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Regulated fares increase is only the second RPI-plus hike in 12 years, and a similar rise is expected in Scotland and WalesRail fares will go up by 4.6% next March, the government disclosed alongside the budget - rising above inflation for only the second time in 12 years.Meanwhile, the cost of most railcards will rise by 5, or almost 17%. Continue reading...

Clip of Russian and Ukrainian flags with angry face and heart emojis accused of discrediting' armyPolice in Russian-annexed Crimea have charged a woman with child neglect after her 10-year-old daughter allegedly posted a video online that discredited" the Russian army, authorities said on Wednesday.The video, shared on Russian Telegram channels, showed a girl choosing between Russian and Ukrainian flags, with an angry-face emoji next to the Russian flag and a heart emoji next to the Ukrainian one. Continue reading...

More than 1,000 well-known figures sign open letter in response to authors pledging to boycott Israeli cultural institutions over GazaMore than 1,000 figures from the literary and entertainment industry - including several Nobel laureates, Pulitzer prize, and Booker prize winners - have signed an open letter against illiberal and dangerous" cultural boycotts.The letter was released by the nonprofit body Creative Community For Peace [CCFP], which campaigns against cultural boycotts of Israel, after more than 1,000 book industry figures pledged to boycott Israeli cultural institutions that are complicit or have remained silent observers of the overwhelming oppression of Palestinians". Continue reading...

Former pupils of Catholic schools say corporal punishment was hourly occurence' in 60s and 70sThe Irish government has been urged to extend the scope of a statutory inquiry into historical child abuse in schools to include corporal punishment, including a practice known as leathering".Survivors of physical assault in Catholic schools have complained they were told there was no scope to include corporal punishment in an investigation into sexual abuse, announced in September. Continue reading...

Residents told to stay indoors but police say there is no nuclear risk from blaze at BAE Systems complexTwo people have been taken to hospital after a significant" fire broke out at BAE Systems' nuclear submarine shipyard in Cumbria.Residents said they saw huge flames and smoke billowing from the complex in Barrow-in-Furness, where the UK's new multi-billion-pound Dreadnought submarines are being built. Continue reading...

Third-quarter rise in GDP lifts eurozone growth to 0.4% as a result of increased household and government spending

Rachel Reeves is announcing her financial update - here are the main points, with political analysis

Chris Johnson, 39, arrested after police made grisly discovery while serving eviction noticeThe owner of a south Georgia funeral home has been charged with 17 counts of abuse of a dead body after 18 decomposing bodies, including those of children, were found in a cooler at the facility.Coffee county sheriff's office deputies were serving an eviction notice on Saturday at Johnson Funeral Home when the remains were discovered in various stages of decomposition", investigators said. Continue reading...

Teenager accused of murdering three young girls is charged with possessing terrorist material and producing ricinAxel Rudakubana, the 18-year-old accused of murdering three girls at a dance class in Southport, has appeared in court on new charges of possessing terrorist material and producing the toxin ricin.He appeared at Westminster magistrates court via video link from HMP Belmarsh. He sat holding his sweater over the bottom half of his face. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Awareness of contribution of black and Asian soldiers could help tackle racism, say leading minority ethnic voicesPoliticians and community leaders are calling for the history of black and Asian soldiers who fought for Britain in the world wars to be taught more widely in schools to help tackle ignorance, racism and anti-Muslim prejudice.Speaking on the 110th anniversary of the first Muslim to be awarded the Victoria Cross, leading minority ethnic voices have said that raising awareness of black and Asian service men and women could help tackle racism and anti-Muslim prejudice after this summer's riots. Continue reading...

Critics alarmed by talk of revenge against Democrats and say second Trump term would pose unprecedented danger

Loss of migrant workers would trigger productivity losses and a new round of inflationary pricing pressureIf elected, Donald Trump plans to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history". After pushback on Joe Biden's border policies, Kamala Harris has embraced border restrictions and the need to maintain limits on asylum seekers. But neither candidate captures the realities of US immigration.US consumers are accustomed to cheap goods and services, and the economic rationale for large-scale immigration has been largely avoided. In a country that relies on a mobile, low-cost workforce, the loss of migrant workers would trigger productivity losses and a new round of inflationary pricing pressure. Continue reading...

