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Actor called critics paedophiles' after they labelled him racist' following his call for boycott of Sainsbury's over Black History Month stanceThe actor and politician Laurence Fox has been accused of insulting the intelligence of everyone present" during a libel trial at the high court over an argument on social media.Fox had called for a boycott of Sainsbury's in October 2020 on X, then known as Twitter, in response to the supermarket chain saying it would provide a safe space for black employees during Black History Month. He was called a racist" by the drag artist Crystal, the former Stonewall trustee Simon Blake, and the broadcaster Nicola Thorp. Continue reading...

More than 170 Palestinians killed as Red Cross head warns nightmarish situation' for civilians has returned

Lead books stolen from artwork, representing loss of more than $1m, according to prosecutorThieves have stolen parts of a lead sculpture by the German contemporary artist Anselm Kiefer from a warehouse in France, representing a loss of more than $1m (785,000), a prosecutor said on Friday.Kiefer, 78, is renowned for his bleak sculptures and installations confronting his country's Nazi past, which sell for millions. Continue reading...

Friday night is expected to be cold and frosty, as Met Office warns of showers in coastal areasThe wintry weather, which has brought snowfall to parts of the UK and reduced overnight temperatures to nearly -10C (14F), is set to continue into the weekend.Many areas of the north of England and Scotland woke to freezing conditions on Friday morning, the start of the meteorological winter, as sleet and snow showers continued through Thursday night. Continue reading...

Girl, who was 15 at time of murder, told boy in message not to be anxious as police are shite here'A 16-year-old girl accused of murdering Brianna Ghey told her co-defendant not to worry about getting caught because the police are shite here", a court has heard.Both were arrested the day after the killing, shortly after the girl's mother rang Cheshire police to say the teenagers had been with Brianna on the afternoon she was killed, a jury at Manchester crown court was told on Friday. Continue reading...

Hearing into death of Caversham primary school head was also told she thought Ofsted inspections were inhumane'Ruth Perry told an NHS clinician she was amazed" that more headteachers did not take their own lives as a result of Ofsted inspections during a conversation a few weeks before her death, an inquest has heard.This is the most inhumane system. It's totally wrong that one person is made to feel like this. I'm amazed that there are not more heads killing themselves," Perry said during treatment she received for her mental health struggles following Ofsted's inspection of her school.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Health secretary during pandemic accepts that consequences of rule-breaking' may have affected public's propensity to adhere to rules'Matt Hancock has told the UK Covid inquiry that long Covid is an issue close to his heart".Inquiry counsel Hugo Keith said Hancock's witness statement to the inquiry makes plain" that from an early stage" he asked NHS England to consider the issue of long Covid.I was alive to it from before the infection reached our shores.Chris Whitty raised the concern about the potential of some kind of post-viral fatigue syndrome, which happens with other viruses as well.I'm sure you acknowledge the incredible offence and upset that was caused by that revelation.Well, what I'd say is that the lesson for the future is very clear. And it is important that those who make the rules abide by them, and I resigned in order to take accountability for my failure to do.Yes. Continue reading...

Shadow chancellor reveals Darling helped shape Labour party's current policies before his death this week

Labour leader says things will be done differently' if he wins the next election

In countries that criminalise gay sex, HIV infection rates are higher and access to lifesaving drugs and services are deniedAnti-homosexuality laws stop people from accessing lifesaving health services and seriously impede progress on eliminating HIV, a senior UN official has said.Sixty-seven countries have laws that criminalise gay sex, and nearly half are in Africa, the continent most affected by HIV. In those countries, prevalence rates are about five times higher among gay men than in countries where same-sex relations are not criminalised, according to figures from UNAids. Continue reading...

