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1971 letter proposes group including Klaus Voormann and Phil Spector to bring back the balls in rock'n'roll'John Lennon wanted Eric Clapton to join a supergroup alongside Phil Spector in the early 1970s in order to bring back the balls in rock'n'roll", according to an eight-page letter that is being auctioned.The letter was written a few weeks after the release of Imagine and showed Lennon considering a dramatic shift in styles as his nascent post-Beatles solo career was taking off. Continue reading...

Stunned workers at London meat market first established in 1133 say closure will mean end of a way of lifeThe junction at Cowcross Street marks the place where for centuries cattle were driven daily to London's Smithfield Market. Nearby Cock Lane is another street name linked to the meat and poultry trade centred here since the 12th century, although some accounts attribute its origin to it being the only licensed place for sex work in the medieval city.Soon these will be among the last vestiges of a truly historic site that was central to London life, feeding the city's people, dispensing justice as a place of public execution and even, in a shameful chapter from the early 19th century, providing a place where a man wishing to avoid a costly divorce could sell his wife. Continue reading...

Luxury car maker wants to drive electrification and boost growth by taking on further debt and issuing new shares

Former foreign secretary and Oxford graduate wins online vote, ending hopes a woman would fill role for first timeThe former foreign secretary William Hague has been elected as Oxford University's next chancellor, ending hopes that a woman would fill the role for the first time in Oxford's 800-year history.In the first ever online election for the ceremonial role, Hague triumphed over Elish Angiolini, the principal of Oxford's St Hugh's College and former lord advocate of Scotland, and Jan Royall, the principal of Somerville College, who finished second and third respectively. Continue reading...

MPs to vote according to conscience on legalisation of assisted dying on Friday, with many undeclared UK politics live - latest updatesEsther Rantzen, whose terminal cancer diagnosis led her to campaign for the legalisation of assisted dying, has issued an impassioned plea to MPs to vote this week on a vital life and death issue".The television personality told MPs my time is running out" but the issue was one the public care desperately about". Continue reading...

A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group has come into effect after 14 months of fighting

Double takes' as British Columbia mountain community tries to figure out how local animal came to don neon jacketIn a town of fewer than 1,000 people, it can be hard to keep a secret. And yet no one in McBride, a mountain community in British Columbia, can figure out how a local deer came to be wearing a zipped-up high-visibility jacket - or why the day-glo-clad cervid has been so hard to track down.The mystery began on Sunday, when Andrea Arnold was driving along the snowy outskirts of McBride on Sunday and witnessed a sight so baffling she slowed her vehicle to a crawl. Continue reading...

Reports of cars heading south inside Lebanon despite Israeli army warning displaced residents not to return home immediately

Min Aung Hlaing accused of crimes against humanity over deportation and persecution of Rohingya minorityThe prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC) said he would seek an arrest warrant for Myanmar's military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, for crimes against humanity over the alleged persecution of the Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority.A panel of three judges will decide if there are reasonable grounds" to believe Gen Min Aung Hlaing bears criminal responsibility for the deportation and persecution of Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh. Continue reading...

Roger Cook says he spoke to highest level' of federal government to reiterate his view the environment bills in their current form should not be progressed'

Worries about animal euthanasia and mishandling of complaints from students about racism among concernsThe University of Cambridge's prestigious veterinary course could be stripped of its professional accreditation after regulators uncovered ethical concerns" over animal euthanasia and mishandling of complaints from students who experienced racism and discrimination.Investigators from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) said Cambridge's veterinary medicine course failed to meet 50 out of 77 standards, and the head of department warned students they may not be able to work in the UK without additional qualifications. Continue reading...

Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss express opposition to change in law as MPs prepare to voteThree former Conservative prime ministers are against the assisted dying bill, it has been revealed.Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss have expressed their opposition to a change in the law, days before MPs vote on assisted dying proposals affecting patients in England and Wales for the first time in almost a decade. Continue reading...

Lecturer questions if academics will have to explain context of every phrase they use, saying those who speak up on Palestine would be affected

One Nation leader says justice's decision raised alarm among Australians that their freedom of speech is constantly under threat'

Coroner urged not to sugarcoat' police officer's actions as inquest nears end

First day of snowfall this season is heaviest on record, says weather bureauSouth Korea's capital has been blanketed by what the weather agency said was the heaviest November snowfall since records began over a century ago. It was the first snowfall of this year's winter.The Korea Meteorological Administration said 16.5cm (6.5 inches) of snow fell by 7am on Wednesday, compared with Seoul's previous record of 12.4cm on 28 November 1972. It was the heaviest snowfall since records began in 1907, the KMA said. Continue reading...

