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Public should be told nature of threat posed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, says defence committee chairThe UK lacks a plan to defend itself from a military attack, MPs have warned as the government promised to boost readiness with new arms factories.The challenges facing the government and defence industry were laid bare in a stark report from the Commons defence committee about the UK's ability to fight a war and meet its Nato obligations in light of Russia's war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Masked robbers forced their way into a car, seized valuables and forced victim to transfer bitcoinMasked robbers stole a 450,000 watch and 1.1m in cryptocurrency after forcing their way into a car in Oxford.Two men and three women were driving from the city to London on the afternoon of 4 November when the raiders struck, Thames Valley police said. Continue reading...

One expert says she is starting to visualise the point where all we have left of corals and reefs is memories'

Vladimir Putin authorises the guarding of fuel sites by reservists, internet blackouts and tighter sentencing for acts of sabotageRussia has passed sweeping laws to bolster its defences at home against Ukrainian drone strikes and sabotage operations, reflecting the Kremlin's expectation of a protracted war with Ukraine.Almost four years into Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine - a full-scale invasion he expected to last only weeks - Moscow is being targeted almost daily by Ukrainian drones striking energy facilities, while Ukrainian operatives have assassinated a number of high-profile Russian military figures deep inside the country. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Despite the risks, many young people now see choking during intimacy as acceptable or even expected, which experts put down to the proliferation of increasingly violent online pornographyGood morning. Yesterday, I was shocked to read that nearly half of sexually active under-18s have either been strangled or strangled someone during sex.Choking", as it is known, has become normalised in young people's sexual habits. A study by the Institute for Addressing Strangulation, part of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians, published on Tuesday, found that 43% of under-18s had experienced the practice, despite much evidence of the dangers it can cause.Politics | Nigel Farage is facing fresh claims of racism and antisemitism while he was at school, with a Bafta-winning director among those making accusations against him. The Reform UK leader denies the allegations.Technology | A key piece of the internet's usually hidden infrastructure suffered a global outage on Tuesday. Cloudflare, whose services include defending millions of websites against malicious attacks, experienced an unidentified problem that meant internet users could not access some websites.Health | The NHS has failed to cut waiting times as promised in its recovery plan despite billions of pounds in investment, the public accounts committee has warned.Home Office | Shabana Mahmood is facing demands for compassion and clarity after it emerged that only a few hundred" asylum seekers would initially be permitted to come to the UK under three new schemes for refugees.Espionage | MI5 has issued an espionage alert to MPs and peers warning that two people linked to the Chinese intelligence service are actively seeking to recruit parliamentarians through LinkedIn. Continue reading...

Husic, who oversaw CSIRO cuts as the former science minister, said some in government see scientific agency funding as a cost' not an investment'

John Howard, billionaire Lindsay Fox and Dawn Fraser among mourners at service for broadcaster known as the Golden Tonsils'

ABC managing director tells National Press Club comparisons between BBC program edit and Four Corners episode are not legitimate

UN committee to consider claim by prominent Mori leader Tureiti Moxon that alleges government policies have harmed Indigenous peopleThe United Nations has agreed to hear an urgent complaint against New Zealand's coalition government alleging it is responsible for significant and persistent discrimination against Mori.Prominent Mori leader, Lady Tureiti Moxon, has filed the complaint to the UN's committee for the convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD). Continue reading...

Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, which was looted by the Nazis and nearly destroyed in a fire during the second world war, sells at Sotheby's auctionA painting by Gustav Klimt has sold for a record-breaking $236.4m (179.7m, A$364m) with fees, making it the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction and the most expensive work of modern art sold at auction.The six-foot-tall painting, titled Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, was painted by the Austrian painter between 1914 and 1916 and shows Lederer, a young heiress and daughter of Klimt's patrons, draped in a Chinese robe. Continue reading...

Nearly two-thirds of prevention of future deaths' reports by coroners are not acted upon, say researchers at King's College LondonThe advice given by coroners in England and Wales to help prevent maternal deaths is not being acted upon, research suggests.Academics at King's College London looked at prevention of future deaths (PFD) reports issued by coroners in cases of pregnant women and new mothers who died between 2013 and 2023. They found these reports were not being systematically used nationally". Continue reading...