European Commission vice-president says there must be no role for Hamas in any post-conflict horizon' during visit to Australia

PM reaffirms stance after George Osborne suggests snub to Greek counterpart was result of petulance'

After months of legal challenges Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey registered their marriage, giving hope to other same-sex couples in the south Asian countryThe dancing continued until the early hours. Family and friends - and Suru the dog - gathered in western Nepal to mark the joyful end to what had been a historic day for Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey. On Wednesday, they became the first same-sex couple in south Asia to have their marriage legally recognised.Finally, we are completely together, finally we are completely each other's, finally we can perform each other's funeral if we die tomorrow," Gurung, 37, a transgender woman, says as the couple sit in the register office in rural Dordi municipality, where she was born. Continue reading...

Byrne was described as one of the most inventive and versatile of all Scotland's modern artists'The renowned artist and playwright John Byrne, whose parallel careers spanned the acclaimed BBC television series Tutti Frutti, the Slab Boys theatre trilogy and an album cover for the Beatles, has died at the age of 83.He died peacefully on Thursday with his wife, Jeanine, by his side, the Fine Art Society announced in a statement on Friday morning, describing Byrne as one of the most inventive and versatile of all Scotland's modern artists". Continue reading...

Former PM pays tribute to his then chancellor, who has died aged 70, but acknowledges complex relationship

Debt repayment will put group step closer to being controlled by consortium backed by UAEThe Barclay family is expected to close a deal on Friday to regain control of the Telegraph and Spectator temporarily, as part of plans that would ultimately put the titles under the control of a consortium backed by the United Arab Emirates.The Barclays have engineered a two-stage deal to control the future ownership of the titles, which were seized by Lloyds bank in June after the family failed to repay 1.16bn in debts. Continue reading...

Minnie Chan has reportedly been out of contact since travelling to Xiangshan Forum a month agoFriends and colleagues of a Hong Kong journalist have raised concerns after she failed to return from a defence and security forum in Beijing a month ago.Minnie Chan, a reporter for the South China Morning Post, has not been in contact since she went to the Xiangshan Forum, Japan's Kyodo News reported on Thursday. Chan filed several stories from the forum, the most recent of which was published on 2 November. Continue reading...

Holidaymakers affected will be contacted but it leaves customer plans for Christmas break in disarrayPontins is closing its resorts in Prestatyn, north Wales, and Camber Sands in East Sussex, throwing holidaymakers' plans for a Christmas break into disarray.The seaside resort group, which last year was rated among the worst holiday parks in the UK, said on its website that both sites would shut with immediate effect". Continue reading...

Nationwide says average property price was 258,557 in November, 5,231 down on same month last yearUK house prices rose for a third consecutive month in November as the market responded to hopes that mortgage rate costs had peaked.Nationwide, the UK's biggest building society, said prices rose 0.2% month on month in November, after a 0.9% rise in October and a 0.1% rise in September. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.4% fall in prices in November. Continue reading...

Thousands of towns and villages in Moldova, Ukraine and Bulgaria left without electricity as cold snap bitesHeavy snowfall and blizzards across eastern European countries this week have resulted in a number of deaths, and left thousands of towns and villages without electricity, after the first major cold snap of the season.In Moldova, four people were reported dead over the weekend, with two bodies being recovered from cars that had been buried in snowdrifts. In Ukraine, severe snowstorms left 10 people dead across the Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions. Fifteen hundred towns and villages were left without power, with one snowstorm in Odesa leaving 2,500 people in need of rescue and about 850 vehicles requiring towing. Southern Ukraine was the worst affected, as cars and buses slid off frozen roads, with local authorities battling strong winds to rescue vehicles. Bulgaria was also badly affected, declaring a state of emergency as winter storms left more than 1,000 villages without electricity. Continue reading...

Former Liberal staffer tells federal court defamation trial she initially thought she could disassociate' from the alleged rape

Derbyshire woman who bought item said she felt uneasy at find that raises concerns over possible prison labourAn ID card that appears to belong to a Chinese prisoner was found inside the lining of a coat from the British brand Regatta, raising concerns that the clothing was manufactured using prison labour.The waterproof women's coat was bought online by a woman in Derbyshire in the Black Friday sale. When it arrived on 22 November, she could feel a hard rectangular item in the right sleeve, which restricted the movement of her elbow. Continue reading...