Rise in hybrid warfare and cyber-attacks blamed on pro-Russia groups prompt Nordic neighbours to backpedalSweden and Norway are backpedalling on plans for cashless societies over fears that fully digital payment systems would leave them vulnerable to Russian security threats, and concern for those unable to use them.A combination of good high-speed internet coverage, high digital literacy rates, large rural populations and fast-growing fintech industries had put the Nordic neighbours on a fast track to a future without cash. Continue reading...

Naomi Whitehead attains status after death of Elizabeth Francis, who was third-oldest known living person in worldA 114-year-old woman residing in Pennsylvania who says she never smoked or drank alcohol recently became the oldest known living person in North America.Naomi Whitehead attained that status after the 22 October death of Elizabeth Francis, 115, a Louisiana native who moved to Houston and was the world's third-oldest person, according to the LongeviQuest website, an authority on supercentenarians - those who are 110 or older. Continue reading...

Drop comes as carmaker faces battle with unions over plan to shut three factories in GermanyVolkswagen has reported a 60% drop in profits amid a slump in sales in China, with the carmaker emphasising the difficulties it faces as it prepares to close factories in Germany for the first time.Germany's biggest carmaker has told workers that it is considering shutting three plants serving its main Volkswagen brand in its home market and cutting staff pay, raising the prospect of an extended battle with unions representing 120,000 German employees. Continue reading...

Facebook posts by Rob Pyne conveyed imputation that Greg Hallam was corrupt' and were defamatory, district court judge finds

Chair suggests company will not make fourth takeover offer and will instead focus on other growth opportunitiesThe global mining company BHP has moved on" from its three unsuccessful attempts to take over the rival Anglo American earlier this year and will focus on other growth opportunities instead, its chair has said.Speaking at BHP's annual general meeting in Brisbane on Wednesday, Ken MacKenzie suggested the Australian miner would not be resurrecting its bid for its London-based competitor after a six-month block on trying again lifts at the end of November. Continue reading...

Liberal MLC Jing Lee told parliament she felt pressured after unexpected encounter with a very persistent visitor' but didn't name Howe

Kim Williams says funding local news and public interest journalism is crucial in a world where the distortion of culture poses such a grave threat to democracy'

Legal team for NT senator and shadow Indigenous Australians minister failed to file defence on time

Prime minister issues statement saying all travel has been appropriately declared' after allegations made in new book over politicians' travel

This blog is now closed

Auburn South primary school community mourns car crash victim Jack Davey, 11, as four students remain in hospital

Origin and EnergyAustralia agree to defer bills after brownouts cripple region for better part of a week

In today's newsletter: Labour has told two stories about Rachel Reeves' budget. Will it be an end to austerity - or an acceptance of the harsh light of fiscal reality"? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. There will be no triumphalism, no big giveaways and certainly no rabbits out of hats: this, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have been at pains to tell us, is going to be a very grownup budget. And even though Reeves will promise today that the prize on offer is immense", we might also therefore expect it to be a painful one. Since the entire thing appears to have been briefed out in advance over the last few weeks, nobody can say they haven't been warned.In a way, it feels like two budgets: the optimism and ambition of a minimum wage rise, a major boost for the NHS, and significant new investment in infrastructure; and a bleaker story about misleading pledges, limited ambitions, and the biggest set of tax increases in budget history.UK news | The suspect charged with the murder of three girls in Southport is to be separately prosecuted on suspicion of possessing terrorist material and producing ricin, a powerful poison, police have said. Axel Rudakubana is due to appear in court on Wednesday.US election | Kamala Harris urged American voters to elect a new generation of leadership" in a speech at the same place Donald Trump spoke on January 6 almost four years ago. Likening her opponent to a petty tyrant", Harris told the crowd: Donald Trump would walk into that office with an enemies list ... I will walk in with a to-do list."Middle East | Israel is not addressing the catastrophic humanitarian crisis" in Gaza, the US envoy to the UN has said, ahead of a deadline for the Israelis to improve the situation or face potential restrictions on US military aid. The warning came as Gaza's civil defence agency said 93 people had been killed in an airstrike on a crowded block of flats.Conservatives | Britain's former colonies should be thankful for the legacy of empire, Conservative leadership candidate Robert Jenrick has said. Jenrick's comments, which follow an agreement among Commonwealth leaders that the time has come" to discuss reparations, were condemned as an obnoxious distortion of history".Mexico | A team of researchers have stumbled on a lost Maya city of temple pyramids, enclosed plazas and a reservoir, all hidden for centuries by the Mexican jungle. The discovery was made possible by the use of laser mapping techniques in an area previously ignored by archaeologists. Continue reading...

