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PM questions sanctions against MPs and plight of Jimmy Lai as China's president says Starmer fixing foundations'

Watchdog seeks clarity on legal right to go on holiday or visit family abroad after applicants denied re-entry at UK borderHopes have been raised for EU citizens who have faced being removed from the UK post-Brexit even while they wait on their applications to stay, after a statutory body wrote to the Home Office demanding clarity on their legal right to go on holiday or visit family abroad.The move comes after a number of cases came to light involving the removal of EU citizens when they returned to the UK after a visit abroad. Continue reading...

Summit's first day notable for frosty meeting of far-right Argentinian leader Javier Milei and leftwing hostThe president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has opened the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro with the launch of an alliance to combat hunger, which he described as the ultimate symbol of our collective tragedy".Brazil holds the rotating presidency of the group and is hosting the meeting this Monday and Tuesday, attended by all but two - Russia and Saudi Arabia - of the 19 member countries. Continue reading...

Awareness campaign partly designed by under-18s will launch on social media to educate adults and childrenIf you want to warn young people about the dangers of sextortion, use language that they understand, keep your messages fast-paced and don't scare us, say Scottish teenagers.Previous awareness-raising campaigns all looked like they'd been designed by old people trying to be young," according to the young Scots who have developed a series of online clips in partnership with Fearless, the youth service of the charity Crimestoppers, launching across social media this week. Continue reading...

Moscow will react to Biden's decision to let Kyiv use longer-range weapons against targets inside Russia, officials sayThe Kremlin has said Joe Biden's outgoing administration wants to escalate the conflict in Ukraine by allowing Kyiv to use long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia.The decision, first reported on Sunday, to allow Ukraine to conduct strikes with US-made weapons deep into sovereign Russian territory has not been formally announced by the White House, but a German government spokesperson said on Monday that Berlin had been informed. Continue reading...

Singer says his understanding of the narrative' around Do They Know It's Christmas? has changed since 2014 appearanceEd Sheeran has said he would rather not be on the forthcoming 40th-anniversary version of Band Aid charity single Do They Know It's Christmas?, aligning himself with criticism of it as dehumanising and damaging to Africans.Sheeran is one of an all-star cast to be drawn from three previous recordings of the song, in 1984, 2004 and 2014 - he appeared on the latter version. Producer Trevor Horn has mashed up three sets of performances into a new Ultimate Mix", which will be released on 25 November, and also features George Michael, Robbie Williams, Sinead O'Connor and many more. Continue reading...

Concerns interest rates will stay higher for longer if official data on Wednesday shows inflation is back above 2% targetThe average cost of a new fixed-rate mortgage is continuing to creep up, data shows, as brokers warn that borrowers could face further pain" if the latest data out this week shows inflation has risen back above the Bank of England's 2% target.Expectations that UK interest rates will stay higher for longer as a result of measures in last month's budget have prompted many mortgage lenders to increase the cost of their new fixed-rate deals, while the US election result has helped to fuel the volatility. Continue reading...

Images released by MSF doctors highlight impact of conflict in the country, with medical supplies and aid unable to reach people due to fightingA series of X-rays showing a piece of shrapnel buried deep inside a 20-month-old girl's head and a bullet embedded in an 18-month-old boy's chest are among images released by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) revealing the impact of the war in Sudan on children.The two babies were treated at Khartoum's Bashair teaching hospital. Continue reading...

Group were held after a meeting about what mining company referred to as unsubstantiated claims regarding taxes and levies

Education secretary urges ministers to keep discussion on policy behind the scenes after Wes Streeting voices opposition

Powerful storm systems bring heavy rainfall, widespread flooding and landslides to Central America and AsiaTropical Storm Sara has caused significant disruption across Central America in recent days after forming in the Caribbean Sea on Thursday afternoon. It is the 18th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and the third this month. The large number of tropical storm and hurricane formations this season can be attributed to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico being warmer than average, thus providing more energy for the development and intensification of these systems.Since its formation, Sara has affected Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize and Guatemala, bringing heavy rainfall, widespread flooding and landslides. The slow-moving nature of the storm has exacerbated the damage, prolonging the duration of its impact. However, Sara is losing strength; initially it had sustained winds of 45mph on Thursday but weakened slightly after moving inland, with winds dropping to 40mph by Sunday. According to the National Hurricane Centre, Sara is expected to dissipate into an area of low pressure as it moves north-west toward the southern region of the Yucatan peninsula on Monday. Continue reading...

City of Port Adelaide Enfield's mayor says she hadn't received correspondence about storage or disposal before or after bill passed federal parliament

Sen Const Kristian White says situation with 95-year-old carrying knife was not going to be resolved without the use of force'

Analysts say market is still relatively busy despite decline of 1.4%, which is unusually high for this time of yearThe average asking price for a UK home has dropped by more than 5,000 this month as the autumn budget caused housing market jitters before the usual Christmas slowdown.Average asking prices from new sellers fell by 5,366, or 1.4%, in November to 366,592, compared with the 0.8% decline usually recorded at this time of year, according to the website Rightmove. Continue reading...

