Proposed merger with smaller competitor Sigma and stock market listing would unlock billions of dollars for founders of discount pharmacy chain Chemist Warehouse

Voters shun district election after pro-democracy candidates were prevented from runningA patriots only" district election in Hong Kong that barred opposition democrats from the ballot sheet amid a national security crackdown had a record low voter turnout of 27.5% as many voters spurned what was seen as an undemocratic poll.The sharp slide in turnout since the last such election in 2019 comes after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law that has been used to clamp down on dissent, and overhauled the electoral system to shut out democrats and other liberals. Continue reading...

Ukrainian leader invited by Joe Biden, as US president pressures Republican senators to back aid billUS President Joe Biden has invited his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the White House, days after his administration warned it would run out of money for Ukraine aid in weeks unless feuding US lawmakers act.The meeting on Tuesday is intended to underscore the United States' unshakeable commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia's brutal invasion," the White House said in a statement Sunday. Continue reading...

Cyclone weakened to category 1 on Sunday night but is expected to intensify before crossing coast of far north Qld near Cairns

Former Ukip and Brexit party leader used airtime to speculate over a return to ConservativesNigel Farage has finished third in the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!The rightwing politician and commentator reached the final three of the long-running ITV series, in which celebrities subject themselves to trials such as eating kangaroo testicles. Continue reading...

Man, 58, arrested on suspicion of murder after recent police appeal over unsolved death near East Finchley tubeA 58-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the 1984 killing of Anthony Littler in East Finchley.Littler was found with head injuries in an alleyway known as The Causeway, near East Finchley tube station in north London at 12.15am on 1 May 1984. Littler, an executive officer at Customs and Excise, was single and lived a short distance from the station. Continue reading...

Action scheduled for 14, 15, 16 and 17 December postponed while members vote on dealOxfam's first strike in its 81-year history has been suspended, after the charity offered an improved pay deal to staff", the Unite union says.Unite has announced that strikes scheduled for 14, 15, 16 and 17 December have been postponed as an act of good faith, while its members are balloted on the revised offer. Continue reading...

Hotel dispels rumours of a targeted heist or an opportunistic theft with a more mundane realityThe questions began swirling soon after police were notified that a 750,000 (644,000) ring had gone missing from the Ritz hotel in Paris. Was it a meticulously planned and targeted robbery? An act of carelessness? Or simply a quick swipe, carried out when the opportunity presented itself?Two days after a Malaysian guest at the hotel reported the missing diamond ring to police, the hotel proffered an answer, albeit less exciting than many of the theories that had circulated online: the hotel said security had found the ring in the bag of a vacuum cleaner. Continue reading...

Shadow minister tells health service money is tight' and that it must provide better value for taxpayersThe shadow health secretary has accused the NHS of using every winter crisis and challenge it faces as an excuse to ask for more money.Speaking on a visit to Singapore, Wes Streeting said the health service needs to accept money is tight", and that it must rethink how the care it provides could be better value for money for the taxpayer. Continue reading...

Investors may sell shares to oil-rich state's Public Investment Fund, which already owns a stake, report saysSaudi Arabia could take effective majority control of London Heathrow, the UK's major airport, with other investors considering selling their stakes, according to reports.The oil-rich state's Public Investment Fund (PIF) allied with private equity investor Ardian to announce the purchase of a 25% stake in the airport last month from Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure giant that had been the primary owner of Heathrow for 17 years. Continue reading...

Ban comes as jailed Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi begins new hunger strike before award ceremonyIran has banned Mahsa Amini's family from travelling to France to receive the EU's top human rights prize on her behalf, as the family of the imprisoned Nobel peace prize winner Narges Mohammadi said she had begun a new hunger strike before Sunday's award ceremony in Oslo.In Mohammadi's absence, her 17-year-old twin children Ali and Kiana, will instead collect the award on her behalf, reading out a speech their mother smuggled out of her cell. Continue reading...

Former immigration minister says legislation will not work, as talk grows of Tory plot to oust PMThe former immigration minister Robert Jenrick has said he will not vote for Rishi Sunak's bill aimed at deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda this week, in a blow to the prime minister.Jenrick, who resigned over the bill, said it would not work and needed to go further in setting aside human rights law if it was to have a chance of getting the Rwanda scheme to work. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Inquiry comes after discovery of body of Peter Mutuku Mutisya, 25, in a dam on the plantation

Number of under-18s living in temporary accommodation in England reaches 139,000 with most from families in the capitalMore than one in 10 children and teenagers from some areas of London are effectively homeless, according to analysis of government data by the Observer.Comparing the most recent homelessness statistics with official population estimates, 4.4% of under-18s from London - more than one in 25 - were living in temporary accommodation" at the end of June this year. Continue reading...

