World news | The Guardian

This live blog is now closedSweden's foreign minister said he is grateful" for US support, as the country continues to wait to join Nato.The Finnish president's office told Reuters today the presidents of Finland and Poland did not discuss military cooperation regarding Finland's border with Russia during a meeting last week. Continue reading...

Bistro Greggs to reimagine favourites such as the steak bake with Parisian inspiration' - and price hike to matchYou've eaten the sausage roll and possibly bought the Primark T-shirt but now the formerly no-frills baker Greggs has upped the ante with its guerrilla marketing this Christmas by debuting a fine dining" offering.Bistro Greggs is marketing itself as a high-end restaurant where steak bakes will be served under silver cloches and you can sip 9.50 cocktails inspired by jam doughnuts. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of business as US revises up GDP growth in third quarter to fastest pace of 2023At lunchtime in the UK and western Europe markets are fairly flat all around.The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 has barely moved, although grocery delivery company Ocado is the top gainer, up 4.8%. (An Ocado director buying shares may have helped.) Trainer retailer JD Sports was the second biggest, up 4.5%.These allegations are false, not true, incorrect, are not accurate. And it's an attempt to undermine the work of the COP28 presidency,I promise you, never ever did I see these talking points that they refer to or that I ever even used such talking points in my discussions. Continue reading...

The dry weather probably panicked a lot of people who flooded the markets with cattle, but now things are changing, says one breeder

Status of five other personnel aboard Osprey aircraft not known after incident off Yakushima island, off southern Kyushu coastA crew member who was recovered from the ocean after a US military Osprey aircraft carrying six people crashed Wednesday off southern Japan has been pronounced dead, coast guard officials said.The cause of the crash and the status of the five others on the aircraft were not immediately known, coast guard spokesperson Kazuo Ogawa said. Initial reports said the aircraft was carrying eight people, but the US military later revised the number to six, he said. Continue reading...

Singer is teaming up with Ellie Costello and says it'll be a joy to join the GB News family'The singer, former I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! contestant and Miss World host Peter Andre will co-host a new show on GB News throughout December, it has been announced.The Mysterious Girl singer, 50, will present Saturday Morning Live with Ellie Costello from 10am to 12pm from this Saturday. Continue reading...

Provisional cause of death of Jevon Hirst, 16, Harvey Owen, 17, Wilf Fitchett, 17, and Hugo Morris, 18, was drowning, inquests toldFour teenagers drowned after the vehicle they were travelling in left a road in north Wales, a coroner has said.The inquests into the deaths of Jevon Hirst, 16, Harvey Owen, 17, Wilf Fitchett, 17, and Hugo Morris, 18, all from the Shropshire area, were opened and adjourned on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Spanish firm Ferrovial sells off holding after 17 years, with other 15% going to French group ArdianSaudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund has taken a 10% stake in Heathrow for 1bn from the Spanish infrastructure company Ferrovial, which is selling off its holding in Europe's biggest airport after 17 years.Ferrovial has sold its entire 25% stake in Heathrow's parent company, FGP Topco, for 2.4bn, with a 15% share of the firm going to the French private equity group Ardian and the rest going to the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). Continue reading...

V&A director says trustees should be able to make case' for items to be retained or returned to countries of originMuseum trustees should be able to make the case" whether items in their collections should be retained or returned to their countries of origin, but instead were being infantilised" and hidebound" by legislation, Tristram Hunt, the director of the V&A, has said.He was speaking as a diplomatic row between the UK and Greece over the future of the Parthenon marbles, held at the British Museum, blew up this week after Rishi Sunak abruptly cancelled a meeting with the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Continue reading...

Katarina Carroll says if new legislation passes parliament it will be exactly what we need' amid retesting of DNA samples at state lab

Daniel Duggan's lawyer calls for restraining order on property to be thrown out due to unacceptable sequence of events'

Former Liberal staffer told the court she was upset all these good people did nothing' in her time of needBrittany Higgins was really personally hurt" by the way senator Linda Reynolds and the Liberal Party abandoned" her after she disclosed she had been sexually assaulted in the minister's office, the federal court has heard.Bruce Lehrmann has brought a defamation case against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over an interview with Higgins on Ten's The Project in which she alleged she was raped by a Liberal staffer in Parliament House. Network Ten and Wilkinson are defending the case. Continue reading...

