This blog is now closed, youcan read more of our UK political coverage hereReaders may be aware, going into the weekend, that Edinburgh airport had to temporarily suspend flights this morning due to technical issues.The delays lasted about an hour. A report here: Continue reading...

Decision by four countries to pull out over Israel's inclusion is significant for the contest but crisis may not be existentialThe decision by four European broadcasters to boycott next year's Eurovision over Israel's inclusion is undoubtedly a watershed moment in the 70-year history of the song contest.One of the few genuinely popular, non-elitist and pan-European cultural events will be without Spain, one of the big five" nations in terms of financial contributions; Ireland, which has won the contest more times than any other country bar Sweden; 1956 founding member the Netherlands; and Slovenia, symbolic of the EU's eastward enlargement. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Plans to offset increase in minimum fair pay' set by Living Wage Foundation will affect 5,400 employeesBP is ditching paid rest breaks and most bank holiday bonuses for 5,400 workers in its petrol forecourts as it attempts to offset a planned rise in the independent living wage.The company has told workers in its 310 company-run forecourts that it will be changing their benefits in February. Workers at a further 850 BP-branded forecourts run by partners are on different pay deals. Continue reading...

Nathaniel Spencer, from Birmingham, is accused of 45 offences, including some against children under 13A former doctor has been charged with carrying out sexual assaults against 38 people who were patients in his care.Nathaniel Spencer, from Birmingham, is accused of dozens of acts of sexual assault, some of them against children younger than 13, between 2017 and 2021. Continue reading...

Social media is driving a boom in the use of peptides to improve appearance and physical performance. Many are experimental and come with risk of serious side effects

The changed outlook is a result of unwelcome inflation data, but could slow down the hot property market

Major win for Trump as majority rejects lower-court ruling that found maps had been racially gerrymandered. Plus, the story of Mr DeepFakes, the world's most notorious AI porn siteGood morning.Texas can use a redrawn congressional map that adds as many as five Republican-friendly congressional districts, the supreme court ruled yesterday, handing Donald Trump a major win in his push to boost Republican seats ahead of next year's midterm elections.What did the lower court rule? The lower district court previously found that Texas had likely sorted voters based on their race - an unlawful practice called racial gerrymandering - when it adopted the new maps, and ordered the state to use the maps it had adopted after the 2020 census for next year's election.Why was the boat targeted? Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the eastern Pacific. Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed," the statement said.What else is happening? Vladimir Putin is visiting Delhi for a summit with India's prime minister, Narendra Modi. It comes as Washington seeks to increase pressure on India to cut back trade with Russia. It is the first time Putin has visited India since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and marks another step for him on the international stage since starting a war that has turned Russia into a global pariah. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Group's open letter says Reform UK leader must take responsibility for behaviour as a schoolboyA group of Holocaust survivors have demanded Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for the antisemitic comments that fellow pupils of Dulwich College allege he made toward Jewish pupils.The Reform UK leader has said he never racially abused anyone with intent but may have engaged in banter in a playground". Continue reading...

EasyJet, British Airways and Ryanair passengers among those caught up in cancellations caused by air traffic control problems

Exclusive: In open letter, 225 groups describe home secretary's plan to overhaul asylum system as cruel and ruthless'

Services had been grounded due to a technical issue with air traffic controlFlights are resuming at Edinburgh airport after it suspended operations on Friday morning because of an IT issue in air traffic control.Flights were beginning to take off around 10.40am, according to a statement posted by the airport on social media. Continue reading...

Snowfall moves south-east over Wyoming and Colorado and combines with dense fog in some areasA cold spell continued to grip parts of the US this week. After a winter storm brought 20-30cm of snow across Wisconsin, and even up to 35cm in places last weekend, the focus of the winter weather hazards shifted elsewhere early this week.A storm system moving south-east over Wyoming and Colorado brought a continuous period of snowfall until Thursday morning. Central Colorado and northern New Mexico bore the brunt of the snowfall with accumulations reaching 30cm in places. The heavy snowfall across the Denver region was its first of the winter and caused widespread disruption to flights into and out of Denver on Wednesday and Thursday. Almost 1,000 flights were delayed or cancelled as a result of the treacherous conditions. Continue reading...

