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Exclusive: Sampling results show extremely concerning' concentrations of PFOS and PFOA at sites across UK

British arm of Heartland, which has taken oil and Republican funding, to be led by ex-Ukip head Lois PerryClimate science deniers are lining up a political offensive in Britain after a US lobby group opened a UK branch which is already working with Nigel Farage.The Reform UK leader was the guest of honour at the launch of Heartland UK/Europe, which is to be headed by a former leader of Ukip and climate denier. Continue reading...

Latest SunLife study shows average total funeral cost at 9,797 with many selling off possessions to help payThe cost of dying" has hit a record high, prompting growing numbers of grieving UK families to turn to crowdfunding or sell possessions to help pay for a funeral, according to a report.The average cost of a basic funeral has increased by 3.5% in a year to hit an all-time high" of 4,285, according to the insurer SunLife, which has been monitoring UK funeral costs for two decades. Continue reading...

Public service cuts and stark impact of poverty' are causing worse outcomes for children, according to surveyPoor parental mental health has overtaken domestic violence as the most commonly reported factor in social worker assessments into whether a child is at risk of serious harm or neglect, according to new research.Growing rates of mental illness - in both parents and children - were an increasingly important driver of child safeguarding interventions in England, the latest comprehensive survey of children's social care pressures found.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Labor MP says parties must not squabble over discrimination' as Jillian Segal urges prime minister to convene meeting

Urgent reform called for as patient care, hospital infrastructure and cybersecurity worsens

Portelli and his company will contest charges over giveaways of properties from The Block TV show as well as other prizes

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Former journalist, who became a household name with Wonder World in the 1980s, died surrounded by writers, actors, activists and Italians'

Lancet commission's report calls for global shake-up and suggests looking at measures such as waist-to-height ratios and ill-health symptoms

First phase of agreement likely to involve release of 33 Israeli hostages and up to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners

Former Labour minister's family background is indelibly bound up with BangladeshWhen Keir Starmer became the Labour leader in 2020, Tulip Siddiq described him in her local paper as a good friend through thick and thin".On Tuesday, she found out where the limits of that friendship lay after the prime minister accepted her resignation from the government after weeks of revelations about Siddiq's closeness to her aunt, the former prime minister of Bangladesh. Continue reading...

Hamas and Israel in final stages' of agreement, with Gazans still reeling from fresh deadly airstrikes

Some in No 10 wish they had thought a bit more about how it looked before giving job to niece of ousted Bangladesh PMThe warning signs were always there. When a photo of Tulip Siddiq standing alongside Vladimir Putin and her aunt, the now ousted leader of Bangladesh, emerged in 2015, alarm bells rang within the Labour party.At the time, Siddiq was the Labour candidate for the marginal seat of Hampstead and Kilburn. Yet she brushed aside concerns over her presence at the signing of a billion-dollar arms deal and nuclear power project at the Kremlin two years earlier. Continue reading...

Helen Pitcher resigned from the CCRC saying she had been scapegoated' over Malkinson's caseAndrew Malkinson has called the former head of the miscarriage of justice watchdog shameless" as she resigned from the job saying she had been scapegoated for entirely legitimate decisions" taken over his case.Helen Pitcher handed in her resignation as chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) on Tuesday afternoon after learning that an independent panel had concluded by a majority of two to one that she was no longer fit to be chair. Continue reading...

Media organisations are challenging ruling that they cannot name three judges involved in proceedings relating to 10-year-old who was later murderedA unprecedented ban on naming judges who oversaw proceedings related to the care of Sara Sharif before she was murdered is likely to have a corrosive impact" on public confidence in the justice system, the court of appeal has been told.

