Broadcaster accuses Israel of targeting its journalists as death toll in Lebanon from rising hostilities surpasses 80Two Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon have killed eight people, including two journalists working for a Lebanese TV channel and a senior Hamas official, according to Lebanese state media and official sources.The deaths bring those killed in Lebanon since the beginning of hostilities along the border to more than 80 people, mostly fighters from the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Continue reading...
UTA lets Oscar-winning actor go after she spoke at several pro-Palestine ralliesThe Hollywood talent agency UTA has dropped Susan Sarandon as a client after she spoke at a pro-Palestine rally over the weekend, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed to Deadline.The Oscar-winning actor attended several rallies in support of Palestine and drew criticism for saying: There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country." Continue reading...
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt says earnings of full-time workers will rise by 1,800 a year as a the result of moveNearly 3 million low-paid workers will receive a pay increase of almost 10% next spring after the chancellor announced an increase in the national living wage" to 11.44 an hour.Jeremy Hunt said the earnings of full-time workers would rise by 1,800 a year as a result of a move that the Low Pay Commission (LPC) said met the 2019 Conservative pledge to end poverty pay in the UK. Continue reading...
Police in southern city of Tilburg tell residents to stay indoors after owner reported missing snakeAn extremely venomous" 2-metre green mamba snake is on the loose in the Netherlands, police have said, warning residents to stay indoors and under no circumstances attempt to ensnare the serpent.Police in the southern city of Tilburg said they were alerted by the mamba's owner on Monday evening that he was missing a snake". Continue reading...
The country's six main party leaders confronted each other in Rotterdam on Monday night in a TV debateThe Dutch housing market is one of the top issues in this week's election, writes Senay Boztas.According to I&O research, 86% of Dutch people believe there is a housing crisis", and there are 390,000 more house seekers than there are homes. Continue reading...
by Ashifa Kassam and Josefina Salomón in Buenos Aire on (#6GH99)
Newly elected president and far-right libertarian has vowed to repeal country's 2020 landmark legalisation of abortionThree years after Argentina made history as the first large Latin American country to legalise abortion, women's rights campaigners are gearing up to again go to battle after the election of Javier Milei as president.It's a very bleak picture," said Soledad Deza of the Fundacion Mujeres x Mujeres. This is a government that is promising us greater inequality and - from the first minute - that the autonomy, sovereignty and independence of our bodies is not going to be supported by the state." Continue reading...
Secretary of Ukraine's national security and defence council says Russia has increasingly put its economy onto war footing. This live blog is now closed
Rumours of tensions at the top, exhaustion after two years of fighting and frustration with allies dampen the mood in KyivThere is a subtle yet unmistakable sense of gloom in Kyiv at the moment, and not only because of the dark afternoons and plunging mercury of an eastern European November. A number of internal and external factors have combined to create perhaps the most downbeat mood about the prospects for a swift and decisive Ukrainian victory over Russia since the first weeks of the full-scale invasion.At the end of last year and beginning of this one, there was such euphoria. Now we see the other extreme, the down, and I guess we will see some ups and downs for some time to come," said Bartosz Cichocki, who last month finished a four-year posting as Poland's ambassador in Kyiv. Continue reading...
by Anna Bawden Social affairs correspondent on (#6GGMP)
Report calls for workplaces to do more after only one in 10 women say their organisation provides menstrual health supportMore than two-thirds of women in the UK have bad experiences at work because of their periods, a report has found.In a survey of more than 2,000 women by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 69% said they had a negative experience at work because of their menstruation symptoms. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#6GGMQ)
Campaigners say move would save lives and bring England and Wales in line with other countriesThe high court is to consider for the first time whether universities owe a legal duty of care to their students, which campaigners argue would save lives and bring England and Wales in line with other countries.The landmark hearing next month comes at a time of widespread concern about declining student mental health and a number of widely reported suicides, including that of Natasha Abrahart, 20, who was a second year physics student at Bristol University when she killed herself in 2018.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or by emailing jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
by Richard Partington Economics correspondent on (#6GGGK)
In letter to Guardian, campaigners say billions could be raised to help finance decarbonisationJeremy Hunt has been warned that combating the climate emergency will require higher taxes on wealth and big corporate polluters at the autumn statement rather than a package of giveaways for the rich.In the run-up to the chancellor's speech to the Commons on Wednesday, a group of 19 leading charities and campaigners - including Greenpeace, Christian Aid and Patriotic Millionaires UK - said billions of pounds could be raised to help finance decarbonisation. Continue reading...
