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Canadian author discusses US under Donald Trump and says setting of dystopian novel has become much closer'Margaret Atwood has said the plot of her book The Handmaid's Tale, which tells a story of an authoritarian regime under which women are forced to reproduce, has become more and more plausible" in recent years.Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, Atwood said she believed the plot was bonkers" when she first developed the concept for the novel because the US was the democratic ideal" at the time. Continue reading...

Church leaders respond to far-right appropriation of Christian symbols with Outsiders welcome' messageThe Church of England is to launch a poster campaign aimed at challenging the anti-migrant message of Tommy Robinson, whose Unite the Kingdom" movement has urged its supporters to join a carols event next weekend to put the Christ back into Christmas".The posters, which will go on display at bus stops, say Christ has always been in Christmas" and Outsiders welcome". They will also be available for local churches to download and display over the festive period. Continue reading...

Powerful Christian figures are emerging in Britain but there are important differences from the US, where evangelism has fuelled TrumpAt recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the front row: the near-white locks of Danny Kruger, the party's head of policy, and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr, now a senior adviser to Nigel Farage.As well as guiding the policy programme for what could be the UK's next government, the pair have something else in common. Both are highly devout Christians who came to religion in adulthood and have trenchant views on social issues such as abortion and the family. Continue reading...

Canadian expert David Vigneault warns of China's industrial-strength' attempts to steal new technologiesHostile spy agencies are now as focused on infiltrating western universities and companies as they are on doing so to governments, according to the former head of Canada's intelligence service.David Vigneault warned that a recent industrial-scale" attempt by China to steal new technologies showed the need for increased vigilance from academics. Continue reading...

Specialist clinics and support groups call for government emergency support due to delays caused by new levy systemGambling addicts are at risk of missing out on life-saving" help unless the government provides emergency support, charities have warned, after an overhaul of funding left treatment providers facing a cash crunch.Until this year, money for problem gambling research, education and treatment had been provided on a voluntary basis by casinos and bookmakers who contributed about 0.1% of their takings. Continue reading...

As peace hopes falter, infantry soldiers face more long deployments risking their lives against Russian attacksFor almost all of their 62-day deployment on the frontline east of Pokrovske, Bohdan and Ivan hid - first in a village shop, then, after a deadly firefight with Russian soldiers, in a tiny basement where the infantrymen from Ukraine's 31st Brigade had to survive seven more weeks.Food, water, cigarettes and other supplies were airlifted in by a friendly drone, their toilet was their 3 sq metre room, their nearest comrades 200 metres or so away. Their only hope was to remain underground, because they knew if they were detected a Russian drone could kill them all. Continue reading...

Fire broke out at midnight in Arpora with victims mostly kitchen workers, according to state's chief ministerAt least 25 people have been killed in a fire at a nightclub in Goa, an Indian state popular for its nightlife and tourism.Several tourists were among the 25 dead in the fire, which broke out at about midnight at Birch by Romeo Lane, a popular restaurant, cocktail bar and club in Arpora, a district of north Goa. Continue reading...

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Positive tone after Florida talks with Ukrainian president heading to London Street to see Starmer, Macron and Merz. What we know on day 1,383 Continue reading...

Communications minister also faces scrutiny over taxpayer-funded family trip to Thredbo

From his home town of Los Angeles, the architect designed a career around defying what was predictableIn Frank Gehry's world, no building was left untilted, unexposed or untouched by unconventional material. The Canadian-American architect, who died in his Los Angeles home at 96, designed a career around defying what was predictable and pulling in materials that were uncommon and, as such, relatively inexpensive.Gehry collaborated with artists to turn giant binoculars into an entryway of a commercial campus, and paid homage to a writer's past as a lifeguard by creating a livable lifeguard tower. And while dreaming this up, he transformed American architecture along the way. Continue reading...

Eleven years of overpayments leave 63-year-old facing hardship and return to full-time workA retired civil servant faces being forced back into full-time work after being ordered to return 25,000 in overpaid pension benefits.Derek Ritchie, 63, was informed in March by scheme administrators that his payments had been miscalculated since 2014. Continue reading...

James Graham's play Punch touches on gang culture, restorative justice and masculinity in crisis, and for the playwright the true story was a privilege to tellWhen thousands of schoolchildren came to see James Graham's play Punch in the West End, the playwright, actors and producers were struck by one thing. Despite fears about social media eroding attention spans, the pupils were engrossed for two and a half hours and many stayed for Q&A sessions afterwards.They were the most remarkable atmospheres we've ever experienced," Graham said. Julie [Hesmondhalgh, one of the actors] said it was one of the highlights of her performing career. You always hear that theatre doesn't fit the TikTok generation, but we could tell these young people were completely connected to the themes of what it's like to grow up as a teenager, to struggle, survive and evolve." Continue reading...

