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Damian Homer stabbed Wendy Francis, 61, twice in the chest after she tried to help her daughter during the attackA lorry driver and ex-DJ who stabbed his partner's mother to death in a drunken attack after she tried to help her daughter has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years.Damian Homer, 51, also stabbed his partner, Stacey Hill, 38, who tried to shield her mother, Wendy Francis, from the kitchen knife he wielded after an argument. Continue reading...

EPC talks in Budapest call for unity on continent as former US president's return to White House brings uncertaintyEuropean leaders have called for stronger action to defend their continent and support Ukraine in a show of unity after Donald Trump won re-election to the White House for a second term that is likely to prove a major challenge for the bloc.Meeting in Budapest for two days of talks hosted by Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, an outspoken Trump ally, the EU's 27 heads of state and government were joined on Thursday by 20 other leaders from the wider European Political Community including Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Continue reading...

France summons Israeli ambassador over incident at Eleona domain in Jerusalem which is under French controlThe French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot has abandoned a visit to a holy site in Jerusalem under French control after armed Israeli police entered the site and briefly arrested two French gendarmes.France has summoned the Israeli ambassador over the incident, the latest of several controversies involving the Eleona sanctuary on the Mount of Olives, which along with three other sites make up the French national domain in the Holy Land. Continue reading...

Deputy prime minister says she spoke with vice president-elect about plans for the future and working together'Yesterday Ed Balls, the former Labour shadow chancellor, said Donald Trump's victory in the US showed that, if Labour did not improve living standards by the end of this parliament, it too would be voted out. During his interviews this morning Pat McFadden did not quite go that far, but he said the American election showed why Labour was focusing on the cost of living. (See 10.47am.)In an article for LabourList, Liam Byrne, the former Labour Treasury minister who now chairs the Commons business committee, makes a similar version of the same argument; he says Trump's victory shows that Labour could lose the next election if it does not reduce wealth inequality.It will be a few days until we have time to inspect the details of Vice President Harris' defeat. But there was one clear story about the last time President Trump sailed to victory. The places that were left behind by American growth, the places at the sharp end of growing inequality, were far more likely to vote for Trump.But guess what?CONCLUSION: The warning is clear. Labour has to fix address the inequality tearing at our social fabric. If we fail, populism will only grow stronger. We need not just economic investment, but a path for real prosperity for the families and regions left behind Continue reading...

X-Men and Deadpool writer Simon Kinberg has been hired to write and produce a new trilogy with new charactersA new Star Wars trilogy is in the works from Lucasfilm and X-Men's Simon Kinberg.According to Deadline, the new films will reportedly take place after the most recent trilogy that concluded with The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. It will allegedly involve new characters and a new storyline, although the return of known names popping up has not been ruled out. Continue reading...

Runcorn and Helsby MP, 55, to appear in court at later dateMike Amesbury, the MP suspended by Labour pending an investigation, has been charged with assault after an incident following a night out.Amesbury, 55, was suspended by the party and lost the Labour whip on 27 October after a clip was published by MailOnline. Continue reading...

Some 50,000 people took shelter in Havana after storm made landfall as category 3 on WednesdayCuba has been left reeling after a fierce category 3 hurricane ripped across the island, knocking out the country's power grid, downing trees and damaging infrastructure. No fatalities were immediately reported.Hurricane Rafael crossed a western portion of Cuba on Wednesday evening about 45 miles (75km) west of Havana, where Jose Ignacio Dimas returned home from his night shift as a security guard to find his apartment building in the historic center of the city had collapsed. Continue reading...

Australian Communications and Media Authority says telco did not do welfare check on 369 people who tried to make a call while lines were down

Reform UK leader to give speech in Wales while US election result was also celebrated by Tommy RobinsonNigel Farage will on Friday address his party's first big rally since Donald Trump's election win as Britain's emboldened populist right seek to drive momentum and build on links with the US president-elect.In an offer that has been declined by Labour, the Reform UK leader has already suggested he could work behind the scenes" to build ties with Trump's administration on behalf of the UK government. Continue reading...

Profits are up 4.7% but extra 140m on national insurance bill could mean more expensive groceriesFood sales at Sainsbury's have been boosted by a return to the office and fewer people dining out in restaurants, as the retailer warned of possible price rises as a result of having to pay 140m more next year in national insurance contributions [NICs].The supermarket chain's pre-tax profits were 356m for the six months to mid-September, up 4.7% on the same period last year, driven by a 5% increase in sales in its grocery business. Continue reading...

Partner in company due to receive shipment arrested after 13 tonnes of drug discovered at port of AlgecirasSpanish police and customs officers have intercepted the largest known consignment of cocaine ever to reach the country, seizing more than 13 tonnes of the drug, hidden in a cargo of bananas shipped from Ecuador.Spain's Policia Nacional said the seizure was the second largest recorded in Europe and one of the largest anywhere in the world. Continue reading...

