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Julia Wandelt is on trial accused of targeting the McCann family with a two-and-a-half-year harassment campaignKate McCann has said it was hard to hear an alleged stalker refer to her as Mum", as she gave evidence in the trial of a woman who claimed to be her missing daughter.Speaking from behind a screen, McCann told Leicester crown court she was left frightened and distressed by the actions of Julia Wandelt, 24, who is accused of a two-and-a-half-year harassment campaign. Continue reading...

Survey finds 58% backing restricting armed forces to external threats amid Trump deployments to US cities

Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein secured guns and hundreds of ammunition rounds, Preston crown court toldTwo men accused of plotting a terrorist attack in Greater Manchester secured guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in a plan to kill as many Jewish people as they could", jurors have been told.Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, have gone on trial charged with preparing acts of terrorism between 13 December 2023 and 9 May 2024. The prosecution in the case at Preston crown court alleges that they are Islamic extremists with a visceral dislike" of Jewish people. Continue reading...

Puffin issues alert to schools and local authorities over books in popular Spy Dog series by Andrew CopeThe children's publisher Puffin is hurriedly contacting UK schools and local authorities after it discovered that a website address included in a popular children's book series had been hijacked by a pornography site.The publisher has urged school libraries to remove the books after a website address printed in the Spy Dog, Spy Pups and Spy Cat series by Andrew Cope was redirected to unrestricted adult content. Continue reading...

Justice secretary says right to challenge unfair work behaviour is core to Labour work plan after union backlashThe justice secretary, David Lammy, has ruled out reintroducing charges for employment tribunals after a backlash from unions over the proposals.The Guardian revealed last week that ministers were considering a plan to charge workers a fee to take their bosses to court as part of negotiations in this year's spending review. Trade unions responded with fury, labelling the idea a disaster". Continue reading...

The Conservative leader used her conference speech to announce plans to scrap stamp duty and launch an attack on Labour, but why was there so little mention of the biggest threat facing her party? And will her performance be enough to stave off leadership rival Robert Jenrick? Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey talk through the speech and ask where the Conservatives go from here.Plus, they speak to Luke Tryl from More in Common about whether any moments from conference season have moved the dial in British politics--

The star has already sold 3.5m units of her critically divisive album, a new record in the modern era of music salesTaylor Swift's divisive new album, The Life of a Showgirl, has beaten Adele's record-breaking 25 in first week sales numbers.According to the data tracking firm Luminate, the album has already sold 3.5m units in the US which equates to 3.2m physical copies and 300,000 attributed to streaming activity. Adele achieved 3.482m in 2015 with her opening week sales of 25 which was led by the hit Hello. Continue reading...

Interim hearing had found Dr Rahmeh Aladwan, who has said Israel was humiliated' by attacks, did not pose risk to patientsA Palestinian doctor who said the 7 October Hamas attacks represented the day Israel was humiliated" has been re-referred to a medical tribunal.Dr Rahmeh Aladwan, a trainee trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, was investigated by an interim orders tribunal in September over her social media posts. Continue reading...

The Social Market Foundation thinktank says council tax reform and a property-based tax would be more sustainable and fairerVoting in the Labour deputy leadership election opens today. Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader, is seen as the favourite and, as Jessica Elgot reports, Powell told supporters yesterday that, if she is elected, she will use the post to argue for changes in the way the government is operating. We can't sugarcoat the fact that things aren't going well," she said.Powell is no longer a government minister and, if she is elected deputy leader, she will do the job from the backbenches. In an interview on Newsnight last night, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary standing against Powell, said a Powell victory would be destabilising" for the party. She said:[Electing Powell] risks destabilising the party ... we best achieve what we need to do together when we have those fierce conversations, including disagreements, behind closed doors.Members need to understand that there's a potential challenge around all of that - that if you're not inside when the big decisions are being made, you're not at that table, you're not in those conversations. Continue reading...