The first polls will be opening in the US not long after the RBA's board meeting wraps up next Tuesday

Exclusive: Surgeon who treated Lib Dem MP has worked for NHS for 20 years and grew up in the Jabalia campIn April, Layla Moran was admitted into hospital for sepsis. For a while, doctors thought antibiotics would clear the infection but it soon became clear she needed surgery. While recovering, a surgeon told her he had removed her appendix. He told me his name and I was like, Hold on, where are you from?'"Like Moran, Mohammad is Palestinian. The NHS surgeon grew up in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza and has worked for the health service for 20 years. Moran, the Lib Dem MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, had to remain in hospital for an extra week. During that time, the pair got to know each other. Continue reading...

Labor considering expert report's call for judges to have discretion to not cancel licences of those using the drug

Very sharp increase' in children arriving in emergency after crashes, doctors warn, as assessment of how to best legalise e-scooters continues

Report finds Paul Brereton should have removed himself from related decision-making processes', but says there was no intentional wrongdoing'

Barrie Tibbetts was non-symptomatic before doctor noticed 67-year-old's liver function test results were slightly abnormal' leading to discovery of tumour. Warning: contains graphic content

Loreta Maria Del Rossi died in May, a week after eating mushrooms foraged from her garden in Bayswater

Kennedy, who suspended campaign and endorsed Donald Trump, will remain on ballot in Michigan and WisconsinThe supreme court on Tuesday rejected an emergency appeal to remove Robert F Kennedy Jr from presidential ballots in Wisconsin and Michigan.Kennedy wanted to remove himself from the ballot in the two crucial swing states after dropping his independent bid and endorsing Donald Trump. He argued that keeping him on violated his first amendment rights by wrongly implying he still wanted to be elected president. Continue reading...

Fain asks members to vote for Harris in billionaire v working class framing in which Republicans embraced' theirsThe leader of the United Auto Workers (UAW) made a last plea to union members to vote for presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Tuesday night casting the election as a fight between the interests of the working-class and billionaires.I want you to know where your union stands. I want you to listen to how your UAW leadership thinks about this election and I want you to keep an open mind," said Shawn Fain, president of the 391,00-strong union. Continue reading...

Supermarket chain's slowdown comes as competition watchdog accuses retailer of illusory' discounts on hundreds of items

As of 29 October, the iconic mountain was still without snow, marking the longest period since records began 130 years agoJapan's Mount Fuji remained snowless on Tuesday, marking the latest date that its slopes have been bare since records began 130 years ago, the country's weather agency said.The volcano's snowcap begins forming on 2 October on average, and last year snow was first detected there on 5 October. Continue reading...

Electricity prices fell by 17.3% in the latest quarter, while automotive fuel also fell 6.7%, increasing the chance of near-term interest rate reductionsAustralia's headline inflation sank to its lowest level in more than three years in the September quarter, as lower energy prices and elevated interest rates eased price pressures in the economy.The annual consumer price index for the July-September period was 2.8%, or the lowest since the March quarter of 2021, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Unspecified number of bodies found as flood waters push cars through streets, closing roads and cancelling train services in ValenciaSeveral dead bodies have been recovered by emergency workers after torrential rain caused flash floods in southern and eastern Spain, shutting roads and high-speed train connections.Raging mud-coloured flood waters swept through the town of Letur in the eastern province of Albacete on Tuesday, pushing cars through the streets, images broadcast on Spanish television showed. Continue reading...

Punches were allegedly exchanged in extraordinary' incident that delayed plane at Heathrow for two hoursTwo women were removed from a British Airways flight at Heathrow after an altercation reportedly provoked by a Make America Great Again (Maga) cap.The incident occurred on Saturday as the women, aged 40 and 60, were preparing to board a flight bound for Austin, Texas. Continue reading...

