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Former German chancellor's book tells how she tried to help David Cameron win over Britain's EuroscepticsAngela Merkel has said she was tormented" over the result of the Brexit referendum and viewed it as a humiliation, a disgrace" for the EU that Britain was leaving.In her autobiography, Freedom, due to be published on Tuesday, the former German chancellor says she was dismayed by the notion that she might have done more to help the then British prime minister, David Cameron, who was keen for the UK to stay in the EU, but that ultimately, she concluded, he only had himself to blame. Continue reading...

New Queensland premier must tread carefully to avoid culture wars' that plagued previous LNP government

Lithuanian tourist pack rafting on Franklin River still fighting for life in Tasmanian hospital

Catherine Sonquist Forest, based in Santa Cruz where assisted dying was legalised eight years ago, says proposed British law is impressive'A California doctor who has helped dozens of terminally ill people end their lives at a time of their own choosing has said decades of experience in the US showed that there was no danger of a slippery slope" if assisted dying legislation was robustly framed.Dr Catherine Sonquist Forest, a family physician based in Santa Cruz, said the proposed legislation due to be voted on by MPs at Westminster this week was impressive". Continue reading...

Communications minister Michelle Rowland will also not unveil any gambling ad ban legislation in the last sitting week of the year

Unmanned aerial systems seen over RAF bases in Suffolk and Norfolk but US air force does not know if they were hostileA number of unidentified drones have been spotted over three airbases in Britain, the US air force has confirmed.Small unmanned aerial systems" were seen between 20 and 22 November over RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, and RAF Feltwell in Norfolk. Continue reading...

Careful management including weed control and a burn laid the groundwork for floral abundance in Boorhaman reserve

Heritage minister says Facebook made room for misinformation' after turning news off in 2023 as Australia mulls actions that could lead to Meta doing the same

Traditional allies such as Diane Abbott and John McDonnell are split over Friday's vote as politicians grapple with the issueDuring a Labour away day ahead of the last election, the party's candidates were put through their paces as parliamentary debaters. The topic chosen, assisted dying, was a deliberately intractable issue designed to test their analytical skills. Yet just months later, scores of new MPs find themselves having to make a very real decision over changing the law.I'm genuinely the most back and forth on this that I've been on anything," said one new MP who has found themselves on either side of the debate over recent months. Like so many, with the issues so finely balanced in their mind, a single conversation can sway their thinking. Continue reading...

Group's armed wing says unnamed woman's death established after long break in contact with her captorsHamas's armed wing said on Saturday that an Israeli woman taken hostage during the October 2023 attack had been killed in a combat zone in northern Gaza, as the Israeli military said it was investigating.The spokesperson for Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, said contact had been restored with the woman's captors after a break of several weeks and it was established that the hostage had been killed in an area of north Gaza where the Israeli army has been operating. Continue reading...

Court documents contain admissions by officials that they were unable to control the situation at the Kent facility where 18,000 asylum seekers were illegally detained

Cordons lifted after passengers were evacuated when a suspicious package was reportedPolice have carried out a controlled explosion on a suspicious package at Euston railway station, the Metropolitan police have confirmed.Cordons were in place around the main line station in north London at lunchtime on Saturday and passengers due to travel were evacuated from the station. Continue reading...

Six foreign visitors died earlier this month after suspected methanol poisoning during night out in backpacker hotspot

This blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage here Continue reading...

Mike Johnston also said he was prepared to go to jail to stop the deportations that the president-elect has promisedDenver's Democrat mayor, Mike Johnston, has said he will encourage people to protest mass migrant deportations planned by president-elect Donald Trump in Colorado, as civic leaders in sanctuary cities" begin to plan their response to the threat.In an interview with Denver's channel 9, Johnston, 50, said he is willing to go to jail to stop any deportation efforts. Denver's neighboring city of Aurora has been a focus of the debate over migration after three apartment complexes were allegedly taken over by Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua. Continue reading...

About 300 families relocate after fresh violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims kills 32 peopleAbout 300 families have fled sectarian violence in north-west Pakistan as fresh clashes killed 32 people.Sporadic fighting between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan has killed about 150 over the past months. Continue reading...