A growing number feel single parenthood is liberating and only a sense of shame' around it is holding women backIt was Covid that gave Amy, 45, the final push to have fertility treatment on her own. I had been thinking about it for a while, and then with Covid, I thought: I'm never gonna meet anybody.' And I didn't really want to be that woman who's like: Hey, we've been on one internet date. Let's have a baby!"Amy struck lucky with her first embryo transfer and is now the mother of a three-year-old. I feel very blessed," she said. Continue reading...

Laila Soueif is to meet the foreign secretary, who in opposition called for the release of Alaa Abd el-FattahThe British-born mother of an Egyptian political prisoner who has been on hunger strike for 58 days is preparing to meet the foreign secretary, David Lammy, to urge him to secure her son's release.Laila Soueif's son Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British and Egyptian dual citizen who wrote eloquently about the Arab spring and its aftermath, was jailed for five years for spreading false news". He was due to be released in September, but has not been freed. Continue reading...

Director showcases images of the suffragettes, Kinder Scout trespasses and anti-fascist protests in LondonAfter retelling the story of the Blitz from a new angle, Steve McQueen's next project is an alternative photographic history of protest and campaigning in Britain, spanning a century from the suffragettes to the Iraq war protests.Resistance will open at Margate's Turner Contemporary in February 2025, which the gallery's director said would show how photography has really acted as a kind of catalyst for change" in the UK. Continue reading...

Penrith in city's west reached 39.9C on Wednesday as premier called on residents to cut back on power usage between 3pm and 8pm

Lawyers for the disgraced movie mogul prepare lawsuit accusing Rikers Island jail of negligence and failing to provide adequate medical treatmentHarvey Weinstein's lawyers have filed a legal claim against New York City alleging he is receiving substandard medical treatment in unhygienic conditions while in custody at the Rikers Island jail complex.The notice of claim - the first step in filing a lawsuit against the city - accuses the facility of failing to manage the former movie mogul's medical conditions, which include chronic myeloid leukemia and diabetes, and negligence ranging from freezing" conditions to a lack of clean clothes. Continue reading...

Policy costs surging for many households, committee report finds, especially those facing the brunt of climate-driven disasters'

Wildlife group claims win as environment department says granting licence for bird was an error'

Swapo party could lose its majority for the first time since independence in 1990, if youth voter turnout is highNamibians are going to the polls with the longtime ruling party's parliamentary majority under threat if dissatisfied young people turn out in big numbers amid a wave of anti-incumbent sentiment globally.The Swapo party could also be forced to contest a second round in the presidential election for the first time since the sparsely populated southern African country became independent from South Africa in 1990. Continue reading...

Prior to Wednesday's figues, both headline and underlying inflation had retreated for five consecutive months

National Audit Office finds significant uncertainty' as to whether pledge for extra 1.5m treatments will be fulfilledPlans to end the deepening crisis in access to NHS dental care are failing, leaving patients unable to get treatment, according to a warning from the government's spending watchdog.The National Audit Office's (NAO) damning verdict on the dental recovery plan" prompted patient groups to voice alarm that people's struggles with decayed teeth represents a serious public health concern". Continue reading...

Stellantis says it will shift production from Bedfordshire to plant at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire

Exclusive: James McGovern and Thomas Massie warn US president they are deeply concerned' the WikiLeaks founder's plea deal sets worrying precedent

Members' venue in central London popular with the media and arts world closes as police inquiry explores recent crimeThe Groucho Club has been forced to close as police investigate whether the venue was the scene of a serious criminal offence.On Tuesday Westminster council ruled that the licence of the club, which counts many A-list celebrities among its members, should be immediately suspended for 28 days. A full hearing will then take place. Continue reading...

Senior Brazil military figures backed plot to seize power after Bolsonaro's election defeat, federal documents allegeBrazil came within a whisker of a far-right military coup and the assassination of a supreme court judge just days before President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took power in January 2023, a federal police report has claimed.The report about the alleged plot to help the rightwing populist Jair Bolsonaro cling to power was made public on Tuesday, and paints a chilling portrait of how close one of the world's largest democracies came to being plunged back into authoritarian rule. Continue reading...