Moscow continuously reinforcing' its presence in the region, says Swedish chief of operations Capt Marko PetkovicThe Swedish navy encounters Russian submarines in the Baltic Sea on an almost weekly" basis, its chief of operations has said, and is preparing for a further increase in the event of ceasefire or armistice in the Ukraine war.Capt Marko Petkovic said Moscow was continuously reinforcing" its presence in the region, and sightings of its vessels were a regular part of life for the Swedish navy. Its very common", he said, adding that the number of sightings had increased in recent years. Continue reading...

Crafters, artisans and others told to declare income if above 1,000 trading allowance in tax yearThis is a busy time of year for the thousands of people who earn a bit of extra income from a festive side hustle such as running a stall at a Christmas market or selling items online.The UK's army of crafters, artisans and designers are being urged to check if they need to tell HM Revenue and Customs about their earnings. Continue reading...

The term ceasefire risks creating a dangerous illusion life is returning to normal' for Palestinians squeezed into the remaining 42% of their land behind Israel's yellow line'When Jumaa and Fadi Abu Assi went to look for firewood their parents thought they would be safe. They were just young boys, aged nine and 10 and, after all, a ceasefire had been declared in Gaza.Their mother, Hala Abu Assi, was making tea in the family's tent in Khan Younis when she heard an explosion, a missile fired by an Israeli drone. She ran to the scene - but it was too late. Continue reading...

French president's remarks come a day after a report claimed he had warned Washington could betray KyivEmmanuel Macron has said there is no mistrust" between Europe and the US, a day after a report claimed the French president had warned privately there was a risk Washington could betray Ukraine.Unity between Americans and Europeans on the Ukrainian issue is essential. And I say it again and again, we need to work together," Macron told reporters during a visit to China on Friday. Continue reading...

Adelita Grijalva, a Democratic representative, said she was sprayed in the face' at demonstration outside a restaurantAdelita Grijalva, an Arizona congressperson, said she was sprayed in the face" during a protest against a federal immigration raid at a Mexican restaurant in Tucson on Friday.In a video filmed after the incident, Grijalva said she joined a group of protesters assembled outside Taco Giro, a small mom-and-pop" restaurant in Tucson Grijalva said she visits weekly. By the time she arrived, she said, the protesters had stopped" a squadron of dozens of mostly masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Continue reading...

Exclusive: ALP national president urges party to urgently renew its ageing grassroots membership base in suburban and regional areas

Carlos Portugal Gouvea, charged with firing a pellet gun on eve of Yom Kippur outside a synagogue, has said he was not aware of the holiday or that he was shooting next to oneUS immigration authorities arrested a visiting professor at Harvard law school after he was charged with discharging a pellet gun outside a Massachusetts synagogue the day before Yom Kippur, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Thursday - and he agreed to leave the country.Carlos Portugal Gouvea, a Brazilian citizen, was arrested on Wednesday by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after his temporary nonimmigrant visa was revoked by the state department following what the Trump administration labeled an anti-semitic shooting incident" - a description at odds with how local authorities have described the case. Continue reading...

Party removes Ian Cooper after he was alleged to have abused Sadiq Khan, David Lammy and other figures onlineNigel Farage has revoked the party membership of a Reform UK council leader accused of racially abusing Sadiq Khan, David Lammy and other public figures online.Ian Cooper, the leader of Staffordshire county council, allegedly called the London mayor a narcissistic Pakistani" and said migrants were intent on colonising the UK, destroying all that has gone before". Continue reading...

Producer says creatives need to own their intellectual property so they can license it to generative AI platformsThe Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart has said artificial intelligence is an unstoppable force", and musicians and other artists should bow to the inevitable and license their music to generative AI platforms.These platforms use artificial intelligence to analyse existing songs and tracks, using that knowledge to generate completely new ones as prompted by a user. For example, someone could ask the AI platform to generate a song about a boozy night out in the style of a Britpop band, and it would draw on songs with similar sounds and themes to create its own. Continue reading...

Action detailed in a state department memo directs officials to deny visas to any applicant engaging in censorship'

Host broadcaster says show will not suffer after four countries withdraw from 2026 contest over Israel and GazaAustria has said it will continue with plans to host next year's Eurovision, in spite of its budget being hit by four countries boycotting the song contest over Israel's participation and the war in Gaza.At a meeting in Geneva, the national broadcasters that make up the European Broadcasting Union gave the all clear for Israel to take part in next year's event in Vienna, the contest's 70th anniversary edition. Continue reading...

