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Australian foreign minister's call comes as six former prime ministers issue joint statement expressing solidarity with Jewish and Palestinian communities

Legislation is first step' before phasing out other products, says government, after similar moves in England and ScotlandSeveral single-use plastic products have been banned from being sold across Wales as new legislation comes into force.The Welsh government said the ban would reduce the flow of plastic pollution into the environment by prohibiting the supply of certain products. Continue reading...

Budgets could be overwhelmed as evictions and rising mortgage rates cause homelessness to surgeEngland's housing crisis will push many local authorities into bankruptcy as the increasing cost of emergency accommodation for thousands of homeless families threatens to overwhelm council budgets, leaders have warned.The worst-hit councils are now spending millions of pounds a year - in some cases between a fifth and half of their total available financial resources - to try to cope with an unprecedented and rapid explosion in homelessness caused by rising rents and a shrinking supply of affordable properties. Continue reading...

Remarks by rights chief come as civil society groups warn of a rise in antisemitism amid Israel-Hamas warAntisemitism is a deeply ingrained racism in European society" that poses an existential threat to the continent's Jewish community and the fundamental aims of the European Union, an EU official has warned.Michael O'Flaherty, the director of the bloc's agency for fundamental rights, said it was worrying that only a third of the general population considered antisemitism a big problem, when there was no doubt dramatic moments in our societies trigger antisemitic responses". Continue reading...

High house prices, soaring rents and benefit cuts are forcing more and more to seek help from local authoritiesBankruptcy, Ernest Hemingway once wrote, comes gradually, then suddenly. For years, England's dysfunctional housing market was a distant concern for most district councils in the relatively affluent home counties; now, unexpectedly, it is in their faces, out of control and threatening to overwhelm them.Hastings, a coastal district in East Sussex, has warned it could become effectively insolvent this year as the housing crisis rips through. High house prices, soaring rents, housing benefit cuts, a 120% year-on-year rise in evictions, shortages of social housing and a shrinking, volatile, local private rented sector have created a perfect storm. Continue reading...

Flower memorial goes up for the 21-year coach killed on Sydney private school's grounds and special assembly held

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Law Enforcement Conduct Commission finds the suspect targeting management plan (STMP) has discriminatory effect' on young people

Washington will look to partner with Pacific media sector, top official tells the Guardian

Exclusive: Prominent no campaigner told senior staffer that I'm going to treat you cunts like you treated me'

Former foreign minister says building nuclear submarines at South Australian shipyard will drain the national economy'

Australians eat almost double recommended daily salt intake but new report finds individual choices aren't always to blame

The opposition is demanding the resignation of prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the transfer of power to a non-partisan caretaker governmentAuthorities in Bangladesh have arrested a key opposition figure from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and sent him to prison after a nationwide strike led to violent clashes with security forces.Media reports said at least three civilians died in the violence, which included an arson attack in the nation's capital, Dhaka, on Sunday. Dozens of others were injured during the strike. Continue reading...

London and England's southern and eastern regions worst affected as higher mortgage rates sap demandouse prices have fallen in every local property market in the south and east of England this year, as higher mortgage rates have weakened demand for new homes, figures have shown.About 80% of markets in the UK registered house price falls over 2023 compared with last year, the property portal Zoopla found. Continue reading...

Institute for Government says crumbling' services are far worse than when Tories took power in 2010Britain's public services are stuck in a doom loop" of recurring crises as a result of ministers' short-term policymaking, a thinktank has warned.Public services are performing worse than before the pandemic and much worse than when the Conservatives came to power in 2010, according to the Institute for Government (IfG) annual report on the state of public services. Continue reading...

Mark Rowley says officers will robustly enforce up to the line of the law' and warns war is accelerating' terror threat in UK

EU accused of not offering enough access for Australian beef, sheep, dairy and sugar exporters

Head of refugee agency says wheat, flour and hygiene supplies taken as Israel continues its bombardment

Exclusive: Mohammad Shtayyeh calls for a comprehensive, peaceful vision' and ceasefire in GazaThe Palestinian Authority will not return to governing Gaza after the Israel-Hamas conflict without a comprehensive agreement that includes the West Bank in a Palestinian state, the authority's prime minister has said.Israeli civilian and military officials have said their plan for the end of the Gaza war is to have some form of transitional authority rule the territory, perhaps involving Arab states, leading to the restoration of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which was ousted from Gaza in a 2007 Hamas coup. Continue reading...

Guerrero state governor says officials assessing damage after unprecedented 165mph storm hit Mexico's Pacific coastThe death toll from a devastating hurricane that hit the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco last week has risen to 43, the governor of Guerrero state has said.Evelyn Salgado added that electricity had been restored to 58% of Acapulco and that officials had visited 10,000 families there and the nearby city of Coyuca de Benitez for a census to evaluate damages. Continue reading...

