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Register also shows former PM travelled to Montana at Rupert Murdoch’s expense last monthBoris Johnson enjoyed the hospitality of Rupert Murdoch and a few days later was paid £276,130 plus expenses for a speech to insurance agents in the US.Johnson’s update to his register of interests – all MPs are required to update theirs every 28 days – shows he travelled to Montana for a business meeting on 11-12 October. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Nikita Chibrin claims he did not fire weapon once while deployed to Ukraine for more than four months

Although barrister ‘would not want’ her daughter to attend the footballer’s parties, accusers were making ‘real-life choices’Benjamin Mendy’s barrister said she wouldn’t want her daughter to go to a party if the Manchester City footballer was there, but insisted that did not mean he was a rapist or a Jimmy Savile-style groomer.Eleanor Laws KC told the jury in Mendy’s rape trial that the 28-year-old regularly had unprotected sex at parties in his Cheshire mansion with “women he didn’t know from Adam”. But it was “not criminal” to have sex with multiple women without a condom, she stressed. Continue reading...

Merchandise linked to supermarket’s latest Christmas campaign sells out online hours after going on saleMore than 70,000 shoppers have queued online and hundreds lined up outside UK stores to get their hands on Aldi’s toys and merchandise based around its Kevin the Carrot adverts.By 10am, several versions of the soft toys had already sold out online amid high demand for merchandise linked to the hero of the discount grocery store’s festive campaign. Continue reading...

Exclusive: protesters say they were assaulted by officers at peaceful ‘kill the bill’ demonstration in March 2021A police force has paid damages to protesters who allege they were assaulted by officers when they broke up a peaceful “kill the bill” demonstration in Bristol.One of the protesters alleges that an officer struck him in the face with a shield, leaving him scarred, and a second claims she struggled to breathe when she was crushed beneath two police shields. They say they witnessed another protester being dragged along the ground by his long hair. Continue reading...

The claims and counter-claims against the charity at the heart of the debate over trans childrenThe charity Mermaids has found itself at the heart of the highly charged debate pitting trans rights supporters against gender-critical feminists.Mermaids, which is funded mostly by donations but also receives grants and payments for training, says it provides support to transgender children and their families, as well as helping to facilitate their acceptance in society. Continue reading...

Government ordered Nexperia to sell 86% of its shareholding in company formerly known as Newport Wafer FabThe UK head of a Chinese-owned semiconductor company has said the decision to reverse its takeover of Britain’s largest chip plant is “bad news” for workers and pledged to do whatever it takes to fight the order.The business department late on Wednesday night ordered Nexperia to sell 86% of its shareholding in the company, formerly known as Newport Wafer Fab, which produces semiconductors in south Wales. The order, which cited national security concerns, would reverse a £63m takeover completed in July 2021. Continue reading...

Widespread protests lead to deaths in separate incidents as anger over Mahsa Amini transforms into wider protest against the regimeAs many as 15 people have been shot dead in Iran, including members of the security forces and a nine-year-old boy, in separate incidents as the country experienced one of its most serious and widespread nights of protests of the past nine weeks.On the anniversary of the 2019 uprising, state news agencies blamed terrorists on two motorcycles for the killing of seven people in a shopping centre in the southern city of Izeh Khuzesta. However, protesters said members of the Basij militia force ran amok, killing among others a nine-year-old boy sitting in a car with his father. State news agencies said two volunteer Basij patrolmen were among the dead, and 10 were injured. Continue reading...

Germany latest to end peacekeeping mission as operations prove unable to stop Islamic extremist insurgencyThousands of international troops are withdrawing from Mali amid surging violence, growing Russian influence and an acute humanitarian crisis.On Wednesday Germany became the latest country to end its participation in the UN peacekeeping mission in the unstable west African country. Earlier this week, British officials said that 300 British soldiers sent in 2020 to join the United Nations force would be returning earlier than planned. Continue reading...