NSW girl Isabelle Miller grabbed steering wheel of Casino high school bus as it crossed road and headed towards cars refuelling at mini mart

Collaboration will give Sony Pictures Entertainment exclusive first-look rights to Guardian's global journalismThe Guardian has struck a deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment, the parent of the producers of content including The Crown, Doctor Who and Sex Education, to develop the media group's content for adaptation to film and TV.The deal with Guardian Media Group, the parent company of the Guardian and Observer newspapers and international digital businesses, will give SPE exclusive first-look rights to Guardian's global journalism. Continue reading...

Government facing two new legal challenges from former detainees who Andrew Giles released into community detention

A warning for readers: this blog contains graphic details of allegations of sexual assault.

Australian Clinical Labs hack alleged to have resulted in more than 200,000 health records and credit card details being published on dark web

Decision made in case of Muslim employee in Belgium states that restrictions must be applied equallyGovernment offices across the EU can ban employees from wearing religious symbols, such as Islamic headscarves, in the interest of neutrality, the EU's top court has ruled, though it stressed that such restrictions must be applied equally to all employees and fit within the legal context of each member state.The decision, published by the court of justice of the European Union on Tuesday, said such bans were permissible in order to enforce an entirely neutral administrative environment". Continue reading...

Alleged plan to favour Nawaz Sharif in coming general election comes amid allegations of pre-polling riggingThe election commission of Pakistan is facing accusations of using a controversial exercise to redraw the voting map in order to favour the return of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to power, amid allegations of pre-polling rigging and increasing doubts over the fairness of the coming general elections.The process of amending constituency borders, known as delimitation, follows on from a census that was recently carried out, which was marred with controversies. Continue reading...

Treasurer Tim Pallas says government is working to determine who needs to be paid back after high court's EV ruling

Miriam Adelson's family, which runs the Las Vegas Sands casino, said they will be selling shares worth $2bn to purchase a teamDallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is working on a deal to sell a majority stake in the NBA franchise to the family that runs the Las Vegas Sands casino, a person with knowledge of the talks said Tuesday night.The agreement would be in the valuation range of $3.5bn and take weeks for the league to process, according to the person, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details weren't being made public. Continue reading...

Seventeen-year-old Hamidreza Azari was executed along with Milad Zohrevand, 22, as UN agency calls for moratorium on capital punishmentThe United Nations said Tuesday it deplored the executions of a 17-year-old and a 22-year old in Iran and urged Tehran to immediately stop applying the death penalty.The UN Human Rights Office said it was troubled by Friday's executions. The execution of Hamidreza Azari, who was accused of murder, is the first reported execution of an alleged child offender in Iran this year," spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell said in a statement. Continue reading...

In second radical action in a month, pontiff hits back at retired prelate Raymond Burke, one of his most vocal criticsPope Francis has decided to punish one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by revoking his right to a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary in the second such radical action against a conservative American prelate this month, according to two people briefed on the measures.Francis told a meeting of the heads of Vatican offices last week that he was moving against Burke because he was a source of disunity" in the church, said one of the participants at the 20 November meeting. The participant spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to reveal the contents of the encounter. Continue reading...

Ads gave misleading impression that recycling vapes is easy and can be done at home, says watchdogAdverts for the vaping company Elf Bar have been banned after using the slogan recycling for a greener future" over concern they were misleading because of the environmental damage of discarded vapes.A study by Material Focus shows that 260m disposable vapes were thrown away in the UK in 2022, making them a leading cause of the rise in plastic pollution in recent years. Continue reading...

Government push to clear asylum backlog is not giving people granted refugee status enough time to find new home, say councilsTens of thousands of refugees are at risk of sleeping rough this Christmas after a Home Office drive to hit Rishi Sunak's asylum case target, the umbrella body for local councils has said.The Local Government Association said councils across England and Wales were facing a perfect storm" as the government worked to clear 92,327 asylum cases by the end of the year. Continue reading...