Indian PM's trip expected to focus on trade and investment as oil-rich Caribbean country's economic boom continuesIndia's prime minister, Narendra Modi, will make a historic" state visit to the oil-rich Caribbean nation of Guyana this week when the two countries are expected to sign energy and defence agreements.Modi's visit to the country, from Tuesday to Thursday, will be the first from an Indian prime minister since Indira Gandhi's in 1968, two years after Guyana gained independence from Britain. Continue reading...

Legislation will be drafted to ensure consumers find it easy to exit unwanted signups and to get a refundCompanies are to be forced to make it simple and straightforward" for consumers to cancel unwanted subscriptions or get their money back under new rules to stamp out the so-called subscription traps that are costing Britons 1.6bn a year.Justin Madders, the minister for employment rights, competition and markets at the Department for Business and Trade, told the Guardian: We want to get money back into people's pockets when they've signed up to things that they didn't mean or want to." Continue reading...

St Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre says dancer was taking painkillers for an injury and fell from fifth floorThe acclaimed Russian ballet dancer Vladimir Shklyarov has died aged 39.Shklyarov died after falling from the fifth floor of a building on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Mariinsky Theatre told the news outlet Fontanka at the weekend. Continue reading...

Man, 23, was arrested on suspicion of double murder in Moss Side that detectives regard as an isolated incidentA man in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of a double murder after two men were fatally stabbed in Manchester.The 23-year-old suspect has been detained under the Mental Health Act after being assessed by medical professionals, Greater Manchester Police said on Sunday evening. Continue reading...

PM's comments come as controversy continues about investigation into Telegraph columnist's deleted tweet

PM absolutely confident' that vast majority' of farms will be exempt as union prepares protests in LondonKeir Starmer has vehemently defended the imposition of inheritance tax on farms, as a new analysis suggested farmers are being increasingly squeezed out of the market for agricultural land by wealthy investors.Amid an battle between the government and the National Farmer's Union (NFU) over what proportion of farms could be affected by the change, announced in last month's budget, Starmer said he was absolutely confident" that the overwhelming majority of farmers would be exempt. Continue reading...

Critics claim Essex police's investigation into the Daily Telegraph columnist represents a threat to free speech and a waste of police resources

Ukraine orders nationwide energy rationing after more than 200 missiles and drones used in attack that killed seven peopleRussia launched more than 200 missile and drones at Ukraine's energy grid overnight and in the early morning, killing seven people in its largest-scale attack in months, and forcing the country to announce nationwide electricity rationing from Monday.Ukrenergo, Ukraine's principal energy supplier, said blackouts and consumption restrictions would be introduced in all regions" as engineers tried to repair as much of the damage to power facilities as possible. Continue reading...

Labor government not acting in good faith' when it stands on global stage and promotes its climate credentials, special envoy at Cop29 says

Pankaj Lamba is the main suspect in death of Harshita Brella of Corby, whose body was discovered in IlfordAn international hunt is under way for the husband of a woman who police believe was murdered and whose body was found in the boot of a car in east London.On Sunday Northamptonshire police named Pankaj Lamba as the prime suspect in the murder of 24-year-old Harshita Brella of Corby. Continue reading...

As President-Elect Trump talks up negotiations, Putin has made clear his position hasn't changed since launching invasion in 2022Millions of Ukrainians woke up early on Sunday morning to a massive Russian missile and drone attack on their country's infrastructure, the biggest assault from Moscow since the end of August and the first large-scale attack since the US election.Donald Trump once promised to settle the Ukraine war in 24 hours" but the 120 missiles and 90 drones aimed at the nation's utilities is a reminder that Moscow's maximalist aspirations to cow and subjugate its neighbour remains unchanged. Continue reading...

PM does not rule out UK providing financial incentives to stop would-be asylum seekers making journeyKeir Starmer is supporting plans to look at Italian-style migration deals with other nations to reduce the number of small boat crossings, saying that the UK has got to do everything we can" on the issue.Refusing to rule out seeking arrangements with Vietnam, Turkey and others to provide financial incentives to stop would-be asylum seekers setting out for the UK, Starmer stressed the need for as many approaches as possible. Continue reading...

Collariums, which emit UVA radiation, are often advertised on private social media accounts, thwarting search warrant efforts

With the hearings in their final phase, there has been less movement on the issues besetting the organisation than might have been hopedThe final phase of the long-running inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal has delved into the current operations and culture at the Post Office, as well as the issue of compensation payments to the hundreds of branch operators who were wrongly prosecuted.If the expectation was to find an organisation transformed - the reformation of a toxic culture, repair of the broken relations with staff and government and a well-oiled compensation process - testimony has shown that in many respects little, fundamentally, appears to have changed. Continue reading...