BBC presenter expected to take extended break in new year then move on to different roleHot on the heels of the news that Zoe Ball is to stand down as the host of the high profile Radio 2 Breakfast Show, another top female BBC presenter, Mishal Husain, is believed to be stepping down from her regular role on Today, Radio 4's flagship daily morning news programme.It is thought the presenter will stay on the show until the new year when she is due to take an extended break, a perk offered after serving for more than 25 years with the corporation. Continue reading...

Salary of at least 153,000 offered by Cabinet Office for principal adviser' to prime ministerMinisters are hiring a new EU negotiator as Keir Starmer seeks to reset Britain's relationship with Europe.The post, worth at least 153,000 a year and advertised by the Cabinet Office, would act as a representative for all of the UK's dealings with the bloc. Continue reading...

A cache of notes that will be auctioned this week include the artist's instructions to her bronze foundry and show how deeply involved she was with the casting processBarbara Hepworth's stone and bronze sculptures are recognised around the world for their distinct, curved forms. The oval alabasters and gleaming bronzes, punctured with holes and lozenge-like gaps, were all made in contrasting tones and surfaces, creating a new aesthetic.Now, Hepworth's unseen letters to the London foundry owner who made many of her bronze pieces offer a revelatory new guide to her work. The bundle of letters and draft sketches, which cover a decade of work and will be sold for the first time this week, also reveal the exacting standards of this pioneering woman, hailed as one of Britain's most important artists. Continue reading...

Weather warnings for wind, rain and snow cover much of country, with 16 flood alerts in placeStorm Bert has hit the UK, with snow closing roads and strong rains and winds expected to cause further travel disruption and potential flooding.Weather warnings and 13 flood alerts have come into effect across much of the country. Continue reading...

Despite new rules, many lenders have decided to implement the optional exemptionSome victims of bank transfer scams will not get a penny back despite beefed-up rules designed to better protect consumers from fraudsters, because several big banks have introduced an excess on refund claims.New rules requiring banks and other payment companies to reimburse fraud victims who have been tricked into sending money to scammers took effect last month, and included an optional 100 excess that firms can apply to a claim. Continue reading...

Players heard news of Holly Bowles' death as they gathered to remember her friend Bianca Jones, Beaumaris Football Club says

Woman who has become a feminist hero says she is determined to change society', as trial approaches its endMore than a hundred women formed a line and applauded as Gisele Pelicot left the courtroom of the French mass rape trial this week. Pelicot, whose husband has admitted drugging her and inviting dozens of strangers into her bedroom to rape her for a decade, thanked supporters, putting a hand to her heart.She would, she told the court, now go for walk. I heal by hours and hours of walking - it's a way to protect myself. That and my psychologist, music and chocolate ... Everyone has their own therapy for suffering." Continue reading...

Advocates and officials argue that consequences of Israeli siege are inextricably linked to tackling the climate crisisAs countries negotiate over climate finance, Palestinian officials and advocates have come to Cop29 in Baku to highlight global heating's intersection with another crisis: Israel's siege on Gaza.The Cop [meetings] are very keen to protect the environment, but for whom?" said Ahmed Abu Thaher, director of projects and international relations at Palestine's Environment Quality Authority, who had travelled to Cop29 from Ramallah. If you are killing the people there, for whom are you keen to protect the environment and to minimise the effects of climate change?" Continue reading...

British suppliers source from South Africa and South America as Spanish farmers struggle to harvest and shipSome British retailers and wholesalers have been forced to switch to sourcing oranges from South Africa and South America early after last month's catastrophic" floods in eastern Spain left farmers struggling to harvest and ship their crops.Companies in the UK have moved to buying fruit from the southern hemisphere several weeks earlier than in a typical year to prevent gaps emerging on supermarket shelves and amid fears over the quality of Spanish produce. Continue reading...

Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel and Steve Shand were part of operation bringing increasing numbers of Indians into USA jury has convicted two men of human smuggling charges after an Indian family froze to death attempting to cross the Canada-US border.After a brief deliberation on Friday, a jury in Fergus Falls, Minnesota delivered the verdict in the case against Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, an Indian national who used the alias Dirty Harry", and Steve Shand, 50, an American from Florida. Prosecutors say the pair were part of a broader criminal enterprise that helped migrants cross from Canada into the United States. Continue reading...

