Security services believe state actor, probably Russia', to be behind drone flights at military bases and airportsSpeaking before the security council meeting, the Belgian interior minister Bernard Quintin told reporters that he wanted to hear what the country's security services made of the drone incidents.I know that the defence [ministry] will come up with some proposals to guarantee our security. We will see what concrete measures will emerge from that," he told VRT. Continue reading...
by Eleni Courea Political correspondent on (#71943)
Justice minister says digital team will overhaul archaic' paper system partly to blame for 22 people being wrongly freed every monthPrison governors in England have been summoned to an urgent meeting with ministers on Thursday as the government comes under pressure over the wrongful release of two more prisoners, including a convicted foreign sex offender.Alex Davies-Jones, a justice minister, told broadcasters she was furious" about the unacceptable" situation where 22 people are wrongly released from prisons each month in England and Wales. Continue reading...
The fate of the US president's signature, globe-rattling economic policy is in the hands of a court he shapedDonald Trump faced arguably the biggest test so far of his contentious use of executive power at the US supreme court on Wednesday. The stakes could not be higher - literally, LIFE OR DEATH" for the US, at least according to the president.Trump's signature, globe-rattling economic policy, his sweeping tariffs regime, was in the dock - specifically, the legal mechanism his administration has used to enforce it. And the man dispatched to defend the White House put forward a somewhat puzzling argument. Continue reading...
EV drivers would face 3p-a-mile charge on top of other road taxes to offset falling revenue from petrol and diesel carsRachel Reeves is drawing up plans for a new pay-per-mile tax for electric vehicles to announce in this month's budget worth an extra 250 a year on average, according to reports.Under the plans expected to be announced on 26 November, EV drivers would face a new charge of 3p a mile on top of other road taxes to offset falling revenue from petrol and diesel cars as drivers switch to greener options. Continue reading...
Latest inquest rejects previously found very strong suspicion' that a member of Strobel's traveling party was involved in her death near a Lismore campground
AI-inspired word joins biohacking', Henry' and broligarchy' on tech-heavy 2025 listVibe coding", an emerging software development that turns natural language into computer code using artificial intelligence, has been named Collins dictionary's word of the year for 2025.Lexicographers at Collins monitor the 24bn-word Collins Corpus, which draws from a range of media sources, including social media, to create the annual list of new and notable words that reflect our ever-evolving language. Continue reading...
Lawyers challenge 4bn Project One development, saying emissions and health impacts vastly underestimatedThe deaths from pollution caused by Europe's biggest plastic plant, which is being built in Antwerp, will outstrip the number of permanent jobs it will create, lawyers will argue in a court challenge issued on Thursday.In documents submitted to the court, research suggests the air pollution from Ineos's 4bn petrochemical plant would cause 410 deaths once operational, compared with the 300 permanent jobs the company says will be created. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: After decades of political tinkering, a new review of England's national curriculum promises change without chaos - but can it really add without overwhelming?Good morning. I'm Martin Belam, and this is my first time in your inbox for First Edition - though you may already know me from Guardian live blogs, my Doctor Who obsession, and the increasingly silly Thursday news quiz I write.I'm also old enough to have been part of the first ever cohort to take GCSEs instead of O-levels, and that exam upheaval has been followed by decades of successive governments tinkering with how children get educated. The latest attempt is a Bridget Phillipson-commissioned review of the entirety of England's national curriculum, led by Prof Becky Francis, which has recommended shortening exams, streamlining some subjects, and adding in new components she suggests will better equip pupils for the modern world.UK news | David Lammy, the UK justice secretary, is under mounting pressure after two more prisoners, including a convicted foreign sex offender, were mistakenly freed.China influence | UK academics whose research is critical of China say they have been targeted and their universities subjected to extremely heavy" pressure from Beijing. The Guardian this week revealed how Sheffield Hallam University complied with a demand from Beijing, halting a big project about human rights abuses in China.France | One of the men arrested on suspicion of stealing 88m (77m) of crown jewels from the Louvre is reportedly a minor social media star with a passion for motorbikes who has worked as a security guard at the Pompidou centre. He has been identified by justice officials as Abdoulaye N, 39.Environment | There is still a chance for the world to avoid the worst ravages of climate breakdown and return to the goal of 1.5C if governments take concerted action on greenhouse gas emissions, a new assessment argues.UK politics | Lancashire's Reform-run council has been accused of selling off the family silver" with plans to save 4m a year by closing five council-run care homes and five day centres and selling off the land. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#71924)
Reliance on overseas students' tuition fees under scrutiny as scholars describe chilling effect of being targetedUK academics whose research is critical of China say they have been targeted and their universities subjected to extremely heavy" pressure from Beijing, prompting calls for a fresh look at the sector's dependence on tuition fee income from Chinese students.The academics spoke out after the Guardian revealed this week that Sheffield Hallam University had complied with a demand from Beijing to halt research about human rights abuses in China, which had led to a big project being dropped. Continue reading...
