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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...

Versatile poet and music producer co-founded King Crimson, produced Roxy Music's debut album and had a long partnership with Greg LakePeter Sinfield, a co-founder of prog rockers King Crimson who went on to a successful pop songwriting career for artists such as Celine Dion, has died aged 80.King Crimson announced the news, describing him as the band's original roadie, lyricist, lights operator and live sound engineer". No cause of death was given. Continue reading...

CQC official says managers showed a lack of transparency' during inspection nine months after Lucy Letby's first murderHospital managers showed a lack of transparency" by failing to tell a healthcare watchdog about a spike in baby deaths during an inspection that took place nine months after Lucy Letby's first murder, an inquiry has been told.A senior manager at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said executives at the Countess of Chester hospital had a professional obligation" to alert inspectors to concerns about the rise in neonatal mortality during its review in February 2016. Continue reading...

Video showed Charly A, one of 51 men accused of raping Gisele Pelicot, discussing plan with Dominique PelicotA young vineyard worker accused of raping Gisele Pelicot on six occasions over four years when she had been drugged by her husband also proposed drugging and raping his own mother, a court has heard.Charly A, 30, is one of 51 men on trial over the rape of Gisele Pelicot, whose then husband, Dominique Pelicot, crushed sleeping tablets and anti-anxiety medication into her food and invited dozens of men to rape her while she was unconscious over a nine-year period from 2011 to 2020 in the village of Mazan in Provence. Dominique Pelicot has admitted the charges, telling the court: I am a rapist." Continue reading...

Hillsborough, handball and an inexplicable love for Mario Balotelli. How some of our readers will remember the outgoing Match of the Day hostI will be forever grateful for Lineker's concise but considered remarks on Match of the Day on April 30th 2016, following the exoneration of Liverpool fans that week by the second set of Hillsborough inquests. He said: Well, whatever happens on Sunday, nothing comes close to the victory achieved by the Hillsborough families this week. We'll leave you with the words of the BBC's Peter Jones from the day of the tragedy. After 27 years, the truth is out."

Tea sales in the UK have been declining for years, with drinkers switching to coffee, energy drinks and bubble tea

Some cafes and visitor centres to close with job losses while reserves in Suffolk and Hertfordshire among those in perilThe future of several RSPB nature reserves is in doubt as the charity makes cuts, citing cost of living pressures.The bird charity told its workers at an all-staff meeting on Thursday that cafes and visitor centres across some of its sites would be closing, and staff would be made redundant. It also said it was in the process of transferring ownership of some of its sites to other companies. Continue reading...

Bars are downsizing the cocktail, redesigning it as a cheaper, snappier or starter' drinkWhen it comes to cocktails, a new word has been added to the traditional order: as well as shaken" or stirred", drinkers are increasingly asking that their martini be small".Rather than the customary martini serving, which starts from 150ml upwards, British bars are serving mini versions, starting from as little as 30ml, as drinkers aim to keep a clearer head and spend less. Continue reading...

Comedian and former late-night host will lead the Academy awards ceremony for the first timeConan O'Brien has been announced as the host of next year's Oscars.The former late-night host and comedian will host for the first time after Jimmy Kimmel turned it down. The current late-night host had hosted four times, taking on the 2017 and 2018 ceremonies and then the most recent two. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Person who complained tells Guardian that columnist's Jew haters' post was inflammatoryDaily Telegraph readers have woken up this week to successive front-page headlines alleging a grave threat to free speech, triggered by a star columnist's Kafkaesque" encounter with police.The rightwing broadsheet described how Essex police had told Allison Pearson on her doorstep last weekend that she was under investigation for allegedly stirring up racial hatred in a tweet last year. Continue reading...

Presenter says it makes sense for someone else to take the helm' at show as BBC looks to make changesGary Lineker has said it is the right time" for him to leave Match of the Day after presenting the BBC football programme for more than two decades.Speaking on his podcast, The Rest is Football, the 63-year-old said his time on the show had been an absolute joy and privilege" but it was time for someone else to take the helm" as the BBC looks to make changes to the show. Continue reading...

Independent senator David Pocock deeply concerned' legislation designed to cap donations and electoral spending would lock out community independents

Judge Robert Miles says former chief Michael Thomson and four others knowingly participated in fraudInvestment firm London Capital & Finance (LCF), whose failure in 2019 triggered one of Britain's biggest retail investment scandals, operated as a Ponzi scheme, a London judge ruled on Thursday.The high court said former chief executive Michael Thomson and four others had knowingly participated in the fraud, misled investors and misappropriated assets in a ruling welcomed by LCF's joint administrators, which brought the case. Continue reading...

Colleagues speak up in Paulina Brandberg's support after leaked emails reveal efforts to spare her from the fruitA Swedish government minister's fear of bananas has become a national talking point after emails revealed that such is the strength of her aversion that aides try to clear rooms of the fruit before she enters.Paulina Brandberg, the minister for gender equality and work life, has previously spoken out about her issue with bananas, describing it as the world's weirdest phobia". Continue reading...

Condition of roads near singer's Harlow home makes it difficult to drive the prestige vehiclesRod Stewart has said he is considering selling his five sports cars because there are so many potholes on the roads near his home.The singer's love of sports cars has endured for more than half a century - and he now owns five. But now Stewart says he may sell them because the potholes have worsened near his home in Harlow, Essex. Continue reading...

Chris Hemming, 46, charged with murdering Cheryl McKenna, 44, discovered by police on MondayA man has been charged with murder after a woman was found fatally stabbed at a house in Redditch, Worcestershire.Cheryl McKenna, 44, was discovered by police officers at a property in Other Road, near Redditch town centre, at about 9.30am on Monday. Continue reading...

Temperatures in Guangzhou fail to drop below level that meteorological service uses to mark change in seasonOne of China's biggest cities is still officially in summer, despite it being mid-November, as temperatures have failed to drop below the threshold considered necessary to mark the change in season.This week, Guangzhou, a hot and humid city of nearly 19 million people in southern China's Guangdong province, broke a three-decade heat record, according to the local meteorological service. As of Wednesday the city had experienced 235 summer days, beating 1994's 234-day season. Continue reading...

Company close to technical default on some of its debt, underlining UK industry's precarious state

Country closes 137-year legal loophole, becoming one of 12 in Latin America and the Caribbean to entirely ban marriage for minorsColombian lawmakers have approved a bill to eradicate child marriage in the South American country after 17 years of campaigning by advocacy groups and eight failed attempts to push legislation through the house and senate.After five hours of heated, drawn-out debate on Wednesday evening, lawmakers approved the proposed legislation, dubbed They are Girls, Not Wives, which prohibits the marriage of anyone under the age of 18. Continue reading...

Washington Post art critic says Edouard Manet launched into painful' incident with fellow painter Berthe MorisotAlmost 140 years before a term was belatedly coined for the practice of men patronisingly setting women right on how certain things ought to be seen or done, it seems that a certain French painter had already become adept at the art of what must inevitably be called Manetsplaining.Details of this late 19th-century case of mansplaining are laid out in a new book by the Pulitzer prize-winning Washington Post art critic Sebastian Smee, which explores how impressionism emerged as a response to the siege of Paris and the attendant civil and political tumult of the time. Continue reading...

Family violence unit officers missed opportunities to protect Noeline Dalzell before James Fairhall murdered her, Victoria's coroner says