Several weather warnings in place for weekend, with snow, wind, rain and ice predictedStorm Bert is expected to bring wind, rain, ice and snow to much of the UK over the weekend in what forecasters have called a multi-hazard event".The Met Office has issued several weather warnings - mostly yellow, but also including the more severe amber in Scotland - for Saturday and Sunday. Continue reading...

MP spent 21 days in young offenders' institute after kicking victim, according to court records

Government protests unfriendly and inappropriate' comments by French president caught on cameraHaiti's government has summoned the French ambassador to the country to protest unfriendly and inappropriate" comments from Emmanuel Macron, who was caught on camera calling the country's leaders morons".The French president had on Wednesday described the decision of the Caribbean country's transitional presidential council to oust the prime minister earlier this month amid an escalation in gang warfare as completely dumb". Continue reading...

PM's spokesman says legal obligations' would be followed if the Israeli leader was to visit the UKPolly Toynbee has written today about this week's farming protests, asking how will we ever make tax fairer amid such grumbling?Incidentally, we are anticipating that Keir Starmer, between 11am and noon, will be facing interviews on six different BBC regional radio stations. These media rounds have historically turned out a lot trickier than people often expect - Liz Truss in particular came unstuck. Continue reading...

Jake Reeves, 23, also pleads guilty to accepting payment from a foreign intelligence agencyA British man has pleaded guilty to an arson attack on a Ukraine-linked business and accepting pay from a foreign intelligence agency.Jake Reeves, 23, admitted aggravated arson in relation to a fire in March at an east London warehouse belonging to a man only referred to in court as Mr X. Continue reading...

Simone White was one of six people to die in suspected methanol poisoning incident in Vang ViengTributes have been paid to the beautiful, kind and loving" British tourist Simone White, one of six people to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos.The six died after allegedly being served drinks laced with methanol in Vang Vieng, a town popular with backpackers. These include the Australian teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, an American man and two Danish women aged 19 and 20. Continue reading...

Former PM, whose daughter died when she was 11 days old, says debate is moving too fast and calls for commission on palliative care Gordon Brown: We need better end-of-life care, not assisted dyingThe former prime minister Gordon Brown has declared his opposition to the legalisation of assisted dying, saying the death of his newborn daughter in January 2002 convinced him of the value and imperative of good end-of-life care".In a rare and poignant glimpse into the tragedy, he says the time he and his wife, Sarah, spent at their baby Jennifer's bedside as her life ebbed away" were among the most precious days of [our] lives". Continue reading...

Chancellor's popular rival says he is unavailable to stand, leaving Scholz as the default candidateThe German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, will be nominated as the candidate to lead his Social Democratic party (SPD) into the February general election after his more popular defence minister, Boris Pistorius, pulled out of the race.After weeks of calls for a change at the top of the ticket, Pistorius released a video on Thursday in which he said he was not available" to stand as the SPD flag-bearer in the snap election triggered after Scholz sacked his finance minister, Christian Lindner, imploding the three-year-old ruling coalition. Continue reading...

Israeli PM thanks his Hungarian counterpart after he extends invite in defiance of moves by International Criminal CourtThe US have said they fundamentally reject" the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants for senior Israel officials and said the court does not have jurisdiction over the matter.On Thursday, arrest warrants were issued by the court for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's former defence minister Yoav Gallant and the late Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif over alleged war crimes committed in Gaza. Continue reading...

Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation says the development will help Indigenous women stay in the increasingly unaffordable regional city

Labor and Coalition would have missed out on $4.1m and $4.7m in donations after public funding boost, while the Greens would have been $2.9m better off

This month's attacks, including car-rammings, follow a series of similar incidents earlier in the yearChina is grappling with a spate of violent rampages that have left dozens of people dead, sparking a conversation about whether revenge against society" attacks are becoming more common.On 19 November, a 39-year-old man drove a car into a group of people near a school in Changde, a city in central China, injuring several students. It came days after another car-ramming attack in the southern city of Zhuhai had killed 35 people outside a sports centre, China's deadliest mass killing in a decade. That same week, a former student in another city killed eight people and injured 17 others on a stabbing spree at a vocational college. Continue reading...