Kiena Dawes left note saying she was murdered' by Ryan Wellings, who is standing trial for her manslaughterA young mother killed herself and left a note saying I was murdered" after suffering years of abuse at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, a court has heard.Kiena Dawes, 23, a hairdresser, said in her note that Ryan Wellings killed me", a jury heard. Continue reading...

Child was found severely malnourished, unable to walk or speak and had never seen daylight before her rescueThe mother of a three-year-old girl who was kept in a drawer and had never seen daylight or another human face has been jailed for more than seven years.The girl was found severely malnourished and unable to walk or speak in February 2023 by a partner of her mother's who had gone upstairs to use the toilet and heard a noise that sounded like a baby. Continue reading...

Kremlin bans UK cabinet ministers including Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Yveette Cooper from entering countryThe Federation of Small Businesses applauds the ambition in the government's Get Britain Working, but says that overcoming the pervasive poverty of ambition" about employment in the public sector won't be easy. This is from Tina McKenzie, the FSB's policy chair.This is a start - but only a start - in fixing the pervasive poverty of ambition in the Jobcentre, health and other state systems when it comes to getting people back into work. Increasing employment is ultimately the most sure-fire way to drive up living standards and economic growth.

City of London Corporation rejects plan for new Dagenham site and will offer traders about 300m in compensationLondon's historic Smithfield meat market is to close for good after the City of London Corporation voted to pull out of plans to relocate it and Billingsgate fish market to Dagenham.The corporation, which owns and operates the central London site of the centuries-old market, had earlier this month put on hold relocation plans to a new 1bn site in Dagenham, east London, to review the financial sustainability" of the planned move. Continue reading...

Leanne Lucas, who was seriously injured trying to protect children, says she plans to speak out more after trialA dance teacher who survived the knife attack in Southport where three children were killed has said she is hoping her voice will get louder and louder" after the trial of her alleged attacker.Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were killed in an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July, and 10 other people were injured, eight of them children. Continue reading...

Most claims from 400 men on vessel moored in Portland, Dorset have been processed, with majority acceptedThe final asylum seekers housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge left the boat on Tuesday and crew members are set to leave on Wednesday, with the controversial vessel's final day in port expected to be 8 January.The accommodation on the barge, moored in Portland, Dorset, will now be dismantled after the Labour government decided to discontinue the previous government's contract to house asylum seekers on the vessel. Continue reading...

Fine Gael had looked sure of victory on Friday before Simon Harris's disastrous interaction with care workerIreland's three main parties are almost neck and neck in the polls ahead of Friday's general election, as the taoiseach, Simon Harris, struggles to contain the damage inflicted on his campaign by a disastrous interaction with an angry care worker.In what has been called the Simon slump", Fine Gael, the centre-right party which Harris leads, and which seemed almost certain to top the polls, is now under pressure. An Irish Times poll on Monday showed FG had lost its commanding lead of two weeks ago and was down six points. Continue reading...

Five more rescued and seven still missing from the Sea Story, which was carrying 30 tourists and 14 crewEgyptian naval forces have rescued five people and recovered four bodies from the Red Sea a day after a large tourist boat sank in rough waters, officials said, but seven people remain missing.The Red Sea governor, Amr Hanafi, said the yacht, called Sea Story, had been struck by high waves on Monday and sank in less than seven minutes. Continue reading...

Campaigners will apply for emergency injunction to stop exports of F-35 parts used in extermination campaign'

National security adviser will travel to Washington in attempt to persuade US president-elect not to rip up deal

Data shows a threefold increase in internal displacement across the African continent since 2009, with flooding and drought posing a growing threatWars and climate disasters have driven a threefold increase in the number of internally displaced people in Africa over the past 15 years, according to new data.There are now 35 million people internally displaced on the continent, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), compared with 11.6 million in 2009, when African governments signed a landmark deal legally binding them to tackle the causes of displacement. Continue reading...