Families fear that James Cleverly's proposals, which more than double the earnings threshold, could force separation and exileThere was growing anger on Saturday night over the government's love only for the rich" plans that would force thousands of British families to choose whether to split or go into exile.James Cleverly, the home secretary, announced last week that a British citizen who wants to sponsor their foreign spouse to live with them in the UK will need to earn at least 38,700 a year to qualify for a family visa application. Continue reading...

James Cleverly's mother was a foreign-born NHS worker. Now he is making it harder for people in her situation to stay in BritainWould James Cleverly's parents have been forced to choose between separating or leaving the UK had they been subject to the new immigration rules the home secretary announced on Monday 4 December?Many of the millions of people in the UK whose partners or parents were born overseas have been asking themselves a similar question over the past few days. Continue reading...

While deputy premier is considered the frontrunner, suggestions his two rivals may team up would make vote incredibly close'

Report warns of urgent need to address severe structural failings' in roof of Westminster's parliamentary office buildingThe parliamentary office building Portcullis House requires a complete overhaul" of its roof and has severe structural failings" in its atrium glazing, warns an official parliamentary report obtained by the Observer.The new study, commissioned by the parliamentary authorities, warns that rain is leaking into MPs' offices and recommends roof works likely to cost tens of millions pounds. It suggests an interim measure of adding netting to the underside of the atrium roof to prevent glass from falling on to people" in the event of cracked panes. The House of Commons said this weekend that netting was being installed in the atrium. Continue reading...

Film starring Johnny Flynn and Anthony Hopkins and photographs of Holocaust survivors pay tribute to courage of UK Kindertransport heroThe achievements of Sir Nicholas Winton, who saved the lives of 669 Kindertransport children by setting up an escape route from Germany, will be celebrated anew on New Year's Day, with the release of the film One Life, starring Anthony Hopkins.Young actors will be playing the small escapees on screen, alongside Johnny Flynn, cast as the young Winton. But the stories of the children are not over. A number of them still clearly remember the journey, and their faces, now captured for the National Portrait Gallery, provide a fresh and clear testament not just of their childhood trauma, but of the varied lives they went on to live. Continue reading...

As Tuesday's crucial vote looms, MPs from both wings of the party say PM has tied his future to a bill that cannot succeed Read more: The UK's deal with Rwanda must stay within the rule of lawSenior Tories from across the party are warning that Rishi Sunak's emergency Rwanda plan will never become law in its current form, ahead of the most critical vote of his premiership.Liberal Tories confirmed last night that, despite their desire to back the PM against the right, serious concerns" remain about the plan and more reassurances will be required. Meanwhile, a self-styled star chamber" of legal figures examining the proposals for the Tory right is understood to have found problems that are extremely difficult to resolve". Continue reading...

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Southerly buster sweeps up the NSW coast bringing thunderstorms and dropping temperatures by up to 10C

Woman found in critical condition north of Brisbane later died at scene while 32-year-old man died in hospital following injuries sustained in nearby house fire

The Israeli military has launched a relentless bombardment of the city, which it claims is the Hamas command centre

Labor leader says state is in good shape' and now is the time for me to leave' following months of speculation about her future

This blog is now closed. See all our Israel-Gaza war coverage here Heavy fighting continued overnight in northern Gaza, both from the air and on the ground, the Israel Defense Forces said on Saturday.According to the IDF, fighters from the battle team of the Kafir brigade fought and killed a group in the area of a school in the Shejaiya neighbourhood. IDF forces later found a number of Kalashnikov weapons, grenades and ammunition inside the classrooms. Continue reading...

Research by centre-right thinktank says gap between the mainstream and poorest in society is wideningCovid lockdowns had a catastrophic effect" on the UK's social fabric and the most disadvantaged are no better off now than at the time of the financial crash, a new report claims.The country is in danger of sliding back into the divisions of the Victorian era, marked by a widening gap between the mainstream and the poorest in society, according to an inquiry by the centre-right thinktank the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). Continue reading...

