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Government announces overnight levy ahead of tomorrow's budgetJohn McFall is standing down early as Lord Speaker in the House of Lords so that he can care for his wife, Joan, who has was Parkinson's. According to Sam Blewett and Bethany Dawson in their London Playbook briefing for Politico, the main candidates to replace him are Michael Forsyth, a rightwing Scottish secretary in the final two years of the John Major government, and Deborah Bull, a crossbencher and former Royal Opera House creative director. They reports:Labour isn't expected to put forward a candidate as McFall's previous political affiliation means it's seen as another party's turn to rule the roost, Noah [Keate] writes in to say. Forsyth has garnered support from some Labour grandees who like his traditional approach and aversion to modernization while Bull has being promoted by some female peers keen for a woman to take charge. One Tory peer described Forsyth as a political animal" who may struggle to encourage a consensus across the chamber. A list of candidates' register of interests and election addresses (up to 300 words) will be emailed to all peers on Dec. 1. Watch your inboxes!Transport secretary Heidi Alexander rejected a rival proposal from Arora Group, saying Heathrow's own plans were the most credible and deliverable option".The Heathrow proposals involve building a 3,500-metre runway and require a new M25 tunnel and bridges to be built 130 metres west of the existing motorway.Following a comparative assessment of the remaining proposals for Heathrow expansion, the government's view is that the Northwest runway scheme brought forward by Heathrow Airport Limited offers the most credible and deliverable option, principally due to the relative maturity of its proposal, the comparative level of confidence in the feasibility and resilience of its surface access plans, and the stronger comfort it provides in relation to the efficient, resilient and sustainable operations of the airport over the long-term.The HAL scheme is considered comparatively more mature in its approach to road infrastructure. While the HAL scheme requires major works to the M25, assessment indicates that the HWL scheme would also have a considerable impact on the M25. Continue reading...

Spokesperson says sensitive issues still need to be discussed between Ukraine, Russia and the USIn other EU related news, a top European court on Tuesday ruled that an EU nation had to recognise a gay marriage recorded in another member state, after a complaint by two Poles married in Germany.The couple, one of whom also has German nationality, were living there and married in Berlin in 2018, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).The spouses in question, as EU citizens, enjoy the freedom to move and reside within the territory of the member states and the right to lead a normal family life when exercising that freedom and upon returning to their member state of origin.Sweden's defence needs to be strengthened against threats such as robots, drones and helicopters. The best way to guarantee peace and freedom is to invest in defence. The orders also contribute to growth, jobs and security of supply. It also improves the possibilities of increasing production capacity in the defence industry." Continue reading...

Levy will also apply to more fizzy drinks as health secretary says government will not look away as children get unhealthier'

Pentagon said it was investigating Arizona senator Mark Kelly for violating military law by appearing in video in which lawmakers told military members to refuse illegal orders'Senator Mark Kelly has responded to the Pentagon's announcement that it is investigating the Arizona lawmaker for possible breaches of military law after he joined five other Democratic members of Congress in a video calling for US troops to refuse illegal orders.I said something that was pretty simple and non controversial, and that was that members of the military should follow the law," Kelly said in an MS NOW interview with Rachel on Monday. And in response to that, Donald Trump said I should be executed." Continue reading...

Gramma came to San Diego Zoo from Bronx Zoo in 1928 or 1931 and lived through 20 US presidentsAfter more than a century of munching on her favorite foods of romaine lettuce and cactus fruit, beloved Galapagos tortoise Gramma, the oldest resident of the San Diego Zoo, has died.Gramma was born in her native habitat and was estimated to be about 141 years old, zoo officials said. She died on 20 November. Continue reading...

Ukrainian official cites common understanding', but no sign territorial concessions or security guarantees are agreed

Wide-ranging assault included drones that crossed into Romanian and Moldovan territory

Fighter jets track two uncrewed aircraft in first daytime breach of Romanian airspace since full-scale Ukraine warNato jets were scrambled to track two Russian drones that crossed into Romania on Tuesday in the deepest and first daytime incursion into the country's airspace since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.German Typhoon and Romanian F-16 fighter jets took off in pairs to follow the uncrewed aircraft. The first flew back into Ukrainian airspace, but the second was later found downed in Puieti, about 70 miles from Ukraine. Continue reading...

