Proposed buyout of collapsed supplier gets go-ahead despite judicial reviews lodged by rivals E.ON, Centrica and Scottish PowerThe takeover of the collapsed energy supplier Bulb in a deal which would create the UK’s third largest gas and electricity provider has been approved in a London court.Octopus Energy agreed last month to buy Bulb out of a government-handled administration process which has lasted for nearly a year. Continue reading...

Employee at Ukrainian embassy in Spain injured handling a letter; UK targets 22 Russians including deputy PM Denis Manturov

Pair urge president to withdraw military support to Netanyahu’s coalition government if Palestinians are expelled or land annexedTwo former senior US diplomats have made a highly unusual call for the Biden administration to cut weapons supplies to Israel if the incoming far-right government uses them to annex Palestinian land, expel Arabs or finally kill off the diminishing possibility of a Palestinian state.Daniel Kurtzer, a former US ambassador to Israel under George W Bush, and Aaron David Miller, a US Middle East peace negotiator during several administrations, have called for what they described as an “unprecedented and controversial” break from America’s largely unconditional military and diplomatic support for Israel if “the most extreme government in the history of the state” pursues the stated aims of some of its members. Continue reading...

Damian Hinds says acute increase in prison population means he has requested temporary use of up to 400 police cellsEngland’s poorest students will be more than £1,000 worse off this academic year than the last, according to a new analysis that warns of “significant hardship for many this winter”. My colleague Sally Weale has the story here.Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary, has said she expects the government’s delayed nature and pollution targets to be published before Christmas.My main focus frankly in the next three months is getting the environmental targets out and the environmental improvement plan, as well as the preparation for the most important conference of the year which is actually the CBD [Convention on Biological Diversity] in Montreal next month.I really hope so, that’s my intention. I’ll be very disappointed if they aren’t. Continue reading...

The £574m payout is thought to be highest annual amount ever paid to one person in BritainThe billionaire hedge fund manager Sir Chris Hohn paid himself a record-breaking $690m (£574m) this year after his Children’s Investment (TCI) fund recorded a a surge in profits.The payout from the Mayfair-based hedge fund, where the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, worked between 2006 and 2009, is the biggest ever collected by Hohn and believed to be the highest annual amount ever paid to one person in Britain. It equates to more than £1.5m a day. Continue reading...

Former lady-in-waiting to queen issues apology after Ngozi Fulani questioned over where her ‘people’ came fromThe late queen’s lady-in-waiting has resigned and apologised after a black guest at a reception hosted by the queen consort was left feeling traumatised and violated after she questioned her repeatedly about where she “really came from”.Ngozi Fulani, the founder of the charity Sistah Space, claimed Susan Hussey moved her hair to reveal her name badge and persistently questioned her over where her “people” came from, despite having been told she was a British national. Continue reading...

Chair of Charity Commission says voluntary sector faces ‘existential crisis’ as incomes of top 1% rise but philanthropy fallsThe head of England’s charity watchdog has berated the super-rich for failing to give enough money to good causes, saying the voluntary sector faces an “existential crisis” amid the social and economic turmoil facing the UK.The chair of the Charity Commission, Orlando Fraser, said the UK’s top 1% of earners were giving less to charity than they were a decade ago, despite enjoying significant increases in their personal wealth over the same period. Continue reading...

Staff member sustained light injuries in blast that occurred while he was handling letter, say police

Ofcom warns lower socio-economic viewers feel ‘persistently underserved’ by broadcasterThe BBC will redirect its television budget to make “lighter” dramas and comedies in the belief they will appeal to Britons from poorer backgrounds.The broadcaster also said it would try to attract viewers from lower socio-economic groups by making sports documentaries and crime shows, after criticism from Ofcom that these audiences are more likely to watch commercial outlets such as ITV. Continue reading...

Donya Prioleau says company should have acted on the shooter’s pattern of disturbing behavior in the Virginia storeA Walmart employee injured in a mass shooting at a Virginia store last week has filed a $50m lawsuit against the company, alleging the gunman exhibited threatening behavior months before he killed six people.Donya Prioleau, an employee of the Walmart in Chesapeake, said in the lawsuit, filed on Thursday, the store should have been aware of problems with Andre Bing’s behavior given numerous reports including a formal complaint filed by Prioleau on 10 September, NBC News reported. Continue reading...