Ex-DPP Ken Macdonald says prosecutors may have been over-fussy' in seeking further assurances from governmentLegal experts have questioned the explanation given by the Crown Prosecution Service for its sudden decision to drop charges against two Britons accused of spying for China amid a political row over who was responsible.The expert lawyers expressed surprise that the CPS thought it needed further assurance from the government that China was an enemy insofar as it posed a current threat to national security" before the trial of Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry could go ahead. Continue reading...

Comedian defends appearance at controversial comedy festival, saying: It felt right afterward. I vibed with them'Bill Burr has defended his appearance at the controversial Riyadh comedy festival, calling his critics sanctimonious cunts".The comedian has been under fire, alongside Kevin Hart, Louis CK, Aziz Ansari and Dave Chappelle, for being on the line-up for what was billed as the world's largest comedy festival". The Human Rights Watch called out the event as a distraction, aiming to focus on something light rather than the soaring number of executions" taking place while comedians such as Marc Maron and Shane Gillis expressed disappointment. David Cross wrote that he was disgusted" in a statement. Continue reading...

Journalist who wrote Guardian columns while jailed for murder fell into the sea in January 2024A journalist and author who wrote much-admired columns from prison drowned in a Devon marina after spending an evening in a harbourside pub, an inquest has concluded.Erwin James Monahan, who used the pen name Erwin James and wrote a regular column for the Guardian - the first of its kind in British journalism - fell into the sea at Brixham in Devon, close to where the boat he was staying in was moored, the inquest in Exeter heard. Continue reading...

Loughborough, Heriot-Watt and Glasgow corresponded with companies concerned about campus protestsUniversities in the UK reassured arms companies they would monitor students' chat groups and social media accounts after firms raised concerns about campus protests, according to internal emails.One university said it would conduct active monitoring of social media" for any evidence of plans to demonstrate against Rolls-Royce at a careers fair. Continue reading...

Gillard reveals reading fiction is her most treasured pastime and looks forward to working with a joyful panel of judges'Australia's first and, so far, only female prime minister, Julia Gillard, is set to chair the UK's Women's prize for fiction in 2026.The annual award is for the best full-length novel of the year written in English by a woman and published in the UK. The 30,000 prize, which has previously been known as the Orange prize and the Baileys prize, has run since 1996. Continue reading...

Fueled by dissent over the war in Gaza, the US public's views are changing - and support for the Palestinians is risingThey seemed to be the ties that would for ever bind.For three-quarters of a century, unshakable support for Israel - in the form of military aid and diplomatic backing, and underpinned by broad public sentiment - has been an indelible feature of the US political landscape. Continue reading...

Plan to cut tax that raised nearly 12bn last year announced in speech aimed at boosting economic credibilityThe Conservatives will scrap stamp duty on house sales if they win the next election, Kemi Badenoch has said in a policy-heavy speech designed to improve her party's economic credibility.The Tory leader told her party's conference in Manchester she would abolish the tax entirely that new buyers have to pay on house purchases over 125,000, and which raised nearly 12bn for the Treasury last year. Continue reading...

Government department taunts chart-topping artist who sang of scared children and Ice raids on unreleased new songZach Bryan, one of the biggest stars in US country music, has been criticised by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over a new song in which he sings about immigration raids by Ice.The DHS's assistant secretary of public affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, told Bryan to stick to Pink Skies, dude," referring to one of his previous hits, in comments reported by the Independent. The DHS also made a provocative post on X, laying another Bryan song, Revival, over footage of Ice officers arresting migrants, with the caption we're having an All Night Revival". Continue reading...

Illinois governor says Donald Trump is taking away people's rights'. Plus, the key stats highlighting Israel's destruction of GazaGood morning.Texas national guard troops arrived in the Chicago area on Tuesday, marking an escalation of Donald Trump's crackdown on the city, in a move condemned as military invasion".How are elected Illinois officials responding to Trump's incursion? The state's governor, JB Pritzker, decried the move, saying: Any kind of troops on the streets of an American city don't belong unless there is an insurrection ... I'm going to do everything I can to stop him from taking away people's rights and from using the military to invade states."How has Trump tried to weaponize the attorney general's office? The president has overtly piled pressure on Bondi to more aggressively pursue senior public officials he regards as his political enemies, including Comey.How did Bondi respond to Democratic senators' questioning? When pressed during the five-hour hearing, she personally attacked several senators or invoked the ongoing government shutdown to depict them as negligent. Continue reading...