Celebrity chef will start with branch in London's Leicester Square, backed by Prezzo owner Brava Hospitality Group

Reform UK leader's responses to allegations of racist and antisemitic behaviour at Dulwich college have varied over timeNigel Farage's response to allegations of teenage racism during his time at Dulwich college have ranged from vehement at times and rather more nuanced at others.Here is what he has said: Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereRussia and India will reshape their defence ties to take account of New Delhi's push for self-reliance, the two countries said in a joint statement after a summit between president Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.In response to India's aspirations for self-reliance, the partnership is currently being reoriented toward joint research and development, as well as the production of advanced defence platforms," the statement said. Continue reading...

Streaming service to gain control of studio behind Harry Potter and Batman, as well as HBO, home to The White Lotus and Game of Thrones

All 18-year-old men to be screened for suitability for armed forces, but proposal falls short of conscriptionThe German parliament has rubberstamped a new model for military service that aims to boost its armed forces as thousands of school pupils demonstrated across the country against the plans.The change will include the obligatory screening of all 18-year-old men to gauge their suitability to serve in the military from 1 January, but does not include conscription, as favoured by some conservative politicians. Continue reading...

Rinaldo Nazzaro says detention of suspected Base members in Spain justifies resistance ... by any means necessary'After Spanish police and Europol's counter-terrorism section arrested three suspected members of the Base - a globally proscribed neo-Nazi terrorist group - in the eastern province of Castellon, its American leader living in Russia was defiant and signaled further actions.In a text message to the Guardian, Rinaldo Nazzaro called the arrests another example of political persecution" by world governments that are further justifying our resistance to its hegemonic rule by any means necessary". Continue reading...

ACIP vote follows two postponements and contentious meeting and comes as RFK Jr pushes for vaccine delayAfter a delay and an unusually contentious meeting, a federal vaccine advisory panel was expected to vote on Friday whether to change the longstanding recommendation that all newborns be immunized against hepatitis B.The first day of the meeting of the advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP) on Thursday was marked by heated debate over restricting access to the hepatitis B vaccine for infants and a decision to defer the vote by a day to give members more time to review the wording. The panel, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on how to use vaccines, had twice before postponed the vote. Continue reading...

Michael Dell's $6.25bn gift spotlights how the super-rich use charity' to win access, favour and influencePity the billionaire class. The 0.001% are so unpopular these days that when tech billionaire Michael Dell and his wife announced the donation of $6.25bn into the Trump Accounts" of 25 million children, one of the largest single philanthropic donations in American history, Dell had to hurry to assure us that his was not at all about currying favor with Donald Trump.I don't think this is in any way a partisan activity," Dell told the New York Times. Continue reading...

The civil liberties group argues the Texas governor's proclamation exceeds his authority and deepens fearsIslamophobia is on the rise in the US, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), a civil liberties group, reporting sharp increases in anti-Muslim violence and rhetoric over the last two years.In Texas, the issue has come to the fore in high-profile incidents, including the case of a Euless woman who was initially released on a $40,000 bail after attempting to drown two Palestinian American children. Continue reading...

Heatwave warnings in place for parts of New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia

Future of Europe' at stake with Von der Leyen and Merz desperate to persuade Belgian PM to allow use of frozen Russian assetsGermany's chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will meet the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, and Belgium's prime minister, Bart De Wever, for emergency talks on Friday as the EU races to save its sorely needed financing plan for Ukraine.The three leaders will dine in private in Brussels, a German government spokesperson said on Thursday, as Belgian officials continued to express strong opposition to the scheme, which involves the unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets. Continue reading...

Owner of Sports Direct chain says consumer confidence very subdued' with sales at sports division down 5.8%The owner of Sports Direct and Flannels has said sales have fallen at its UK retail businesses amid heavy discounting by rivals and very subdued" consumer confidence.Frasers, which is controlled by the former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said sales at its UK sports division were down 5.8% in the six months to 26 October to 1.3bn despite growth at the main Sports Direct chain because of planned decline" at its Game outlets and the Studio Retail online arm. Continue reading...

Number of overseas nurses and midwives registered between April and September was half that of a year agoThe number of overseas nurses and midwives coming to the UK is collapsing, figures reveal, with rising racism and changes to immigration rules blamed for the fall.Between April and September, 6,321 nurses and midwives from abroad joined the register of those licensed to practice in the UK, compared with 12,534 who did so in the same period in 2024. Continue reading...