European Council’s ‘rapid reaction visit’ followed reports of diphtheria outbreak and squalid conditionsConditions for small boat arrivals at the Manston reception centre in Kent have sparked international concern and triggered a “rapid reaction” visit from European torture monitors in the last few days.A seven-strong delegation from the Council of Europe’s Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Committee carried out a the visit to Manston from 25-28 November due to concerns over conditions there. Continue reading...

Salah Abdeslam, who was convicted in separate trial over 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, among accusedBelgium has launched its biggest criminal trial with the prosecution of alleged jihadists accused of directing or aiding suicide bombings on the Brussels metro and airport that killed 32 people in 2016.The prime suspect in the dock, Abdeslam Salah, 33, an electrical mechanic, confirmed his identity and occupation. Salah, who is French, was convicted in a separate trial in France for his role in attacks in Paris in 2015 that killed 130 people. Continue reading...

Warnings of heavy road congestion, with action by Abellio and Metroline staff likely to coincide with rail stoppagesPassengers have been warned to expect disruption as strikes by thousands of bus drivers in London will affect routes for seven days in December.Drivers in the Unite union at two employers, Abellio and Metroline, will strike for three days from Thursday 1 to Saturday 3 December in disputes over pay. Continue reading...

Police arrested woman on suspicion of attempted murder after forcing entry into propertyTwo 10-year-old boys were stabbed and a 39-year-old woman was arrested after an eight-hour police standoff at a property in Lincolnshire.Police officers made a forced entry into the property at about 1am on Wednesday and found the boys with stab wounds. Both boys were taken to hospital but neither is believed to have life-threatening injuries. Continue reading...

Judge in Delhi adjourns case to give lawyers for Australian-Indian man accused of murdering the 24-year-old time to review documents

Tens of thousands of workers in England to take industrial action in run-up to Christmas in row over pay

NGO alleges ‘crimes against humanity’ in complaint to international criminal courtHigh-profile European politicians, including the EU’s former foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Italy’s current and former interior ministers and the current and former prime ministers of Malta, have been named as the subjects of a criminal complaint at the international criminal court alleging they conspired with Libya’s coastguard to illegally push back refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.The criminal complaint, which was submitted at The Hague by the German NGO the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), accuses the politicians of committing several “crimes against humanity in the form of the severe deprivation of physical liberty” between 2018 and 2021 by systematically intercepting boats in the Med and sending refugees back into detention in Libya. Continue reading...

Death of 19-year-old, who was shot by Const Zachary Rolfe in 2019, might have been avoided if police had used trauma-informed approach, counsellor says

Chinese bombers repeatedly entered and left zone but did not violate South Korean airspaceSouth Korea’s military said it scrambled fighter jets as two Chinese and six Russian warplanes entered its air defence zone.The Chinese H-6 bombers repeatedly entered and left the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (Kadiz) off South Korea’s southern and north-eastern coasts from about 5.50am local time on Wednesday, Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said. Continue reading...

Judge extends bail to 25 January for Netflix star who denies the charges which include perverting the course of justice and destroying evidence

Former PM said decision on Murugappan family was in immigration minister’s hands, despite being sworn in to administer home affairs at the time

News Corp co-chair’s lawyer tells federal court she intends to show Crikey did not republish article for public interest reasons

Campaigners urge policymakers to act on ‘cycle of poverty’ entrapping generations of British muslimsCampaigners have urged policymakers to act on the “cycle of poverty” entrapping generations of British Muslims, as the latest census shows that 39% of Muslims are now living in the most deprived areas of England and Wales.The proportion of people who identify as Muslim has risen by 1.2 million in 10 years, bringing the Muslim population to 3.9 million in 2021, the census shows. Overall, Muslims now make up 6.5% of the population in England and Wales, up from 4.9% in 2011. Continue reading...

Raising maintenance loans in England in line with forecasts, not actual inflation, could cause ‘significant hardship this winter’England’s poorest students will be more than £1,000 worse off this academic year than the last, according to a new analysis that warns of “significant hardship for many this winter”.According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the reduction – which means students from the poorest families will be £125 out of pocket each month – is due to the falling value of maintenance loans, which students take out to cover their living costs. Continue reading...