Source says Russia very probably' responsible amid surge in incursions into European airspace since mid-SeptemberBelgium's national security council will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday after drone sightings at airports caused chaos for travellers and raised security concerns.Arrivals and departures were halted for several hours on Tuesday evening at Belgium's busiest airport, Brussels, leading to the cancellation of dozens of flights. The skies were also closed over Liege airport, an important hub for freight transport, leading to further cancellations, delays and diversions. Continue reading...
The deaths were mostly from drowning in flash floods, with 127 people still missing, many in the hard-hit central province of CebuPhilippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr has declared a state of emergency after typhoon Kalmaegi left at least 114 people dead and nearly 130 missing in central provinces in the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country this year.The deaths were mostly from drowning in flash floods, and 127 people were still missing, many in the hard-hit central province of Cebu. The tropical cyclone blew out of the archipelago on Wednesday into the South China Sea. Continue reading...
Members of the public have pleaded for a reprieve for the remaining lions, while former staff members hope the sanctuary will reconsider putting them downA troubled New Zealand wildlife park says it has been forced to euthanise two of its elderly lions, with the fate of its remaining five lions unclear, after it ran into financial difficulties.The privately owned Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary in the northern city of Whangrei closed its doors on the weekend. Continue reading...
First 50 vehicles, costing nearly 10m each, finally ready to deploy to Nato's eastern flank, where drones now dominateBritain's military has announced the first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles, eight years behind schedule and amid questions about their relevance as cheap drones dominate the battlefields of Ukraine.The junior defence minister Luke Pollard said the first 50 vehicles, costing nearly 10m each, were ready to deploy on Nato's eastern flank, though he acknowledged the problems of the past when delivery deadlines of 2017, 2020 and 2021 were all missed. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#718YF)
Government plans include more short sentences being suspended and earlier releases from jailGovernment plans to radically reform sentencing will lead to an increase in crime by as much as 6% in a single year, according to police chiefs.The reforms, which cover England and Wales, involve a presumption against short sentences of a year or less, with community sentences used instead, and those jailed being released earlier than currently the case. Continue reading...
Videos show ICE agents dragging woman out of Chicago daycare and appearing to slam her face against glass doorsThe brutality of ICE operations in Chicago came under scrutiny on Wednesday after multiple armed agents arrested a daycare worker in front of children. At the same time witnesses described the use of excessive force by federal officers during a court hearing in the city.ICE agents forcibly detained a worker at the Rayito de Sol daycare center in the city's North Side neighborhood after pursuing her into the facility on Wednesday morning. Videos taken by bystanders show ICE agents dragging the woman out of the daycare - at one point appearing to slam her face against the glass doors - before pinning her against a parked car as they attempted to handcuff her. Continue reading...
Questions about potential conflict of interest as council's cabinet member for social care owns private care companyLancashire's Reform-run council has been accused of selling off the family silver" through its plans to save 4m a year by closing five council-run care homes and five day centres and moving residents into the private sector.One of the care home residents, a 92-year-old woman, said she would leave only by being forcibly removed or in a box". Continue reading...
