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The former deputy prime minister staying out of the Nationals party room is the latest sign some in the Coalition are in no rush to finish their ugly airing of grievances

Sanae Takaichi leads a minority government and needs a successful meeting with the US president on Tuesday. Thankfully her mentor, Shinzo Abe, is one of Trump's favourites'Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, faces the first real test of her diplomatic and personal skills when she meets Donald Trump for talks in Tokyo that are expected to focus on trade and security.Takaichi, who this month became Japan's first female leader after winning a vote to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP), made her international debut at this weekend's Asean summit. Continue reading...

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Family members of young woman strangled to death by her former boyfriend in her own home have confronted killer Lachlan Young in court

Exclusive: Excavation, overseen by the US Department of Defense, will feature in More 4's Hidden Wonders TV seriesOn 26 January 1944, a 23-year-old US pilot was flying a mighty P-47 Thunderbolt on a wartime training exercise when it crashed in Essex.Locals witnessed the horror of 2nd Lt Lester Lowry's aircraft diving to the ground and bursting into flames. Lowry was not seen to bail out and he has remained missing in action (MIA) for more than 80 years. Ironically, his plane was named Lucky Boy". Continue reading...

Actor who also starred in Midsommar and became a musician was nicknamed the most beautiful boy in the world' - a title he struggled with all his lifeBjorn Andresen, the Swedish actor best known for his breakout role in the 1971 film Death in Venice, has died aged 70.At 15, Andresen was cast in Italian director Luchino Visconti's Death in Venice, based on Thomas Mann's novella, in which he played Tadzio, a beautiful boy with whom an older man, played by Dirk Bogarde, becomes obsessed. Continue reading...

Tech giant faces hefty fines from consumer watchdog for allegedly trying to convince customers to pay more than needed for their Microsoft 365 subscription

Singer says he will not perform in Israel while Benjamin Netanyahu remains in power, eight years after Radiohead defied criticism to perform in Tel AvivRadiohead frontman Thom Yorke has said he would not now perform in Israel, eight years after the band defied pro-Palestinian activists to play a show in Tel Aviv.Absolutely not. I wouldn't want to be 5,000 miles anywhere near the Netanyahu regime," he told the Sunday Times magazine, referring to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Continue reading...

Experts publish letter as peers prepare to scrutinise draft legislation six months after its second Commons readingMore than 1,200 public health leaders have called for the tobacco and vapes bill to be passed swiftly through parliament to protect future generations".They said in a cross-party letter that the gamechanging" measures outlined were far too important to let it slip off the agenda". Continue reading...

Key Labour pledge under threat as health service faces costs from redundancies, strikes and rising drug pricesNHS bosses are seeking an emergency injection of 3bn to cover unexpected costs and have warned ministers that without it patients will wait longer for treatment and hospitals will start rationing care.Their move presents a fresh problem for Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, as she tries to find ways to fill an estimated 30bn hole in the nation's finances in her budget next month. Continue reading...

Royal College of Nursing calls on government to stop using anti-migrant rhetoric, which it says emboldens racist behaviourThe number of reports by nurses of racist incidents at work has risen by 55% over three years, according to analysis by the nursing union.The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) expects to receive more than 1,000 calls this year from nurses seeking advice and support after racist incidents in the workplace, compared with almost 700 cases in 2022. Continue reading...

Monthly cost jumps to record 1,385 outside London, and 2,736 in the capital, with hotspots showing hefty rises

Ministers hope to secure a deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council that could add 1.6bn to the UK economyRachel Reeves will lead a delegation of senior business leaders to Saudi Arabia on Monday as she hopes to deepen the UK's relationship with a state that has been widely criticised for human rights abuses.She is the first UK chancellor to visit the Gulf in six years and is expected to meet senior Saudi royals, US administration representatives and global business figures. Continue reading...

Judge of prestigious award says two best collection winners address the urgent challenges of our time'

Police release CCTV footage after man described as white and in his 30s attacked woman in her 20s in Park Hall areaAn urgent police appeal has been launched to identify a man believed to have raped a woman in a racially aggravated attack.West Midlands police were called to the Park Hall area of Walsall just after 7.15pm on Saturday after a woman was reported to be distressed in the street. Continue reading...

Exclusive: new anti-fraud system fails to account for fact many return to country via airport in Irish capitalParents in Northern Ireland have had their child support payments stopped as part of the UK government's crackdown on alleged benefit fraud simply because they flew into Dublin airport when returning to Northern Ireland from a holiday in England.So far 346 families have had their benefits frozen, an investigation by NI online newspaper, the Detail, shared with the Guardian, has discovered. Continue reading...