War of words between Athens and London escalates after Rishi Sunak's snub to Greek prime ministerRishi Sunak's snub of his Greek counterpart over the Parthenon marbles raised fresh questions about Britain's fraught relations with its European neighbours as a war of words between Athens and London escalated on Tuesday.A meeting on Tuesday between Sunak and Kyriakos Mitsotakis was cancelled because the Greek prime minister reneged on assurances that he would not use a UK visit as a public platform" to lobby for the return of the marbles to Athens, Downing Street said. The Greek side has denied any such assurances were given. Continue reading...

Mizanur Rahman, a 41-year-old father of two, was killed in a fire at the flat, 18 Maddocks House in ShadwellThe landlords of a dangerously overcrowded east London flat that suffered a deadly fire in March have pleaded guilty to a total of nine criminal charges.Sofina Begum, 50, and Aminur Rahman, 53, entered their pleas during a short hearing at Thames magistrates court in east London. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Isaac Levido's company, Fleetwood Strategy, is helping DMGT navigate potential acquisition of right-wing broadsheetA lobbying company run by the Conservatives' top election strategist, Isaac Levido, is advising the owners of the Daily Mail on their bid to buy the Telegraph newspaper titles, prompting concerns over a potential conflict of interest.Fleetwood Strategy, which was set up by Levido after running the Tories' highly successful election campaign in 2019, is helping the Daily Mail & General Trust navigate a potential acquisition of the right-wing broadsheet, the Guardian has learned. Continue reading...

Temporary closure comes after Finnish intelligence suggested Russia was helping asylum seekers reach the borderFinland has announced it is temporarily closing its entire border with Russia after weeks of tensions between the countries over asylum seekers that Helsinki has labelled a hybrid operation" by Moscow.With just 24 hours notice, the Finnish government said on Tuesday that it would close Raja-Jooseppi in Lapland, its last remaining border crossing point with Russia, on Wednesday night. Continue reading...

Chile has the largest Palestinian diaspora outside the Middle East - and it is lending its considerable weight to the call for justiceAbove canvas awnings along the narrow streets in Patronato, a busy commercial district in Chile's capital, Palestinian flags hang from lampposts and frame warehouse doors.Bakeries sell baklava, pita and falafel; and shelves are stacked with products imported from the Middle East, their ingredients hastily covered over with Spanish approximations. Continue reading...

Source of Ralstonia outbreak under investigation with 43 suspected cases across Australia

Tory source says it became impossible for meeting to go ahead' after Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged return of Parthenon marbles to AthensGreece's prime minister has slammed the decision of his British counterpart Rishi Sunak to cancel planned talks at which he had hoped to raise the issue of the Parthenon marbles, as disagreements over the antiquities erupted with renewed vigour.As aides described Sunak's move as wrong and undignified", Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is visiting London, voiced irritation at the scheduled Downing Street meeting being called off at the 11th hour. Continue reading...

Prof Ghassan Abu-Sittah claims destruction of Palestinian health system was an Israeli objective

About 50 workers take part in action, claiming move from Rome would be tantamount to collective dismissalAbout 50 Gucci employees in Italy have gone on strike in protest against plans to relocate a significant part of its design studio team from Rome to Milan in what they claim is a mass redundancy in disguise".Gucci, which is owned by the French-based luxury goods group Kering, announced in October it would move 153 of its 219 design employees from the Italian capital to Lombardy city. Continue reading...

NHS leaders welcome breakthrough as vital step' towards halting walkouts by various staff groups

Boy and girl on trial at Manchester crown court over fatal stabbing of Brianna in a Cheshire park in FebruaryTwo teenagers accused of murdering a 16-year-old girl in a park near Warrington had a list of five children they wanted to kill, a court has heard.The girl and boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were 15 when one or both of them allegedly stabbed Brianna Ghey 28 times in a sustained and violent attack" on 11 February 2023. Brianna was transgender and had been living and dressing as a girl before her death, Manchester crown court heard. Continue reading...

Concerns raised over consistency and availability' of stalking advocates in UK police forces to support victimsStalking victims face a postcode lottery" of support due to a lack of advocates in police forces across the UK, a coroner has warned following the death of Gracie Spinks.The 23-year-old was killed in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, by a work colleague, Michael Sellers, who had become obsessed" with her after previously harassing a number of other women. Continue reading...

