Russia digs in against expected attempt by Ukraine to take key southern city, setting scene for possible ferocious battle

Scottish first minister defends decision to give £97m contract in 2016 to financier Jim McCollNicola Sturgeon has “utterly” refuted allegations that a decision to award a major ferries contract to an ally of the Scottish government was “jobs for the boys”.The first minister told MSPs there was nothing improper about her government’s decision to give a £97m contract to build two ferries in 2016 to Jim McColl, a financier who had advised Scottish ministers on the economy and was a political ally of her predecessor, Alex Salmond. Continue reading...

Band’s track Food for Thought highlights poverty crisis with concertgoers asked to bring items for Trussell TrustFor years he was in his own “bubble of success”, blissfully unaware of the impact of politics on average people.Now, the Squeeze singer Glenn Tilbrook and his band are drawing attention to the poverty crisis blighting the lives of millions across the UK. Continue reading...

English National Opera to create new base, possibly in Manchester, but will still manage ColiseumThe English National Opera, one of the country’s cultural flagships, is to relocate outside London. It announced the move as the main funding body for the arts in England unveiled a new three-year settlement diverting cash away from the capital.The opera house will be given a grant of £17m by Arts Council England (ACE) to develop a new business model in its new home after its general funding was cut to zero in the grants announced on Friday. Continue reading...

Sebastián Lelio’s drama The Wonder also scores a host of nods, with Paul Mescal and Florence Pugh both up for acting awardsThe father-daughter drama Aftersun has emerged as a leading contender at this year’s British independent film awards (Bifas). Charlotte Wells’s film has been nominated in 16 categories, while the 80s-set homophobia drama Blue Jean and Sebastián Lelio’s period tale The Wonder are up for 12 and 13 awards respectively.Although both are yet to be released in cinemas, Aftersun and Blue Jean (directed by Georgia Oakley) have already made a considerable impression on the festival circuit. Aftersun featured at Cannes, where the Guardian’s chief film critic Peter Bradshaw gave it five stars and described it as “a rather amazing feature debut”. Bradshaw called Blue Jean “watchable and engaged with the issues” after its debut at the Venice film festival. Continue reading...

Official inquiry finds 'no reason to suspect PM of unlawful conduct or of neglect of her official duties’The Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin, has been cleared of misconduct following an official inquiry after a leaked video showed the 36-year-old partying last August.Dozens of complaints were filed to Finland’s chancellor of justice after the premier was shown dancing and partying with friends and celebrities, driving global headlines. Continue reading...

Sir Graham Brady says ex-PM hit threshold of nominations to secure place on final ballot in Tory leadership raceThe chair of the committee of Conservative backbenchers has suggested the former prime minister Boris Johnson had the backing of enough MPs to mount a challenge to Rishi Sunak in last month’s leadership contest.Johnson dropped out of the race, claiming he had the nominations needed to make it on to the ballot paper but could not unite the party. Continue reading...

Fair Work Commission announces 15% increase after accepting sector’s workers are underpaid. This blog is now closed

Fair Work Commission accepts that ‘feminised industries’ such as care work have been ‘historically undervalued’

Outgoing coalition suffers poor election result as some parties of the left lose voice in Knesset altogetherIsrael’s leftwing and pro-Arab-rights parties have been left licking their wounds in the aftermath of this week’s election. When vote-counting finished on Thursday, the former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right partners had won by a comfortable majority.Last summer a broad coalition succeeded in their mutual desire to kick Netanyahu, leader of Likud, out of office. He is currently standing trial on corruption charges. Continue reading...

Prime minister says the millions of dollars that would pay for the campaign could be used by companies to ‘pay workers better’

Volodymyr Zelenskiy says findings are ‘clear and irrefutable’ after IAEA finds no evidence of undeclared nuclear activities and materialsThe UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed it found no sign of undeclared nuclear activity after inspecting three sites at Ukraine’s request in response to Russian allegations that work was being done on a “dirty bomb”.Moscow has accused Ukraine of planning to use such a bomb – a conventional explosive device laced with radioactive material – and said institutes linked to the nuclear industry were involved in preparations, without presenting evidence. Ukraine’s government denies the accusation. Continue reading...