Project will make the famously confusing London landmark easier to navigate and more accessibleEverything leaks," says Philippa Simpson, the director of buildings and renewal at the Barbican, who is standing outside the venue's lakeside area and inspecting the tired-looking tiles beneath her feet.Water seeps through the cracks into the building below and serves as a reminder of the job facing Simpson and the team who are overhauling the 43-year-old landmark. Continue reading...

Halifax says average price of house was a record 299,892 in November but that affordability is at its strongest since 2015

Up to 150,000 residents of El Fasher are missing since North Darfur capital fell to paramilitary Rapid Support ForcesThe Sudanese city of El Fasher resembles a massive crime scene", with large piles of bodies heaped throughout its streets as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) work to destroy evidence of the scale of their massacre.Six weeks after the RSF seized the city, corpses have been gathered together in scores of piles to await burial in mass graves or cremated in huge pits, analysis indicates. Continue reading...

Official data cannot show what impact ECHR has on asylum cases, says leading thinktank Migration ObservatoryGaps in official migration statistics are hampering public debate and policy decisions including on cases relating to human rights laws, according to a leading thinktank.The University of Oxford's Migration Observatory has identified 10 areas where information is lacking, including immigration enforcement and returns, and the size of the population living undocumented in the UK. Continue reading...

Meanwhile sewage risked spilling into Sydney Harbour from a cracked wastewater pipe. This blog is now closed

From all at sea' to by and large', windy weather has had quite an impact on the English languageSome everyday expressions have an obvious nautical origin such as all at sea" and an even keel". But plenty of others have slipped into the language unnoticed, including a number derived from how sailors talked about the wind.Surprisingly, overbearing" was originally a nautical term, meaning having an advantage over another ship by carrying more canvas safely and so being able to sail faster. The expression came to be used metaphorically to describe an approaching storm or anything else that could not be outrun. Similarly to bear down" on something was to approach forcefully with the wind behind. Continue reading...

Climate crisis and overfishing contributed to loss of 95% of penguins in two breeding colonies in South Africa, research findsMore than 60,000 penguins in colonies off the coast of South Africa have starved to death as a result of disappearing sardines, a new paper has found.More than 95% of the African penguins in two of the most important breeding colonies, on Dassen Island and Robben Island, died between 2004 and 2012. The breeding penguins probably starved to death during the moulting period, according to the paper, which said the climate crisis and overfishing were driving declines. Continue reading...

Call for submissions from across UK could include cheese rolling, Burns Night suppers and Notting Hill carnivalBring out your cheese rolling, your niche crafts, steel drumming or Burns Night suppers for these are part of the UK's intangible cultural heritage, and could be in line for official United Nations recognition.Eighteen months after the UK finally signed up to a UN list of recognised cultural traditions from around the world, ministers have launched public callout for ideas about which domestic variants should be submitted to the organisation. Continue reading...

Access to nature and essential services, and friendliness of the people led gateway to the Dales' to top Rightmove indexIt is nicknamed the gateway to the Dales", is home to one of England's best-preserved medieval castles and, for trivia fans, was the birthplace of half of Marks & Spencer. Now, the Yorkshire market town of Skipton has been named the happiest place to live" in Great Britain.It received the accolade from the property website Rightmove, which runs a happy at home" index - now in its 14th year. The survey asks residents how they feel about their area based on a range of factors. Continue reading...

Trump envoy fails to secure deal as Norway prepares to host talks on how to restore civilian government in SudanThe US is considering a much broader range of sanctions on the belligerents in the war in Sudan, in a tacit acknowledgment of the inability of the US envoy Massad Boulos to persuade the parties to accept a ceasefire.Last week Donald Trump announced that work had begun to end the war after a personal request for his direct intervention from the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. Continue reading...