Trader was able to record more than 400 fictitious trades over a period of 20 months, says watchdog

National Audit Office disclaims' accounts because of shortcomings in auditing of English local authoritiesThe government's entire public sector financial accounts are not fit for purpose, the official audit watchdog has said after the collapse of the red flag" system that scrutinises billions of pounds of spending in local government.The National Audit Office (NAO) said it was impossible to sign off the government's latest public spending figures as accurate because of the unreliability of financial data relating to hundreds of councils and police and fire authorities. Continue reading...

Advocates against death penalty note president has spared no one from death row but it's not too late to cement legacy'Advocates against the death penalty took aim with blistering irony at Joe Biden for pardoning two more Thanksgiving turkeys on Monday - reaching a total of eight fowl reprieved during his presidency - while he has failed to use his powers to grant clemency to anyone on federal death row awaiting execution.Biden's days left in office are limited, but it's not too late for him to spare everyone from federal death row (and cement his legacy for the better)," the Prison Policy Initiative, a group campaigning to end mass incarceration, said in a post on Instagram. Continue reading...

Cycling and motoring retailer calls for more support for business from the government

In today's newsletter: A police visit to a Daily Telegraph columnist about a tweet unleashed a barrage of coverage - but the story is more complicated than it appears Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. A journalist visited by police over an erroneous tweet. A barber accused of racism over a dodgy haircut. And someone in Warwickshire reported for refusing to shake hands. These are some of the examples cited in recent days in an escalating media storm over non-crime hate incidents" recorded by police.The problem, frequently laid at the door of the woke mob, is so catastrophically vexing that former Conservative MEP and Daily Telegraph columnist Daniel Hannan declared it evidence of the bleak reality of our DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] police state". Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, has now said that the police should apply a common sense and consistent approach", an apparent nod to the criticisms of how the system works. And there are some reasonable objections to the status quo. But there are also important reasons for its existence that have very little to do with haircuts or handshakes.Unemployment | Teenagers will get training at the Premier League, Royal Shakespeare Company and Channel 4 in a government drive to get hundreds of thousands into jobs or education. The scheme is part of a suite of changes to the welfare system and out-of-work support being announced today.US politics | Donald Trump said on Monday he would sign an executive order imposing a 25% US tariff on products from Mexico and Canada. He said the tariffs would only be lifted if Mexico and Canada clamp down on migrants and illegal drugs crossing the border, and promised an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports.Storm Bert | Forecasters, environment officials and politicians have been criticised over the warnings issued before Storm Bert and the fitness of flood defences to cope with increasingly common extreme weather. The Met Office defended its work, saying that the storm was well forecast, 48 hours in advance".Regulation | Britain's financial sector watchdog is incompetent at best, dishonest at worst", according to a damning report by MPs and Lords which called for a big shake-up. An examination of the Financial Conduct Authority found very significant shortcomings" after a series of financial scandals.Health | Weight-loss drugs can reduce the risk of worsening kidney function, kidney failure and dying from kidney disease by a fifth, according to a study. Compared with placebo, GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic reduced the risk of kidney failure by 16% and the worsening of kidney function by 22%,Victim-led hate reporting has had significant and important positive impacts for police, and communities, in diagnosing harm, extremism, and failing integration or community-cohesion efforts ... We all know that recording rules can be complex, but they should not be a concern to a victim at their time of distress." Continue reading...

Labor says Peter Dutton's talk of slashing and burning numbers if elected would cost billions and lead to longer wait times and reduced quality

Money to be used to fund education and treatment of gambling harms in plans to be unveiled as soon as this weekCasinos and bookmakers in Great Britain will be forced to pay a 100m-a-year levy to fund research, education and treatment of gambling harms, under government plans to be announced as soon as this week.Labour is understood to be poised to rubber-stamp the previous government's proposal to do away with a voluntary system that allows industry operators to choose how much to donate to tackle damage caused by gambling and which organisations should receive the money. Continue reading...

MyGov, ATO and Centrelink systems enable perpetrators to financially abuse survivors long after they leave violent relationships, campaigners say

Damage to fictional gravesite, seen in 1984 adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, discovered on SundayMarley was dead: to begin with," begins Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, the ghostly morality tale of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge who, through a series of encounters with spirits in the early hours of Christmas morning, realises he needs to change his ways.It is an imagined story - there is no Scrooge and, unlike his unfortunate business partner, he is not dead. But that does not appear to have mattered to a vandal in Shropshire, where a gravestone of Scrooge used in a 1984 film adaptation has been smashed into multiple pieces. Continue reading...