Interest rates will likely continue to rise to subdue inflation, bank’s quarterly statement says

Advocates concerned for the elderly, ill and dying renew calls for an urgent reset, streamlining processes while maintaining sensitivity

Andrei Kelin says Britain ‘too deep in this conflict’ as speculation grows over Russian withdrawal from Kherson regionThe Russian ambassador to the UK has claimed UK special forces were involved in a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow’s Black Sea fleet.Andrei Kelin told Sky News: “We perfectly know about [the] participation of British specialists in [the] training, preparation and execution of violence against the Russian infrastructure and the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. We know that it has been done.” Continue reading...

Video footage showed Robert Browne, 56, hurling abuse at man on a street in CheadleA former soldier has pleaded guilty to a racist assault on a man of Asian heritage after chasing him down the street with two umbrellas and using a racial slur.Robert Browne, 56, pleaded guilty on Thursday at Tameside magistrates court to racially/religiously aggravated common assault/beating on 26 July this year after a video showed him hurling racist abuse at a man and striking him with umbrellas. A second charge was withdrawn. Continue reading...

Officials are also looking at incorporating cut in tax-free allowance for dividends into autumn statementTreasury officials are examining whether the autumn statement could include changes to non-dom status and moves to raise taxes on dividends by cutting tax-free allowances.No final decisions have been taken but Whitehall sources said options were being examined by the Treasury’s high net worth individuals policy team. Continue reading...

Miner hit with largest ever UK legal penalty for a company over ‘endemic’ corruption at African oil trading deskThe mining and commodities giant Glencore will be forced to pay £281m in fines, confiscated profits and costs as punishment for “sustained criminality”, the largest ever payment imposed on a company in a UK court.A judge at Southwark crown court in London on Thursday said offences by a UK subsidiary of Glencore showed high culpability for the “highly corrosive” offence of bribery. Continue reading...

Yellow warnings issued for parts of south Wales and England after downpours disrupt travel on ThursdayFurther disruption is expected as parts of Britain face thunderstorms after torrential downpours led to rush-hour flooding.New weather warnings have been issued for heavy showers and thunderstorms on Thursday evening, which the Met Office said are likely to bring some disruption. Continue reading...

Exclusive: CT Group, co-owned by Lynton Crosby, planned secretive African campaign on behalf of Canadian mining giantA lobbying firm with deep ties to the Conservative party planned a secretive campaign to influence elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in exchange for millions of pounds from a mining company.Leaked documents suggest the influential firm co-owned by the veteran Tory strategist Sir Lynton Crosby agreed to help the mining company swing a presidential election in the central African country. Continue reading...

‘Systemic’ failures at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys trust found to have contributed to self-inflicted deaths

‘Treated him to the old illegal shoulder charge,’ Northern Territory police officer wrote in text message, inquiry hears

Former inmate, who claimed to be only man to escape from Strangeways, joined paper at 60 and worked to expose cruelty of prison systemEric Allison, who became the Guardian’s prison correspondent aged 60 after spending much of his life in jail, has died. He had been recently diagnosed with secondary bone cancer and was 79.Allison, who claimed to be the only man to ever escape from Strangeways prison in Manchester, joined the Guardian in 2003 after serving multiple jail terms for fraud, theft and burglary. Continue reading...

Siswo Pramono said the two countries remained in close talks on ensuring the safety of Australia’s plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines

There was a stark contrast between Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy when they hit the hustings

Household earnings are taking a hit with many reporting a real pay cut despite working more hours

Forces reportedly told parents of Ghazaleh Chalabi, who died after being shot, they would withhold her body ‘if they made a noise’The parents of an Iranian woman who died six days after being shot while filming protests in her home town have been subjected to a sustained harassment campaign by security forces, a relative and a friend of the family have told the Guardian.Ghazaleh Chalabi, 33, was shot in the head in Amol on 21 September. A commemoration to mark the 40th day since her death – the end of the traditional mourning period in Islam – will be held on Thursday. Continue reading...