Public accounts committee finds Labour's progress appears to have stalled' despite billions of pounds in investmentThe NHS has failed to cut waiting times as promised in its recovery plan despite billions of pounds in investment, the public accounts committee (PAC) has warned.The influential parliamentary committee's verdict raises serious doubts over whether Labour can fulfil its key pledge to voters to fix the NHS" by ensuring that patients can once again get hospital care within 18 weeks by 2029.Key NHS targets to improve access to both planned care and diagnostic tests by last spring were missed".NHS England had spent 3.24bn setting up community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs but had not achieved the aim of reducing delays.In July, 192,000 people had been waiting at least a year for care, despite a pledge to eradicate that practice altogether by March 2025.22% of patients were having to wait more than six weeks for a diagnostic test, even though that was due to be cut to 5% by March. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer accused of failing to adequately strategise while in opposition, leading to uncoordinated policymakingKeir Starmer is failing to make major improvements to public services partly because he did not plan properly while in opposition, according to a report from the Institute for Government (IfG).The prime minister went into government without a clear idea about how to achieve his targets, the IfG found, resulting in haphazard attempts to reform various sectors, from the health service to the courts. Continue reading...

Four people also rescued alive at popular Torres del Paine reserve in Patagonia amid heavy snowfall and strong windsA British woman and four other foreign tourists have been killed in a blizzard at a nature reserve in southern Chile.Nine people went missing on Monday in the Torres del Paine reserve in Patagonia, a popular tourist destination, amid heavy snowfall and winds reaching up to 120mph. Continue reading...

US president also claims Mohammed bin Salman knew nothing' about murder of journalistDonald Trump has shrugged off the Saudi regime's 2018 murder of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the journalist was extremely controversial" and unpopular, dismissing the killing by observing things happen".The US president made the remarks at the White House on Tuesday while welcoming Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the first time since Khashoggi's murder and dismemberment in Istanbul by Saudi state operatives. Continue reading...

US House today voted on the release of government files relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Find out how your representative voted

As the government imposes stricter rules for families of asylum seekers coming to the UK, one mother tells how her son is growing up without herMy son says I miss you, when am I seeing you?' Sometimes I lie to give him false hope. There's a growing detachment there, because he knows I have lied to him."Kim is an asylum seeker based in Yorkshire, England. The 35-year-old, who has asked to use only a pseudonym out of fears for her safety, is among those in the UK who do not know when - or if - they will be able to see their children again, as the Labour government cracks down on the asylum system. Continue reading...

On first official visit to UK, leaders say aim is not to break the British Treasury' but to find solution to help clean up mess' left by colonialismThe Caribbean's slavery reparations body has decried misleading press reports that suggest their aim is to break the British Treasury" by demanding trillions of pounds, as they mutually beneficial restorative justice programme.Prof Sir Hilary Beckles, chair of the Caricom Reparations Commission (CRC), which was set up to progress the Caribbean's pursuit of justice for centuries of enslavement and colonisation by European nations, made the comments during the body's first official visit to the UK. Continue reading...

Politically realistic' for UK to make financial contribution so it can access European single market, Irish minister saysThe UK must pay into the EU budget for future participation in the European single market, it has been confirmed, in what could become a major test for the post-Brexit reset.Ireland's Europe minister, Thomas Byrne, said EU member states had decided the UK should make a financial contribution for closer ties: Ireland wants to see Britain getting the benefit of closer engagement with the European Union. Continue reading...

Donald Tusk warns Polish parliament of an escalation' of Russian intelligence activities across the whole of Europe'. This live blog is closedPoland's prime minister Donald Tusk has just told lawmakers that the authorities investigating the rail sabotage incidents over the weekend identified two main suspects.He says the suspects are Ukrainian men, who crossed into Poland from Belarus this autumn, and are believed to have been working for Russian intelligence services. Continue reading...

Donald Tusk says two saboteurs crossed border from Belarus hoping to cause divisive catastrophe'Polish authorities have identified two Ukrainian men, allegedly working for the Russian intelligence services, as the key suspects in two cases of rail sabotage, the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, has said.The men are alleged to have planted a military-grade explosive device and attached a steel clamp to rail tracks in two incidents on a strategic rail route used for aid deliveries for Ukraine. Continue reading...