Newspaper tycoon's son seeks meeting with foreign secretary as Briton, 76, faces trial and possible life sentenceForeign secretary David Cameron is being urged to demand the release of newspaper tycoon Jimmy Lai as the British national prepares for a high-profile trial in Hong Kong this month.Lai, 76, is facing a life sentence, accused of colluding with foreign forces under the draconian national security law introduced by Beijing in 2020 following mass protests. Continue reading...

Suffolk police say body was found outside premises in the town's Norwich RoadThree people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of a newborn baby was found outside a premises in Ipswich. Suffolk constabulary said two men and a female were in custody for questioning after being arrested.Officers were called to a property on Norwich Road at about 12.30pm on Saturday after reports that a baby's body had been found. Paramedics attended the scene, but the infant was declared dead. Continue reading...

Man in 60s and woman in 50s pronounced dead at scene of crash in Morville Heath on SaturdayTwo people have died and two others sustained injuries after a crash involving a police vehicle in Shropshire.A man in his 60s who was driving a Skoda Octavia and a woman passenger in her 50s died at the scene in Morville Heath on Saturday, West Mercia police said. A woman in her 20s who was also in the car sustained minor injuries. Continue reading...

Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy slams Israeli death and destruction' and urges UK travel ban on violent settlers Read more: Labour will oppose expulsions of Palestinians and bar violent settlers from UKThe Labour party today delivers its strongest criticism of Israel over its attacks on Palestinians, describing the death and destruction in Gaza over the past two months as intolerable" and attacking two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers for totally unacceptable" support of illegal settlements in the West Bank.In a sharp change of tone, David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, with the full backing of party leader Keir Starmer, attacks the Israeli authorities for turning a blind eye" to violence by settlers in the West Bank, which has forcibly displaced" more than 1,000 Palestinians from their homes since the attacks on Israel by Hamas on 7 October. Continue reading...

Health board launches investigation after family forced to hold second funeral service after hospital in Cwmbran, south Wales, told them of its mistakeAn investigation has been launched after a family cremated the wrong body due to a mix-up at a hospital in Wales.An NHS board has apologised over the incident in which relatives held a funeral service after being given the body of a different person, who is not believed to have any surviving family members. Continue reading...

As her predecessor continues to make headlines, the Victorian premier says she's charting her own course

Civilian proportion of deaths is higher than that in all world conflicts in 20th century, Haaretz newspaper says

Furore over the controversial Rwanda scheme labelled far from helpful' as Britain seeks to fulfil role in the international forumTensions between the Home Office and Foreign Office are said to be strained" before the largest international gathering in years on the refugee crisis, with the UK's contribution overshadowed by the row over Rwanda.Headed by development minister Andrew Mitchell, the UK delegation at this week's UN Global Refugee Forum will unveil what it describes as an ambitious package" that includes delivering schooling to hundreds of thousands of refugee children. Continue reading...

Actor was prescribed controversial high-strength drug to prevent loss of muscle after complex fractures of leg, hip and pelvis sustained on stageStephen Fry was given the controversial painkiller OxyContin to help him to move again during his recovery from a serious fall.Now walking without a stick for the first time since the accident in September, Fry has revealed he was a reluctant user of the drug. He took it on the advice of his surgeon, after being warned that if he waited until the pain subsided his leg muscles would weaken. Continue reading...

Visa changes may cut numbers of students and skilled workers who enjoy public support while Rwanda plan won't address concerns over small boatsIf you don't fix immigration, immigration will fix you." This was new foreign secretary David Cameron's stern warning to US senators, but it could equally have been addressed to parliamentary colleagues back home.Last week saw the latest in a series of immigration reform packages, yet nearly a year on from Rishi Sunak's pledge to stop the boats" his government seems no closer to a fix which satisfies his party or its supporters. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage hereRussian police have put the prominent Russian American journalist and author Masha Gessen on a wanted list after opening a criminal case against them on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army.The independent Russian news outlet Mediazona was the first to report on Friday that Gessen's profile has appeared on the online wanted list of Russia's interior ministry, and the Associated Press was able to confirm that it was. It was not clear from the profile when exactly Gessen was added to the list. Continue reading...

The Refugee Council is welcoming those who fled the Taliban and providing legal advice on resettlement in the UK Donate to our charity appeal hereTwo years on from their arrival in South Yorkshire, young footballers Elaha Safdari, Najma Arifi and Narges Mayeli are still baffled by the array of regional accents in the UK. I'm always like, Pardon? Can you please repeat? What did you say?'" laughs Arifi, now 20.This barrier is only a minor hurdle for the trio, who were forced to flee for their lives when the west pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban seized power in August 2021. Continue reading...

