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11 Democrats missed vote, which failed 211-204 and effectively killed effort to oust Hegseth for now; Trump hails exoneration of a Great American Patriot'

Ethics watchdogs question necessity of the US secretary of state flying between DC and Gainesville so oftenMarco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has emerged as a superfan of the University of Florida's football team, spending more than $1.2m of taxpayers' money on frequent personal trips to watch them play, a report published Wednesday claims.Ethics watchdogs have questioned the necessity of the country's top diplomat shuttling so often between Washington DC and Gainesville, where his son Anthony has a walk-on role as a running back for the team known as the Gators. Continue reading...

The OBR normally only includes growth measures in their scorecard if they will increase growth by at least 0.1% of GDPHere are some more comments on the report for the Casey commission released today looking at how social care is run in England. (See 9.56am.)This is from Natasha Curry, deputy director of research at the Nuffield Trust and one of the report's authors.Compared to the other countries we looked at, the governance of England's social care system is confused and complex. Overlapping and unclear roles leave dangerous uncertainty around who is responsible for important decisions, contributing to the inertia around reform England has struggled with for decades. The serious consequences of this were laid bare during the Covid pandemic.The system for governing adult social care in England has evolved haphazardly and with little clear planning. That has been exacerbated by successive governments ducking politically unpalatable decisions for decades. That has scattered responsibility for the sector across and outside government in a way that few would design from scratch.This report makes for sober reading of how adult social care and those who rely on it have been systematically failed. The fragmentation we see today is what happens when there is a total absence of political leadership to ensure the sector is well-funded and provides equitable access to care.[Burnham] struggled to dampen splits among cabinet ministers, which were first revealed by The i Paper, who used the meeting to express differing views on the future relationship with Brussels.One source with knowledge of the cabinet discussion said there was a clear divide between those who want to go further and those who don't want to push the issue too far". Continue reading...

Eleven Democrats missed the key procedural vote on the impeachment effort, which failed by just seven votes

Keir Starmer's former chief of staff also says the thicket of rules' about how PMs operate should be cleared awayKeir Starmer's former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, has called for a rethink of quasi-judicial" powers given to cabinet ministers such as the energy secretary's ability to approve future oil and gas fields.McSweeney, who helped propel Starmer to power and served as his chief of staff until February this year, said he believed quasi-judicial processes" were stopping wider cabinet discussions and input from the prime minister on issues of national importance. Continue reading...

This blog is now closedSeparately, I am also keeping an eye on Italy, with reports that several schools are being evacuated after receiving bomb threats by emails.According to Rai and Sky TG24, the email was signed by Mikhail Andropov" - the same name used in several hoax bomb alarms against European flights last week. Continue reading...

Lawyer says Britain wrong to believe in historic doctrine that crown has sovereignty over parts of oceansBritain should not be permitted to act as a 17th-century colonial power treating the waters around the Falkland Islands as a Dominium maris Britannici, Argentina has told an international tribunal.Marcelo Kohen, representing Argentina at a hearing in Hamburg, mocked Britain for apparently believing in the historic doctrine that the British crown has sovereignty over expansive parts of the oceans. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Cutting 2030 goal would be a step backwards', say MPs, as ministers clash over proposed reductions

Broadcaster plans to make 30m in temporary' savings before inquiry into takeover by Sky

PM welcomes cross-party push to reject ethnic basis for Englishness promoted by Reform UK politicians

Action on 25 and 26 November suspended to allow for formal negotations with the government

Prime minister tells Kemi Badenoch at PMQs that flagship strategy will be revealed before Commons Christmas recess

Manufacturer says shift to new energy vehicles is happening faster than expected' and market is harshThe Japanese carmaker Nissan has said it has been caught out by accelerating sales of electric and hybrid cars in China amid a brutal price war in the world's biggest automotive market.The manufacturer slashed its sales forecasts for China and said it would cut back on petrol car manufacturing while increasing production of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, which combine a smaller battery with a petrol engine. Continue reading...

Rights groups oppose law that will let police forcibly enter homes to remove refused asylum seekersBelgium could see ICE-style home raids that echo the US crackdown on immigration, rights campaigners have warned, after MPs approved a law that allows police to forcibly enter properties to remove undocumented people.For months, intense debate has swirled across Belgium over measures introduced by the ruling right-leaning coalition to ramp up expulsions of people who have been denied the right to stay in the country. Continue reading...