Spy agency says Amanda Qui and Shirly Shen have been using LinkedIn to obtain non-public and insider insights'MI5 has issued an espionage alert to MPs and peers warning that two people linked to the Chinese intelligence service are actively seeking to recruit parliamentarians.The two people operate as headhunters on the LinkedIn professional networking website aiming to obtain non-public and insider insights", MI5 said. They are said to also be targeting economists, thinktank staff and others with access to politicians. Continue reading...

German pop duo who last year said their wish was to leave together' had joint assisted death at their home in GrunwaldAlice and Ellen Kessler, the pop singing sisters who were famous in Europe in the 1960s, especially in Italy where they were credited for bringing glamour to the country's TV network, have died aged 89.The identical twins had chosen to have a joint assisted death at their home in Grunwald, close to Munich, on Monday, said Wega Wetzel, a spokesperson for Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Humanes Sterben (DGHS), a Berlin-based assisted dying association. Continue reading...

Dan Jarvis, the security minister, says China is trying to contact MPs and peers to get sensitive information about parliamentBack at the Reform UK press conference, Zia Yusuf, the party's head of policy, has just finished outlining his plan to cut spending on foreignersAs he finished, Yusuf claimed this was treachery".Labour is making the conscious and deliberate decision to continue funding extortionate amounts to foreign nationals, to the detriment of British citizens.And I don't know what to call that. Frankly, in my view, it's treachery. I think it's appalling. British people are sick and tired of it.Just a few months ago, Rachel Reeves was saying she couldn't afford to scrap the two-child benefit cap. Now it looks like becoming her latest U-turn.This isn't because the economic circumstances have improved. Quite the opposite. Continue reading...

US oil firm blames UK government policy and supply costs for closure of site near Cowdenbeath in ScotlandExxonMobil is to close a chemicals plant in Scotland that employs hundreds of workers within months, blaming the decision on the UK government's economic and policy environment".Workers at Fife Ethylene Plant were told on Tuesday that the oil company would shut the 40-year-old facility near Cowdenbeath by February next year owing to the difficult policy and market conditions in the UK. Continue reading...

Prime minister tells cabinet budget leaks and infighting are distracting from priorities and delivering change

The actor will appear opposite British film star Noah Jupe in a production directed by Robert Icke opening in MarchStranger Things' Sadie Sink is to make her West End debut next year in Romeo and Juliet, opposite British film star Noah Jupe, in a production directed by Olivier award-winner Robert Icke.Sink, who plays Max in the Netflix sci-fi hit, started her career on stage. She was cast in the lead role in the musical Annie when she was 10, and remained in it for 18 months in New York. I was a Broadway kid, so I've always dreamed about doing a show in the West End," she said. To get to do that in one of Shakespeares's most famous plays under Rob's direction with Noah will be such an exciting challenge. London theatre has this incredible energy, and I can't wait to be a part of it." Sink becomes the latest in a line of US stars who have made their West End debuts in recent years, including Sigourney Weaver (The Tempest), Brie Larson (Elektra) and Susan Sarandon (Mary Page Marlowe). Continue reading...

Senior aide to Mohammed bin Salman allegedly led campaign to identify users who were posting critically about Saudi regimeA senior official in Mohammed bin Salman's entourage, who is understood to be accompanying the crown prince on his first trip back to the US in over a decade, has previously been accused by US prosecutors of playing a central role in a conspiracy to infiltrate Twitter and identify users who were posting critically about the Saudi regime.Bader al-Asaker, who has headed Prince Mohammed's private office since before he became crown prince, has never been formally charged by the US government for his role in the 2014-15 scheme, but was named in court in 2022 by a US government lawyer as having led the campaign to find a mole" who would be able to extract sensitive information from the social media company, which is now known as X. Continue reading...

Lib Dem MP says way figures were compiled on non-British-sounding' surnames in court was frankly racist'GB News has been accused of risking inflaming tensions over crime committed by migrants after presenting unscientific research that counted the number of defendants with foreign-sounding names".Ofcom, the UK's media regulator, has received complaints about a segment on the rightwing news channel last week that drew a link between non-British" names and those in court charged with sex offences. Continue reading...