On Tuesday, President Guillermo Lasso announced a curfew under a new state of emergency in Guayas and Esmeralda regionsThe week began with the discovery of two headless bodies, left dangling from a pedestrian bridge. Then prison guards were taken hostage by inmates, nine car bombs detonated in two coastal cities and five police officers were shot dead.The string of horrifying attacks across Ecuador this week would once have been unthinkable, but this kind of bloodletting is now becoming almost routine in the Andean country, as gang violence escalates to levels never seen before. Continue reading...

Handover ceremony comes after turbulent year when Pacific country signed controversial security agreement with ChinaAustralia has announced the donation of police vehicles and 60 MK18 rifles to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) in a move described as a “game changer” for Australia’s relationship with Solomon Islands police.The announcement comes after a turbulent year in the relationship between Australia and Solomon Islands, particularly on the question of security, after the Pacific country signed a controversial and secretive security agreement with China. Continue reading...

Pesticide Action Network calls for urgent action after analysis shows 50% increase in pesticide cocktailsHalf of bread sold in the UK contains at least two different pesticides, government data has revealed.According to analysis by Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN), this is a rise of 50% from last year, and a major increase over the past decade when, on average, roughly 25% of bread has been found to contain pesticide cocktails. Continue reading...

Girl became separated from parents and disembarked on island of Lampedusa after 26 hours at seaA four-year-old girl who was separated from her parents as they tried to board a migrant boat from Tunisia to Italy was forced to make the journey across the Mediterranean without them.The girl, referred to as Linda by Italian authorities, disembarked on the island of Lampedusa on 17 October after 26 hours at sea on a crowded wooden boat carrying a further 70 asylum seekers from Tunisia. Continue reading...

One missile landed close to South Korean territorial waters, south of the Northern Limit Line, military chiefs in Seoul say

Agent general to the UK tells inquiry of ‘open and frank’ discussion about salary and the London role with the then deputy premierThe New South Wales agent general to the UK, Stephen Cartwright, has refuted claims that his appointment was a case of “jobs for mates”, after being encouraged to apply by the then deputy premier, John Barilaro.Speaking from London before a long-running parliamentary probe into the appointment of senior trade positions, Cartwright said he had been approached by Barilaro about the job in February 2021 and encouraged to “throw [his] hat in the ring”. Continue reading...

Mette Frederiksen, the incumbent PM, can form government though may face dilemma over picking leftwingers or moderates as partnersDenmark’s left-leaning bloc will maintain a slim majority in parliament after all votes in a general election were counted, paving the way for another term for the incumbent prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, and her Social Democratic party.The Social Democrats again became the biggest force in parliament with 27.5% of votes, the party’s best election in more than two decades. Continue reading...

Food blogger was played by Amy Adams in the film inspired by her memoir, about attempting to cook more than 500 Julia Child recipes in a yearJulie Powell, the food blogger best known for her cooking memoir, Julie & Julia, which inspired a film starring Meryl Streep, has died at the age of 49.Her husband, Eric Powell, confirmed to the New York Times that she died of cardiac arrest caused by heart arrhythmia at their home in Olivebridge in upstate New York on 26 October. Continue reading...

People with unhealthy sleep patterns have increased risk of developing eye diseaseSleeping too little or too much, snoring, daytime sleepiness and insomnia may all increase the risk of glaucoma, a common eye condition that affects millions of people and can lead to blindness, according to a decade-long study.It is well known that sleeping badly can affect judgment, mood, ability to learn and retain information, and may increase the risk of serious accidents and injury. Continue reading...

Duchess of Sussex says the exam ‘is so hard’ on new episode of her podcast ArchetypesThe Duchess of Sussex has said Prince Harry was unable to answer questions on the British citizenship exam because they were too hard.The duchess said she began studying for the exam while living in Britain after the couple got engaged in November 2017, with the intention of applying for indefinite leave to remain and then citizenship. Continue reading...

Russian dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky tells UK parliamentary group of ‘terrorism’ threatThe leaders of the Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary group answerable to Vladimir Putin, now have as much political influence in the Kremlin as either the foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and the defence minister Sergei Shoigu, a prominent Russian dissident and former political prisoner has told a British parliamentary group.Mikhail Khodorkovsky told the foreign affairs committee that Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman who finally admitted in September 2022 that he had founded the group, had as much access to Putin as the formal government officials. Continue reading...