Health secretary risks tainting the debate by turning it into an issue of pounds and pence, Labour grandee saysLabour divisions over the controversial bill on assisted dying have intensified as party grandee Harriet Harman demanded the immediate cancellation of work ordered by the health secretary, Wes Streeting, into the potential costs to the NHS of legalisation.In an interview with the Observer, Harman said Streeting's intervention - making clear he regarded the bill as a slippery slope" and saying that he had commissioned work on the financial implications - had not only breached neutrality" rules for cabinet ministers but risked tainting" the entire debate by turning it into an issue of pounds and pence". Continue reading...

This blog is now closedWarning for heavy rainfall, damaging winds and potential flash flooding in north-east VictoriaThe Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for the north-east of Victoria, with forecasts of heavy rainfall and damaging to locally destructive wind gusts":Heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding is forecast with areas of rain and thunderstorms for the northeast of Victoria from Sunday morning.Six-hourly rainfall totals of 30 to 60mm are likely, with isolated totals up to 80mm possible. 24-hourly rainfall totals of 60 to 80mm are likely, with isolated falls of 100mm possible.He's Australia's appointment. It says something about the importance of the United States that we have appointed a former prime minister.That's a sign of how seriously we take this relationship, which is a relationship between our peoples, based upon our common values. Continue reading...

Isaac Levido and Michael Brooks warned ex-PM on 3 April voters less likely to feel financially optimistic'Rishi Sunak's top aides advised him not to call an early election, warning him that voters would be less likely to feel financially optimistic" in the summer and that Conservatives would not be able to hit Labour hard with both fists".Isaac Levido, who directed the election campaign for the Conservatives, and Michael Brooks, a Tory strategist, issued the warning to the former prime minister in a blunt memo on 3 April, seven weeks before the election was called. Continue reading...

Labour peer, who is blind, calls for TfL to fill the widest gaps and ensure staff presence at death trap' platformsLord Blunkett is calling for action on death trap" tube platforms after he was injured falling into the gap at Westminster station.The Labour peer, who is blind, called on Transport for London to do more to keep visually impaired people safe. Continue reading...

Liz Truss is the only former party leader of past five years to rank lower in terms of starting popularityKemi Badenoch's personal approval ratings at the start of her Tory leadership are worse than those recorded by Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson at the start of their reigns, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.The new Tory leader's net approval rating - the difference between those who approve or disapprove of the job she is doing - sits at -5%. The only former party leader of the past five years that she beats in terms of her starting popularity is Liz Truss, whose first approval rating was -9% after she won the leadership. Continue reading...

Person acquired clade Ib while traveling to east Africa and treated in California for mild illness, said health officialsUS health officials reported Saturday the first known case of a person infected with the new mpox strain in the country.The person acquired mpox while traveling to east Africa and was treated for a mild illness in San Mateo, California, according to health officials. The person is isolating at home and is recovering, and there is no evidence that mpox is spreading in the United States. Continue reading...

Incident occurred in eastern city of Wuxi after 21-year-old student went on stabbing spree on Saturday eveningEight people were killed and 17 others injured when a 21-year-old student went on a stabbing spree in China's eastern city of Wuxi on Saturday evening, police said.The incident comes days after a hit-and-run incident in which 35 people were killed and 43 others injured after a car drove into a group of people outside a sports centre in the southern city of Zhuhai. Continue reading...

Religious lobbyists are secretly coordinating and funding bodies that claim to be led by disabled people and health workersCampaigns against assisted dying that claim to be led by healthcare workers and disabled people are being secretly coordinated and paid for by conservative Christian pressure groups, an Observer investigation has found.The grassroots" campaigns have been central to the debate on legalising assisted dying in England and Wales before a landmark vote by MPs this month. Continue reading...

Police said unnamed woman, believed to be from Corby, could have been victim of targeted incident'Police have launched a murder investigation after a woman's body was discovered in a car boot in east London.The woman, who has not been named but is understood to be from Corby, Northamptonshire, could be the victim of a targeted incident", police said. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Middle East coverage hereAnother airstrike hit the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut around midday local time, according to AFP, after the area was hit earlier this morning.Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported a raid by enemy aircraft" in the neighbourhood of Chiyah. Continue reading...

