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Witnesses allege Bob Lambert was involved in fire at store in London in 1987, a claim he has repeatedly deniedFour witnesses have testified at a public inquiry that an undercover police officer carried out an arson attack on a well-known high street department store while pretending to be an ardent animal rights campaigner.Their testimony directly contradicts consistent denials by the undercover officer Bob Lambert, who says he did not set fire to a London branch of Debenhams, causing damage totalling 340,000. Continue reading...

Simone White, 28, was one of six tourists to die in a suspected methanol poisoning at Vang Vieng hostelThe mother of a British lawyer who died after being served a drink that was allegedly spiked with methanol has said if it can happen to her daughter it can happen to anyone.Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, was one of six tourists killed in the popular backpacking town of Vang Vieng after an alleged mass poisoning. She was taken in for surgery just as her mother, Sue, 61, arrived at the hospital. It later became clear that Simone's brain function was gone, and she died on Thursday 21 November. Continue reading...

Pat McFadden defends government handling of transport secretary's departure, saying it did not drag on for weeks'Decisions over Louise Haigh's future were dealt with very quickly"and marked a big contrast" to how issues were handled under Conservative governments, a cabinet minister has said.Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, refused to accept suggestions that the transport secretary's resignation and the controversy over freebies made the Labour government look chaotic" because it was not something that dragged on for weeks". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Miniature thought to be Elizabeth, Lady Leighton, one of Queen Elizabeth I's ladies-in-waitingA previously unknown 1580s portrait by Queen Elizabeth I's official painter has been discovered after languishing for hundreds of years in a private collection.Art experts hailed the wonderful" discovery of a miniature by Nicholas Hilliard, Continue reading...

Kaja Kallas's visit comes on her first day in office with the new head of the European council, Antonio Costa, also making the trip to UkraineThis blog is closing now. Thanks for following along. You can read all our Ukraine coverage here.The Russian defence ministry has said its forces have gained control over two settlements - Illinka and Petrivka - in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. We have not yet independently verified this claim. Continue reading...

Peter Wanless of the NSPCC calls for more preventive action on child poverty, a ban on morally repugnant' smacking and favours guardrails online rather than bansThe boss of the UK's leading children's charity has attacked the Conservatives for their failure to improve outcomes for children, saying that, while they were in power, pretty much every indicator" went in the wrong direction.In a frank interview days before he steps down, NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said ministers had good intentions", citing a review of children's social care and online safety reforms - but that in the end, you've got to be judged by the actions". Continue reading...

Award-winning actor, who turns 90 next week, says everyone should have a parrot' like her African grey SweetieShe has been hailed as a national treasure, the queen of stage and screen with a damehood to match. But Dame Judi Dench has revealed that her pet parrot has a rather less polite name for her: Slut".The Academy Award-winning actor, who turns 90 next week, said everyone should have a bird like her rescue African grey parrot, Sweetie, despite their indecorous language. Continue reading...

Success in presidential poll of far-right populist Clin Georgescu has triggered nightly protests across countryVoting is under way in parliamentary elections in Romania, with voters still unsure whether the shock result of last week's presidential first-round ballot will stand amid continuing allegations of electoral fraud and foreign interference.Far-right parties are forecast to make significant gains in Sunday's parliamentary vote, with polls showing the nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) slightly ahead of the Social Democratic party (PSD), part of the ruling coalition. Continue reading...

Once listed as illegible', the words of inmates held in bleak fortress are revealed by latest technologyThe writing was on the wall for many of the prisoners incarcerated in the Tower of London over the centuries. Now, it can finally be deciphered.Hundreds of graffiti texts scratched into the historic stone walls by prisoners as they awaited their fate have come to light for the first time. Examples that were either overlooked or illegible are emerging through cutting-edge technology. Continue reading...

Melbourne south regional distribution centre to reopen to improve availability of food and essential grocery items such as nappies, toilet paper and drinks'

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Lai Ching-te's US stopover on trip to Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau - three diplomatic allies of the self-governed island - prompts Beijing's protestsThe Taiwanese president, Lai Ching-te, has begun a two-day US stopover in Hawaii as part of a Pacific tour after declaring his democratically governed island a key force for promoting global peace and stability.The trip has sparked fury from China, which views Taiwan as its own territory and opposes any foreign interactions or visits by the island's leaders. China's foreign ministry said on Sunday it had lodged serious protests" with the US. Continue reading...

Fragile, rarely seen artefact sent by the King of France was briefly available for public view on St Andrew's DayAn important letter in support of Scottish hero William Wallace has been put on display on St Andrew's Day.More than 250 people turned up on Saturday to see the fragile document, which was only on display for five hours to protect it from too much daylight. Continue reading...