Anthony Hemingway, who is both director and executive producer on the legal drama, has defended the show which has been the subject of a critical pile-on
Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers apologises for invading privacy of man wrongly arrested for high-profile murderRupert Murdoch's news publisher in the UK agreed to pay substantial damages" to a man wrongly arrested for a high-profile murder, after apologising for the invasion of his privacy.Christopher Jefferies, a retired schoolteacher and landlord from Bristol, was wrongfully arrested in 2010 for the murder of Joanna Yeates, a landscape architect. Continue reading...
Its subscriber-only election special, aiming to make politics fun and fresh, instead felt offbeat and out of touchCNN wanted to try something new on election night, and you can't blame them.Cable news networks - well, besides Fox News - are struggling to retain viewers, even on a night where voters were getting their first real say on Donald Trump's second presidency. Continue reading...
by Stephen Burgen in Barcelona and Agencies on (#718SH)
Memoir chronicles Juan Carlos's anointment as heir to dictator and death of younger brother when playing with pistolsA memoir by Spain's disgraced former king chronicles his anointment as heir to the dictator Francisco Franco, his role in saving democracy from a coup attempt in 1981, and his grief at the death of his younger brother when the two were playing" with a pistol as teenagers.The book, published 11 years after Juan Carlos's abdication and exile, is titled Reconciliation but appears to do anything but, instead detailing how he feels abandoned and misunderstood by his son and heir, King Felipe VI, and by other close family members. Continue reading...
Prospect says proposals to make payouts less generous would damage public finances rather than save moneyReform UK's plans to make public-sector pensions less generous could cost billions extra a year and cause a ticking timebomb in the public finances, a leading trade union has warned.Prospect said the plans unveiled by the party's deputy leader, Richard Tice, would damage the public finances rather than save money and end up costing taxpayers tens of billions of pounds in the years to come". Continue reading...
PPE Medpro breached 2020 contract to health department to supply sterile surgical gownsThe firm linked to former Conservative peer Michelle Mone, which was found last month to have supplied unusable personal protective equipment during the pandemic, owes 39m in unpaid taxes, according to company documents.PPE Medpro - owned by Mone's husband, the Isle of Man-based businessman Doug Barrowman - was put into administration on 30 September, the day before the high court judgment was made public. Mrs Justice Cockerill ruled that the company had breached its contract with the Department of Health and Social Care, awarded in June 2020, to supply 25m sterile surgical gowns, and must repay the full 122m it received. Continue reading...
Singer-songwriter says curriculum changes reflect points raised in open letter to PM organised by his foundationEd Sheeran has taken partial credit for the government's move to overhaul the teaching of music in England's state schools shortly after being mentioned by the education secretary in parliament.The Department for Education (DfE) said it wanted to broaden the appeal of music education to give every child a strong start in the subject" and boost the creative subjects taken at GCSE as part of its wider changes to England's national curriculum. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#718Q7)
Resident doctors in England to strike for five days next week, saying health secretary's latest offer is too limitedWes Streeting has failed in an attempt to end the long-running resident doctors' dispute with a new offer to them, which means their five-day strike next week is expected to go ahead.The health secretary tabled a new offer to resident doctors - formerly junior doctors - in England on Wednesday in a move intended to avoid the strike, their 13th. Continue reading...
The individual, identified as Abdoulaye N, is one of four suspects being held for the theft of jewels worth tens of millions of poundsOne of the men arrested on suspicion of stealing 88m (77m) of crown jewels from the Louvre museum is a minor social media star with a passion for motorbikes who has worked as a security guard at the Pompidou centre, French media have reported.Identified by justice officials as Abdoulaye N, the 39-year-old man was arrested at his home in Aubervilliers, the suburb north of Paris where he was born, six days after the 19 October heist. He faces charges of organised theft and criminal conspiracy. Continue reading...
by Sam Wolfson, Alaina Demopoulos and Saam Niami on (#71874)
In the bodegas, bars and clubs of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, the mood was joyous - it was an emotional nightInside an election watch party hosted by the Democratic Socialists of America at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple in Fort Greene, under the din of pet-nat wines being cracked open, there was a sense of nervous anticipation. I'm not sure if this is an accurate recreation of Solomon's Temple," said one supporter in a Zohran Mamdani T-shirt. This is like a who's who of everyone I've slept with," said another.The suspense didn't last long. Just after 9.30pm, someone jumped on the mic to announce that news outlets had called it: a record number of New Yorkers had cast ballots in this electric - and often ugly - race between Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, ultimately choosing the 34-year-old democratic socialist of seemingly boundless energy who had shocked party establishment in the primary by winning on a clear-eyed affordability agenda. The DJ immediately started playing I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas. And, indeed, tonight was a good, good night for those in the room, who erupted in tears, hugs and twerking. Continue reading...