Firm says Andrew Rennie departs by mutual agreement' but it is thought he faced tensions with the board

Travel firm says most popular package destinations are Majorca, Tenerife, Costa Blanca, Dalaman and Lanzarote

Prime minister jokes that he may be put in detention' after appearing to encourage classroom hystericsIt has become the bane of many parents' and teachers' existence: children bleating out six seven" for apparently no reason.So parents of pupils at Welland Academy in Peterborough will be unimpressed to discover that none other than the prime minister was encouraging their youngsters in the viral phenomenon. Continue reading...

Army secretary Daniel Driscoll presented a Russian wishlist, highlighting differences with the administrationThe US army secretary, Daniel Driscoll, was an unlikely envoy for the Trump administration's newest proposal to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine - but his ties to JD Vance have put a close ally of the Eurosceptic vice-president on the frontlines of Donald Trump's latest push to end the war.Before his trip to Kyiv last week, Driscoll was not known for his role as a negotiator or statesman, and his early efforts at selling the deal to European policymakers were described as turbulent. He is currently in Abu Dhabi, where Russian and Ukrainian delegations have arrived for talks. Continue reading...

Environmental body says modest investment and changes can help preserve long list of animals, fungi and lichenAlmost 3,000 species ranging from glorious birds to tiny lichen are in peril in Wales because they are clinging on in a handful of locations or even fewer, a groundbreaking report has revealed.The report from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) highlights that since the millennium, 11 species have already been lost to Cymru, including the turtle dove and belted beauty moth. It warns that 2,955 other terrestrial or freshwater species are at serious risk because they are confined to five locations or fewer. Continue reading...

Judge says interim US attorney for eastern district of Virginia had no lawful authority' to indict former FBI director and New York attorney general. Plus, where did all the color go from the movies?Good morning.A federal judge threw out the criminal cases against James Comey and Letitia James yesterday, concluding that the prosecutor handling the cases was unlawfully appointed.What did the judge say? I conclude that the attorney general's attempt to install Ms Halligan as interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia was invalid and that Ms Halligan has been unlawfully serving in that role since 22 September 2025," wrote Currie, who was appointed to the bench by Bill Clinton.When did the talks begin? Reports emerged that a fresh round of US-brokered peace talks had begun on last night in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, with Dan Driscoll, the US army secretary, flying in to meet a Russian delegation and a Ukrainian team led by Kyrylo Budanov.This is a developing story. Follow our liveblog here. Continue reading...

Militant group Antifa Ost said to be behind assaults on rightwing extremists in Germany and HungarySeven alleged members of the German far-left militant group Antifa Ost go on trial on Tuesday accused of attacks targeting rightwing extremists that earned them the nickname Hammer Gang.The US this month designated Antifa Ost as a terrorist group along with several other European far-left and anarchist groups. Continue reading...

Unpaid carers were pushed into debt and distress and hundreds of millions of taxpayers' money wasted

Couple who married in Germany had their right to a normal family life' impeded, court of justice finds

Irish comedy writer cleared at Westminster magistrates court of harassing Sophia Brooks on social mediaThe Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has been cleared of harassing a transgender activist on social media but found guilty of criminal damage of their mobile phone outside a conference in London last year.The 57-year-old flew in from Arizona to appear at Westminster magistrates court in person on Tuesday, where judgment was delivered by district judge Briony Clarke. Continue reading...

Some of Russia's maximalist demands have been removed from original 28-point proposal, it is understood

The Newtown eatery is counter-suing Ofir Birenbaum, who launched defamation action against the popular restaurant

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Consumer Affairs Victoria ordered to pay costs after firm successfully argues it is not technically engaged in debt collection owed to another person