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Independent monitor makes 40 recommendations to rules that allowed the shameful' secret imprisonment of a government official

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Judge laments tragic and impossibly sad case' while sentencing 20-year-old in NSW district court

Two men, reportedly brothers from East Jerusalem, shot dead at scene after attack that killed three people

It's just really sad that I don't think to this day... there is a willingness to change,' says former patientAn NHS Trust failed in its care of a man who had his surgery delayed at short notice because he was HIV positive, the health ombudsman has found.The 48-year-old man, who did not want to be named, was due to undergo surgery to remove a cyst from his prostate at Walsall Manor hospital, West Midlands, in March 2020. Continue reading...

Who has been released so far?

Charities and NGOs accuse government of changing how it calculates climate spending to claim it will exceed targetsRishi Sunak has been accused of sending out the wrong signals on tackling the climate emergency as he heads to the Cop28 summit in Dubai after saying his revised net zero targets show he is not in hock to the ideological zealots".The prime minister will allocate about 1.6bn of climate finance during the summit and claim that the UK will exceed its target of spending 11.6bn over the five years to 2026. Continue reading...

Mia Schem was abducted from music festival on 7 October; lawyer Amit Soussana has also been released

UK government challenged over refusal to release documents about 2018 incident during campaign against Islamic StateThe Ministry of Defence does not have effective oversight of civilian casualties in UK military campaigns overseas, which puts lives at risk and undermines British foreign policy objectives, a tribunal heard on Thursday.The UK has admitted causing only one civilian death in its nearly decade-long campaign against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a position widely criticised as implausible by defence establishment insiders and the civil service. Continue reading...

Arnaldo Chamorro replaced after he signed proclamation' with representatives of fugitive Indian guru's fake countryA Paraguayan government official has been replaced after it was revealed that he signed a memorandum of understanding with representatives of a fugitive Indian guru's fictional country, who also appear to have duped several other officials in the South American country.Arnaldo Chamorro was replaced as chief of staff for Paraguay's agriculture ministry on Wednesday shortly after it was revealed that he signed a proclamation" with representatives of the United States of Kailasa. Continue reading...

John Brownlee, 88, who faced 37 allegations relating to abuse of schoolboys over 20 years, ruled medically unfit for trialA former teacher at one of Scotland's most prestigious private schools who faced a catalogue of abuse charges covering a 20-year period will not stand trial, because of ill health.John Brownlee, 88, was facing a total of 37 allegations relating to violence and torture he is alleged to have inflicted on 35 schoolboys from February 1967 to December 1987 while he taught at Edinburgh Academy. Continue reading...

Prime minister says he will do what is necessary' to bring down net migration, under pressure from the Conservative rightRishi Sunak has blamed high levels of net migration on Boris Johnson, saying he had inherited these very large numbers" that he was determined to bring down.The prime minister vowed to do what is necessary" to bring net migration down, as he comes under pressure from the right of his party to reduce the number of new arrivals to the UK before the next election. Continue reading...

Politicians from across spectrum pay tribute, with Gordon Brown describing him as a statesman of unimpeachable integrity'

Chair of governors and two deputy heads say inadequate' rating brought about deterioration in Perry's mental healthThere was a direct link" between Ruth Perry's death and the Ofsted inspection that rated her school inadequate, the chair of the board of governors has told an inquest.The school's two deputy headteachers also told the inquest in Reading there was absolutely" a link between the inspection and Perry's subsequent mental deterioration and death earlier this year.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Hongchi Xiao accused of manslaughter by gross negligence of Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, who was seeking help for diabetesA man has been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence after a 71-year-old woman died during slapping therapy" at a country hotel.Danielle Carr-Gomm died while taking part in the session at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire, on 20 October 2016. Continue reading...

Hearing to start in January in case of journalist shot in the street in 2021 who was adviser to a witness in trial of a Dutch drug baronNine men suspected of the murder of prominent Dutch crime reporter Peter R de Vries will go on trial in January, a Dutch court has announced, with a verdict expected by the summer.De Vries was gunned down on a busy Amsterdam street on 6 July 2021, shortly after leaving a TV studio where he had appeared as a guest on a programme. Continue reading...