Francois Bayrou said France must look global powers face on' in reference to Donald Trump's return to officeThe French prime minister, Francois Bayrou, has said France must stand firm in the face of figures such as the tech billionaire Elon Musk, who represents a new world disorder".In his first policy speech to the French parliament on Tuesday, Bayrou, a veteran centrist, said there was a new world order, or rather a new world disorder, that threatens all equilibrium and all rules of defence. There are a certain number of people who embody this without complex, such as Elon Musk." Continue reading...

Instead of evaluating chancellor's performance, her shadow apes rightwing press and calls for her sackingYou can only conclude that Conservative MPs are just too trusting for their own good. Either that or they are catatonically dim. The rest of us know enough to not always believe what we read on the front page of the rightwing papers, but Tory MPs seem to take everything at face value. If it's in the paper, it must be true. It's almost touching.Tuesday's front pages of the Mail and the Telegraph insisted Rachel Reeves's time was up. Going to China while the international bond markets crept upwards was the last straw. The chancellor should resign. What's more, the prime minister had expressed his full confidence" in Reeves, which could only mean that he was about to sack her. Let's just say that Monday had been a slow news day in Westminster and some hacks had decided to make mischief. Continue reading...

Siddiq says in resignation letter that staying would be a distraction' amid ongoing controversy over her links to her aunt, the former Bangladeshi PMStephen Doughty, a Foreign Office minister, has told MPs that the future of Greenland is a matter for the people who live there. And he said that he made this clear in a meeting with Greenland's foreign minister.But he did not explicitly criticise Donald Trump for threatening to use military force to seize the island for the US.Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and the future of their constitutional arrangements is a matter for the people and government of Greenland and indeed the Kingdom of Denmark. It would be wrong to speculate on any policy decisions the incoming administration of President-elect Trump may make.Those are messages I delivered in a meeting with the Greenlandic foreign minister yesterday, but there are rightly important concerns about security in the Arctic, which is why I was proud to be one of the first British ministers in 10 years to attend the Arctic Circle Assembly and meet partners to discuss these issues just a few months ago. Continue reading...

Slattery, who rose to fame in 1980s, appeared on shows such as Have I Got News for You and Whose Line Is It Anyway? Tony Slattery: I had a very happy time until I went slightly barmy'

Authorities in England and Wales say they want to help house refugees, amid concern about local tensionsCouncils across England and Wales have said they are keen to help accommodate asylum seekers as the government attempts to move as many as possible out of hotels, in part to try to ease community tensions.Angela Rayner's housing and communities department is in talks with the Home Office about the possibility of exercising a 2026 break clause in contracts with three private companies that provide hotels for those waiting for asylum claims to be processed. Continue reading...

Siddiq was under pressure over her occupancy of properties linked to her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's ousted leaderTulip Siddiq has resigned as a Treasury minister after repeated questions about her financial links to the ousted Bangladeshi government run by her aunt.Siddiq, who was the City and anti-corruption minister, was not found to have broken any rules by Laurie Magnus, the adviser on ministerial standards. Continue reading...

Company thrives as Amazon develops TV series and it gains licensing income from video games

Roman Haque, 37, accused of attack on nurse in hospital's acute medical unit on Saturday nightA man has appeared in court charged with the attempted murder of a nurse at Royal Oldham hospital.Roman Haque, 37, was charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article, after an incident in the hospital's acute medical unit on Saturday night. Continue reading...

Rent has increased by 36% nationally since Covid, CoreLogic finds, which equates to an extra $171 a week on average

Australian College of Theology is the third theological institution to get university status since 2020, demonstrating growing power of religious providers

Angela Rayner amends renters' rights bill to limit rent that can be charged in advance, as MPs prepare to debate billLandlords in England and Wales would be banned from charging more than a month's rent upfront under changes MPs are due to vote on on Tuesday.Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, has amended her renters' rights bill to limit the amount of money property owners can demand before a tenant moves in, as part of a package of new protections for those in rented accommodation. Continue reading...