For the Jewish community in York, as elsewhere, fears and distress over the war in Gaza haunt this year's festival of lightOn Thursday evening, the small progressive Jewish community in York will gather at Jewbury, the city's medieval Jewish cemetery, to light memorial candles and say prayers for 150 people who died in a 12th-century pogrom at Clifford's Tower.The flames will then be used to light the eighth and final candle on menorahs, or special candelabra, brought to the ceremony by members of the community, marking the end of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of light that began last Thursday. Continue reading...

Singer, who reportedly bought $58m property last year, says she also gets left alone in Los AngelesAdele has said she is likely to stick around in Los Angeles because the sunny weather helps her stave off seasonal depression.In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, she said the California city's sunny weather was good for me". Los Angeles has an average of about 263 sunny days in the year. Continue reading...

The London mayor fears most voters are unaware of the change to a first past the post system that may boost the Tory candidateSadiq Khan has warned progressive voters that they risk handing the London mayoralty to an increasingly rightwing" Tory party unless they back Labour, amid concern in his camp that most Londoners are unaware of a complete overhaul of the voting system.The battle for control of City Hall next May will be the first mayoral contest to switch to the first past the post voting system. It comes after a legal change last year that appears to be largely unknown among the capital's voters. The previous system allowed voters to pick their second preference. Continue reading...

Retail push months in advance means last-minute shoppers may risk missing out on gifts - and leads to demands for rulesWhen the Denbigh branch of Home Bargains put up its festive display in August it made headlines. Bah, humbug! Christmas comes too early for north Wales shoppers," said the Guardian, while the Daily Mail claimed the store was facing a backlash" over its move. Indeed, shoppers did complain it was too soon" and some suggested there should be rules on when retailers were allowed to start promoting their festive ranges.But it turns out it wasn't just Home Bargains that was getting in the Christmas spirit months in advance of the big day. Other retailers began quietly opening their festive offerings in late summer and early autumn and the tutting householders who spoke to the Mail in Wales were not necessarily speaking for everyone. One in five shoppers told a Post Office survey that they were planning to start early this year. Continue reading...

Education consultants say headteachers approaching in record numbers, after inspection ruled a factor in Ruth Perry's suicideThe number of schools in England filing complaints to Ofsted about bullying inspectors has risen to ridiculous" levels, education leaders warned this weekend.Delivering her verdict on Thursday, coroner Heidi Connor concluded that a rude and intimidating" Ofsted inspection was a contributory factor in the suicide of Reading headteacher Ruth Perry in January this year. In 2022-23, a total of 747 schools made formal complaints about Ofsted inspections, up from 454 the previous year, Ofsted's annual report says. Continue reading...

Prime minister is facing an appearance at the Covid inquiry and a vote on emergency Rwanda legislationRishi is heading for Theresa territory," says one Conservative backbencher, after a week in which Sunak appeared to lose control of his party.A managerial prime minister squeezed by warring Tory factions, mired in a parliamentary battle and haunted by the missteps of their predecessor: Sunak will be wary of how May was ousted after struggling to get her flagship policy through the House of Commons. Continue reading...

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Data shows increase in infections and experts advise vaccination for pregnant women, babies and young childrenWhooping cough might sound like a disease of the Victorian era, but according to new data from public health bodies, it is on the rise in the UK.Looking at 2023 until late November, data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has revealed there were 1,141 suspected cases in England and Wales, compared with 450 for the same period of 2022 and 454 for that period in 2021 - about a 250% increase. Continue reading...

Overhaul follows once-in-a-generation review which found immigration system badly broken'

Former immigration minister says Rwanda bill will fail to end legal challenges to policy of removing people who cross Channel in small boatsRobert Jenrick has accused the prime minister of failing to keep his word to do whatever it takes" to stop the boats".The former immigration minister quit his role on Wednesday just hours after Rishi Sunak tabled a bill to save his Rwanda deportation policy. Continue reading...

Scotland Yard looking at possible hate crime after footage of incident in north London widely circulated onlineThe Metropolitan police are investigating a possible hate crime after a young Jewish woman was violently assaulted and robbed" in London.Footage of the incident circulated online after it was tweeted by the neighbourhood watch group Shomrim. Continue reading...