In today's newsletter: What the suspension of Richard Dannatt and David Evans tell us about standards and accountability in the Lords, and the prospect of reformGood morning. Two peers, Lord Dannatt and Lord Evans of Watford, are facing lengthy suspensions from the House of Lords, after the house's disciplinary process found multiple instances in which they broke lobbying rules and demonstrated a failure to act on their personal honour".The investigation began after the Guardian published a series based on undercover reporting earlier this year that exposed both peers offering to arrange meetings with ministers for what they believed were potential commercial clients. The commissioner's findings detail breaches including Dannatt offering introductions to ministers for companies in which he had a financial interest, and Evans expressing a clear willingness to provide access to ministers in the context of a commercial deal worth tens of thousands of pounds.Politics | Reform UK has ignored requests to share the evidence for its claim to have saved 331m since it took charge of 10 English councils in May, prompting questions over whether the figure is true. This Guardian analysis has found that supposed savings appear questionable.Society | Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable unpaid carers will have their cases reassessed after a damning official review concluded they had been left with huge debts because of government failure and maladministration.Media | Claims of serious and systemic problems" in the BBC's coverage of issues including Donald Trump, Gaza and trans issues - which led to the resignation of its director general, Tim Davie - have been disputed by a former adviser to the corporation.Ukraine | Kyiv has significantly amended the US peace plan" for Ukraine, removing some of Russia's maximalist demands, people familiar with the negotiations said, as European leaders warned that no deal could be reached quickly.Politics | Rachel Reeves has privately urged Labour MPs to back her make-or-break budget, saying they will not like every measure but promising it will be fair". Continue reading...

Search powers, usually reserved for protests, will be in effect in the CBD and beyond in a move criticised by human rights groups

Exclusive: NHS websites pointed women to factsheet featuring podcast by dangerous' influencers linked to baby deaths Full story: How the FBS is linked to baby deaths around the worldThe NHS has been directing pregnant women to a website that connected them to the Free Birth Society, an organisation that has been linked to baby deaths around the world after promoting labour without medical support.A number of NHS trusts are directing women who are contemplating a free birth" to a charity website that until Monday referred to FBS podcasts as a source of empowering stories" that can help British women preparing for their own birth". Continue reading...

The strikes come a day after a suicide attack on a security compound in Pakistan's Peshawar cityPakistan strikes on neighbouring Afghanistan have killed 10 people - among them nine children - a Taliban government spokesperson has said, a day after a suicide attack on a security compound in Pakistan's Peshawar city.The Pakistani invading forces bombed the house of a local civilian resident ... As a result, nine children (five boys and four girls) and one woman were martyred" in Khost province, Zabihullah Mujahid said on X. Continue reading...

Shields told SMH staff in an email that working in the role had been the honour of his life

Project aims to unlock memories and sensations for participants while creating nine-track CD, recorded at GlyndebourneOn a stage once presided over by Luciano Pavarotti, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Renee Fleming, people living with dementia are recording songs of their own composition.With the microphones of Glyndebourne opera house capturing every note, their voices rise and intertwine. Not echoing old, familiar tunes but shaping entirely new pieces expressing their feelings, hopes and fears - emotions that, when the music stops, their brains can no longer convey in mere words. Continue reading...

Victim, 17, died from stab wounds to his thigh after being attacked in Rouse Hill on Monday evening, NSW police say

Winds the biggest contributor to power outages as city saw more than 880,000 lightning strikes and 12cm diameter hail

One Nation leader suspended for seven days after members of Labor, Greens and crossbench vote to censure

King has announced a genealogist working with the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds found no evidence of Cherokee ancestry in his family lineageA prominent Canadian-American author, who has long claimed Indigenous ancestry and whose work exposed the hard truths of the injustices of the Indigenous peoples of North America", has learned from a genealogist that he has no Cherokee ancestry.In an essay titled A most inconvenient Indian" published on Monday for Canada's Globe and Mail, Thomas King said he had learned of rumours circulating in recent years within both the arts and Indigenous communities that questioned his Cherokee heritage. Continue reading...

Nathan Gill was an MEP for the Brexit party and Ukip, and later became Reform UK's leader in Wales. Now he has been jailed for 10 years for taking bribes to make pro-Russia statements. Luke Harding reportsNathan Gill was a Mormon bishop who went on to represent Wales in the European parliament - first for Ukip, Nigel Farage's original party, then for the Brexit party. Most recently he led Reform UK in Wales. He wasn't the most flashy orator - some would say his delivery was wooden - but the content of his speeches could be surprising, including criticising the Ukrainian government, for, among other things, closing down TV channels. Now those speeches have landed Gill a 10-and-a-half-year jail sentence.Luke Harding is a senior foreign correspondent at the Guardian and former Russia correspondent. He tells Helen Pidd how the case against Gill unfolded - and why it matters. Continue reading...