Covid tier system introduced in October 2020 and imposed different restrictions on English regions in effort to contain spread of virus. This live blog is closedAt the Covid inquiry Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said that he was not getting information from the government in February about Covid. He said he was disappointed" by that.In late February and early March he was getting information from other cities around the world instead, he said. He said this happened even though his foreign affairs team consisted of just three people.The government generally does give us information about a variety of things happening. I'm disappointed the government weren't giving us information in February about what they knew then. Continue reading...

Aunt tells of Roni Krivoy's breakout as further details emerge of ordeal faced by those held captive in Gaza

Changes to include use of commercial recruitment firms to carry out more targeted conscription, say officials

PC Jonathan Broadhead accused of using unreasonable force against girl who was holding garden shearsA Metropolitan police officer Tasered a 10-year-old girl twice after she threatened her mother with garden shears and hit her with a hammer, a misconduct hearing has heard.PC Jonathan Broadhead is accused of gross misconduct over the use of force that was not necessary, reasonable and proportionate" when he responded to the mother's 999 call. The hearing was told he used the Taser within approximately eight seconds" of entering the house in south-west London on 21 January 2021. Continue reading...

Payments allegedly facilitated by senior government and military figures to secure arms contracts for British firmsCabinet ministers and Whitehall mandarins approved payments totalling 60m to Saudi royals and high-ranking officials over decades to secure and maintain a huge arms deal, a court heard on Monday.The accusation was made by Tom Allen, a barrister representing one of two men who are being prosecuted for corruption in a longstanding arms deal between the UK and Saudi Arabia. Continue reading...

Blow to passengers as direct trains from Netherlands cancelled from June 2024 to early 2025Rail passengers will be unable to directly travel from Amsterdam to London for six months next year as a big revamp of the Dutch capital's largest railway station causes upheaval on the Eurostar.The refurbishment of Centraal station will lead to the suspension of the high-speed services from Amsterdam between next June and early 2025, the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), said. Continue reading...

Police promise arrests of riot leaders and participants in coming weeks as government seeks to expand use of facial recognition technologyIrish police are expected to make sweeping arrests of suspected ringleaders of Thursday's riot in Dublin and to obtain wider rights to use facial recognition technology to help identify suspects in any future disorder.The moves come amid mounting pressure on the government and police chiefs over the mayhem on 24 November when an estimated 500 anti-immigrant activists and gangs of youths looted shops, burned vehicles and attacked police, leaving swathes of Ireland's capital resembling a war zone. Continue reading...

Guitarist celebrated by Jimmy Page and Kevin Shields for his intense, multi-layered sound suffered a stroke over the weekendKevin Geordie" Walker, guitarist with industrial band Killing Joke whose ringing, richly textured tone influenced generations of musicians, has died aged 64.The band wrote in a statement on Sunday: It is with extreme sadness we confirm that at 6.30am on 26th November 2023 in Prague, Killing Joke's legendary guitarist Kevin Geordie' Walker passed away after suffering a stroke, he was surrounded by family. We are devastated. Rest In Peace brother." Continue reading...

Both sides say they would like to see further release of hostages held by Hamas in return for Palestinians in Israeli jails

Lisa Lines, 43, denies attempting to murder Jonathon Hawtin and his mother, and intends to plead not guilty to all charges

Meanwhile, Storm Bettina brings wind and rain to southern and eastern parts of EuropeLast Tuesday, the Amalfi coast in Italy saw more than one waterspout form offshore, fuelled by high humidity and relatively warm sea surface temperatures.A waterspout is a column of rapidly rotating air, filled with cloud, which forms from a cumulus cloud above a large body of water. They are similar in appearance to small tornadoes, but are typically far less powerful. A typical waterspout is about 50 metres wide with wind speeds of about 50mph, and will exist for only five to 10 minutes. Continue reading...

Australian Border Force alleges four people previously released have breached their visa conditions

Businessman warns people to never ever' purchase from advertisers on Facebook and Instagram after totally fraudulent' video appears