The post-election wish list is about to run into harsh fiscal reality: there is no money'Is this an opportunity for a new America? As the Reagan revolution four decades ago launched US society down the path to low taxes and meager solidarity, perhaps the Republican bloodbath last week could turn US politics toward building a new social contract anchored on an aspiration to equitable prosperity.One can sense the ambition of the bumper new crop of Democrats ushered to power last week, calling for support for programs for children and their parents; emphatically endorsing the long-held dream of Medicare for All. The project includes rolling back Donald Trump's cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, and restoring subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act that Republicans allowed to expire. And that's just the start. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Chris Moore, running for the party in Greenvale, made derogatory social media comments between 2010 and 2012

The film, which details Israel's surveillance of Palestinian civilians, has been seen by more than 1.5m people in less than two monthsNAZA, the award-winning documentary that details Israel's mass killing of civilians in Gaza, has been seen by more than 1.5 million people since being released in cinemas across the world last month.The film, which is directed by the Oscar-winning Israeli film-makers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and produced by the Guardian, has reached a worldwide audience of 1,547,033 as of Friday 6 November, making it one of the most-watched documentary films with a theatrical release in 2026. Continue reading...

TV presenter says he was genuinely unaware' of pair's conduct despite joking about Walliams going home with 15-year-old girl in 2004

Rights groups condemn reported punishment of Kenyan migrant worker as an act of violence'A Kenyan mother in Saudi Arabia has reportedly been sentenced to 100 lashes after giving birth outside marriage.Under the Saudi sharia law system, sex outside marriage is a criminal offence. But it is women who are disproportionately targeted, say rights groups, which have condemned the punishment as an act of violence". Continue reading...

Supermarket's move labelled shortsighted' by worker who calls upper management woefully out of touch with reality'Aldi's UK business is cutting hundreds of head office roles as part of a global effort to trim costs at the budget grocer.The retailer is consulting with its technology team on the loss of up to 150 roles after 103 redundancies in its finance and administration team earlier this year and almost 20 more redundancies among buying directors. Continue reading...

Share of CBA customers struggling to repay their mortgages has climbed to 12-year high

Antonia Romeo pledges to rewire' civil service by incentivising and rewarding top performersWhitehall is too tame, reactive and risk-averse", the cabinet secretary has said, as she set out a completely new approach" to managing the performance of civil servants.With Andy Burnham and his deputy, Louise Haigh, in the audience, the UK's most senior civil servant, Antonia Romeo, gave a lecture saying she would bring radical change to Whitehall as it deals with uncertainty caused by AI and global political tensions. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Reindustrialisation Research Group to meet with Cabinet Office to discuss worries over PM's long-term strategyLabour MPs have sounded the alarm over Andy Burnham's 10-year plan for government, raising concerns that it will not be radical or detailed enough.MPs in the Reindustrialisation Research Group (ReRG), many of whom represent red wall" seats that helped Labour win the last election, are meeting Sally Jameson, the Cabinet Office minister, on Wednesday to share their concerns about the prime minister's long-term strategy. Continue reading...

Capture of man from Java follows reports that hundreds are being recruited from the south-east Asian country as Moscow seeks to boost its war effortUkraine says it has captured its first Indonesian prisoner of war, amid what it says is a spike in recruitment by Russia from the south-east Asian nation.The 49-year-old man from Java was taken to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region to take part in a Russian assault, but managed to reach Ukrainian-held territory after the group came under drone attack, according to Ukraine's state-run I Want to Live project. He was then captured by the Ukrainians. Continue reading...

Charities warn of lack of protection amid health fears for more than 940,000 displaced people living in flood-prone areasTens of thousands of Palestinians have been left in waterlogged and damaged tents after deadly storms at the weekend, while 150,000 new shelters are held outside Gaza awaiting Israeli approval to enter, aid agencies have said.At least four Palestinian children and woman were killed as heavy rains and wind battered fragile, leaky tents. Thousands have been left without shelter and sanitation infrastructure has been destroyed, with sewage spewing into people's tents. Continue reading...

Conservationists relocate 3,400 one-flowered wintergreens, a species estimated to have lost more than half its UK population in the past 50 yearsThousands of one of Britain's rarest wildflowers have been moved to safety from an eroding Scottish shoreline where they were at risk of falling into the sea.Conservationists rescued 3,400 one-flowered wintergreen plants at Culbin Forest in Moray, in an effort to protect a species estimated to have lost more than half its UK population in the past 50 years. Continue reading...