Thieves target 1904 work by goldsmith Joseph Chaumet at Hieron Museum that is classed as a national treasureArmed robbers snatched jewels worth millions from a work by the famed Parisian goldsmith Joseph Chaumet classed as a national treasure in a brazen heist at a French museum.The thieves arrived on motorbikes at the Hieron Museum in Paray-le-Monial, in central France, at about 4pm local time on Thursday. Three entered the building and one stood guard outside, said the local mayor, Jean-Marc Nesme. Continue reading...

In the picturesque village of Orford, an incredibly luxurious' festive treat is thought to have set a record priceOrford, a picturesque pocket of the Suffolk coast, has a storied and rather bizarre history. It is home to an impeccably preserved medieval castle built by Henry II to see off dissenting barons, and for much of the 20th century the rugged seafront was sealed off and used as a top-secret military testing site, prompting rumours about death rays and UFO sightings.Now, the area may have another claim to fame, as home of the UK's most expensive mince pie. Continue reading...

Action follows reports of suspicious package outside embassy in Nine ElmsA controlled explosion" has been carried out by Metropolitan police officers outside the US embassy in Nine Elms, London. It followed reports of a suspicious package outside the embassy.A spokesperson for the Met said: We're aware of speculation online about an incident in the vicinity of the US embassy in Nine Elms. Continue reading...

As well as Simone White, two Danes, an American and two Australians have died after incident in town popular with backpackersA British lawyer is among six people to have died in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it was supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Laos, and we are in contact with the local authorities". Continue reading...

It come as Vang Vieng's tourism police says manager and owner of Nana backpacker hostel taken in for questioningA second Australian teenager, Holly Bowles, has died after suspected methanol poisoning in Laos, it has been confirmed.The 19-year-old's death comes just one day after her friend Bianca Jones also died in a Thai hospital. The pair had been travelling through Laos together and fell ill a week ago. Continue reading...

Increase in energy price cap by Ofgem follows 10% rise for current quarter, heaping more pressure on households Business live What is the energy price cap and can I cut my bill?An average annual energy bill in England, Scotland and Wales will rise by 1.2% to 1,738 from January, heaping further pressure on household finances.The energy regulator Ofgem said its quarterly price cap would go up by 21 a year, or about 1.75 a month, for a typical household's gas and electricity use. Continue reading...

Residents of Sutton in Hull remember the former MP and deputy prime minister who became a proper Hully'In the village of Sutton, which John Prescott called home, everybody has their own anecdote about the Labour heavyweight.For some, it was simply that they had seen him walking his dog, or out and about in his slippers, but others had more colourful stories to tell. Continue reading...

The current escalations will set a new status quo for life under Trump - what does the US president have planned?Like Chekhov's gun coming off the wall in Act V, it was probably only a matter of time before Vladimir Putin launched an experimental, nuclear-capable ballistic missile into Ukraine. It is hardly a coincidence that his decision comes as the war approaches a likely endgame, with both sides jockeying for position ahead of negotiations in the shadow of Donald Trump.Neither Ukraine nor Russia quite knows what Trump will do when he takes office in January. But the escalations taking place now will set a new status quo for the day he becomes president, at which point Trump's options range from hard-nosed horse-trading to simply throwing Ukraine under the bus. Continue reading...

Historic England to recognise home where Hollywood legend said he spent happiest days' of his childhoodThe humble West Country beginnings of one of Hollywood's most glittering stars is being commemorated with the unveiling of a Historic England national blue plaque at his beloved childhood home.Archie Leach may have transformed into that epitome of well-heeled sophistication, Cary Grant, but he never forgot the old apple tree and his father's vegetable garden at 50 Berkeley Road in Bristol. Continue reading...

Case shows gap in protections for deceased tenants' families, with authorities' property access policies varyingThe brother of a 29-year-old man found dead in temporary council accommodation says he has been left bereft after his sibling's belongings were disposed of by council contractors.Simon Byrne had made an appointment with Brighton and Hove officials to collect the possessions of his brother Chris, who had died from a drug overdose. However, when he arrived, he discovered Chris's lodgings had already been cleared. I was pointed to a small suitcase in the caretaker's [building]," he said. The rest of his things, including his bracelets and other tangible memories, had been thrown into a skip with no opportunity for me as his only surviving family member to go through them." Continue reading...

Reforms include public registers to track how developers are meeting their commitments and avoiding damaging endangered ecosystems

Magistrate finds there is not enough evidence to convict officer, known only as AB, on a high range drink-driving charge, court hears