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Relatives pay tribute to ‘bright, funny young woman’ who had a ‘smile that lit up the room’The family of Leah Croucher said their hopes of finding her alive were “extinguished in the cruellest and harshest of ways” after her body was discovered earlier this month, three years after she disappeared.The 19-year-old’s relatives said she was a “bright, funny young woman” with a “smile that lit up the room”, as they paid tribute to her in a statement released on Thursday. Continue reading...

Arms control advocates say changes from Trump era outlined in Nuclear Posture Review do not go far enoughThe Biden administration has confirmed it will cancel a submarine-launched nuclear cruise missile programme begun by Donald Trump, as part of its review of nuclear policy.The administration will also retire a gravity bomb, the B63, from its arsenal as part of its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), but arms control advocates argued the changes from the Trump era did not go far enough. Continue reading...

DfT says current penalty no longer acts as deterrent for evasion, which costs taxpayers about £240m a yearRail passengers caught travelling without a valid ticket on trains in England will face a fine of £100 from early next year – a fivefold increase from the current level.The Department for Transport (DfT) said the fines were being increased for the first time since 2005 because they no longer acted as a deterrent against fare dodging. Continue reading...

Manston processing site ‘gummed up’ as more than 100,000 asylum claims waiting to be decided, says select committee chairA migrant processing centre in Kent is “catastrophically overcrowded”, with people waiting for their applications for asylum to be processed kept in inhumane conditions and guards not being trained properly, a union leader says.Criticism of the government’s handling of the facility is mounting, with the chair of a parliamentary select committee saying a “crisis” was brewing given the backlog of more than 100,000 cases. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Lobby group links technology to identification of people barred from venues for disorderly behaviour

‘We did not hear from any detectives, no police. Nothing. For five full days. That was their opportunity’ said Mechelle Turvey

Ksenia Sobchak, media personality and daughter of Vladimir Putin’s one-time boss, was subject of arrest orderThe Russian journalist and TV personality Ksenia Sobchak – the daughter of Vladimir Putin’s one-time boss – has fled to Lithuania, intelligence services in Vilnius said, after police in Moscow raided one of her homes.A well-known media figure in Russia, Sobchak first became famous as a reality show presenter before embarking on a career in journalism. She also ran for the Russian presidency in 2018, a move her critics said was a publicity stunt intended to help the Kremlin create the impression of competitive elections. Continue reading...

Labour calls for ‘proper windfall tax’ on oil and gas while TUC describes profits as ‘obscene’

Estate agent's results come as report predicts UK mortgage lending is heading for big slumpThe London estate agent Foxtons has flagged a “less certain” sales market, as it reported a 25% rise in third-quarter revenues driven by higher rents and longer contracts for tenants.Revenues in the three months to 30 September rose to £43.8m, taking revenues for the first nine months of the year to £109m, up 11% on a year earlier. Continue reading...

Consulates inundated with inquiries, with 700,000 descendants thought to be entitled to fast-track nationalityOnce Spaniards looked across el charco (the pond) for refuge. Now traffic is expected to go the other way after Spain passed a law granting citizenship to the grandchildren of people exiled under the Franco dictatorship.Lawyers and consulates in central and South America say they have been inundated with inquiries after the passing of the Democratic Memory law, which seeks “to settle Spanish democracy’s debt to its past”. It is estimated that as many as 700,000 people could be eligible for citizenship under the law, which passed the upper house of parliament on 5 October and came into effect on 21 October. Continue reading...

Jemma Mitchell murdered Mee Kuen Chong after victim backed out of giving her £200,000 to repair homeA woman has been found guilty of killing her friend and dumping her headless body more than 200 miles away in order to inherit hundreds of thousands of pounds.Jemma Mitchell hit Mee Kuen Chong, 67, over the head with a weapon at her London home and left her decapitated and badly decomposed body in woodland in Salcombe, Devon, two weeks later, it was alleged. Continue reading...

Blasts heard as security forces reportedly open fire on protesters mourning death of Kurdish womanProtests have raged through the night in Iran after thousands of mourners marked 40 days since the death of Mahsa Amini, which sparked a wave of unrest across the Islamic republic.Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, died on 16 September, three days after her arrest in Tehran by the morality police for allegedly breaching the Islamic dress code for women. Continue reading...