Of patients diagnosed with condition in 2024/25, only 18% were assessed for fall risk and just 16% had a medical reviewGPs are failing to provide adequate support for people living with frailty, an independent watchdog has found.Frailty is a syndrome related to ageing and in which body systems gradually lose their in-built reserves. Symptoms include exhaustion and people living with frailty are more likely to be housebound. Continue reading...

Rewilding charity helps bolster Scottish stronghold of species that once came close to extinction in UKRed squirrels have expanded their range across the Highlands by more than a quarter after a 10-year reintroduction programme moved hundreds to new homes.The species once came close to extinction in Britain when foresters killed them as pests and their natural habitat was destroyed. A deadly virus carried by invasive grey squirrels has hampered their recovery. Continue reading...

Democrat Jim Himes calls footage one of the most troubling scenes' he's observed in public service

Reform leader suggests he would boycott BBC, saying he has had letter from Dulwich pupils defending himNigel Farage has turned on broadcasters for questioning him about his alleged teenage racism and antisemitism as the number of school contemporaries who recalled such behaviour to the Guardian reached 28.In an angry performance at a press conference in London, the Reform leader suggested he would boycott the BBC and said ITV had its own case to answer, as he repeatedly shouted Bernard Manning". Continue reading...

Lawyer for parents say allegations included children coming home injured and claims about how Vincent Chan treated toddlersMore claims have emerged that parents' concerns about the nursery worker Vincent Chan were not acted on before he was unmasked as a paedophile, as the government vowed to improve child safety after the scandal.Chan worked at a north London branch of the Bright Horizons nursery chain from 2017 until his arrest in June 2024. He pleaded guilty on Wednesday to 26 offences including sexual assaults against girls aged two to four who were in his care, some carried out as children slept and some of which were filmed. Continue reading...

Bombs were placed near Republican and Democratic party HQs in Washington night before US Capitol attackUS authorities on Thursday made an arrest in connection with pipe bombs that were planted outside the headquarters of both the Democratic and Republican parties in Washington DC on the eve of 6 January 2021.Explosive devices were placed at night and then, on the afternoon of 6 January, the US Capitol attack occurred, when a mob of Donald Trump's supporters stormed Congress in an effort to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election. Continue reading...

An investigation found defense secretary put US forces at risk, triggering fresh demands for his resignationThe Department of Defense's inspector general released the much-anticipated unclassified report on Thursday about Pete Hegseth's disclosure of plans for military airstrikes in Yemen in a Signal group chat earlier this year.It found that Hegseth violated departmental policies when he shared information in the chat, and that if a foreign enemy force intercepted that information it could have endangered the lives of US troops, as the Guardian reported on Wednesday. Using a personal cell phone to conduct official business and send nonpublic DoD information through Signal risks potential compromise of sensitive DoD information, which could cause harm to DoD personnel and mission objectives," the report said. Continue reading...

You could call it an act of friendship, except Nige sees Dicky less as a friend and more as a useful idiotAlas poor Dicky. Put not your trust in Nigel. For in him there is no salvation.It's not easy being Richard Tice. A man who has spent much of his recent life in Nigel Farage's shadow. Pushed around. Made to feel worthless. Losing what self-respect he may have had by the day. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereNigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said that in Essex county council elections were postponed. He said district councils were being replaced with a new pretty amorphous unitary authority". Because of that, the area also needed a clear elected figure", a mayor, he said.Fahnbulleh said the government wanted to create strong, unitary councils. He said that would be a difficult concept for Reform UK to understand, given the absolute shambles that we're seeing in the councils that they control".The government had a moral and a legal obligation to honour its side of the bargain Continue reading...

Reform UK leader launches tirade against broadcaster in latest effort to address claims of of abuse from school contemporaries

Mohammad Bashir faces one count of preparing terrorist acts and three counts of sharing terrorist publicationsA man has been charged with assisting the Manchester synagogue attacker Jihad al-Shamie with earlier reconnaissance on a UK defence facility.Mohammad Bashir, 31, was charged with four terrorism offences, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. Continue reading...

Peter Francis says he had hostile' exchanges over telling 1990s Macpherson inquiry into racist murder about covert operationSenior police officers resisted the idea of disclosing the covert monitoring of the family of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence to a public inquiry, a whistleblower has alleged.Peter Francis, the whistleblower, said that he wanted to reveal the surveillance of the family and their campaign by undercover police officers to the public inquiry that was led by Sir William Macpherson in the late 1990s. Continue reading...