Independent Israeli professor says Hussam Abu Safiya's life will be at risk until he receives proper medical treatmentAn independent professor who reviewed the medical records of a prominent Gaza doctor held in an Israeli prison without charge for nearly 23 months has raised serious concerns about his health.Hussam Abu Safiya was detained at work on 27 December 2024 and later held in solitary confinement at Rakefet, a notorious underground prison. Continue reading...

Australia's oldest department store collapsed into voluntary administration last week after years of steep lossesDavid Jones is set to shutter half its department store network, triggering mass job losses under a sweeping restructure, receivers FTI Consulting said on Wednesday.David Jones employs more than 6,000 staff across 38 stores. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Jillian Segal suggested transferring' powers in updated report released a fortnight ago but government sources note media regulator already exists

Former CFMEU official Paul Tzimas tells inquiry he suffered fractured ankle and a colleague was left with major injuries and severe PTSD

Dave Grohl tells Sydney crowd Russell, whose death was announced this week, was a big' hero of his

NSW premier Chris Minns warned council would be complicit in any illegal activities that occur at these protests'

Former police officer accused of murdering Baird and Luke Davies cross-examined in NSW supreme court

The US actor died in Poland on Tuesday, after a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure', his wife saidStacy Keach, one of America's finest stage actors who became best known for playing scruffy private eye Mike Hammer on TV and whose career was nearly derailed after he was imprisoned in 1984 for trying to smuggle cocaine into Britain, has died aged 85.Keach died at home in Magdalenka, Poland on Tuesday, after a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure," his wife, Malgosia Tomassi Keach, said in a statement. Keach had previously suffered a heart attack onstage in Chicago in 2017. Continue reading...

Asic says customers should not have to check every transaction to ensure they receive the correct interestMacquarie Bank is set to pay a $14m court-imposed penalty after it admitted to breaking the Corporations Act with its welcome rate" promotions.The penalty comes amid a crackdown by Australian Securities and Investments Commission over complex savings conditions that risk short-changing consumers grappling with the cost of living. Continue reading...

Thinktank Niesr says timid rate rise last week likely to make inflation more persistent feature of UK economyThe Bank of England is risking higher interest rates for longer after a hesitant response to rising inflation, according to leading thinktank.In a searing critique of the central bank's tactics, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said a timid increase in interest rates last week was likely to mean inflation staying above the Bank's 2% target until at least 2030. Continue reading...

Ombudsman's report says delays have profound consequences and limit users' ability to lead independent livesDisabled people are having to wait up to two years to get a wheelchair because of delays involving NHS bodies and private firms that make them.The situation is revealed in a report by the parliamentary and health service ombudsman for England, Paula Sussex, who said hold-ups were having profound consequences and limiting wheelchair users' ability to lead independent lives. Continue reading...

Head of major review into adult social care will say that governments have been asleep at the wheel' of vital systemSuccessive governments in England have been asleep at the wheel" on social care, leaving the system to grow as a chaotic patchwork of local services with no clear vision, Louise Casey, the head of the social care commission, is to warn.Lady Casey, who is preparing proposals for a big review of adult social care, will say the result is that in effect no one is in charge" of a system that provides vital services for millions of vulnerable people. Continue reading...

Progressive senator says I like Chuck ... but the time is now for change' as calls grow for new Democratic leadershipBernie Sanders, a progressive senator from Vermont, said on Tuesday he would not support Chuck Schumer's bid to serve as the Democratic leader in the US Senate, joining a growing cohort of Democrats calling for a change in leadership.I personally have known Chuck Schumer for over 30 years, and I like Chuck. Nobody who works harder than Chuck Schumer. But in my view, the time is now for change, and I will not be supporting Chuck to be re-elected as the Democratic leader," Sanders told reporters on Capitol Hill. Continue reading...

New indictment claims Mohammad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian and Iraqi national, plotted while in US custodyUS federal prosecutors have said that an Iranian operative jailed in New York was responsible for the foiled attack on a UK air force base where American B-1 bombers were stationed.A new indictment alleged that Mohammad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian and Iraqi national, plotted while in custody and then transmitted plans - using coded messages in calls to his family - to two co-conspirators to buy large quantities of chemicals that could be used as explosives in an attack on the RAF Fairford base in September. Continue reading...

Legal battle escalates as far-right US podcaster continues to spread false claims that France's first lady was born a manEmmanuel and Brigitte Macron have brought a fresh defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens in her home state of Tennessee, in an escalation of a transatlantic legal battle as the far-right US podcaster continues to spread false claims that France's first lady was born a man.The Macrons first sued Owens and her media companies in July 2025 in Delaware in response to what the French first couple called verifiably false and devastating lies" being repeated by Owens on her podcast and on X. According to that lawsuit, those lies included that Brigitte Macron, 73, was born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux - who is actually her older brother - and committed identity theft to hide a gender transition; that Emmanuel Macron was elected as French president as part of a CIA mind-control program; and that the couple are blood-related relatives committing incest. Continue reading...