About 2,000 homes could be purchased or retrofitted under plan being announced by Anthony Albanese and Dominic Perrottet

Promo for single Anti-Hero originally showed the singer reading the verdict ‘fat’ from her bathroom scalesThe video for Taylor Swift’s song Anti-Hero, the lead single from her new album Midnights, has been altered days after its initial release to remove the word “fat” from one of its scenes.In the original clip, directed by Swift, the 32-year-old singer and songwriter steps on to a bathroom scale whose dial spins to the reading “Fat”. In the new version of the clip, viewable below, Swift steps on to the scale, receiving a look of disapproval from a doppelganger also played by Swift, but no reading is shown. Continue reading...

Tory chair says people should be safe to go to World Cup, after James Cleverly’s call for fans to ‘respect’ cultureThe Conservative party chair has said that LGBTQ+ football fans travelling to next month’s World Cup in Qatar should not have to compromise on their sexuality, despite his cabinet colleague, the foreign secretary, saying that fans should “respect” Qatar’s culture just a day earlier.Speaking to LBC Radio, Nadhim Zahawi said that no one should have to compromise on their identity if they wanted to attend the World Cup. He said: “I would say you should not compromise on your identity or your sexuality or your sexual preference in any way. Of course you are safe to go to the World Cup. No one should have to compromise at all in my view. Continue reading...

Congress votes to scrap daylight savings and just keep standard time, meaning end to changing clocks twice a yearPedro López, an office worker in the Mexican state of Veracruz, gets up before dawn, and drives in the moonlight an hour and a half to his job. “Leaving my house in the dark every single day and driving under the moon is horrible, especially in a landscape as beautiful as Veracruz,” he said.But, for half a year at least, he’ll be driving in the sunlight. Mexico’s congress voted on Wednesday to abolish summer time, and when Mexicans set their clocks back this weekend, it will be for the last time. In March, they will not be turned forward. Continue reading...

Opposition leader also targeted Labor over school curriculum, saying parents were worried about ‘radical gender theory’

After a week of jury deliberations the case reached a crescendo at breakneck speed – and the chaos of those final moments didn’t stop with the decision

The Victorian Electoral Commission is examining donations made during the 24-hour fundraiser

Currently, officers may not be dismissed until all criminal appeals and disciplinary action are finalised

Magistrate rules TT-Line made no inquiries to ensure the horses were individually stalled and there was adequate ventilation

Tea Wright-Finger, 19, was last seen near Richmond, where temperatures could reach 42C this weekend

State to file amended defence after judge says it was illogical to find searches are reasonable and illegal

More than 250 literary figures rail against acquisition by Penguin Random House of book by conservative US supreme court justiceNearly 250 figures from the US literary world have signed an open letter protesting the acquisition by Penguin Random House of a book by the conservative supreme court justice Amy Coney Barrett.The hardline Catholic conservative was Donald Trump’s third appointee, her nomination rushed through by Senate Republicans after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal lion, shortly before the 2020 election. Continue reading...

A prototype craft that will fly network telecoms starts trials with north Wales mountain rescue services next yearDrones circling above the peaks of Snowdonia, providing an airborne mobile network in remote areas, may soon become a feature of the region’s mountain rescue operation.The drones – like small unmanned gliders but with twin engines – would carry equipment providing 4G and 5G connectivity that would link mountain rescue teams and other emergency services with people stranded, lost or injured in remote hills where the mobile phone signal is often patchy or nonexistent. Continue reading...

Jakapong ‘Anne’ Jakrajutatip has spoken about her experience as a transgender woman and advocated for trans rightsA Thai celebrity media tycoon who is transgender woman has bought the Miss Universe Organization for $20m, marking the first time the beauty pageant organiser will be owned by a woman, her company has said.The annual beauty contest run by the Miss Universe Organization, which was co-owned by Donald Trump between 1996 and 2002, is broadcast in 165 countries and has been running for 71 years. Continue reading...