Men aged 20 to 23 convicted at trial that showed pattern of far-right activists getting together in gymsFour men in Sweden have been found guilty of racially motivated assaults and sentenced to jail after a trial that revealed a growing pattern of far-right activists banding together in fitness clubs.The four men, aged 20 to 23, were members of an active club". Such clubs are loosely structured groups that meet in gyms and aim to promote white nationalist, misogynist and hyper-masculine ideology. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Experts urge water companies to update plants to avoid another catastrophe, as analysis reveals scale of useAt least 15 sewage plants on England's south coast use the same contaminated plastic beads that were spilled in an environmental disaster in Camber Sands, Guardian analysis can reveal.Environmental experts have urged water companies to update these old treatment plants to avoid another catastrophic spill, which can lead to plastic beads being permanently embedded in the environment and killing marine wildlife. Continue reading...

It is the second-largest tropical forest on Earth, and one of the most vital carbon sinks, but is losing out when it comes to climate policy and fundingIn October 2023, leaders, scientists and policymakers from three of the world's great rainforest regions - the Amazon, the Congo, and the Borneo-Mekong basins - assembled in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo. They were there to discuss one urgent question: how to save the planet's last great tropical forests from accelerating destruction.For those present, the question was existential. But to their dismay, almost no one noticed. There was very little acknowledgment that this was happening, outside of the Congo basin region," says Prof Simon Lewis, a lecturer at the University of Leeds and University College London, and co-chair of the Congo Basin Science Initiative (CBSI). Continue reading...

Dubs, who was a child refugee, says Shabana Mahmood's shabby' plans will increase community tensions

Competition watchdog examines StubHub, Viagogo, AA Driving School and BSM Driving School and others

Chinese airlines offer free cancellations and film releases postponed after Japanese PM's comments on TaiwanChinese travellers are estimated to have cancelled hundreds of thousands of tickets to fly to Japan amid reports of suspended visa processing and cultural exchanges as a diplomatic dispute over Japan's stance on Taiwan continues.Under pressure from business groups, Japan has sent a senior diplomat to Beijing in an attempt to calm tensions after Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said her country could get involved militarily if China attempted to invade Taiwan. Her comments prompted fury from China's government, which issued warnings against Chinese travellers and students going to Japan. Continue reading...

Australia's national scientific agency announces more research job losses as it looks for budgetary savings

The Coalition is preparing to thrash out the design of a policy to significantly reduce immigration places

Disused refineries and chemical plants considered as part of a multibillion-pound investment in defenceDefence officials have identified at least a dozen disused oil refineries and chemical plants as possible sites to make explosives and ammunition, including Grangemouth, Southampton and Teesside.The Ministry of Defence has been scouring Britain for places to build at least six new munitions factories as part of a 6bn programme to increase its supplies as part of a Nato-wide rearmament push. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Shabana Mahmood is pitching radical new limits on whether asylum seekers can ever gain settled status - but it may come with political consequencesGood morning. In September, Nigel Farage floated a Reform UK policy of ending indefinite leave to remain that critics said would eject hundreds of thousands of people from the country. In October, the Conservatives began talking about deporting large numbers of people previously considered legally settled. Now, the Labour government is preparing to impose radical new limits on whether asylum seekers can ever gain settled status. The Overton window on immigration keeps marching implacably rightwards.In a document published by the government yesterday afternoon, the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, described the plans as the most sweeping asylum reforms in modern times". The prime minister, Keir Starmer, said that having an asylum system at all depends on social confidence" that it is fair, effective and humane". A lot of Labour MPs look set to disagree with the approach, causing yet another political headache for No 10.Society | More than two in five sexually active under-18s in the UK have either been strangled or strangled someone during sex, research has found, despite the serious dangers of the practice.Jeffrey Epstein | The Harvard professor and economist Larry Summers said he would step back from public life after documents released by the House oversight committee revealed email exchanges between him and Jeffrey Epstein, who called himself Summers' wing man".Cop30 | Jamaica has led calls from vulnerable nations at the Cop30 climate summit to urge immediate action on climate breakdown as the conference entered its second week.Gaza | The UN security council has endorsed proposals put forward by Donald Trump for a lasting peace in Gaza, including the deployment of an international stabilisation force and a possible path to a sovereign Palestinian state.Poland | Poland's prime minister Donald Tusk has described an explosion along a section of railway line used for deliveries to Ukraine as an unprecedented act of sabotage" that could have led to disaster. Continue reading...