Sebastien Lecornu continues meetings with party leaders in effort to pass budget and avoid further political instability Europe live - latest updatesFrance's caretaker prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, has said his talks with various party leaders had revealed a willingness" to pass a budget by the end of the year and that snap parliamentary elections were now looking less likely.This willingness creates a momentum and a convergence, obviously, which make the possibilities of a dissolution more remote," he said in a brief address on Wednesday from the courtyard of Matignon Palace, the prime minister's residence, in Paris. Continue reading...

PM says Labour will address suggestions of antisemitic hate as he orders review of protest policing powersKeir Starmer will order the home secretary to look at further curbs on protests including potential powers to take action against specific inflammatory chants at pro-Palestinian protests.Speaking to reporters en route to Mumbai, the prime minister said Labour was looking at going even further than the measures announced by Shabana Mahmood, which would look at the cumulative impact" of repeat protests in certain locations. Continue reading...

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Police allege they identified the trio mobilising' to kill a man near a childcare centre in city's south-west

Case between police and representatives from the Palestine Action Group and Jews Against Occupation remains before the NSW court of appeal

Michael Miller also says media must unite against second big steal' by tech companies seeking changes to copyright law to access content for free

Inquest is hearing evidence about the 2023 death of Mitchell Thomas at Larapinta in Alice SpringsWarning: This article contains an image and reference to an Indigenous Australian who has died

Conservative leader aims to rebuild party's economic credibility after it was torched by her predecessors

In this weeks newsletter: Many paint reparations as impossible, unprecedented, even absurd - world experts tell a different storyGood morning. Happy Black History Month! We are now a week into a time of reflection on the richness of Black history and culture in the UK. Yet, too often one of the main aspects of that history - the debate around reparations for transatlantic enslavement - feels stuck in a loop. When the question of redress is raised, the backlash swiftly follows: too complicated, too divisive, too unfair.We saw this happen last year, when Keir Starmer became the first sitting British prime minister to visit a Pacific island nation. He hoped to leave with upbeat headlines about new Commonwealth partnerships. Instead, the trip was dominated by demands for justice for historic wrongs.Politics | Keir Starmer has criticised Robert Jenrick's comments complaining about not seeing another white face" in parts of Birmingham, saying the shadow justice secretary was hard to take seriously".France | Edouard Philippe, a former French prime minister and one-time ally of Emmanuel Macron, has said he favours early presidential elections given the gravity of the political crisis rocking the country.Music | Prosecutors will appeal against a court's decision to throw out a terrorism charge against the Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh. The 27-year-old was accused of displaying a flag in support of the proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah at a gig last November until a technical error in the way he was charged led to the chief magistrate ruling he could not try the case.Business | The EU has announced it will match Donald Trump's steel tariffs, doubling levies on imports to 50% in a move condemned as an existential threat" to the industry in the UK.Gaza | A new Gaza-bound aid flotilla has been intercepted by the Israeli army, days after the detention of activists on board vessels bound for the war-torn territory caused international outrage and widespread protests. Continue reading...

Survey shows one in four users intend to keep using system as it is phased out, despite increased virus and malware riskAbout 5 million British computer users risk becoming vulnerable to cyber-attacks and scams after Microsoft next week stops updating its decade-old Windows 10 system, consumer campaigners have warned.One in four of an estimated 21 million UK people using a device that runs the Windows 10 software intend to continue using it after updates cease and so will be at risk of online security breaches including malware and viruses, according to a survey by Which? More than a third of those who are not planning to take action and therefore risk becoming vulnerable are people aged over 55. Continue reading...