Met police say passenger believed to be in his 20s died at scene of incident near Cranford Park interchangeA man has died and three other people were hurt when a car overturned on the M4 motorway.The motorway was closed in both directions on Sunday as police dealt with the incident that happened on the eastbound carriageway near the Cranford Park interchange, west London, at 11.39am. Continue reading...

Claims drone strike or debris from downed drone has caused fire in oil refinery near Black Sea in RussiaOnce a week, Ukrainian parents bring their children to a community centre in Kyiv for canine therapy.Beijing Xiangshan Forum, China's biggest annual show of military diplomacy, started on Sunday, but the name of Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu, initially listed in the forum's agenda as the first guest speaker at tomorrow's opening ceremony, was not on the agenda. Continue reading...

Dr Martyn Pitman claimed retaliatory victimisation after raising morale concerns but tribunal says his manner cost him his jobA doctor has said raising whistleblowing concerns about maternity care at his hospital cost me very dearly" after losing his employment tribunal.Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Martyn Pitman was dismissed earlier this year from his job at the Royal Hampshire county hospital (RHCH) in Winchester, where he had worked for 20 years. Continue reading...

Liam Conlon, son of Keir Starmer's new chief of staff, is standing for the party in Beckenham and Penge in south LondonThe son of Keir Starmer's new chief of staff has announced his plans to try to become the Labour MP for a winnable seat.Liam Conlon, Sue Gray's son, is running in one of south London's newest constituencies, Beckenham and Penge, created after the Boundary Commission review and thought to be a comfortable Labour win. Continue reading...

Armita Geravand had been in a coma after alleged incident with Iran's morality police' on Tehran metroThe United States has spoken of its deep sadness over the death of a young Iranian girl, Armita Garawand, who had been in a coma after a controversial incident on Tehran's metro.I am deeply saddened to learn that Amita Geravand has died after being beaten by Iran's morality police for not wearing a hijab in public," US National Security advisor, Jake Sullivan, said on X. Iran's state-sponsored violence against its own people is appalling and underscores the fragility of the regime." Continue reading...

Man arrested and eight others taken to hospital after incident in Aldwych in early hours of Sunday morningPedestrians in the West End of London were taken to hospital after a car crashed into a bus stop in the early hours of Sunday morning, with a man in his 20s arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving.Paramedics said that eight of the pedestrians had been taken to hospital - with three people in major trauma centres - after a Range Rover careered off the road in Aldwych, near the Indian High Commission, after a night of Halloween festivities in the capital. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Fraser Sampson says law is not keeping up with AI advances as police retain 3m images of innocent peopleBritain is an omni-surveillance" society with police forces in the extraordinary" position of holding more than 3m custody photographs of innocent people more than a decade after being told to destroy them, the independent surveillance watchdog has said.Fraser Sampson, who will end his term as the Home Office's biometrics and surveillance commissioner this month, said there isn't much not being watched by somebody" in the UK and that the regulatory framework was inconsistent, incomplete and in some areas incoherent". Continue reading...

Asylum seekers share fears about Dorset barge getting even more crowded, saying they already despair and wish for death'Asylum seekers brought back to the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset, have said they are being treated in such a way that we despair and wish for death".The Guardian spoke to two men in their first interview since being returned to the barge on 19 October after the vessel lay empty for more than two months. The presence of deadly legionella bacteria was confirmed on board on 7 August, the same day the first group of asylum seekers arrived. The barge was evacuated four days later. Continue reading...

Italian city's mayor says square around 12th-century structure will shut for a few years' for repairsThe square surrounding Bologna's medieval leaning tower" is to be closed off for a few years" amid concerns that the 12th-century structure is tilting a little too precariously.The Italian city's mayor, Matteo Lepore, said the closure of Piazza di Porta Ravegnana was necessary in order to save" the Garisenda tower. We're not intervening because we think it could collapse at any moment,, we're intervening because we want to make it safe and restore it," he said. Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews went out on top but in Queensland the premier fights on, even as the LNP gears up to go all-in on regional seats

Limited supply and strong demand prompts national median weekly advertised rents to rise 14.6% over the year

Exclusive: State's domestic violence prevention minister says it's up to every single one of us' to help prevent harm against women

Prime minister pushed back on idea of US president personally stepping in, but Gabriel Shipton calls prosecution entirely political'

Home Office has imposed a 15 December deadline to eject people who worked for UK in Afghanistan from hotels, say councilsMore than 1,000 Afghans in the UK face being made homeless days before Christmas after the Home Office imposed a fresh deadline to eject them from hotels.The Local Government Association (LGA) revealed the number of at-risk Afghans, which includes families, after the Home Office last week imposed the new deadline of 15 December. Continue reading...