Health secretary urges party to take Caerphilly result to heart as Lucy Powell gets to work as deputy leaderSenior Labour figures including Wes Streeting have said the government must show optimism and that it is bringing about change after losing a Welsh Senedd byelection amid rising concern about midterm fatigue and a loss of momentum.The health secretary warned that the party must counter a growing sense of despair" and show voters tangible proof of change after its defeat last week in Caerphilly, a town that had been Labour for more than 100 years. Continue reading...

French child, who was six years old at the time of the incident in 2019, suffered life-changing injuriesA boy who was thrown from the 10th floor of Tate Modern in London six years ago can now run and swim limited distances, his family has revealed.The unnamed French boy, who his parents call their little knight", suffered life-changing injuries in the attack in August 2019. Jonty Bravery is serving a minimum 15-year jail term for his attempt to murder the boy. Continue reading...

Liberal Democrats are exploring options while calling for crown estate and prince to give evidence under oathPrince Andrew could face a parliamentary debate on his conduct despite the government so far refusing to allocate time in the House of Commons, as the Liberal Democrats indicated they were exploring ways of raising the issue including in an opposition day debate.Andrew is reportedly in advanced talks with the king's representatives over moving out of the 30-room Grade II-listed Royal Lodge at Windsor, despite his cast-iron" lease running until 2078. Continue reading...

Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, whose case led to summer protests in Essex, detained again and faces deportation

Rev Clive Foster says rhetoric targeting legal migrants makes some wonder if history is repeating itselfBlack Britons are asking if the UK is going backwards", the Windrush commissioner has warned in an interview marking his 100th day in office.The Rev Clive Foster said Windrush scandal survivors were questioning whether history is repeating itself" as UK politicians target legal migrants. Continue reading...

Prime minister praises Scottish band Orange Juice and shares details about his family life in Radio 3 interviewKeir Starmer has said he is a fan of the Scottish post-punk band Orange Juice and northern soul, in a deep dive of his musical tastes and personal life.On BBC Radio 3's Private Passions, Starmer chose a selection of his favourite music including works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Elgar, and reflected on his own musical journey, which included learning to play violin alongside Norman Cook, AKA Fatboy Slim, at school. Continue reading...

Households would inevitably feel the impact' of a surtax on business rates, say retailers in letter to chancellorFood prices in the UK could climb even further if the chancellor raises taxes on supermarkets at the next budget, the industry has warned.Supermarket bosses, including those at Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, have said in a letter to Rachel Reeves that households would inevitably feel the impact" of potential tax rises on the sector. Continue reading...

Yellow markers installed by IDF entrench divide that cuts strip in two, as hopes of moving to next phase of truce fadeA supposedly temporary yellow line marking Gaza's ceasefire is taking an increasingly physical form as the precarious truce shows signs of stalling, with potentially dramatic consequences for Palestine's future.Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops have started installing yellow concrete markers every 200 metres to delineate the area remaining under Israeli control during the first phase of the ceasefire. Continue reading...

Judge intervenes in case, disapplying government rule that charities say drives refugees into homelessnessA high court judge has overruled the government by halting the eviction of a refugee from his asylum accommodation in an emergency case in the early hours of the morning.Mr Justice Johnson made an order in the out-of-hours case just before 2am on Wednesday, disapplying a Home Office policy that requires new refugees to move on from their asylum accommodation within 28 days. Continue reading...

Trump administration altering program that was a lifeline for pioneering non-profits helping reduce gun violenceThe Trump administration has released solicitations for a grant program meant to stop gun violence in underserved communities. But this year, the non-profits the grant was built around are disqualified from applying, according to an application notice released by the Department of Justice (DoJ) in September.The Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI), was created in 2022, to support groups working in rural and urban communities struggling to address violence and fund research studying the programs' efficacy. Continue reading...

Trump has begun a five-day trip to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, his first visit to the region since taking office in JanuaryDonald Trump has overseen the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia on the first day of an Asia tour where he will seal new trade agreements and hold a crucial meeting with Xi Jinping.The US president arrived in Malaysia on Sunday ahead of the Asean summit in the capital, Kuala Lumpur. At a ceasefire ceremony in front of a sign that read Delivering Peace", the Thai prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Manet, signed an expanded ceasefire deal related to a deadly five-day conflict in July. Continue reading...

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...