Fifteen bodies brought to surface amid claims 109 are dead and between 400 and 800 people still alive and trappedFifteen bodies have been brought out of an illegal goldmine in South Africa and 44 people have been taken out alive since Monday, after police blocked supplies of food, water and medicine to the workers underground in October in an attempt to force them out.On Thursday, a letter brought up to the surface claimed there were 109 dead bodies underground. A video circulated by the NGO Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) appeared to show more than 50 wrapped bodies laid out in a tunnel. Continue reading...

Campaigners argue the British government has concluded that parts for the jets must be supplied in all circumstances

MP accused of misusing her position to gain influence and illegally acquire land with her aunt Sheikh Hasina

Family of Jeremi Sensky, from Pittsburgh, suggests wheelchair may have acted as boulder' to help stop attackThe family of a man who was left paralyzed from the waist down by a 1999 car accident before being hit and badly wounded in the deadly New Year's Day truck attack in New Orleans are reportedly wondering whether the 300lb wheelchair he uses may have had a role in helping halt the terror.Jeremi Sensky of the suburban Pittsburgh community of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, was in New Orleans to ring in 2025 with relatives at the time the attack occurred, he told KDKA's The Marty Griffin Show. Sensky was on Bourbon Street when he was hit by a US army veteran inspired by Islamic State in an intentional ramming that killed 14 people and wounded about 30 others. Continue reading...

Tory leader says new inquiry should look at background of perpetrators as well as why some in authority did not actKemi Badenoch has said peasants" from sub-communities" from some countries are the ones in grooming and rape gangs, saying a national inquiry would seek to identify those in authority who did not act.There are some places where, when people behave in that way, a mob turns up and burns their homes down, and then they know that they can't do that sort of thing," the Conservative leader told GB News. Continue reading...

Stores beat online arm, in contrast to other listed fashion retailers, such as Marks & Spencer and Next

Australian government holds grave concerns' for welfare of Oscar Jenkins, a 32-year-old teacher from Melbourne

Report by Jack Smith says evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction' had Trump not won re-election in 2024

Coffee chain reverses policy introduced in North America in 2018 that let anyone use its facilities

Council worker hospitalised after jumping from second storey of home as it collapsed on Penny Lane in McCrae south-east of Melbourne

Industrial action to resume on Wednesday after NSW government reveals improved pay offer

In today's newsletter: Kyiv's interrogation footage of captured North Korean soldiers leads to questions about what it might do with the soldiers - and what the PoWs might do for themGood morning. In a grinding war where significant changes at the front are hard to discern, a video released by Ukraine on Sunday is a rare point of focus: it featured two North Korean soldiers, answering questions from their Ukrainian captors, and weighing the circumstances of their presence in a conflict thousands of miles from home.The video is, perhaps, not militarily significant. But it is a unique insight into one of the more extraordinary aspects of a conflict that has drawn in actors from all over the world, and is a crucible in which every participant is learning how modern wars are fought.Economy | Rachel Reeves will remain as chancellor until the next general election, Keir Starmer has insisted, as he warned the Treasury would be ruthless" over public spending cuts to help meet the government's fiscal rules.Gaza | Joe Biden has said his administration is on the brink of sealing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that could pause the war after more than 14 months of fighting. Biden administration officials have said they believe the deal may be concluded before Donald Trump's inauguration next week.US politics | Donald Trump would have been convicted of crimes over his failed attempt to cling to power in 2020 if he had not won the presidential election in 2024, according to the special counsel who investigated him. Jack Smith's report detailing his team's findings about Trump's efforts to subvert democracy was released early on Tuesday.UK news | A man accused of driving a young mother to suicide through domestic violence has been found guilty of assault and prolonged controlling behaviour but cleared of her manslaughter. Ryan Wellings, 30, was blamed from beyond the grave" for the death of his partner, Kiena Dawes. Read more about the case.Forever chemicals' | The cost of cleaning up toxic forever chemical pollution could reach more than 1.6tn across the UK and Europe over a 20-year period, an annual bill of 84bn, research has found. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are used in everything from cosmetics to nonstick pans but are almost indestructible without human intervention.[It is] unclear if North Korea will even claim the two captured soldiers as their own, given Moscow and Pyongyang's refusal to officially admit that North Korean forces have been deployed to Russia. At the same time, Russia could claim them as their own and hand them over to North Korea after they are traded with Ukrainian PoWs. Continue reading...