The federal agency is requiring all GLP-1s to include information about the potential risk on warning labelsThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a new warning on GLP-1 medications - which can facilitate weight loss - over a rare eye condition that could lead to sudden and permanent blindness.On Monday, the FDA announced that it is requiring all GLP-1 medications - including Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy, Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound, as well as Sanofi's Soliqua - to include information about the potential risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, also known as NAION, on warning labels. Continue reading...

Man, 41, arrested near Gloucester by police working with US authorities in investigation involving allegations of espionage', according to FBI directorA US soldier with alleged links to Russia has been arrested by British counter-terrorism police.The man, 41, was arrested as part of an investigation by counter-terrorism police, working closely with US authorities, the US military and the FBI, London counter-terrorism police said. Continue reading...

Arrests made after three properties were searched in relation to inquiry into late businessmanFrench police have made arrests after raiding three properties, including the Ritz hotel in Paris, in relation to an investigation into sexual abuse and trafficking by Mohamed Al Fayed.Several individuals were taken into custody for questioning last month and later released, according to the Paris public prosecutor's office. Another property in Paris and one in Saint-Tropez, both with links to Fayed, were also searched in mid-October. Continue reading...

Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot has mandate to try to form a government - with Netanyahu waiting if he failsOpposition lawmakers have wasted no time after Israel's new Knesset was sworn in, deploying their majority to seize control of the legislature from Benjamin Netanyhau and his allies.Although they are still too divided to form a government, the opposition requested a vote for a new speaker, who sets the Knesset's agenda. Once Netanyahu loyalist Amir Ohana has been replaced, the six opposition parties will be able to work on key legislation even if they broker a coalition. Continue reading...

Voters adopted extreme policy requiring medical sex verification for all girls who want to play team sportsParents of student athletes in Washington state have sued to block a ballot initiative banning transgender girls from women's sports teams, calling the measure discriminatory and warning it would lead to invasive" genital examinations for female athletes.Last week, voters in the solidly Democratic state passed Initiative 638, a major setback for LGBTQ+ rights amid the blue wave" of the US midterm elections. Nebraska, Colorado and Arizona adopted similar anti-trans sports bans, though advocates say Washington state's policy is particularly extreme due to its medical sex verification requirement for all girls who want to play team sports. Continue reading...

Senators pressured Danielle Thumann, senior counsel to FCC chair Brendan Carr, to speak about agency's actions toward ABC and Jimmy KimmelDuring a contentious Tuesday hearing on her nomination by Donald Trump to serve as a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner, Senate Democrats hammered Danielle Thumann about recent actions taken by the Brendan Carr-led regulator that have been criticized as hostile to press freedom.Thumann, who serves as senior counsel to Carr, is expected to be approved as commissioner, with Republicans in charge of the US Senate and House. But Ben Ray Lujan, a senator of New Mexico, assured her that the commission's actions will be under close scrutiny when Democrats take charge of the chamber in January. Continue reading...

Countries clash over Sea Lion project as Hamburg tribunal risks deepening sovereignty disputeThe people of the Falkland Islands face devastating consequences" if Argentina is successful in blocking development of its offshore oilfield, the attorney general for England and Wales has told an international tribunal.Ellie Reeves, representing the British government at a hearing of the international tribunal for the law of the sea (Itlos), said billions of pounds vital to the future of the British overseas territory would be lost. Continue reading...

Republicans on House panel criticize US government's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine MaxwellRepublicans on the House oversight committee released a report on Tuesday criticizing the federal government's handling of the investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, and called on the Department of Justice to interview key witnesses, investigate Epstein associates accused of criminal activity, and ensure survivors have access to their records".The federal government has failed the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's horrific crimes for decades," James Comer, the Republican congressman who chairs the committee, said in a statement. Continue reading...

Criminal Bar Association and campaigners hail Mr Justice Bennathan for delivering remarks with piercing clarity'The judge who sentenced Russell Brand has been praised for dispelling rape myths with piercing clarity".Mr Justice Bennathan's sentencing remarks were particularly welcomed given that rape myths had played a part in the trial. He was also lauded for calling out enablers" who witnessed sexual assaults by the comedian. Continue reading...