Head of German-based group tells Politico podcast its strategy is to grow its digital mediaAxel Springer, the German-based media group considered a leading contender in the auction of the Telegraph and Spectator titles, has cast doubt over whether it will submit a bid in the process to find a new owner for the influential titles.Its long-standing chief executive, Mathias Dopfner, who led the owner of the daily Die Welt and the tabloid Bild when the business was trumped by a blockbuster 665m offer for the Telegraph by the Barclay brothers in 2004, has said Axel Springer is focused on a digital-only strategy. Continue reading...

Nigerian asylum seeker airlifted to hospital on Thursday after learning of transfer to barge, charity saysA 23-year-old Nigerian has made an attempt on his own life in an Essex hotel car park after hearing he was due to be transferred on to the Bibby Stockholm barge, according to a local charity.He was airlifted to hospital and placed on life support on Thursday, two days after being told he was due to be moved.In the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org, and 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, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Mahmoud Abu Amir is among thousands of Palestinians frantically trying to locate their loved ones from afar

Lucha Reyes was compared to Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf. Now, fifty years after her death, her songs are released for a new audienceOn a late spring morning 50 years ago this week, 30,000 people gathered outside the baroque facade of the church of San Francisco in central Lima to weep, sing and say goodbye to the young woman whose coffin was hoisted on to the crowd's shoulders and carried, for three hours, to El Angel cemetery a few kilometres away.Lucha Reyes, who had died the previous day from a heart attack brought on by diabetes, knew her end was approaching. In keeping with the raw and pained songs and performances that had made her Peru's darling, the 37-year-old singer had even commissioned a valedictory waltz. Called Mi ultima cancion, or My Last Song, it was written in a funeral parlour. Continue reading...

A 1924 seance has solved the mystery surrounding a signed copy of the dramatist's first playBilled as one of the greatest rarities of English literature", a signed copy of William Butler Yeats's first play, Mosada, is on display this weekend for the first time since 1956 - and its 125,000 price tag is all thanks to a message from beyond the grave.London dealer Peter Harrington today has the book on sale at the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair. It was last displayed at Trinity College Dublin 67 years ago. Continue reading...

Venues across the UK closed over building safety fears sprinkle a little magic to keep their shows on the roadEvery good pantomime needs a menacing villain to threaten all the fun, and this season the theatrical baddie is easy to identify. Christmas shows the length of Britain are battling a foe that could well be dubbed King Raac", as the discovery of faulty concrete brings down the curtain at a string of venues.Pantomimes, crucial box office earners for provincial theatres, have been widely jeopardised, with auditoriums deemed unsafe from Motherwell, Carlisle and Cardiff, to Peterborough, Dartford and Redhill, after the detection of seams of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, known as Raac. Continue reading...

Brokers in south Asia charging up to 800 for appointments that should be freeUK visa appointments are being booked up by brokers and sold on for hundreds of pounds in an illicit trade targeting overseas workers and students.An Observer investigation has found brokers in some parts of south Asia charging up to 800 for the biometric appointments, which are widely advertised on Facebook and the Telegram messaging service. Continue reading...

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Highest increase was in South Australia, where road deaths were 28.4% higher in the 12 months to September than the previous year

Campaign of intimidation began after the Birmingham gang were jailed for new year's shooting of two teenage girlsIt remains one of the UK's most shocking gangland killings. In the early hours of 2 January 2003, best friends Letisha Shakespeare, 17, and Charlene Ellis, 18, were gunned down as they stood outside a new year party in Aston, Birmingham.Mistakenly killed in an escalating feud between rival inner-city factions the Burger Bar Boys and the Johnson Crew, their double murder propelled both gangs to national notoriety. Continue reading...

This blog is closed. Go to our Israel-Hamas war page for further coverageTurkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoan, says Israel must stop the madness" and end Gaza strikes, according to Agence France-Presse.The Israeli bombardments on Gaza intensified last night and once again targeted women, children and innocent civilians and worsened the ongoing humanitarian crisis," Erdoan said on X. Israel must immediately stop this madness and end its attacks." Continue reading...

Opposition leader says government squibbed' key United Nations vote, but trade minister says his comments are not helpful at this time'

Policing minister Chris Philp suggests target of more than 200,000 searches over next six monthsPolice are being encouraged to double their use of retrospective facial recognition software to track down offenders over the next six months.Policing minister Chris Philp has written to force leaders suggesting the target of exceeding 200,000 searches of still images against the police national database by May using facial recognition technology. Continue reading...

Scotland's first minister speaks of family worry after Israel cuts off population of Gaza from communication with worldScotland's first minister has said he does not know if his parents-in-law who are trapped in Gaza are dead or alive after Israel knocked out communications there.Humza Yousaf said he and his wife, Nadia, are desperately worried" and that she is numb" as they try to find out news about her parents. Continue reading...

Government's failure to back ceasefire resolution adds to tensions among demonstrators

As Israel's ground operation intensifies, World Health Organization issues an urgent statement saying it is unable to cope with a total blackout