Sightings over three airbases in East Anglia could relate to foreign powers' concerns about possible nuclear weaponsA British former UFO hunter has said he does not rule out" recent drone incursions over RAF bases in England being connected to Russia and China and nuclear weapons.Unidentified drones were spotted in November over three airbases in the east of England that are used by the US air force (USAF). Continue reading...

Police say vehicle was missing at the scene and that other men were present when fatal incident occurredA teenager has died and another is in a critical condition" after a motorbike crash in Merseyside, police have said.A 17-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash in Woodchurch, Wirral. An 18-year-old boy was taken to hospital where he remains in a critical condition. Continue reading...

Harry Seager's unique sweet treat provoked interest from thousands of members of the Dull Men's ClubA man who became an internet sensation after sharing his Mars bar without the ripple was handed 2 in compensation.Harry Seager's picture of his smooth Mars confectionery bar inspired interest from thousands of members of the Dull Men's Club Facebook page. Continue reading...

Forecasters predict 16C on Sunday, with rain and winds, and as cold as -7C from night-time on Monday in ScotlandTemperatures are expected to plunge on Monday after the UK enjoys a mild weekend, the Met Office has said.Highs of 16C are expected on Sunday before temperatures drop to as cold as -7C on Monday night, spokesperson Becky Mitchell said. Continue reading...

But Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald vows to fight for left alliance for government as Greens face wipeoutIreland has bucked the European trend of elections going against incumbent governments, with two of the parties in its ruling coalition in pole position to lead the next parliament.An exit poll showed an appetite for change, with 60% backing opposition parties. But the prospect of an alternative left-leaning government still looks unlikely to materialise. Continue reading...

Salome Zourabichvili says she will not stand down as parliament is invalid, after PM halts EU accession talksThe Georgian president, Salome Zourabichvili, has called the country's government illegitimate and said she would not leave office when her term ends next month, defying the prime minister as he accused pro-EU opposition forces of plotting revolution.The South Caucasus country was thrown into crisis on Thursday when the prime minister of the Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze, said it was halting EU accession talks for the next four years over what it called blackmail" of Georgia by the bloc, abruptly reversing a long-standing national goal. Continue reading...

Pristina labels incident terrorist act' by neighbouring country, activating armed forces to prevent more attacksKosovo's interior minister, Xhelal Svecla, said on Saturday that police had arrested eight people after an explosion hit a canal that sends water to its two main power plants, an incident Pristina labelled a terrorist act" by neighbouring Serbia.Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vui, denied what he said were baseless accusations" about Belgrade's involvement in the incident, which occurred about 7pm (6pm GMT) on Friday. Continue reading...

Under-resourced army has job of ensuring Hezbollah's compliance with truce while defending national territoryMohammed Bzeeh spent the first hours of the ceasefire cleaning. After the Hezbollah-Israel agreement brought 13 months of fighting to a close last Wednesday, Bzeeh and his family arrived at their village of Zibqin in southern Lebanon to find their home ruined by an Israeliairstrike.Bzeeh immediately set to work, the wiry 18-year-old hefting piles of concrete and metal scrap off his driveway using a rusty shovel. His family watched as he worked, overlooking the street that they had left two months earlier, now lined by the burnt-out husks of their neighbours' homes. Continue reading...

Woman who complained about MasterChef presenter says lack of action shows there is no satisfactory means of reporting sexual harassment and bullying within the TV industry'A letter containing multiple allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Gregg Wallace was sent to the BBC in 2022, but did not prompt further investigation at the time, the Observer can reveal.The letter described a pattern of behaviour" by the MasterChef presenter which clearly fails to meet the sexual harassment and bullying standards that prohibit Unwelcome sexual advances and sexual innuendo'". Continue reading...

Family and friends gathered for speeches and musical performances from the Proclaimers and Dougie MacLeanThe former prime minister Gordon Brown and the Scottish first minister, John Swinney, were among those who gathered at a memorial service for Alex Salmond after his sudden death in October at the age of 69.Tributes were paid to Salmond during the service on Saturday in Edinburgh; held to celebrate his love of Scotland and his commitment to the cause of independence. Continue reading...

Actor known for playing Ron Weasley in Harry Potter franchise has tax affairs disputed in court for second timeThe Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint has been ordered to pay 1.8m in taxes after a legal dispute with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).Grint, best known for playing Ron Weasley in the film franchise, was told to pay the figure in 2019 when HMRC questioned one of his tax returns. Continue reading...