Donald Trump has in recent months turned his attention to ousting Venezuela's leader, Nicolas Maduro. But the US president and his secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, are under scrutiny over military strikes on suspected drug boats from Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea.This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian's Tom Phillips about why people are accusing Trump of war crimesArchive: 60 Minutes, CBS News, ABC News, PBS Newshour, C-SPAN, Al Jazeera English, CBS Miami, City News, CBC, Reuters Continue reading...

Defence secretary appears to contradict previous assurances from Penny Wong that only conventionally armed submarines will visit Australian ports under Aukus deal

Vincent Tarzia makes surprise announcement as opinion surveys suggest party headed for defeat at March poll

Jurors return verdicts on two rape charges in Victorian trial of man who cannot be identified for legal reasons

Six days after alleged incident, evidence emerges without requiring medical intervention, New Zealand police sayPolice say they have recovered a Faberge egg pendant from a man accused of swallowing the item in a jewellery story.New Zealand police have spent six days monitoring every bowel movement of the suspect, a spokesperson said, and the NZ$33,000 ($19,000) James Bond Octopussy pendant was recovered from his gastrointestinal tract on Thursday night by natural means, without requiring medical intervention. Continue reading...

Union asks would you want your mum strapped to an underpaid instructor?'

The surprise visitor waddled around the pub during what's known as silly season' where seals pop up in unexpected placesOn a wet, lazy Sunday evening a baby fur seal waddled into a craft beer bar in Richmond, at the top of New Zealand's South Island. Accustomed to seeing animals in the pet-friendly bar, co-owner Bella Evans initially assumed the visitor was a dog before she took a closer look.Everyone was in shock," Evans said. Oh my gosh. What do we do? What's going on?" Continue reading...

Obtaining an eVisa to prove their status or right to legally reside in Britain is causing migrants high levels of stressThe UK's new digital-only immigration system is creating stress, fear and exclusion for immigrants who rely on their status, a new report has found.The digitalisation of immigration status began in 2018 and in the middle of this year the government set out that nearly all migrants entering or legally residing in the UK would have to obtain an eVisa to prove their rights. This would make them the first migrants to experience a mandatory digital-only identification system. Continue reading...

Government says series of measures, including childcare support, will lift 500,000 out of povertyFamilies will be offered help to get out of temporary accommodation and support with childcare as part of the government's delayed child poverty strategy, with ministers saying the entire package will lift more than half a million children out of poverty.The new proposals in a strategy that was originally due to come out in the spring are in addition to the abolition of the two-child limit for some benefits, which will have the greatest impact on poverty, at a cost of 3bn during this parliament. Continue reading...

Eric Adams signed orders relating to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, and protests near houses of worshipNew York City's mayor, Eric Adams, has issued two executive orders he says are meant to combat antisemitism, less than a month before he hands over the keys to the mayoralty to Zohran Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel.The first order prohibits city agency heads and staff from engaging in any policy that discriminates against the state of Israel, Israeli citizens based on their national origin, or individuals or entities based on their association with Israel". It also prohibits officials overseeing the city pension system from making decisions in line with the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which Mamdani has said he supports. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Dawn Sturgess's father pleased inquiry made it clear she was blameless victim after Skripal attack in 2018

Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands pull out after decision not to hold vote on Israel's participationIreland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands will boycott next year's Eurovision after Israel was given the all-clear to compete in the 2026 song contest despite calls by several participating broadcasters for its exclusion over the war in Gaza.No vote on Israel's participation was held on Thursday at the general assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the body that organises the competition. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereBut on a more serious note, we are hearing that German chancellor Friedrich Merz has postponed his planned visit to Norway scheduled for Friday and will travel to Brussels instead.Merz will travel to Belgium for a private dinner with Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, his spokesperson said in comments reported by Reuters. Continue reading...