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and Xi told Trump that its return was an integral part of the post-war international order'Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told Donald Trump that Beijing's claims to Taiwan remain unchanged, in a phone call that came amid rising tensions over the self-governing island.Xi told Trump on Monday that Taiwan's return to China was an integral part of the postwar international order" forged in the joint US-China fight against fascism and militarism", according to the Chinese foreign ministry. Continue reading...

The 65-year-old woman shocked temple staff when they heard a faint knocking and she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremationA woman in Thailand shocked temple staff when she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation.Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in the province of Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok , posted a video on its Facebook page, showing a woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pick-up truck, slightly moving her arms and head, leaving temple staff bewildered. Continue reading...

Home perched in Hollywood Hills, constructed for $37,500 and made famous by Julius Shulman photo, listed for $25mThe Stahl house - a paragon of Los Angeles mid-century modern architectural design - is for sale for the first time in the home's history.The cantilevered home, perched in the Hollywood Hills, hit the listings market this week. The asking price: $25m. Continue reading...

Witness Dr Andrea Boros-Lavack was at times confusing' and incorrect, senior counsel assisting coroner says

Damning official review finds many unpaid carers left with huge debt because of government failure

Claimants forced to pay back thousands of pounds tell of horrendous' court ordeals and of desire for official apology

Ten years of bureaucratic failure, whistleblowing, political neglect and groundhog day-style policy inertia

Rachel Reeves says changes to subsidised scheme for disabled drivers will help support thousands of jobsThe Motability scheme to provide disabled drivers with subsidised cars has said it will remove expensive cars such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz and aim to buy more British-built cars.Motability said it hopes that 50% of the vehicles it offers will come from British factories by 2035. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said the changes to the scheme would support thousands of well-paid, skilled jobs", before the budget on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader's responses to allegations of racist and antisemitic behaviour at Dulwich college have varied over timeNigel Farage's response to allegations of teenage racism during his time at Dulwich college have ranged from vehement at times and rather more nuanced at others.Here is what he has said. Continue reading...

The actor won best performance for BBC drama Gatsby in Harlem at the inaugural British Audio awards, while Nicola Coughlan's narration of Juno Dawson's Queen B clinched best sci-fi audiobookAudiobooks narrated by Ncuti Gatwa, Nicola Coughlan and David Tennant were among those recognised at the inaugural British Audio awards, the Speakies".Gatwa's performance in the lead role of Gatsby in Harlem helped it emerge as one of Monday evening's biggest winners: it took three major prizes including audio of the year. The reimagining of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby also won best audio drama adaptation, while Gatwa took home the best performance award for what organisers described as his remarkable poise and flair" in capturing Gatsby's character. Continue reading...

In an interview kept secret since February, David Adeang wrongly stated the people Australia has begun deporting to his country are not refugees

Reform leader denies racist or antisemitic behaviour with intent' at school, but says he can't remember everything from 49 years agoNigel Farage has broken his silence nearly a week after he was accused by about 20 people of racism and antisemitism as a teenager, by saying he never directly, really tried to go and hurt anybody".His remarks came after the publication of a detailed investigation by the Guardian in which many of his school contemporaries claimed to be victims of, or witnesses to, repeated incidents of deeply offensive behaviour. Continue reading...

The victim was treated by NSW paramedics for wounds to his thigh but died at the scene

BBC board member, a former spin doctor for Theresa May, dismisses suggestion in questioning by MPsCaroline Daniel is also asked about her views on editorial bias.My experience was the BBC took issues of impartiality extremely seriously," she said. Continue reading...

A parliamentary select committee has questioned Michael Prescott, the adviser who wrote the memo that led to the resignation of the BBC's director general, Tim DavieSenior figures running and advising the BBC have been questioned about the crisis at the broadcaster, which has been threatened with a $1bn lawsuit from Donald Trump.The BBC's director general, Tim Davie, and the head of news, Deborah Turness, resigned this month after controversy triggered by the leak of a memo written by a former external adviser. Continue reading...

Simon Levy faces charges over the deaths of Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, and Sheryl Wilkins, 39A man charged with murdering one woman and raping another earlier this year has been charged with a second murder.Simon Levy, 40, will appear at Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday over the death of Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, whose body was found in south London in March. Continue reading...

Homeland security claims country being ruled by military dictatorship no longer continues to meet conditions' for Temporary Protected Status