Far-right supporter, found dead after migrant centre petrol attack, made no secret of admiration for Tommy RobinsonAndrew Leak, the man suspected of Sunday’s firebombing of a Dover migrant centre, had a history of sharing far-right content and posting racist comments online, prompting questions about why it took police two days to treat the attack as an act of terrorism.In October last year, Leak, 66, wrote that he had sent a parcel “to the British government”, warning it that “I will end illegal immigration into this country within one year from the French boat side.” Continue reading...

Ross McCullum has pleaded guilty to manslaughter of Megan Newborough near Nuneaton last yearA lab assistant strangled his 23-year-old colleague before cutting her throat and dumping her body in woodland, while repeatedly sending messages to her phone saying she was “amazing” and that he loved her to throw police off the trail.Ross McCullam, 30, met HR adviser Megan Newborough at the Midlands building materials company where they worked and killed her a month after the pair began an intimate relationship. Continue reading...

Country’s military placed on high alert because of mounting tensions in KosovoSerbia must decide whether it wants to join the EU or cultivate deeper ties with Russia, Germany has said, amid media reports that Belgrade had placed its military on high alert because of mounting tensions in Kosovo.Two days before a western Balkans summit in Berlin aimed at bolstering relations with the region’s six countries, a senior German official said Serbia had to decided whether it was on the side of Moscow or the EU. Continue reading...

Police name suspect as Andrew Leak, 66, from High Wycombe. He was found dead shortly after bomb attackCounter-terrorism police are now leading the investigation into the Dover migrant centre firebombing and suspect a “hate filled” grievance may be behind the attack.Kent police said the man suspected of carrying out Sunday’s attack was Andrew Leak, 66, from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. He was found dead at a nearby petrol station shortly after the attack.. Continue reading...

Move also prevents amendments to mandate cashless gambling, which Tim Costello says is ‘devastating’

Social services minister Amanda Rishworth to announce pilot scheme aimed at lifting employment rates among people with disability

A not-for-profit firm has found buildings could be added to Barak Beacon estate and residents wouldn’t be forced to relocate

Residents accused Zhengzhou authorities of trying to reduce scrutiny of Covid lockdown’s severityAuthorities in Zhengzhou have been accused of “performative lockdown lifting” by some residents after they partially lifted restrictions amid growing pressure from residents and the reported arrival of state media.An almost month-long lockdown in the Chinese city of about 12 million people had prompted complaints of arduous conditions, sometimes violent enforcement, inadequate medical care, and worsening mental health. But a sudden decision to ease restrictions on Tuesday was greeted with some scepticism and anger. Continue reading...

Mandatory programme named after Oliver McGowan, whose mother led a campaign after his death in 2016Mandatory training for health and care staff in England to support people with a learning disability and autistic people has been launched following a grieving mother’s four-year-campaign.Paula McGowan’s 18-year-old son Oliver, who had a mild learning disability and autism, died after doctors “arrogantly” gave him antipsychotic medication despite his family’s warnings that they were unsuitable. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Energy boss says ‘virtually all’ non-nuclear power stations hit by Russian attacks

Average price of a property drops to £268,282 in October as interest rate rises hit affordabilityUK house prices fell for the first time in more than a year in October, as the Liz Truss government’s mini-budget wreaked havoc on the housing market, pushing mortgage rates sharply higher.The average price of a property was down by 0.9% compared with September, to £268,282, according to Nationwide building society’s latest monthly report, the first snapshot of a tumultuous period. This was the first fall since July 2021 and the largest since June 2020. The annual growth rate slowed sharply from 9.5% to 7.2%. Continue reading...

Online furniture retailer suspends shares after it stopped taking customer orders last weekThe online furniture retailer Made.com is planning to call in administrators after talks to find a buyer failed and it stopped taking customer orders last week.The company, which sells furniture for the home and garden to younger shoppers, put itself up for sale in September, but said rescue talks with a number of would-be buyers had not resulted in a firm offer. Trading in Made.com shares was suspended on Tuesday. Continue reading...