Global Witness says plan to upgrade railway line to Angola puts up to 1,200 buildings at risk of demolitionUp to 6,500 people are at risk of being displaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project funded by the EU and the US, amid a global race to secure supplies of copper, cobalt and other critical minerals", according to a report by campaign group Global Witness.The project, labelled the Lobito Corridor, aims to upgrade the colonial-era Benguela railway from the DRC to Lobito on Angola's coast and improve port infrastructure, as well as building a railway line to Zambia and supporting agriculture and solar power installations along the route. Angola has said it needs $4.5bn (3.4bn) for its stretch of the line. Continue reading...

More than 200 homes evacuated, with police saying officers acted on intelligence about materialsMore than 200 homes have been evacuated and a major incident has been declared in Derby as police arrested two people on suspicion of explosives offences.An evacuation zone was put in place as officers carried out a warrant at an address in Vulcan Street after receiving intelligence about materials, Derbyshire police said. Continue reading...

University is already being investigated by police over allegations of financial irregularities' and has suspended three of its senior staffThe University of Greater Manchester is being investigated by England's higher education regulator amid mounting allegations of financial misconduct, bribery and bullying.The Office for Students will examine whether the former University of Bolton had adequate and effective management and governance arrangements" in place as well as guidance that upheld public interest governance principles. Continue reading...

Legislation is needed to stop leftwing politicians bringing drag queens and porn actors into schools', minister saysA restrictive sex education bill backed by Georgia Meloni's far-right government and intended to crack down on gender ideology and the woke bubble" has provoked fury in Italy.Italy is one of the few EU countries not to have compulsory sex education in schools despite evidence showing that comprehensive relationship and sex education helps to prevent violence against women and girls. Continue reading...

Richard Tice says testimony by about two dozen people about party leader's school days is made-up twaddle'Reform UK's deputy leader has described a celebrated film director and a large and growing group of corroborating witnesses as liars over their allegations of Nigel Farage's teenage antisemitism and racism.With the bigotry row continuing to dog Reform, whose lead in the national polls has slipped in recent weeks, Richard Tice turned on those who claimed to have been abused and those who say they saw it. Continue reading...

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After an earlier closure on Thursday the M4 tunnel reopened one westbound lane between Haberfield and North Strathfield on Thursday

Lawyers for Fouad Masri say the case will have important ramifications for freedom of speech in Australia

Exclusive: President of National party's youth branch says many children in regional and remote areas rely on social media to stay connected

A Christian charity executive who wrote Daddy's Little Toy says her book refers to infant role play by adults rather than child abuse

Prolific musician was known for work on songs like Green Onions and Otis Redding's (Sittin' on) the Dock of the BaySteve Cropper, the legendary guitarist whose work as an instrumentalist, producer and songwriter at Stax Records left an indelible impression on Memphis soul music, has died at the age of 84.Hs son Cameron confirmed his death to Variety. Continue reading...

Survey shows rise in GPs using tools such as ChatGPT to produce appointment summaries and assist with diagnosisAlmost three in 10 GPs in the UK are using AI tools such as ChatGPT in consultations with patients, even though it could lead to them making mistakes and being sued, a study reveals.The rapid adoption of AI to ease workloads is happening alongside a wild west" lack of regulation of the technology, which is leaving GPs unaware which tools are safe to use. That is the conclusion of research by the Nuffield Trust thinktank, based on a survey of 2,108 family doctors by the Royal College of GPs about AI and on focus groups of GPs. Continue reading...

Vincent Chan, 45, admits 26 offences from 2022 to 2024 at Bright Horizons, Finchley Road, with two children he attacked yet to be identified

From Cyclone Alfred to Charlie Kirk, the results show Australians are tuned in to major events. But there are some surprise inclusions

Clinicians in deprived areas are overwhelmed by generational ill health and poverty