Russian oil in third countries have been watered down amid concerns over supplies and price rises.

The government will now "phase in" some new sanctions over the coming months due to the effective blockade of the key Strait of Hormuz waterway since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran.

The Foreign Office denied the shift in policy could be described as a "waiver" on sanctions aimed at hurting Russia's economy, but admitted extra flexibilities were required.

In a new piece for the Financial Times, John Burn-Murdoch—author of a criminally misleading and data-torturing article about conscientiousness last year—suggests that "the most recent [birth rate] plunge appears connected with our use of technology." He notes that in the past 15 years, birth rates have been falling "across different cultures and levels of economic development." And what unites all these disparate countries? The use of smartphones, of course.

It sounds so obvious! That is, until you consider the other things that have united many countries over the last few decades.

Councillor Adam Kent's suspension came after a full council meeting on Thursday that saw the Tories team up with the Green Party, Liberal Democrats and independents to form an alliance.

The move saw Reform lose control of the county council after 12 months in charge.

But a spokesperson for the Conservative Party said: "The chairman was very clear on a number of occasions that the Conservative Party was totally opposed to the proposed arrangement at Worcestershire County Council.

"The Conservative group leader did not make our opposition clear to his fellow Worcestershire councillors and has been suspended pending investigation.

"Conservative campaign headquarters has made clear to our councillors that this arrangement must not go ahead."

It is not yet clear how the suspension will affect the coalition.

Bluesky

https://atavistia.bandcamp.com/album/cosmic-warfare

A Merseyside Reform UK election candidate who called the Holocaust a "hoax" and "propaganda" has been elected in the local elections. Jay Leslie Cooper has taken one of three available seats for the Bootle West ward on Sefton Council.

The newly elected Cllr Cooper secured 705 votes and will join two Labour councillors, Jim Conalty and Dan McKee, in representing the three-member ward.

Prior to the election, the ECHO revealed that Cllr Cooper had shared vile views on his social media accounts, including evidence of Holocaust denial.

In September last year Cooper reposted an article on Facebook about the fatal shooting of American political commentator Charlie Kirk with the accompanying headline: "Heartbreaking. Murdered for having an opinion."

In response to a comment which asked: "[Adolf] Hitler had an (opinion) too; did he deserve to die?", Cooper said: "I don't agree with him murdering innocent people. But the Hallocaust (sic) is a hoax. There wasn't (sic) even 6 million Jews in Europe at the time. Propaganda."