Financing from Abu Dhabi investors secured for bid but use of overseas sovereign wealth questionedA group of Conservative MPs have written to the government asking it to use the UK's national security laws to investigate the Barclay family's attempt to regain control of the Telegraph newspaper group with funding from Abu Dhabi.
Exclusive: Analysis suggests there are 32,000 hidden, often overcrowded large houses in multiple occupationNearly 160,000 people are living in hidden, often overcrowded and sometimes dangerous bedsit-style accommodation across England, analysis has found.Intelligence compiled by councils suggests there are almost 32,000 unlicensed large houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). These are believed to be home to at least 159,340 tenants, who are often drawn by cheaper rents amid the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...
Colombian singer is accused of defrauding authorities of 14.5m and could face jail if found guiltyShakira, the Latin Grammy-winning singer, is due in court in Barcelona on Monday on charges of defrauding the Spanish tax authorities of 14.5m (12.7m).The 46-year-old Colombian musician, who lives in Miami with her two children, could face up to eight years in jail and a 24m fine if found guilty. Continue reading...
Dossiers were compiled by 15 departments after scouring social media activity to vet people invited to speak at official eventsFifteen government departments have been monitoring the social media activity of potential critics and compiling secret files" in order to block them from speaking at public events, the Observer can reveal.Under the guidelines issued in each department, including the departments of health, culture, media and sport, and environment, food and rural affairs, officials are advised to check experts' Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts. They are also told to conduct Google searches on those individuals, using specific terms such as criticism of government or prime minister". Continue reading...
Footage to date fails to prove Gaza complex was nerve centre for attacks on Israel, as military has claimed Israel-Hamas war - latest updatesPrior to their capture of Dar al-Shifa hospital, the Israel Defense Forces went to great lengths to depict the medical complex as a headquarters for Hamas, from where its attacks on Israel were planned.The evidence produced so far falls well short of that. IDF videos have shown only modest collections of small arms, mostly assault rifles, recovered from the extensive medical complex. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#6GF2N)
The WHO is aiming for the global elimination of the disease, and progress has been rapidAmanda Pritchard, NHS England's chief executive, announced an ambition this week to eliminate cervical cancer in England by 2040. The country is not unique in its pledge to banish cervical cancer to the realms of historical diseases, the first time this would be achieved for any cancer.The WHO has a target of eliminating cervical cancer globally by the end of the century, which would mean the prevention of the deaths of millions of women. The moonshot has been propelled by two facts: cervical cancer affects a huge number of women (more than 600,000 cases and 340,000 deaths globally in 2020) and yet nearly all these cases are preventable. Continue reading...
by Christy Cooney (now) and Tom Bryant (earlier) on (#6GEPV)
This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war hereEnvironmental groups have installed radiation sensors across southern Ukraine to improve the quality of current readings and provide warnings in the event of a nuclear incident.Greenpeace, which worked with Ukrainian group SaveDnipro to install the detectors, said they had been placed in the city of Zaporizhzhia, home to Europe's largest nuclear plant, as well as in Yuzhnoukrainsk, Odesa, Tarutyne, Yuzhne, and Uman. Continue reading...
Demonstrators chanted shame on you' after Rushanara Ali backed Keir Starmer on a vote on the Israel-Hamas conflictCrowds gathered outside the constituency office of Labour's MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, Rushanara Ali, on Thursday, chanting vote her out" and Labour party shame on you" after she did not back a Gaza ceasefire vote in parliament.There were protests elsewhere against Labour MPs who backed Keir Starmer in the vote on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Continue reading...
by Kiran Stacey, Aletha Adu and Ben Quinn on (#6GEAV)
Exclusive: Labour leader is target of growing anger in party over how he has handled vote on Israel-Hamas warKeir Starmer faces more resignations from Labour's frontbench if he does not shift his policy on Gaza, amid growing anger in the party over how he has handled the vote on the Israel-Hamas conflict.The Labour leader suffered the biggest rebellion of his tenure on Wednesday night as 10 frontbenchers resigned or were sacked from his team after voting for a Scottish National party motion that called for a ceasefire. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#6GE42)
Exclusive: Parents of Awaab Ishak speak out after two-year-old son died due to untreated mould in social housing flatThe father of Awaab Ishak, the two-year-old who died because of mould in a social housing flat, has pleaded with tenants to waste no time" in complaining and to simply get out" if they find themselves exposed to similar problems.Speaking in his first national newspaper interview since Awaab died, aged two, in December 2020 as a result of untreated mould in their one-bedroom social housing flat in Rochdale, Faisal Abdullah, 31, also called on the government to introduce strict deadlines for landlords to tackle mould in the private rented sector as well as in social housing - an extension of the so-called Awaab's law, which is due to come into effect for social housing. Continue reading...