Cash from dictatorships and shell companies is entering the political system via legal loopholesLoopholes in the law are allowing dark money" to infiltrate UK politics, with almost 1 in every 10 donated to parties and politicians coming from unknown or dubious sources, analysis reveals.Cash from companies that have never turned a profit, from unincorporated associations that do not have to declare their funders, and banned donations from overseas donors via intermediaries are all entering the system, according to research by Transparency International (TI). Continue reading...

Cycle chaos on streets has made the south-west London area a scrapyard', threatening pedestrians' safety, say householdersAnyone popping into Harrods for alobster roll at lunch or to pick up anew Jimmy Choo handbag in advance of the Christmas rush may have to watch their step on nearby pavements in case they walk into a haphazardly parked e-bike.The streets surrounding the historic department store have become the unlikely latest front in the problem of e-bikes being dumped on thoroughfares, blocking pedestrians and causing disruption to disabled people, who are trying to navigate the already densely populated paths. Residents in Kensington complain that there are so many e-bikes being parked in some of the streets that they have difficulty leaving their multi-million-pound homes. The area, they say, has turned into a scrapyard" as tourists and commuters dump the rental bikes on the pavement when the designated collection bays are full. Continue reading...

Cristina Pittalis urges mystery woman to come forward to help find son Michael, last seen in JulyThe anguished mother of a British man who vanished in Sardinia this summer has urged a woman from Jersey, who he was with in the days before he disappeared, to come forward and assist with the police investigation.Michael Frison, 25, from Chard in Somerset, went missing in mysterious circumstances from a farm in Luras, a remote, barren area in the north-east of the Italian island on 13 July, the day he was due to return home from a holiday visiting his grandparents. Continue reading...

Warnings that genuine products are bulked out with cheaper sugar syrup prompt international congress to withdraw prizesThe World Beekeeping Awards will not award a prize for honey next year after warnings of widespread fraud in the global supply chain.Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers' Associations, says it will showcase honey from around the world at its congress in Denmark, but for the first time make no awards for the product. Continue reading...

Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein heads preferred as Dail leaders over Harris - although return of current government most probable outcomeVoters in Ireland have expressed dissatisfaction with the taoiseach, Simon Harris, despite a return of the current government being the most probable outcome of the election, according to an exit poll.Of those 5,000 voters surveyed after they placed their vote, 35% named Fianna Fail's leader, Micheal Martin, as their preferred new leader of the 34th Dail. Continue reading...

Six-year-old spanador called Ivor taught to identify tree fungal-like organism killing trees and shrubs around UKSniffer dogs are usually found looking for contraband at airports and train stations, but the UK government is now dispatching trained hounds to find forest-harming pests.A dog has been used for the first time in the UK to successfully identify tree disease. Researchers from Forest Research used a trained spanador - a cocker spaniel labrador cross - to find the tree pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. Continue reading...

British director whose career is being celebrated at the BFI says creative industry increasingly wants safe betsThe veteran British director Richard Eyre has said it is very hard" to get small-budget independent dramas made any more because studio bosses are obsessed with bankable" celebrity names.Eyre, who has worked across film, theatre, TV and opera, winning five Olivier awards and a Bafta, also spoke of the importance of making drama that embraces social realism - especially in an era when the industry is increasingly reliant on superhero films and franchises to attract audiences.Richard Eyre: Weapons of Understanding is at BFI Southbank from 1-29 December, including Sir Richard Eyre in Conversation on 8 December.

Residents of Nabatieh say they do not expect the government to help and have set to work clearing the rubbleFor two months, the only sounds in Nabatieh were the buzzing of an Israeli drone overhead and the dull thump of distant airstrikes. The day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect, the drone was gone and southern Lebanon's second largest city was filled with the sound of hammering and the clang of excavator buckets lifting rubble from blocked streets.We started repairs this morning, why would we wait? We have to stand on our own two feet," said Wafiq Jaber, the owner of al-Sharq sweet shop in Nabatieh, on Thursday. He had watched six weeks earlier on his wifi-enabled cameras as Israeli bombs fell on one building after another until suddenly the footage cut and he knew his shop had been hit. Continue reading...

Bodies discovered on Saturday morning after police were called to shop on Oxford Street in Cambridge Park following reports of an assault

Stores in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT affected as industrial action by up to 1,500 employees stretches into second week

Jan Davidsz de Heem's four paintings of sumptuous food and luxury objects were produced as seriesA quartet of influential still lifes from the Dutch artist Jan Davidsz de Heem will go on display together for the first time since the 17th century at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.The four paintings were produced as part of a series by De Heem, who is considered to be a master of pronkstilleven - a style of ornate still life painting - during the Dutch golden age, depicting displays of sumptuous food and luxurious objects. Continue reading...