Philippe Lazzarini urges Israel to think of consequences of offensive if truce is not further extendedAn Israeli military assault into the south of Gaza may lead to 1 million refugees, the head of the UN's Palestine relief agency UNRWA has warned.After a second overnight visit to Gaza where he met overwhelmed Palestinians, Philippe Lazzarini urged Israel to think through the consequences of an offensive in the south if the temporary truce in the fighting is not extended. Continue reading...

Overwhelming vote in favour marks end in part to rail dispute but drivers' strikes to continue

Ursula von der Leyen hopes young people can drive a rapprochement but polls show they have other things on their mindsWe goofed it up, you have to fix it," the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Tuesday in a message to the younger generation about Brexit.Fixing it would be the direction of travel" with regard to the UK rejoining the EU, she told an audience in Brussels. But as the fourth anniversary of Brexit approaches, is it likely that Britain's millennials and generation Z will demand a rapprochement? Continue reading...

Rights activists say marriage of Maya Gurung, a transgender woman, and Surendra Pandey is historic day'An LGBTQ couple in Nepal said they wanted to scream to the world that we are husband and wife at last" after becoming the first in south Asia to have their marriage legally recognised.Maya Gurung, 38, a transgender woman, and Surendra Pandey, 27, were given a legal certificate in Nepal's Lamjung district on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Tears and joy as 17 Thai nationals who were seized in Hamas attacks on Israel land in Bangkok

Human rights activists say supreme court's vague wording provides wide scope for persecutionRussia's supreme court has outlawed what it called an international LGBT public movement" as extremist, in a landmark ruling that representatives of gay and transgender people warn will lead to arrests and prosecutions of the already repressed LGBTQ+ community.The ruling in effect outlaws LGBTQ+ activism in a country growing increasingly conservative since the start of the war in Ukraine. The extremist" label could mean that gay, lesbian, transgender or queer people living in Russia could receive lengthy prison sentences if deemed by the authorities to be part of the so called international LGBT public movement". Continue reading...

PC Jonathan Broadhead used stun gun on girl holding garden shears after responding to 999 call in south-west LondonA police officer who fired a Taser at a 10-year-old girl who was holding garden shears has been cleared of gross misconduct.Jonathan Broadhead, a Metropolitan police constable, faced the charge after using the weapon on the child twice within a few seconds of entering her home. He and a colleague were responding to the mother's 999 call, made after the girl threatened her with a hammer and the shears. Continue reading...

Sullivan described as a British soap icon' after role as popular character on Channel 4 show set in LiverpoolThe actor and director Dean Sullivan, who starred in Brookside, has died aged 68.Sullivan, who was born and educated in Liverpool, played Jimmy Corkhill in the Mersey TV soap, which at its peak regularly drew in audiences of 8 million. Continue reading...

In court filing, Daryl Hall alleges surreptitious' plan by John Oates to sell song catalogue, with Oates calling the claims inflammatory, outlandish, and inaccurate'More details have emerged in the spat between pop duo Hall & Oates, after Daryl Hall filed a lawsuit and restraining order against John Oates last week.The initial lawsuit was sealed, and only scant details were revealed days later, showing that it concerned a dispute over Oates's reported plan to sell his share of the pair's publishing to Primary Wave Music, the company that has acquired numerous song catalogues in recent years by artists including Prince, Stevie Nicks, Burt Bacharach and many more. Continue reading...

Anthony Hurndall, whose son was shot by the IDF in 2003, has called on governments to challenge Israeli claims about deaths of women and childrenWestern governments are actively encourag[ing] the killing of women and children" in Gaza, because they are not willing to challenge Israeli accounts of the war there, the father of a British peace activist killed by an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) sniper has warned.Anthony Hurndall's son, Tom Hurndall, was shot in the head in April 2003 in Rafah, while he was helping Palestinian children. Continue reading...