Footage of the pot plant barrage has been watched 1.5m times, with one expert saying the bird might have been simply being playful

Emergency services freed the man, who was taken to the Alfred hospital with lower body injuries

NT first jurisdiction in Australia to lift age while Aboriginal advocates and human rights experts continue push for at least 14

Company still doing business with higher risk customers and allowing money to be moved through highly risky channels, watchdog claims in court action

Therapeutic Goods Administration to investigate border control laws, as well as tougher regulation of nicotine products and advertising

LGBTQ+ advocates welcome repeal of British colonial-era law while expressing dismay as parliament backs existing definition of marriageSingapore’s parliament has decriminalised sex between men, but has amended the constitution to effectively block full marriage equality.The British colonial-era law penalised sex between men with up to two years in jail, although the statute was not actively enforced. Continue reading...

Finland’s PM says she met Ardern in New Zealand because they are both ‘prime ministers’ after journalist asks whether it was due to similar age and genderThe prime ministers of Finland and New Zealand have taken a swipe at suggestions their first face-to-face meeting in New Zealand happened because they are both young female leaders.“We’re meeting because we are prime ministers,” Finland’s Sanna Marin said at a joint press conference at Auckland’s Government House on Wednesday morning, after a journalist suggested some people may have thought they were meeting because they share a similar demographic. Continue reading...

Backbench MP Sam Birrell reserved his position on referendum while Michael McCormack says Nationals could revisit their opposition

Kearne Solanke and Charlie Bartolo were stabbed to death just a mile apart in south-east LondonTwo teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of murdering two 16-year-old boys stabbed to death just a mile apart in south-east London, police have said.Kearne Solanke was knifed in Titmuss Avenue, Thamesmead, and Charlie Bartolo was found in Sewell Road, Abbey Wood, on Saturday. Continue reading...

Residents have been warned to stay inside as toxic smoke may settle in the area and police are appealing for information on blaze in scrap yard at Trenayr

Thousands of staff, including 999 call handlers and paramedics, to take strike action over pay and staffing levelsAmbulance workers across England intend to strike before Christmas after voting in favour of industrial action over pay and staffing levels.Unison, the UK’s biggest trade union, announced the results of its month-long NHS strike ballot and said thousands of 999 call handlers, ambulance technicians, paramedics and their colleagues working for ambulance services in the north-east, north-west, London, Yorkshire and the south-west are to take industrial action. Continue reading...

Rajwinder Singh was arrested in Delhi, accused of killing Cordingley on a Queensland beach in 2018

Chinese state broadcaster transmits from Chiswick studio despite Ofcom revoking UK licence last yearFrance’s media regulator is under pressure to withdraw a licence that allows the Chinese state broadcaster to beam its programmes across Europe from a studio in west London.Ofcom revoked the organisation’s licence to transmit in the UK last year but the China Global Television Network (CGTN) was able to continue broadcasting following authorisation from the French authority. Continue reading...

Minority ethnic people make up 59% and 51% of respective populations in UK’s first ‘super-diverse’ citiesLeicester and Birmingham have become the first “super-diverse” cities in the UK, where most people are from black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, according to the 2021 census.A total of 59% of people in Leicester are from minority ethnic backgrounds, while 51% of Birmingham’s population are people of colour, as are 54% in Luton, according to the data. Across England and Wales, 18% of people are BAME. Continue reading...

NHS Digital research reveals scale of issues, with even higher number of 20- to 23-year-olds affectedMore than half of older teenagers and young adults in England have a problematic relationship with food, a major survey of young people’s mental health has found.Six in ten (60%) 17- to 19-year-olds have “possible problems with eating”, according to research undertaken by NHS Digital, the health service’s statistical body.One in four 17- to 19-year-olds have a probable mental disorder – up from one in 10 in 2017 and one in six last year.Children and young people from households facing financial difficulties, such as those who cannot afford food, are much more likely to have mental health problems.One in eight 11- to 16-year-olds, and 29.4% of those that age with a mental health disorder such as anxiety or depression, have been bullied online.One in six 17- to 24-year-olds have tried to harm themselves. Continue reading...