Insurgents had recaptured territory around Syria's second city with civilians including children killed in fightingIslamist insurgents have entered Syria's second city of Aleppo in a shock assault, eight years after forces loyal to Damascus seized control of the city.Fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) began a major offensive earlier this week from their base in the Idlib countryside, a slim strip of land in Syria's north-west. It took only three days for the fighting to reach Aleppo, with insurgents capturing territory around the city's outskirts for the first time in four years as Syrian government forces pummelled rebel-held areas. Continue reading...

Recently elected PM Navin Ramgoolam tells parliament contents of negotiations unknown' to new governmentThe Mauritian prime minister has asked for an independent review of the Chagos Islands deal with the UK, according to parliamentary records.According to the Mauritian parliament Hansard record, the new prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam, said during a session on Friday: I wish to inform the house that I have asked for an independent review of the confidential draft agreement agreed so far." Continue reading...

Abrupt' announcement will affect many women who have been planning their conception journeys to begin in early 2025, provider says

About 200 passengers, mostly women, were on vessel that sunk in Niger RiverAt least 27 people have died and more than 100 are missing after a boat capsized in northern Nigeria, authorities have said.About 200 passengers were on the boat that was going from the state of Kogi to neighbouring state of Niger when it capsized on the Niger River, the Niger state emergency management agency spokesperson, Ibrahim Audu, told the Associated Press. Continue reading...

Litigants say AI company used their articles to train its popular ChatGPT software without authorizationCanada's major news organizations have sued tech firm OpenAI for potentially billions of dollars, alleging the company is strip-mining journalism" and unjustly enriching itself by using news articles to train its popular ChatGPT software.The suit, filed on Friday in Ontario's superior court of justice, calls for punitive damages, a share of profits made by OpenAI from using the news organizations' articles, and an injunction barring the San Francisco-based company from using any of the news articles in the future. Continue reading...

Police officer inadvertently disclosed identities and contact details in email update to alleged victimsThe Metropolitan police revealed the names of alleged victims of the Westminster honeytrap" scandal in an accidentally sent email, it has emerged.A police officer emailed some alleged victims updating them on the case, which is due to be heard in court, but inadvertently revealed their names and contact details to each other. Continue reading...

Terminally ill adults with less than six months to live will be given right to die under proposed legislation

All-star version of Do They Know It's Christmas?, spliced together from previous versions, falls short of the No 1 success of those earlier hitsThe 40th anniversary version of Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? has failed to enter this week's Top 40, reaching No 45.The new version of the song was made up of performances spliced together from three previous versions, in an arrangement by producer Trevor Horn. But despite featuring the unusual A-list juxtaposition of George Michael, Sinead O'Connor, Chris Martin, One Direction and more, the new version has not yet matched the success of its predecessors, which each went straight to No 1 in 1984, 2004 and 2014. Continue reading...

Social workers declined to provide short-term foster care for Mazeedat Adeoye whose mother had overstayed visaA two-year-old girl who drowned in a bin containing 9cm of water in a back garden in east London was a victim of gross failures" largely by social workers, a coroner has concluded at an inquest.At the time of her death, Mazeedat Adeoye was being cared for in Dagenham by an acquaintance of her mother, Balikis Adeoye, who had to stay in hospital with Mazeedat's baby brother when he required urgent heart surgery. Continue reading...

Court has ordered recount of vote won by far-right candidate and will decide whether it needs to be rerunRomania's constitutional court has deferred a decision on whether to annul the first-round vote in the country's presidential election until Monday, a day after parliamentary elections in which far-right parties are forecast to post major gains.The court, which had already ordered a recount, considered for two hours on Friday a request to annul the 24 November vote, which was won by Clin Georgescu, a far-right, Moscow-friendly independent who had previously been polling at barely 5%. Continue reading...

Paul Anderson faces allegations he made offensive and discriminatory comments in addition to earlier misconduct claimsA former chief constable is under investigation over claims he made offensive and discriminatory remarks, including one allegedly at an event to combat violence against women and girls, the Guardian has learned.Paul Anderson retired in June from his post as chief constable of Humberside police. His departure was announced just 10 months after taking the role and he was placed under investigation by the police watchdog. Continue reading...

Holly Cairns announces birth of daughter on day of Ireland's general election

Child safety experts say similar move in Britain would penalise young people for the failings of tech companies