Grey ball-shaped debris found washed up along shore will be tested by Environment Protection Authority, local council says

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First of five hearings into martial law declaration lasts only minutes, while Yoon Suk Yeol remains holed up inside his presidential compoundThe first hearing in the impeachment trial of South Korea's suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, ended after just a few minutes on Tuesday as Yoon failed to appear at the constitutional court.The court's justices have about five months to decide whether to strip Yoon of his presidential duties over his short-lived declaration of martial law on 3 December or return him to office. Continue reading...

Rodney Cherry, jailed for murdering two women, one of whom was never found, is appealing to the high court after being denied parole

The Olivier-winning star excited and honoured' to take the lead in the UK premiere of Marie and Rosetta, a 1940s-set two-hander from George BrantBeverley Knight is to play Sister Rosetta Tharpe in a drama about the gospel singer and guitarist who became known as the godmother of rock'n'roll".Written by US playwright George Brant (best known for the drone-pilot drama Grounded), Marie and Rosetta explores the personal and professional partnership between Tharpe and Marie Knight, with whom she toured and recorded. First staged off-Broadway in 2016, the play will have its UK premiere as a new co-production between the Rose theatre in Kingston, south-west London, and Chichester Festival theatre this summer. Continue reading...

Study says 61,353 non-combatants were killed or wounded in 2024, an increase of 67% on the previous yearCivilian casualties from bombing or other explosive violence have reached their highest level globally in more than a decade, an annual study has concluded, reflecting the intense bombing of Gaza and Lebanon and the ongoing war in Ukraine.Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a monitoring group, said 61,353 non-combatants had been killed or wounded during 2024, an increase of 67% on last year, previously the largest amount it had counted since it began its survey in 2010. Continue reading...

Woman, 63, allegedly stabbed in the back while working at supermarket in Ipswich's Yamanto Central shopping centre

Annual sector review says tax and wage rises and council funding cuts have left services in state of acute precarity'Charities providing specialist care to thousands of vulnerable adults with learning disabilities and severe autism are having to evict" residents to avoid insolvency because of tax and wage rises and local authority funding cuts.Non-profit providers say their work is in a state of acute precarity" with many preparing to cut services, close doors to new residents and effectively evict tenants because the fees councils pay no longer meet the cost of care. Continue reading...

MI5 told Bogarde in 1971 that he had been identified as practising homosexual' of interest by Russian spiesThe film star Dirk Bogarde was clearly disturbed" and troubled" after MI5 warned him that his name had been given to the KGB as a practising homosexual" and he risked being compromised in a sting operation, newly declassified intelligence files show.Bogarde, who died in 1999 and never came out publicly but lived with his life partner and manager, Anthony Forwood, was told by security services that his name was on a list of six practising British homosexuals" given to the Russians by an unnamed source who had himself been sexually compromised during a visit to Moscow in the late 1950s. Continue reading...

Documents indicate monarch was informed Anthony Blunt was Soviet agent in 1973, though he confessed in 1964The late Queen Elizabeth II was not told for almost 10 years that Anthony Blunt, a surveyor of the queen's pictures and a member of the royal household, had confessed to being a Soviet double agent, previously secret security files suggest.Declassified MI5 documents throw intriguing new light on how the security services closely guarded news that the art historian, of the notorious Cambridge Five spy ring, had confessed in April 1964, with records indicating the queen was only informed in 1973. Continue reading...

Decision not to renew former presenter's contract triggered angry backlash from ABC Radio listeners and colleagues