Avanti West Coast, which received £343m subsidy, had worst punctuality performance among train operatorsLabour has called on ministers to claw back £12m in dividends paid by Avanti West Coast to its shareholders last year, when it was subsidised by £343m by the taxpayer.Figures released by the rail watchdog on Tuesday showed that Avanti paid out £12m in 2021-22 from management and performance fees. Continue reading...

Figures show drop in partnerships with state schools – which Labour says Tories promised would trigger a review of feesLabour has hit back at Conservative attacks on its pledge to put VAT on private school fees, with analysis showing a drop in partnerships with state schools.The party has been accused of starting a “class war” against private schools though Labour sources said the Conservative’s 2017 manifesto had also promised to review whether to charge VAT on school fees if work with state schools did not increase. Continue reading...

Three companies complain over lack of transparency around deal which could be biggest government bailout since RBS and LloydsThe takeover of collapsed bailed-out energy supplier Bulb by rival Octopus faces further delays after three rival companies launched judicial review proceedings, arguing that there are “significant concerns” over a possible £1bn government-funded “dowry”.Octopus agreed to buy Bulb out of a special government-handled administration last month after a year-long process which could cost the taxpayer up to £6.5bn, according to a government estimate. Continue reading...

More than 4,500 people sign petition asking for help for those struggling to find independent accommodation

‘Very real’ threats against Meghan led to prosecutions, says outgoing assistant commissioner Neil BasuThe Duchess of Sussex was subject to multiple “disgusting” threats against her life, a senior police officer has revealed, adding they were “very real” and led to prosecutions.Neil Basu, the outgoing assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, told Channel 4 News the threats were deemed credible, adding that the material would have left her feeling “under threat all of the time”. Continue reading...

Government likely to treat FE sector as ‘big schools’, removing autonomy over borrowing and investmentFurther education (FE) colleges are likely to be treated as “big schools” by the government and lose critical financial independence, after a ruling reclassified colleges in England as part of central government.Sector leaders said the change had major implications for the way colleges are run, removing their autonomy over borrowing and investment decisions and hampering their ability to grow, while allowing few of the benefits in funding, taxes or pension guarantees enjoyed by state schools. Continue reading...

Radio Foyle to be reduced to skeleton service in move that could centralise regional coverage in BelfastThe BBC is planning to make deep cuts to its Northern Ireland coverage, in a move that could centralise the broadcaster’s coverage of the region in Belfast.BBC Radio Foyle, based in Derry, will be reduced to a skeleton service without its own news updates or a breakfast show. The outlet was founded in 1979 at the height of the Troubles to provide more localised coverage of Derry, with its own reporters and presenters. Continue reading...

RCN says further action will be taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland if government does not negotiate over payNurses will begin a series of strikes at dozens of hospitals in December – and will escalate their industrial action if ministers keep refusing to negotiate over pay.The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced today that up to 100,000 nurses will stay off work at many, but not all, of the hospitals and other NHS bodies where members have voted to stop work. Continue reading...

The Queen Consort said two of the most powerful ways in which to make a difference were ‘to remember and to listen’The Queen Consort has condemned “a global pandemic of violence against women” at a Buckingham Palace reception attended by 300 guests.Marking the annual United Nations 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, Camilla hosted survivors and their families as well as Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska; Queen Rania of Jordan, the home secretary Suella Braverman; Carrie Johnson; former Spice Girl Mel B and the health secretary Steve Barclay. Continue reading...

Trans claimants want high court to declare that NHSE broke law by failing to meet 18-week target to start treatmentNHS England has acted unlawfully by making thousands of patients with gender dysphoria wait “extreme” periods of time for treatment, ​the high​ court has heard.Transgender claimants, who have suffered ​distress as a result of delays, ​want the court to declare that NHSE broke the law by failing to meet a target for 92% of patients to commence treatment within 18 weeks​.​In the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie; and in the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 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...

Servicemen and women to wear combat attire when standing in for union members taking industrial actionSoldiers standing in for striking Border Force staff will wear their uniforms while checking passports at ports and airports, the Guardian can reveal.About 600 servicemen and women will wear combat attire as they provide cover for members of the PCS union who have voted for industrial action. Continue reading...