Angela Rayner says restrictions may be placed on new social housing to prevent loss of stockMinisters may stop new council houses in England from being sold under the right to buy scheme, Angela Rayner has indicated.The deputy prime minister said the government would introduce restrictions on new social housing so we aren't losing that stock". Continue reading...

A nationwide abortion ban could become a reality, and access to other forms of reproductive healthcare are at riskAbortion, the issue thought to be the magic bullet that would mortally wound Donald Trump's chances at a second presidency, instead failed to stop him on Tuesday. Now, two years after a conservative supermajority on the US supreme court ended federal protections for the procedure, the future of American abortion access is facing a new chapter of extraordinary peril.While seven states passed ballot measures to amend their state constitutions and protect abortion rights, Trump's return to the White House means those hard-fought efforts may amount to nothing. Despite the gridlock in US Congress, a nationwide abortion ban could soon become a reality: anti-abortion advocates hope that Trump will resurrect a 19th-century anti-vice law to effectively implement a nationwide ban. Access to other forms of reproductive healthcare, such as contraception and in vitro fertilization, are also at risk. Continue reading...

Pat McFadden say he thinks UK and US governments will get on well' despite past comments by senior Labour figures

Half-year pre-tax profits drop 10% to 967m in competitive retail environment'

Reeves's budget could slow demand but prices have not fallen significantly since post-pandemic race for space'

A fierce contest can be a good thing, as long as it's a contest about substance', PM tells global democracy conference in Sydney

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Party leader threatens to take Labor's Emily Kim to Human Rights Commission over racial comments'

PM fully briefed on potential outcomes' of US election and says Australia is prepared for Trump's policies on security, economic and other issues

Stone memorial at church in Withnell tells story of Pte James Miller who was killed at Battle of Somme in 1916A granite stone cross in the boundary wall of an otherwise ordinary English churchyard has been given listed status because of the extraordinary" story it reveals of first world war heroism.Most war memorials are dedicated to numbers of people, but the memorial at St Paul's church in Withnell, Lancashire, is dedicated to just one. Continue reading...

Some residents in the Western Downs region in Queensland have been told to prepare to leave amid a fast-moving fire

Joshua Creamer says ceasing inquiry's work continues 165 years of government failing to listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples'

The Guardian's Washington bureau chief, David Smith, explains how Donald Trump won a second term and what he intends to do with itDonald Trump won a decisive victory in the US presidential election on Tuesday night, becoming the first man in 150 years to have been voted out as president and then win office again.The Guardian's Washington bureau chief, David Smith, explains to Lucy Hough how the night unfolded at Trump's victory rally in Florida, and how the former president even managed to win the popular vote after months of polls predicting a knife-edge contest. Continue reading...

Island's national power company says strong winds from category 3 hurricane caused disconnectionCuba's national power grid has suffered a country-wide blackout as Hurricane Rafael made landfall on the island's south-west coast as a powerful category 3 hurricane.In a brief statement on Wednesday, the country's national power company, Union Electrica, said: Strong winds caused by the powerful Hurricane Rafael have caused the disconnection of the national electrical system. Contingency protocols have been applied." Continue reading...

Missouri, which voted for Trump, backed increasing minimum wage, while blue California said yes for a tough-on-crime proposition

Dollar up and renewable energy stocks down, while shares in president-elect's media business rise by more than a third

Tribunal ruled in May that Roz Adams was constructively dismissed by Edinburgh Rape Crisis CentreA rape crisis worker who was found to have been unfairly dismissed over her gender-critical views has received 69,000 in compensation.In May, a tribunal ruled Roz Adams was constructively dismissed by the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) after suffering harassment and discrimination. Continue reading...

Several bodies pulled from sea after boat got into difficulty off coast of Audresselles on Monday nightMore than 50 people have been rescued after attempting to cross the Channel and the bodies of several others were found floating at sea.The French coastguard said 51 people were rescued on Monday night after a boat got into difficulty when its engine failed off the coast of Audresselles in northern France. Those rescued were met by emergency services at Boulogne-sur-Mer quayside and taken to safety. Continue reading...

Jake Wray pushed a flaming wheelie bin into police and stopped drivers to check they were white during the summer riotsAn overtly racist", attention-seeking yob who stopped drivers to check they were white during the summer riots has been jailed for 38 months.Jake Wray, 23, from Middlesbrough, admitted violent disorder in the town on 4 August, including trying to set a car on fire, making racist chants and pushing a flaming wheelie bin into police lines. Continue reading...

Jurors told Urfan Sharif had made comments 18 months before 10-year-old Surrey schoolgirl was killedThe father of Sara Sharif had said his daughter had made his life hell" 18 months before she was killed, a court has heard.Urfan Sharif said his wife, Beinash Batool, had accused Sara of misbehaving while he was at work, alleging the 10-year-old had cut up his clothes and shoelaces and hidden his keys. Continue reading...

Two men in their 30s and one in his 50s detained on suspicion of manslaughter and cannabis productionThree men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and the production of cannabis in connection with a house explosion which killed two people, including a seven-year-old boy, in Newcastle.Northumbria police on Wednesday said two men in their 30s and one man in his 50s were in police custody. Continue reading...

More than 70,000 people reportedly evacuated and military mobilised with hurricane close to making landfallCuba is bracing for Hurricane Rafael, which is expected to make landfall on Wednesday and compound the misery wrought by a recent blackout and Hurricane Oscar.Early on Wednesday it was about 160 miles (260km) south-east of Havana and packing winds of 99mph (160km/h), making it a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Five is the strongest. Continue reading...

Major cross-party push under way to win over significant number of undecided MPs

Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton, Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison send messages as Adam Bandt criticises dangerous demagogue' and calls on PM to cancel Aukus

GP in inheritance row aimed to kill his mother's partner by wearing disguise to administer a fake Covid booster jab

Live election results and map as Trump wins several states critical to electoral success

Home affairs minister says he will introduce new legislation after visa conditions for those released from immigration detention were ruled unconstitutional

If she wins, Harris would become the first president to graduate from a Historically Black College and University

Rising costs and demand are a huge strain on council budgets and services face intolerable pressures', says AdassEngland's overstretched and creaking adult social care services need urgent government intervention to stabilise them financially as rising costs and demand play havoc with council budgets, care bosses have warned.The financial challenge facing adult social care continued to be as bad as it has been in recent history", the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass) said, and services are under intolerable pressures". Continue reading...

With contradictory proposals unlikely to mesh, leaders to decide whether there is scope for alliance to continueWhen, in 2021, Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats went into a traffic light" coalition with the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats, the new government was riding high on an enthusiastic spirit of cooperation.There were promises to modernise, reinvigorate and green-proof Europe's largest economy. Germany, the coalition partners said, had sleep-walked into a complacent state during 16 years of rule under Angela Merkel. The new trio in power would jolt the country out of its hubris, and deliver it into a new era of vigour and creative transformation. That, at least, was the idea. Continue reading...

Israel's war in Gaza, funded with substantial US support, has inspired some to back the Green party, while others call Kamala Harris the the best of the worst'

Documentary about Billy Mail's connection with orphaned pup Molly airs on National Geographic next weekNational Geographic will be streaming a new documentary about an unlikely bond between a man and an otter in Shetland.Billy Mail met Molly, a starving pup, in 2021 when he saw her jumping off a pontoon into the sea near his Shetland home. Mail wanted to see how close he could get to her before she fled. But it turned out that Molly had no intention of running away.Billy and Molly: An Otter Love Story will be available from 14 November on Disney+, and will air on 15 November on National Geographic Continue reading...

Experiment for a term prompted by research showing that sharing every result put added pressure on studentsA secondary school in the Netherlands is blocking parental access to children's grades for a term in an attempt to reduce the pressure on pupils to perform.Like many countries, the Netherlands has a system under which students need a certain grade average to progress to the next year, but Jordan - Montessori Lyceum Utrecht found that a widely-used app which shares every mark with parents was increasing stress among children. Continue reading...

National Literacy Trust finds only 35% of eight to 18-year-olds enjoy reading in their spare time, a sharp drop on last year to the lowest figure yet recordedChildren's reading enjoyment has fallen to its lowest level in almost two decades, with just one in three young people saying that they enjoy reading in their free time, according to a new survey.Only 34.6% of eight- to 18-year-olds surveyed by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) said that they enjoy reading in their spare time. This is the lowest level recorded by the charity since it began surveying children about their reading habits 19 years ago, representing an 8.8 percentage point drop since last year. Continue reading...

Democrats only need to flip a handful of seats to get back control of the lower chamber - here's what to keep an eye onMuch attention has been paid to the historic race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, but the results of down-ballot elections will determine whether the new president will actually be able to implement a legislative agenda next year.With Republicans defending a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, Democrats only need to flip a handful of seats to wrest back control of the lower chamber, and both parties are going all out to win. Continue reading...

Doctored intelligence files allegedly leaked by Israeli PM's office harmed the achievement of Israel's war aims'

Spokesperson says Dowden will not take part in the rest of the competition owing to foot injuryThe professional dancer Amy Dowden will not be continuing with this year's season of Strictly Come Dancing to recover from a foot injury.The development was revealed on the spin-off show Strictly It Takes Two on BBC Two on Monday and comes after a period of absence from the show for Dowden. Continue reading...

Strong current took child trying to cross The Entrance channel with father and three younger brothers

Polling shows that Australians prefer renewables, climate change and energy minister says