Israeli foreign ministry confirms interception and says those on board will be deportedA new Gaza-bound aid flotilla has been intercepted by the Israeli army, days after the detention of activists on board vessels bound for the war-torn territory caused international outrage and widespread protests.The Israeli military was jamming signals with at least two boats being boarded, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Instagram. Continue reading...

Freida Parton says she has been up all night praying' as singer continues to deal with unspecified health challenges'Dolly Parton's sister says she has been up all night praying" for the singer as she continues to deal with unspecified health problems.Freida Parton wrote that her 79-year-old sister hasn't been feeling her best lately", two weeks after the singer postponed a Las Vegas residency scheduled for December, citing health challenges". Continue reading...

IPPR report warns of productivity crisis' and says many firms out of step with gen Z shift away from alcoholOne in three UK workers have called in sick after drinking at a work event or after hours with colleagues, research has found.Many staff feel under pressure to drink in work-related settings against their wishes, despite a big shift among younger adults away from consuming as much alcohol as their predecessors.32% of workers had called in sick the next day after drinking at a work event or with workmates in the last year.41% of 18- to 24-year-olds had been too hungover to work, and 47% of 25- to 34-year-olds.22% of staff in education and 24% in health and social care had cried off work the next day after drinking at or after work in the past six months, and a fifth in both sectors had turned up late the next day.28% think drinking at work events excludes non-drinkers or creates cliques. Continue reading...

Frontrunner for deputy leadership addresses rally as opponent Bridget Phillipson pledges second Labour term our children deserve'The Labour deputy leadership contender Lucy Powell has told party members that she will not sugarcoat" how badly the party is doing, promising to challenge Downing Street's groupthink" as voting begins.Ballots open on Wednesday for members and affiliates in the race between Powell and the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, with polls for LabourList suggesting Powell is the clear frontrunner. Continue reading...

The rapper was accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah but case was thrown out by magistrateProsecutors have said they will appeal against the chief magistrate's decision to throw out a terrorism charge against the Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh.The 27-year-old, known as Mo Chara, had been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, last November. Continue reading...

Ministers and officials did not provide statements that China was threat despite many months' of effort to obtain themCharges against two men accused of spying for China were suddenly dropped last month because prosecutors could not obtain critical evidence from the government that Beijing represented a threat to the national security of the UK".Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, wrote to two select committee chairs to explain that despite trying over many months", the sought-after statements were not forthcoming from ministers and officials. Continue reading...

Mette Frederiksen links social media use to anxiety, depression and lack of concentrationThe Danish prime minister says the country will ban social media for under-15s, as she accused mobile phones and social networks of stealing our children's childhood".Mette Frederiksen used her speech on Tuesday at the opening of Folketing, the Danish parliament, to announce the proposal, in which she said: We have unleashed a monster." She added: Never before have so many children and young people suffered from anxiety and depression." Continue reading...

Fayaz Khan, 26, is on trial at Southwark crown court accused of threatening to shoot Reform UK leaderNigel Farage felt genuinely worried" after a man allegedly posted a TikTok video threatening to come to Britain and shoot him, a court has heard.The Reform UK leader was giving evidence at the trial of Fayaz Khan, 26, who has been charged with threatening to kill the Reform UK leader last year in a post Farage described as pretty chilling". Continue reading...

City regulator unveils compensation scheme for motorists who bought cars via discretionary commission deals from 2007 to 2024Victims of the UK's car finance scandal are likely to receive compensation payouts averaging 700 resulting from 14m unfair loans, the City regulator said on Tuesday.The payouts would be less than previously expected, but the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said lenders could be landed with an 8.2bn compensation bill, which could go as high as 9.7bn. Continue reading...

Shadow chancellor distances himself from words after Robert Jenrick accused of racism in comments he made about Handsworth. This live blog is closedAsked about the Jenrick story, Badenoch again suggests Guardian reporting is reliable.Q: Jenrick was making a distinction between white faces and brown faces. Continue reading...