Assembly elections expected to be called by UK government if members fail to install a speakerNorthern Ireland assembly members will return to Stormont in a last-gasp bid on Thursday to restore the Northern Ireland executive before fresh assembly elections are called.It comes after the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, held last-ditch talks with the region’s party leaders to try to restore devolved government and avert an assembly election. Continue reading...

More than 800,000 people locked down in site of world’s first Covid outbreak in 2019, as other Chinese cities seal up streets and homesChinese cities from Wuhan in central China to Xining in the north-west are doubling down on Covid-19 curbs, sealing up buildings, locking down districts and throwing millions into distress in a scramble to halt widening outbreaks.China on Thursday reported a third straight day of more than 1,000 new Covid cases nationwide, a modest tally compared with the tens of thousands a day that sent Shanghai into a full-blown lockdown earlier this year but enough to trigger more curbs and restrictions across the country. Continue reading...

Coalition of 40-plus charities and groups launches amid fears of spending cuts to plug public financesPressure is building on the leaders of Britain’s two biggest political parties to support higher taxes on wealth amid growing fears over the impact that a renewed austerity drive would have amid the cost of living crisis.In an intervention which comes as the new prime minister, Rishi Sunak, considers options for filling a £35bn black hole in the public finances, a new coalition of 40 charities and campaign groups – including Oxfam, Save the Children and Christians Against Poverty – said Britain’s tax system was broken and those who paid the most should “pay their proper share”. Continue reading...

IPPR says extra £62bn a year needed to match global leader Israel after sharp decline since 2014Britain’s plan to become a post-Brexit “science and technology superpower” has suffered a significant setback after a fall in research and development investment of almost a fifth since 2014, according to a report.The Institute for Public Policy Research said the UK’s share of global investment in R&D projects – including in health and life sciences – had fallen sharply from 4.2% eight years ago to 3.4% in 2019 immediately before the Covid pandemic struck. Continue reading...

Only 60,000 of an estimated 277,000 people have been seen by specialist service, figures showJust a “fraction” of long Covid sufferers are getting the help they need, with a third of them waiting more than three and a half months to be assessed after a GP referral, rising to almost half in some areas.More than 60,000 people in England had a first assessment for post-Covid syndrome in an NHS specialist service between July 2021 and August 2022. Continue reading...

Emily Farmer’s son was with group of Perth schoolboys when Cassius was allegedly murdered

Renee Ferguson made allegations against former Test captain and Cricket Australia staff but failed to file her case in time, court hears

Teargas also used against protesters gathered in home town of 22-year-old Kurdish woman, says rights groupIranian security forces have clashed with protesters who had gathered in their thousands in Mahsa Amini’s home town to mark 40 days since her death, with reports that shots were fired.“Security forces have shot teargas and opened fire on people in Zindan Square, Saqqez city,” Hengaw, a Norway-based group that monitors rights violations in Iran’s Kurdish regions, tweeted without specifying whether there were any dead or wounded. It said more than 50 civilians were injured by direct fire in cities across the region. Continue reading...

Higgins spoke to media after trial of Lehrmann was aborted by judge following discovery that a juror brought outside research into jury room

Executives removed the rapper from the Los Angeles building and said the footwear brand has ‘no intention of working with West’Executives at Skechers escorted Kanye West out of the company’s corporate offices in Los Angeles, after the rapper and fashion designer showed up “unannounced and without invitation” on Wednesday.In a statement released after the incident, the footwear brand said it “has no intention of working with West” and that the artist, now known as Ye, was engaged in “unauthorized filming”. Continue reading...

Lawyers for the former military lawyer withdrew an application for protection after government sought to quash testimony

A sculpture honouring the late First Nations musicians will be unveiled next year on the streets they knew so well, with support from Victorian government

EHRC guidance is a watershed, but the problem of hair discrimination in workplaces and public spaces remainsAt just 15 years old, Ruby Williams found herself at centre of a legal battle that would later prove to be a turning point for how equality laws are enforced across the UK in relation to hair texture.As a student at the Urswick school in east London, Williams was repeatedly sent home due to her natural afro hair, which the school claimed breached its policy that “afro style hair must be of reasonable size and length”. Continue reading...