Captured on the New York Post cover, Maga allies respond to Democrats' election sweep with accusations and furyHopes of a composed and level-headed rightwing reaction to the Democrats' across-the-board electoral success were unceremoniously dashed as leading Maga figures spewed unrestrained vitriol at their victorious opponents.Particular Republican fury was reserved for Zohran Mamdani's emphatic election as mayor of New York, a result that provoked a luridly provocative front page on the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post. Continue reading...
Police say Brahim Kaddour-Cherif is believed to have links to Tower Hamlets and is also known to frequent the Westminster areaDavid Lammy starts by saying the PM is in Brazil.He says the thoughts of all MPs are still with the victims of the appalling attacks in Huntingdon and Peterborough, where, he says, he was at school for seven years. Continue reading...
This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereAt least nine people were injured, the mayor of Dolus-d'Oleron, Thibault Brechkoff, said in a post on Facebook.He stressed the deliberate" nature of the incident, and said that local authorities were setting up a crisis centre to coordinate their response. Continue reading...
by Pippa Crerar, Peter Walker and Rajeev Syal on (#718GJ)
Algerian man, 24, released in error' from HMP Wandsworth two days after stronger checks for jails were brought inPolice have launched an urgent search for a second foreign prisoner freed mistakenly, two days after the UK justice secretary, David Lammy, brought in stronger checks for jails.The 24-year-old Algerian man was wrongly released from Wandsworth prison in south London last Wednesday, with the Metropolitan police informed only this week. Continue reading...
The fast-fashion retailer has faced a backlash after the childlike dolls were discovered for sale on its websiteThe French government has said it will suspend the fast-fashion shopping website Shein amid controversy over its sale of childlike sex dolls.The announcement came as Shein opened its first brick-and-mortar store in the world in Paris amid a heavy police presence. Continue reading...
Plan to cut journey times between major cities could reduce Berlin-Copenhagen trip from seven to four hoursBreakfast in Berlin, lunch in Copenhagen, with a fast and easy train journey to pass the morning? Or a midday meal in Sofia, then taking the high-speed line to arrive in Athens just in time for an evening aperitif? Both could be possible if a vision for European high-speed rail travel ever becomes a reality.A faster, truly European" high-speed rail network could be possible by 2040, the EU executive said on Wednesday, as it revealed plans to dramatically cut journey times between major cities. Continue reading...
Jordan Schwarzenberger says BBC is becoming irrelevant to gen Z and risks crashing unless it attracts younger viewersThe BBC risks becoming the Titanic of the media world and culturally irrelevant to gen Z unless it embraces a radical shift" towards reaching young audiences, the manager of one of the most successful YouTube collectives has warned.Jordan Schwarzenberger, the manager of the Sidemen, who have well over 100 million subscribers between them, said he believed the corporation produced great entertainment" and wanted it to succeed. Continue reading...
Ukraine's general staff denies claims its troops have been encircled but military analysts say situation has deteriorated sharply in recent daysMoscow's forces appear to be tightening their grip on Pokrovsk, as street fighting continues in the strategic eastern Ukrainian city, much of which now lies in ruins.Ukraine's general staff on Wednesday denied Russian claims that its troops had been encircled, saying efforts were under way to reinforce the flanks around Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad. Continue reading...
Pontiff says authorities must address the spiritual rights of those held in custody amid immigration crackdownPope Leo has called for deep reflection" in the US about the treatment of migrants held in detention, saying that many people who have lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what is going on right now".The Chicago-born pope was responding late on Tuesday to a range of geopolitical questions from reporters outside the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, including what kind of spiritual rights migrants in US custody should have, US military attacks on suspected drug traffickers off Venezuela and the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East. Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian