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Lord Strathcarron says he and an in-law high up' at British American Tobacco discussed bill, which he aims to weakenA member of the House of Lords who is trying to derail the generational ban on tobacco sales discussed the legislation with a family member who is very high up" at British American Tobacco (BAT).Lord Strathcarron is proposing amendments that would scrap the central provision of the tobacco and vapes bill, originally proposed by Rishi Sunak's government. Continue reading...

Vitali Klitschko says six children hurt in overnight attack that sparked fires in apartment buildingsAn overnight Russian drone attack on Kyiv killed three people and wounded dozens, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital has said.The head of Kyiv's military administration said early on Sunday that several" Russian drones were operating over the city, and warned people to remain in shelters". Continue reading...

Report raises fresh concerns about the link between political donations and public spendingCompanies that have recently donated to Labour were awarded contracts worth almost 138m during the party's first year in government, according to new research that raises fresh concerns about the relationship between political donations and public spending.A report by the thinktank Autonomy Institute has identified more than 100 companies that have given money to political parties and then won government contracts, under both Conservative and Labour administrations. Continue reading...

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Police were called to a fight among a large group of men armed with machetes on Saturday evening

Former home affairs minister Bob Debus, who served in the Rudd government, throws his support behind Clairvaux in Katoomba

Attacks come after Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeals to US for long-range missiles and urges allies to expand sanctions on Russian oilRussian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine overnight into Saturday killed at least four people and wounded 20, officials said, and prompted fresh pleas from Ukraine's president for western air defence systems.In the capital, Kyiv, two people were killed and 13 were wounded in a ballistic missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, Kyiv's police said. Continue reading...

Airline says singer's defiant interview breached its policy on politically sensitive or controversial subjectsBritish Airways has halted its sponsorship of Louis Theroux's podcast over an interview with the frontman of Bob Vylan.The airline has withdrawn its adverts from the journalist's podcast after he interviewed Bobby Vylan - whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster. Continue reading...

Former asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu has been missing since being released from prison in errorPolice searching in London for a former asylum seeker and convicted sex offender who was released from prison in error have urged him to hand himself in.The Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was jailed for 12 months in September for sexually assaulting a woman and a 14-year-old girl and made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order. Continue reading...

Another man in critical condition after railing reportedly breaks off in Costa TeguiseA British tourist has died after a 20ft fall from a hotel balcony in the Canary Islands.Another Briton was left with serious injuries after the balcony railing reportedly broke off in the Lanzarote resort town of Costa Teguise. Continue reading...

Lockhart started out on stage at age eight and appeared in scores of television series and feature filmsJune Lockhart, the popular actor known for her work in film and television, has passed away at the age of 100.She died on Thursday night of natural causes, with daughter June Elizabeth and granddaughter Christianna by her side, according to People. Continue reading...

Independent pledges to be president for all' after taking 63% of vote in upset for political establishmentThe leftwing independent candidate Catherine Connolly has a won landslide election victory and been declared Ireland's next president.She pledged to be a president for all" after securing 63% of the first preference votes, a stunning result that shook the political establishment and will make her the republic's 10th head of state. Continue reading...

Demonstrators call on regional leader to resign over handling of one of Europe's deadliest natural disasters in decadesMore than 50,000 people took to the streets of Spain's eastern city of Valencia on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of last year's deadly floods and denounce the authorities' handling of the disaster.Demonstrators, many carrying photos of the victims, called on the regional leader, Carlos Mazon, to resign over what they say was the slow response to one of Europe's deadliest natural disasters in decades. Continue reading...

The LNP government has a firm stance on only one issue - youth crime - and is looking like it's in need of an agenda

Connolly's stunning victory humbles old parties and energises the left, yet it's no revolution: the presidency remains symbolicCatherine Connolly's landslide victory in Ireland's presidential election is a stunning political feat that humiliates the establishment but does not signify a national swerve to the left.There was nothing inevitable about her triumph, let alone its scale. In July, when she declared her candidacy, she was a one-woman act: an independent leftwing member of parliament from Galway who was unfamiliar to most voters. Continue reading...

Anna Turley says legally settled people threatened by Katie Lam's proposals deserve urgent clarificationLabour has called on the Conservatives to clarify their plan to strip the right to remain permanently in the UK from thousands of people, saying those affected had a right to know what was being proposed.Anna Turley MP, the Labour chair, has written to Katie Lam, the shadow Home Office minister whose interview about the plans last weekend sparked renewed interest in the policy of retrospectively revoking indefinite leave to remain (ILR) status for large numbers of people. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Lucy Powell, who was sacked as Commons leader by Starmer in September, says government should stop trying to out-Reform Reform'Labour's new deputy leader, Lucy Powell, has said the government must listen to its members instead of being guided by a narrow group of voices" as it battles to stave off electoral disaster in next May's local elections.Powell defeated the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, in the deputy leadership contest, which concluded on Saturday. She said she had been given a clear mandate that members want their voice to be heard at the top of the party". Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read our full report hereThe accidental release of the asylum seeker was a mind-blowing" blunder, says the MP for Chelmsford.The Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman said on Saturday: My mind has blown. How this could possibly happen?"He came out of the airlock, and kept saying to the officers there, Where am I going? What am I doing? I don't know where I'm going and what I'm doing.'He was holding a pack of paperwork in his arms, and his bag of bits ...He knew he'd been deported. He came over to me and said, I need you to help me.' Continue reading...

Landmark meeting in Westminster hears from string of relatives who say they have been failed by justice systemEvery suicide in which the deceased has been a victim of domestic violence should be investigated as a potential homicide, according to campaigners who want see abusers held to account for the devastating effects of their actions.The move was necessary because police and prosecutors were not doing enough to bring perpetrators to justice in cases of suicide after domestic abuse, the said. Continue reading...

Eighty-nine years after residents drove Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts from Tower Hamlets, anti-far right coalition is still vital in boroughThe East End of London is the far right's prime target - the essence of everything they don't like. They feel if they can march through our borough with impunity, they can go anywhere. For them, it's like Wembley (stadium), it's the ultimate goal," said Glyn Robbins, co-founder of United East End, an anti-far right coalition of community organisations.In the East End, the historically working-class neighbourhoods in the shadow of the City of London, there's a feeling that history is repeating itself. It was 89 years ago this month that local people, many of them British Jews, drove out Oswald Mosley's Blackshirt militia from Whitechapel in the East End, in what has become known as the Battle of Cable Street. Continue reading...

Guidance from health and human services secretary contradicts decades of dietary recommendationsRobert F Kennedy Jr, the health and human services secretary, is planning to issue guidance encouraging Americans to eat more saturated fats, contradicting decades of dietary recommendations and alarming experts.My response and sort of counsel to myself was to stay calm, and let's see what happens, because there was no indication given as to how, why, when this potential shift would occur," said Cheryl Anderson, an American Heart Association board member and professor at the University of California, San Diego's school of public health and human longevity science. Continue reading...

The 69-year-old man plunged 7 metres from an outer wall after becoming unwell and losing his balanceA Japanese tourist has died after falling from the outer wall of the Pantheon in Rome.The man, 69, had been sitting on the wall before he plunged 7 metres into the ancient landmark's moat on Friday night, the Italian news agency, Ansa, reported. Continue reading...

MP for Manchester Central had been seen as favourite ahead of rival Bridget Phillipson throughout contest UK politics live - latest updatesLucy Powell has won Labour's deputy leadership election, beating her rival Bridget Phillipson, as she said the party would not win by trying to out-Reform Reform".Powell, who was the Commons leader until she was sacked in Keir Starmer's reshuffle at the start of September, was seen as the favourite throughout the contest. She won 87,407 votes, 54% of those cast, while Phillipson received 73,536. Turnout of eligible voters was 16.6%. Continue reading...

Maggie's says embedding activities such as yoga, tai chi and Nordic walking into care could boost chances of survivalCancer patients should be offered yoga, tai chi and Nordic walking as part of their NHS care to boost their chances of survival and stop tumours returning, a major charity has said.Maggie's, which operates 27 cancer support centres across the UK, is urging NHS bosses to embed" exercise into the care offered to the 386,000 Britons diagnosed with the disease every year. Continue reading...

The disgraced royal has lived in luxury for decades despite being an outcast and having no obvious means of financial supportIt is one of the mysteries of the modern monarchy - and one that is under more scrutiny than ever before.How on earth does Prince Andrew fund his lifestyle? Continue reading...

Exclusive: Approach complies with law but some workers question whether it contradicts standing as ethical' retailerThe Co-op has quietly told staff to boost promotion of vapes in an effort to win back customers and sales after a devastating cyber-attack.The ethical retailer is making vapes more prominent in stores via new displays and additional advertising, according to an internal document seen by the Guardian. It is also stocking a bigger range of vapes and nicotine pouches. Continue reading...

Event seated guests near Parthenon marbles, which Greece wants returned, and raised 2.5m for museumThe British Museum has been accused of provocative indifference" and covering Greek culture in the shade of Barbie" by officials in Greece after it hosted a star-studded fundraising gala that included guests seated near the Parthenon marbles.Days after Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell, Alexa Chung, Miuccia Prada, Manolo Blahnik, Kristin Scott Thomas and dozens of other celebrities and billionaires paid 2,000 each to attend the museum's inaugural pink ball, Greek officials were still incandescent over an event described as offensive by the country's cultural minister. Continue reading...

William Willett dreamed up the idea of clocks going forward and back on an early morning ride in 1907For many people, it will simply mean an extra hour in bed. For others, it's a disruption to their circadian rhythm that can take weeks to fix.On Sunday at 2am, clocks in the UK will go back by an hour, a practice that has been mandated by law for more than a century. Continue reading...

Stretching back to 2012, the government investigation into grooming gangs has a controversial historyIn late 2012, Samantha Walker-Roberts took a Megabus from Manchester to London, bound for the Houses of Parliament. In an airless room in Westminster, she told Keith Vaz, then chair of the home affairs select committee, her story.In October 2006, aged 12, she had gone to a police station in Oldham, Greater Manchester, to report that she had been sexually assaulted in a graveyard. Staff at the station were dismissive, she told Vaz, and encouraged her to accept a lift home from two men loitering near the doorway. She ended the night in a detached house in a quiet cul-de-sac, where multiple men took turns to rape and abuse her. Continue reading...

Doubts over whether Ankara will be part of 5,000-strong force to be deployed to prevent postwar power vacuumTurkey will probably be excluded from the 5,000-strong stabilisation force that is to be set up inside Gaza after Israel made clear it did not want Turkish troops taking part.Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said it was a requirement that Israel is comfortable with the nationality of the multinational force, set up to prevent a security vacuum when the massive task of reconstruction in Gaza starts. Turkey has said it is willing to offer troops, but Israel has let it be known that it disapproves of Turkish troops taking part in the force. Continue reading...

Doctors at the secret facility are able to perform amputations while others monitor zigzagging drones overheadScrubby trees hide the entrance. A sloping wooden tunnel descends to a brightly lit reception area. There is a surgery unit, equipped with beds, cardiac monitors and ventilators. And shelves full of medical equipment, drugs and neat piles of spare clothes. In a staff room with a washing machine and kettle, doctors keep an eye on a screen. It shows the movements of Russian spy drones as they zigzag in the sky above.Welcome to Ukraine's secret underground hospital. The facility opened in August and is the second of its kind, located in eastern Ukraine not far from the frontline and the city of Pokrovsk, in Donetsk oblast. We are 6 metres below the earth. It's the safest way of providing help to our injured soldiers. And it keeps medical personnel safe," said the clinic's surgeon, Maj Oleksandr Holovashchenko. Continue reading...

Review was led by former supreme court judge turned parole authority chair Geoffrey Bellew SC and former NSW police deputy commissioner Jeffrey Loy

Exclusive: Services Australia spokesperson says automatic BPay payments and Centrelink being unable to contact customers may be to blame

Prime minister Charnvirakul cancels trip to Asean summit in Malaysia after news of the Queen Mother's deathThailand's Queen Mother Sirikit, who brought glamour to a postwar revival in the country's monarchy and who, in later years, would occasionally wade into politics, has died aged 93, the Thai Royal Household bureau has announced.The palace said she had been hospitalised since 2019 due to several illnesses and developed a bloodstream infection on 17bOctober before passing away late on Friday. Continue reading...

Opposition senator's FoI request rejected by Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on national security and cabinet solidarity grounds

Vilnius and Kaunas airports closed down after balloons drift into country's airspace for third time this monthLithuania closed its two biggest airports on Friday and shut crossings on its border with Belarus after helium weather balloons drifted into its territory, the third such occurrence in the Baltic state this month.European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and other air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region. Continue reading...

Some drivers say vehicles using new version of full self-driving system can travel above speed limitsThe US main transportation safety regulator said on Friday it was seeking information from Tesla about a new driver assistance mode dubbed Mad Max" that operates at higher speeds than other versions.Some drivers on social media report that Tesla vehicles using the more aggressive version of its full self-driving (FSD) system could operate above posted speed limits. Continue reading...

Statement from security adviser, sent to then prime minister, did not describe China as enemyRishi Sunak was the only politician to be sent a witness statement by the deputy national security adviser at the centre of a controversy about the collapse of a case against two British men accused of spying for China.According to letters sent to the joint committee on the national security strategy, the statement from Matthew Collins in December 2023, which was sent to the then prime minister and his advisers, did not describe China as an enemy, another key element of the case. Continue reading...

Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was meant to be sent to an immigration detention centre for deportation after assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a womanA former asylum seeker who was released from prison in error after sexually assaulting a woman and a 14-year-old girl has been spotted boarding a London-bound train, Essex police said.The Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was jailed for 12 months in September for sexual assault and made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order. Continue reading...

Pete Hegseth claims six narco-terrorists' killed in Caribbean as US military conducts 10th strike

Buckingham Palace trying to increase pressure on prince to give up home for which he pays peppercorn' rentPrince Andrew is reportedly in advanced talks with King Charles's senior aides about moving out of his Royal Lodge home after a week in which his peppercorn" rent tenancy has come under scrutiny.Pressure has mounted on the royal family for Andrew to vacate the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park amid the continuing controversy over his links to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and the posthumous publication of the memoirs of the prince's sexual assault accuser Virginia Giuffre. Continue reading...

Zelenskyy, Starmer and members of coalition of willing' held talks in London. This live blog is closed

Ukrainian leader joined Coalition of the Willing to discuss how to ramp up pressure on RussiaVolodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants the US to stay involved in efforts to end the war after a meeting of western allies in London that took place without president Donald Trump.The Ukrainian leader chose not to overtly lobby for the supply of US Tomahawk cruise missiles at a meeting of more than 20 mainly European leaders from the coalition of the willing" but instead emphasised the need for the west to work together. Continue reading...

New regulation will allow US authorities to require non-citizens to be photographed at any point of departureThe US will expand the use of facial recognition technology to track non-citizens entering and leaving the country in order to combat visa overstays and passport fraud, according to a government document published on Friday.A new regulation will allow US border authorities to require non-citizens to be photographed at airports, seaports, land crossings and any other point of departure, expanding on an earlier pilot program. Under the regulation, set to take effect on 26 December, US authorities could require the submission of other biometrics, such as fingerprints or DNA, the document said. Continue reading...

Deng Majek followed Whyte to a train station near the hotel where she worked before stabbing her 23 times Man guilty of murdering hotel worker at Walsall railway stationIt was around 11pm on 20 October 2024 when Rhiannon Skye Whyte, a 27-year-old from Walsall, finished her late shift at the Park Inn hotel in Wolverhampton and made her way to the nearby railway station.Whyte, who cleaned and served food at the hotel housing asylum seekers, had been working there for about three months. Continue reading...

Art work that vanished en route from Madrid to Granada may never have made it on the van in the first placeFittingly enough for a still life, it would appear that the small Picasso painting that triggered a police investigation after apparently vanishing while en route from Madrid to Granada for an exhibition earlier this month scarcely moved from its pickup point.Officers from Spain's Policia Nacional began searching for the gouache and pencil work Naturaleza muerta con guitarra (Still Life with Guitar) after it failed to arrive on a van that was bringing a consignment of loaned exhibits from the capital to the CajaGranada foundation on 3 October. Continue reading...

Illustration of old sultan' by surrealist artist found at a house clearance sale by Cambridge antiques dealerTo the untrained eye, it looks more like an alien has landed on Chewbacca's head than a masterpiece by Salvador Dali.But the watercolour and felt-tip painting - bought two years ago for 150 - has been sold at auction for 47,700, after it was identified as a lost illustration of an old sultan" by the great surrealist artist. Continue reading...

Fresh from guest editing Country Life, former footballer embodies rich autumn dad' aestheticDoes your wardrobe include a half-zip jumper and a flannel shirt? Is your fantasy car a vintage Land Rover Defender? Do you know a buff Cochin from a bantam hen? If the answer is yes, you may just be one of the style icons of the season: rich autumn dad".The leader of this new style pack, known among fashion watchers as the Rads, is David Beckham, who this week was unveiled as guest editor of Country Life magazine. The former England football captain appears in the 100-year-old title in a variety of looks including a tweed blazer and corduroy trousers. Continue reading...

Asylum seeker Deng Chol Majek had been accused of killing Rhiannon Skye Whyte at Bescot Stadium stationA man has been found guilty of murdering a hotel worker in an attack at Walsall's Bescot Stadium railway station in October last year.Deng Chol Majek, a Sudanese asylum seeker, was staying at the Park Inn hotel in Walsall when he was accused of killing Rhiannon Skye Whyte, 27, on 20 October 2024. Continue reading...