Paul Biddiss, who trained Paul Mescal and Day of the Jackal star Eddie Redmayne, says streetwise women are more aware of surveillance and harder to followHe has trained would-be assassins and marshalled invading hordes, Napoleonic forces and Roman regiments, but movie military adviser Paul Biddiss found himself in the midst of his biggest Hollywood skirmish last month when the actor Saoirse Ronan made a powerful intervention about women's personal safety.Ronan, a guest on Graham Norton's BBC chatshow sofa, sparked a nationwide debate about women's security fears when she interrupted fellow actors as they discussed techniques that Biddiss had taught the casts of both Gladiator II and the new drama series The Day of the Jackal. Continue reading...

US and EU have called for investigation into alleged irregularities in pro-Russia ruling party's election victoryThe head of Georgia's election commission was splashed with paint as the body confirmed the ruling party's victory in the parliamentary elections.David Kirtadze, a member of the former president Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM), splashed black paint on the central election commission chair, Giorgi Kalandarishvili, on Saturday, resulting in an eye injury, a video broadcast on local TV channels showed. Hundreds of opposition supporters staged a rally outside the commission's headquarters during the session. Continue reading...

Prime minister hails path of change' in Wales and Westminster at Welsh Labour conference in LlandudnoKeir Starmer said he would defend the budget all day long" at the Welsh Labour conference, amid protests by farmers outside the venue.In his first address to the Welsh Labour conference since taking power, the prime minister went on to hail a path of change" with Labour governments in Wales and Westminster. Continue reading...

Equine charity says Vida has recovered physically and emotionally' while under their care in the countrysideA white military horse that galloped through central London drenched in blood after bolting with other horses from routine exercises has returned home after more than six months of recovery, a charity has said.Vida was one of five horses that bolted near Buckingham Palace on 24 April after becoming spooked by noise from a nearby construction site and ran for several miles through the city during morning rush hour. Continue reading...

Yantar intelligence ship was seen operating drones in an area containing subsea energy and internet infrastructureA Russian spy ship has been escorted out of the Irish Sea after it entered Irish-controlled waters and patrolled an area containing critical energy and internet submarine pipelines and cables.It was spotted on Thursday east of Dublin and south-west of the Isle of Man but Norwegian, US, French and British navy and air defence services initially observed it accompanying a Russian warship, the Admiral Golovko, through the English channel last weekend. Continue reading...

William Wragg gave phone numbers to an account on Grindr after sharing intimate images of himselfThe former Tory MP William Wragg has told of the enormous guilt" he felt after realising he had been catfished into sending explicit photos on the gay dating app Grindr.Police launched an investigation in April after at least 12 men with links to Westminster received unsolicited messages from an account posing as aliases Charlie" and Abi". Continue reading...

Prime minister Dick Schoof said party leaders decided to work together after five-hour crisis meetingThe Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof's rightwing government averted a crisis on Friday when a junior minister resigned over alleged racist comments by cabinet colleagues, but the coalition government will remain in place.The deputy finance minister, Nora Achahbar, handed in her resignation late on Friday as the Netherlands grapples with the political fallout of last week's attacks on Israeli football fans. Continue reading...

The 600kg animal was in the deep end and it took Leicestershire firefighters three hours to get her out safelyA pregnant cow has had to be rescued by firefighters after she got stuck in a small swimming pool.The 590kg (93-stone) cow was found in the deep end of the pool in two to three feet of water at a house in Ketton, Rutland. Continue reading...

Licence suspended for 28 days after Morenikeji Adewole, 47, was charged with rape on WednesdayOne of London's most prominent nightclubs has been forced to close after a member of security staff was charged with rape, the Metropolitan police said.Westminster council's licensing committee ruled on Friday that Heaven's alcohol licence should be suspended for up to 28 days after a woman was allegedly raped in the vicinity of the venue in the early hours of 1 November. Continue reading...

There are no suggestions of extraterrestrial origin, but that won't settle any debates over the existence of alien lifeThe Pentagon's latest report on UFOs has revealed hundreds of new sightings of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena but no indications suggesting an extraterrestrial origin.The review includes hundreds of cases of misidentified balloons, birds and satellites as well as some that defy easy explanation, such as a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a mysterious object off the coast of New York. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president says talk between German and Russian leaders on war will reduce Putin's isolationVolodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that a telephone conversation between Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Putin will open a Pandora's box", after the German chancellor and the Russian leader discussed the war in Ukraine in a rare call on Friday.Scholz urged his Russian counterpart to withdraw troops from Ukraine and negotiate with Kyiv to achieve a just and lasting peace, in the first call between a major western leader and Putin since December 2022. Continue reading...

Raab paid 16,876 for loss of office' after report found he had acted in intimidating' manner towards civil servantsDominic Raab received a near-17,000 ministerial payout on resigning as justice secretary in 2023 after an official report found he had acted in an intimidating" manner towards civil servants, newly published accounts have shown.Raab, who opted to not contest his Esher and Walton seat in Surrey in the general election, was paid 16,876 as compensation for loss of office", the 2023-24 annual report for the Ministry of Justice showed. Continue reading...