Adidas chief executive says dispute with rapper belongs to the past', and that the last of its Yeezy stock will be sold by the end of the yearAdidas says it has reached an amicable agreement with rapper Kanye West to end all legal proceedings between them, without any money being exchanged.The German sportswear giant had been locked in a dispute with the artist, who now goes by the name Ye, since they cut ties in 2022 after allegations of antisemitism against him. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the Middle East, read more coverage here.Al Jazeera has spoken with the director-general of the Gaza government's media office, Ismail al-Thawabta, who has said at least 93 people were killed in the Israeli airstrike on northern Gaza's town of Beit Lahiya. Gaza's health ministry said earlier today that 60 people were killed in the strike this morning, which hit a residential building housing displaced civilians. Al-Thawabta said that the building Israel attacked housed 200 people. Dozens of people are reported missing and 150 others estimated to be injured. Medics said 20 children were among the dead.Many of those injured have been rushed to nearby Kamal Adwan hospital inside the Jabalia refugee camp. But the hospital is struggling to treat them as it reportedly has run out of medical supplies and only has two paediatric doctors, with no surgeons. Israeli forces detained dozens of medical staff at the hospital days ago. Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, director of the hospital, told Al Jazeera on Friday that most of the surgeons had been arrested by Israeli troops, meaning urgent surgeries could not be performed.

Having announced minimum wage boost, chancellor to say she can spare working people from tax risesThe UK's national minimum wage is to rise by a higher than expected 6.7% next year, Rachel Reeves has announced before a multi-billion pound tax-raising budget designed to act as the springboard for a decade of national renewal.Insisting that the increase to 12.21 in the pay floor marks a significant step in Labour's plan to support the low paid, the chancellor will also say she can spare working people from the tax increases intended to plug the hole in the public finances and avoid a fresh wave of found of public spending cuts. Continue reading...

Failure to help improve the situation on the ground could be met by restrictions on US military aid

Iqra Ismail, who does not wear shorts for religious reasons, was prevented from entering field of play during gameThe Football Association has apologised to a Muslim footballer after she was barred from playing in a match for refusing to wear shorts due to her religious beliefs.Iqra Ismail was meant to come on as a half-time substitute for United Dragons in a Greater London Women's Football League fixture against Tower Hamlets on Sunday, but she was prevented from entering the field of play by the referee. Continue reading...

Writer-director shows support for critically maligned and commercially disastrous musical follow-up to 2019 hitQuentin Tarantino has come out in support of the critical and commercial flop Joker: Folie a Deux.The writer-director sang the musical sequel's praises during a recent appearance on Bret Easton Ellis's podcast. The Todd Phillips-directed follow-up to his 2019 hit Joker scored a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Continue reading...

News of redundancies comes as UK division delays publication of results after car finance court rulingSantander is cutting more than 1,400 jobs across its UK business this year as part of its efforts to reduce costs.The Spanish bank's chief executive officer, Hector Grisi, confirmed the cuts as its UK division delayed publication of its latest financial results to consider the impact of an influential court ruling linked to commission on car finance. Continue reading...

Chapel and Swan Smokehouse in Suffolk was target of similar fraud to Neal's Yard Dairy cheesemakersThe owner of a smoked salmon firm who lost tens of thousands of pounds in a similar scam to the one that defrauded Neal's Yard Dairy has said authorities need to act against high-end food fraud".Chris Swales immediately recognised the similarities when he heard how the London cheese specialist was scammed out of more than 22 tonnes of cheddar this month. Continue reading...

Coroner advises forces to do more to tackle mental health issues after death of Anugrah Abraham in West YorkshirePolicing culture based on fear and discipline" must end, said the family of a police trainee who killed himself, as a coroner advised forces to do more to tackle the rise in mental health issues among officers.No steps could have been taken to prevent the death of Anugrah Abraham, a 21-year-old West Yorkshire police student, the three-week inquest into his death found. Continue reading...

Joke from Tony Hinchcliffe apparently bombed when he told it on Saturday night, a day before New York rally

Oscar-nominated actor was also known for roles in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Young FrankensteinTeri Garr, the actor known for roles in Tootsie, Young Frankenstein and Friends, has died at the age of 79.Garr died of multiple sclerosis, surrounded by family and friends", as confirmed to Associated Press by her publicist. She had been diagnosed in 2002 and also had an operation in 2007 after a ruptured brain aneurysm. Continue reading...