Analysts say millions still face winter crisis despite Hunt’s decision to increase benefits in line with inflation

Culture and safety of hunting widely seen to be on trial too after Morgan Keane, 25, died while cutting wood on his landTwo hunters have appeared in court in the French town of Cahors accused of the manslaughter of a young man mistaken for a boar in a case where the culture and safety of French hunting are widely seen to be on trial too.Morgan Keane, 25, died after he was hit in the chest while cutting wood on his own land near Calvignac in the Lot, south-west France, in December 2020. The hunter, Julien Féral, 35, who fired the fatal shot, said he had mistaken the Keane for a wild boar. Continue reading...

Gunty’s debut novel The Rabbit Hutch, set in a low-income housing community in Indiana, was the fiction winnerTess Gunty’s The Rabbit Hutch, a sweeping debut novel set in a low-income housing community in Indiana, has won the National Book Award for fiction. The 30-year-old Gunty was among three writers nominated for their first published books.The nonfiction prize went to Imani Perry’s South to America, and Sabaa Tahir’s All My Rage won for young people’s literature. In poetry, John Keene was cited for Punks: New and Selected Poems, while Argentinian author Samanta Schweblin and translator Megan McDowell won for best work in translation for Seven Empty Houses. Continue reading...

Andrew Burfield sentenced to 32 years in prison for ‘ferocious and cruel’ axe attack on ex-girlfriendA “highly dangerous” man who claimed he had accidentally killed his ex-girlfriend when throwing an axe has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 32 years for her murder at Preston crown court.Andrew Burfield admitted killing 33-year-old Katie Kenyon in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire, on 22 April, burying her body in a grave he had dug the day before. Continue reading...

State media says foreign nationals and 712 ‘political prisoners’ among 5,774 to be freed in so-called amnestyAlmost 6,000 people will be released from prison in Myanmar, including the Australian academic Prof Sean Turnell, Britain’s former ambassador Vicky Bowman and Japanese film-maker Toru Kubota, junta-controlled media has said.On Thursday, Myanmar’s state-run MRTV said that the foreign nationals, as well as a Burmese-American citizen, had been released and deported in a so-called amnesty timed to coincide with Myanmar National Day. Continue reading...

Brand says decision to stop tourists reclaiming VAT has hurt UK reputation as luxury shopping destinationTourists hoping to snap up Burberry products are heading to Paris and Milan rather than London, while luxury shoppers face price significant increases as costs rise, according to the British fashion brand.Burberry, which plans a return to the “Britishness” of the 167-year-old company in a refocus under new chief executive Jonathan Akeroyd, said that American tourists in Europe fuelled a double-digit increase in store sales in the three months to the end of September. Continue reading...

University of Queensland research shows coverage has also been used to threaten partners

The latest missile test comes on the back of expanded military exercises between the US and South Korea

Two independent candidates say the complaint to the state’s electoral commission is ‘unfounded’

State’s top legal officer is monitoring appeal against a ruling lawyers say has emboldened churches to limit compensation to alleged victims of dead paedophile priests

Auction of the late writer’s estate sees prices soar thousands of dollars over estimates – but it is all going to a good causeAn estate sale for the late Joan Didion has seen buyers flock to snap up the writer’s belongings, with everything from napkins to chunky Celine sunglasses to a broken desk clock selling for thousands above the estimated prices.On Wednesday, the live auction at Stair Galleries in New York, titled An American Icon: Property From the Collection of Joan Didion, saw the late American writer’s furniture, art and books snapped up for hair-raising prices. Continue reading...

Minerals Council opens new front between resources sector and Albanese government who are already at war over IR changes

Opposition refers ALP to Ibac over video of so-called ‘preference whisperer’ skiting about 2018 Victoria election deal

Victorian Electoral Commission has ‘not received full cooperation’ in its attempt to investigate the issue

Chinese president’s testy remarks about briefings on earlier conversation captured by media pool at G20 summit in IndonesiaXi Jinping has angrily rebuked Justin Trudeau after Canadian officials shared details of a previous meeting, highlighting the frosty relationship between the two leaders.In a clip recorded by the media pool at the G20 summit in Indonesia, a visibly frustrated Xi pulls the Canadian prime minister aside and says it was “not appropriate” for details about a previous conversation between the two leaders to have been shared with media, suggesting Trudeau lacked “sincerity” in his approach. Continue reading...

Overall smoking rate falls to 8% as country pursues goal of becoming smoke-free by 2025, but many may be switching to vaping insteadThe number of people smoking in New Zealand has fallen to a historic low, as the country pushes forward with ambitious plans to wipe out smoking in a generation.Data released on Thursday showed the number of people smoking daily had fallen to 8%, the lowest rates since records began, and down from 9.4% last year. Continue reading...

Women in UK three times more likely to die around the time of pregnancy than those in NorwayMothers in the UK are three times more likely to die around the time of pregnancy compared with those in Norway, according to an international analysis of data.Although maternal mortality is at historic lows in high-income countries, it remains an important indicator of quality of care, health system performance and, more specifically, maternal care. The comparison of maternal mortality rates in eight European countries was published in the BMJ. Continue reading...

Jeremy Hunt expected to use autumn statement to announce rise in household energy price cap to as much as £3,100Millions of UK households will pay more for their energy from next April under plans to cut the generosity of the government’s gas and electricity support scheme expected to be announced by Jeremy Hunt on Thursday.The chancellor is likely to use his autumn statement to say the need to save money and reduce state borrowing will require the household energy price cap to rise from £2,500 to an expected £3,000 to £3,100. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak will appoint independent investigator at request of deputy prime ministerRishi Sunak will appoint an independent investigator to examine claims of alleged bullying against Dominic Raab, after the deputy prime minister requested an inquiry into two formal complaints that have been made against him.Raab, who said he will stay on as deputy PM and justice secretary while the process takes place, used a stand-in appearance at prime minister’s questions to insist he had always behaved properly towards staff, despite a growing list of accusations from officials. Continue reading...

Flurry of face-to-face talks with the leaders of US, UK and France could lead to more deals for military equipment

Video footage shows people running for exits and police with batons beating women in metro carriagesIranian security forces have opened fire on people at a metro station in Tehran and beaten women who were not wearing mandatory hair coverings as protests over the death of Mahsa Amini entered a third month.Footage shared on social media showed passengers running towards exits, with many falling and being trampled, after police opened fire on a crowded platform. Police were also filmed through train windows marching down through carriages and beating women with batons. Continue reading...

Bruno Carbone, right-hand man of mafia boss Raffaele Imperiale, was arrested at Rome airport amid claims he was extradited from SyriaThe arrest of an Italian drug trafficker who was on Europol’s most wanted list is shrouded in mystery amid reports that he was captured and extradited from Syria.Bruno Carbone, who had been on the run since 2003, was the right-hand man of Raffaele Imperiale, a drug broker for the Naples’ Camorra mafia who was arrested in Dubai in August 2021. Continue reading...

Killer confesses to murdering Katie Kenyon after Preston crown court hears how he buried her in grave he dug the day beforeA man accused of the murder of a mother-of-two has admitted he is guilty, having initially denied the killing, three days into his trial at Preston crown court.Andrew Burfield confessed to murdering his ex-girlfriend 33-year-old Katie Kenyon after the court heard how he buried her body in a grave he had dug the day before in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire. Continue reading...

Pacific Zircon, linked to Israeli billionaire, said to have been ‘hit by projectile’ but suffered only minor damageAn oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman amid heightened tensions with Iran.The drone attack on the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon happened on Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, a Middle East-based defence official told the Associated Press. Continue reading...

PM awaiting formal advice after pledge made when tax affairs came under scrutiny over wife’s non-dom status

Concerns raised after children classified wrongly as adults were assigned to a hotel where a serious stabbing took place last monthAt least 40 child asylum seekers were placed in a Home Office hotel designated for adults where one of them was a victim of a serious stabbing last month, the Guardian has learned.Lawyers and NGOs have repeatedly raised concerns about children being assessed wrongly as adults by the Home Office after arriving in the UK on small boats. Continue reading...

Ninety per cent of balloted union members vote to carry on industrial action across Network Rail and 14 train operating companiesMembers of the RMT union have voted to continue taking industrial action in their long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.The union said 90% of balloted members supported further strike action across Network Rail and against the 14 train operating companies. Continue reading...

Ukrainian investigators claim Russian forces took over juvenile detention centre, beating and killing people inside

‘We rang the SES but they couldn’t get to us, there was no boat,’ says the resident of Tichborne in the state’s central west

Incident off Oman involved vessel owned by Idan Ofer conglomerateOil prices have risen after a tanker owned by an Israeli billionaire was hit by a drone carrying a bomb off the coast of Oman.The attack on Pacific Zircon, which is owned by Idan Ofer and operated by the Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, sent Brent crude prices up 65 cents to $94.5 (£79.23). The Liberian-flagged tanker had departed from Sohar on Monday afternoon and was destined for Buenos Aires. Continue reading...

CPS authorises new charges against 63-year-old actor, of offences against one manKevin Spacey will be charged with seven additional sexual offences against one man, prosecutors have said.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had authorised the new charges against the 63-year-old actor, including three of indecent assault, three of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. Continue reading...

This online tool will help you discover what is contributing to your household’s cost of living increasesInflation is soaring in the UK as people are hit by higher prices for everyday essentials.Now in double digits, the latest inflation rate for the 12 months to September 2022 means that goods and services cost over 11.1% more than they did a year ago – in most cases, surpassing any pay rises workers can expect to receive. Continue reading...

UK prime minister tells G20 press conference he did not discuss deal at his first meeting with Joe BidenRishi Sunak has played down the prospect of any US trade deal in the near future, just days after suggesting he was in no rush to complete a deal with India before he had re-examined the package.The prime minister also denied Brexit was playing a role in the UK’s economic downturn, which he said should be seen in a global context. Continue reading...

Swan suggested there might be a Covid link with deaths of Labor senator and cricketing legend

PM’s talks with Chinese president postponed in wake of missile strike near Poland’s border with UkraineA bilateral meeting between the UK and China at the G20 summit – billed as the first such talks between the countries in five years – has been cancelled because of emergency meetings among world leaders in the aftermath of a missile strike in Nato-member Poland near the border with Ukraine.Downing Street said there were “movements with timings on both sides” that led to the cancellation of the meeting, but said Sunak had wanted it to go ahead. “The prime minister obviously thinks it is still important to have that conversation with President Xi,” his spokesperson said. Continue reading...

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Ten days out from polling day, the opposition leader was swatting away questions over two separate electoral commission probes

TBS set to have most of its funding cut starting in 2024 after a decision by Seoul city government, led by president Yoon’s partyA popular South Korean broadcaster accused of political bias is set to lose its city funding amid concern press freedoms are being restricted under the Yoon Suk-yeol government.TBS, which operates two radio stations and a television channel, receives 70% of its funding from the Seoul city government. Continue reading...

Annastacia Palaszczuk says report into police responses to domestic violence will be released Monday

Return of Jenő Szemák’s portrait seen as ‘strong symbolic message regarding the current political climate in Hungary’A portrait of a far-right judge who served Hungary’s fascist wartime government has quietly been returned to the walls of the country’s highest court.One senior judge told the Guardian he was appalled by the decision to hang a portrait of fascist sympathiser Jenő Szemák in the supreme court, saying that it sent “a strong symbolic message regarding the current political climate in Hungary”. Continue reading...

Organisations want to recruit more women with autism, dyslexia and ADHD to work in cybersecurity rolesThe British spy agency GCHQ and weapons manufacturer BAE Systems have issued an appeal to attract more neurodiverse women to work for them in cybersecurity jobs.The employers are actively seeking women with autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for cybersecurity roles to address gaps in their workforces. Continue reading...