Any uncomfortable facts can simply be airbrushed out of history by an act of parliament, Jimmy Dimly revealsThis wasn't how it was meant to be. This wasn't his best life. It should have been him, not Lord Big Dave, who commandeered the private plane for a surprise visit to Ukraine. It should have been him who got the photo op of a handshake with President Zelenskiy. He was good at all that PR bollocks. Standing around with the great and the good while never really saying anything. The perfect job for a man of little brain.Instead he had been shifted to the Home Office bunker. Expected to actually do something while working with the batshit and the flatliners. In all probability a career-ending move. The ultimate crash and burn. To cap it all he hadn't even yet managed to locate the first-class compartment in the back of his government limo. Where was the fun in that?John Crace's book Depraved New World (Guardian Faber, 16.99) is out now. To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy and save 18% at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may applyA year in Westminster: John Crace and Marina Hyde live in London and online. On Monday 11 December, 8pm-9.30pm GMT, join John Crace, Marina Hyde and Pippa Crerar for a livestream discussion on another year of anarchy in British politics. Book tickets here or via theguardian.live Continue reading...
Postal service renews call to change universal service obligation as its revenues fallRoyal Mail has launched a bonus scheme worth up to 500 a worker in an attempt to meet delivery targets over Christmas, as its owner's losses more than doubled in the first half of the financial year.Some employees could earn up to 500 extra for hitting local and national quality targets", in what Royal Mail's renamed parent company, International Distributions Services (IDS), described as a one-off quality incentive scheme" to try to avoid a repeat of last Christmas, when days of strikes disrupted deliveries. Continue reading...
Judge jails Ron Evans for four years for assaulting woman he met while volunteering at a London drop-in centreA killer and rapist who spent more than half a century in prison before being released by the Parole Board has been jailed for carrying out a further sexual assault at the age of 81.Ron Evans, who killed a young woman in the 1960s, and in the 1970s was known as the Clifton rapist" for a series of attacks in Bristol, was jailed for another four years at the Old Bailey in London after being convicted of assaulting a woman he had befriended at a drop-in centre. Continue reading...
The prestigious awards are being held in Europe for the first time. But does this landmark moment for Spain' neglect the musicians at the forefront of Latin music innovation?Hordes of fans wait anxiously along fenced barriers clutching their phones, itching to catch a shot of some of the world's most famous musicians. Some scream in excitement as cars with blacked-out windows roll up outside the glitzy venues, eagerly anticipating the arrival of artists such as Shakira, Maluma, Camilo and Karol G in the run up to the ceremony on Thursday night (16 November). This is the Latin Grammys, the most prominent event recognising artists in the Latin music world - but this year, it's far from its usual lavish Las Vegas home. Instead, the awards are taking place in the Spanish city of Seville, the first time outside the United States in its 24-year history.The move is the result of a three-year sponsorship deal with Andalucia's regional government, which has allocated 22,748,000 to the ceremony and its satellite concerts. The president of the regional government, Juan Manuel Moreno, has said that the Latin Grammys in Seville presents a landmark moment for Spain, and for Europe". Continue reading...
US food company pays big premium for UK chocolates maker and says it will keep manufacturing in BritainHotel Chocolat's founders are set for a 280m payday after the upmarket chocolates maker agreed to a 534m takeover by American food company Mars at a big premium to its market value.The chief executive, Angus Thirlwell, and senior executive Peter Harris and their family trusts hold shares that will be valued at 140m apiece after the takeover of the London-listed business, announced on Thursday morning. Continue reading...
by Helen Livingstone (now); Richard Luscombe, Léonie on (#6GCNX)
US president also repeats assertion that reoccupying Gaza would be mistake; Israel's ambassador to UN says Israel always adheres to international law' in response to resolution
by Sarah Basford Canales and Benita Kolovos on (#6GDFB)
Minister Catherine King releases independent review while suggesting Coalition engaged in economic vandalism' by announcing projects it couldn't deliver
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