Company vows to force through pay decrease in new year that will cost thousands of drivers up to 25 a dayThousands of couriers face losing substantial portions of their earnings in the new year after managers at the delivery firm DPD vowed to force through rate cuts after the busy Christmas period.About 1,500 drivers are thought to have stopped work on Tuesday after the company, which reported pre-tax profits of nearly 200m, announced a 65p cut in the rate for most of its deliveries in an early morning email on 29 September. Continue reading...

Shadow justice secretary stands by comments made in March amid criticism including from a Tory colleague

Experimental film-maker's works included Little Stabs at Happiness, Blonde Cobra, and Tom, Tom, the Piper's SonRenowned experimental film-maker Ken Jacobs, whose works such as Little Stabs at Happiness, Blonde Cobra and Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son made him a key member of the underground film circuit of the 1960s, has died aged 92. His son Azazel Jacobs, also a film-maker, told the New York Times that he died of kidney failure in hospital on Sunday.Described by the New York Times as the eminence grise of the American avant garde", Jacobs and his wife Flo, with whom he collaborated on much of his work, straddled the worlds of experimental art and American new wave film-making, along with the likes of Jack Smith, Andy Warhol and Jonas Mekas. He was a founding member of New York's Film-Makers' Co-Operative and the first director of the Millennium Film Workshop in 1966, both of which offered a space for film-makers working outside the mainstream and which are still operating today. Continue reading...

French president's former allies join opponents in demanding he act to end a spiralling political crisisFrance's president, Emmanuel Macron, is under intense pressure to call snap parliamentary elections or resign as former allies join his opponents in demanding he act to end a spiralling political crisis in the EU's second biggest economy.Macron's first prime minister on Tuesday urged the president to step down amid mounting frustration even within the president's own camp over one of the worst spells of political chaos in France since the foundation of its Fifth Republic in 1958. Continue reading...

Bardella and Le Pen decline Lecornu's invitation for talks to solve crisisThe office of prime minister Sebastien Lecornu has released a statement saying the talks with politicians will focus on the budget and the future of New Caledonia.Lecornu held talks with politicians to see if they could agree on a new cabinet that would please both sides. They will hold more talks this afternoon and on Wednesday morning, the statement added. Continue reading...

This year's fiction contenders also include Karen Russell, Megha Majumdar and Ethan RutherfordBryan Washington, Rabih Alameddine and Karen Russell are among the finalists for this year's National Book Awards.The three authors will compete in the fiction category alongside Megha Majumdar and Ethan Rutherford. Last year's prize was handed to Percival Everett for James, his reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Continue reading...

Former transport bureaucrat Ibrahim Helmy appeared at an ICAC hearing after allegedly forming corrupt relationships with contractors and colleagues

Traditional package holiday is still the most common eventual purchase, travel industry body Abta reports

Letter says they are deeply concerned' about Manchester Academy concert after last week's synagogue attackMPs and Jewish leaders have called for the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan's forthcoming Manchester gig to be called off.The Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester (JRC) - in a letter backed by 10 MPs - has urged Manchester Academy to cancel the 5 November show. Continue reading...

Pontiff expected to appeal for peace across the Middle East and speak about the persecution of Christians in regionPope Leo's debut overseas trip will be to Turkey and Lebanon, where he is expected to make appeals for peace across the Middle East, the Vatican has announced.Leo, who was elected pontiff in May after the death of Pope Francis, will visit Turkey between 27 and 30 November and Lebanon from 30 November until 2 December. Continue reading...

Latest creative director's initial collection hits runway at space-themed Paris fashion week showClutch your pearls. Cover your ears. Talk about a big bang: under a galactic stage set, the designer Matthieu Blazy just blasted the world's most famous fashion brand through the sound barrier and into the 21st century.Backstage after his debut, Blazy quoted what Coco Chanel once said when asked why she wore the same tweed jacket day after day. She said, if I translate into English: I don't give a fuck. I like them worn.'" This is Blazy's take on the house Coco founded: Chanel, with no fucks given. Continue reading...

The group of seven held since Friday are released following Australian government representations