Findings based on current rate of improvement in proportion of judges from under-represented groupsIt will take more than 125 years before Black people are properly represented within the England and Wales judiciary at the current rate of progress, the Law Society has found.Analysis by the professional body for solicitors found that with Black judges making up just 1.09% of the judiciary, compared with 1.02% in 2014, it would take until 2149 for their representation to match current estimates for the general population (3.5%). Continue reading...

Loopholes in legislation turning sector into ‘a licence to print money’ for unscrupulous providers in EnglandEngland’s supported housing sector is a “complete mess” that is failing communities at the expense of the taxpayer and making residents “victims of terrible crimes at the hands of staff”, according to a scathing select committee report.The report found loopholes had turned the sector into “a licence to print money” for unscrupulous providers and that there has been “a complete breakdown of the system, which calls for immediate action from government”. Continue reading...

Opposition call for inquiry as Braverman is reappointed home secretary six days after resigning over security breachRishi Sunak’s decision to reappoint Suella Braverman six days after she was forced to resign for a security breach is facing fresh questions after a former Conservative minister claimed the home secretary was responsible for “multiple breaches of the ministerial code”.Jake Berry, who was at the heart of Liz Truss’s government, said Braverman was responsible for a “really serious breach” after sending confidential information to a private address, sending it to an MP, attempting to send it to the MP’s wife and then accidentally sending it to a member of parliamentary staff. Continue reading...

‘Playground bully’ Lee Anderson’s remarks described as ‘vile and disgusting’ by MPs from his own partyA Conservative MP has been criticised for making transphobic comments that questioned whether female representation in parliament would “increase or decrease” if Eddie Izzard was elected as an MP.Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, told Talk TV he “would not follow him into the toilets” if she came to parliament, and even said Keir Starmer “is not sure what he’s all about”. Continue reading...

Attack takes place same day security forces reportedly open fire at mourners in Mahsa Amini’s hometownArmed men have attacked a Shia Muslim shrine in the Iranian city of Shiraz, killing at least 15 people, the state news agency Irna said, as security forces clashed with protesters marking 40 days since the death of Mahsa Amini in custody.Irna described the attackers as “takfiri terrorists”, a label used by officials in predominantly Shia Muslim Iran to refer to hardline, armed Sunni Islamist groups. The attack was later claimed by Islamic State in a statement posted on the terror group’s telegram channel. Continue reading...

Deep Wheel Orcadia, set on a distant space station struggling for survival, is praised by judges for ‘making you rethink what science fiction can do’Poet Harry Josephine Giles’s verse novel, Deep Wheel Orcadia, has won the Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction book of the year.The book is told in the Orkney dialect and comes with a parallel translation into English. Continue reading...

Prime minister abandons fracking and refuses to guarantee pensions triple lock or defence spending riseRishi Sunak has dismantled what was left of Liz Truss’s legacy on his first full day as prime minister, abandoning fracking and refusing to guarantee the pensions triple lock or a defence spending rise.Any change to pensions or a decision not to uprate benefits in line with inflation would draw new battle lines between Sunak and Conservative MPs, a number of whom have said they would not back cuts falling on the most vulnerable. Continue reading...

Veteran Tory MP was intended recipient of home secretary’s plans sent from her personal emailThe veteran Tory MP Sir John Hayes has been disclosed as a secret adviser to Suella Braverman, with some colleagues believing he has been influential in the home secretary’s rise from backbencher to a great office of state.Proof of the former minister’s influence emerged last week when Braverman was forced to resign for what government insiders insisted was a major security breach. Continue reading...

Unnamed 19-year-old man attending Manchester Metropolitan University found with knife wound in FallowfieldPolice have launched a murder investigation after a 19-year-old university student was fatally stabbed in Manchester.The teenager, who attended Manchester Metropolitan University, was found with a serious knife wound near large halls of residence at 2am on Wednesday, police said. Continue reading...

Adil Khan and Qari Abdul Rauf lose appeal as judges say ‘very strong public interest’ to deport themTwo members of a Rochdale grooming gang are to be deported to Pakistan after losing a seven-year legal fight to remain in Britain.Adil Khan, 51, and Qari Abdul Rauf, 53, were convicted in 2012 of a series of sexual offences against young girls and jailed later the same year. Continue reading...

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