Commonwealth Bank Australia- which reported a record cash profit of $10.3bn in most recent financial year - charged $270m in excessive fees' over five years

Eminem claims consumers may mistakenly think he is linked to the Sydney beach brand - but Australia is no stranger to lawsuits from US rappersEminem has launched legal action against the Australian beach brand Swim Shady, alleging its name is too close to that of his trademarked alter ego, Slim Shady.The 53-year-old rapper, real name Marshall B Mathers III, filed a petition to cancel Swim Shady's US trademark days after it was successfully granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in September. Continue reading...

White Australia, formerly known as the National Socialist Network, have raised $20,000 for Matthew Gruter

Communications undersecretary Claire Castro says claims from the president's sister may be an attempt to distract from investigations into a corruption scandalPhilippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr has denied accusations made by his estranged sister that he is longtime drug addict, whose alleged cocaine dependence has led to governance issues, including corruption, a spokesperson for the president has said.Communications undersecretary Claire Castro described the comments by the president's sister, senator Imee Marcos', as baseless, and suggested they may have been a desperate attempt to distract ongoing investigations into a corruption scandal involving flood control projects that may implicate her allies in the Senate. Continue reading...

Ockham Book Awards dropped two titles from contention after new guidelines introduced on artificial intelligence useThe books of two award-winning New Zealand authors have been disqualified from consideration for the country's top literature prize because artificial intelligence was used in the creation of their cover designs.Stephanie Johnson's collection of short stories Obligate Carnivore and Elizabeth Smither's collection of novellas Angel Train were submitted to the 2026 Ockham book awards' NZ$65,000 fiction prize in October, but were ruled out of the competition the following month in light of new guidelines around AI use. Continue reading...

Party claims its policies would eliminate black hole' Rachel Reeves faces in the budget - but Labour says the fantasy numbers don't add up'A Reform UK government would block EU nationals from receiving universal credit, a move that would rip up the post-Brexit trade deal with Europe and risk potential retaliation from Brussels.It is among several proposals that will be announced by Nigel Farage at a press conference on Tuesday. The party claims its measures would save 25bn a year in total - enough to cover the supposed shortfall faced by Rachel Reeves in next week's budget. Continue reading...

Campaigners say the company is contributing to rising rates of childhood obesity, while the firm says it is helping to combat malnutritionNestle is still adding sugar to most baby cereals sold across Africa, according to an investigation by campaigners who have accused the company of putting the health of African babies at risk for profit".The food firm was accused of double standards" over the researchers' findings, which come at a time when rates of childhood obesity are rising on the continent, prompting calls for Nestle to remove all added sugar from baby-food products. Continue reading...

It's a massive cost-of-living relief measure for hundreds of thousands of people who live in western Sydney,' premier Chris Minns says

Groth had sued the Herald Sun for defamation, while his wife Brittany had launched the first test of a new statutory tort for serious invasions of privacyThe Herald Sun has apologised to Victorian Liberal MP Sam Groth and his wife, Brittany, for a series of articles earlier this year that suggested their relationship had begun when Brittany was underage.Groth was suing publisher the Herald and Weekly Times, reporter Stephen Drill and Herald Sun editor Sam Weir for defamation, while his wife had launched the first test of a new statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy. Continue reading...

Security minister Dan Jarvis says scrapping immunity scheme would give relatives a renewed chance for answersThe families of more than 70 people killed by the IRA and other paramilitaries in unsolved attacks on English soil can once again hope for justice under the new Northern Ireland Troubles bill, the UK government has claimed.As MPs in the House of Commons prepared to debate the bill for the first time on Tuesday, the Home Office said there remained 77 unsolved killings, including 39 British armed forces personnel in English towns and cities, from the time of the Troubles. It said more than 1,000 people were injured in the attacks. Continue reading...

First term Kew MP elected leader after Battin lasted less than a year in roleFirst-term Liberal MP Jess Wilson has defeated Brad Battin to become leader of the troubled Victorian Liberal Party.Wilson is the Victorian party's first ever female leader. Continue reading...