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EU decides to open membership negotiations with Ukraine; Putin says there will only be peace in Ukraine when we achieve our aims'

Australian Medical Association study also shows $500 difference in benefits between insurers for identical procedures

Bloc's leaders decide to open negotiations after hours of talks as Viktor Orban says Hungary does not want to take part in bad decision'

Report calls for immediate closure of Wethersfield as conditions causing irreparable harm to residentsAsylum seekers housed in the UK's largest mass accommodation site have attempted to kill themselves and set themselves on fire because of conditions no different from Libya", according to a report.The controversial Wethersfield site, on a remote military airbase near Braintree in Essex, is in the constituency of the home secretary, James Cleverly, who said earlier this year in a social media post that the site was not appropriate". Continue reading...

Emmy-winning actor, who also starred in Homicide: Life on the Street, died at age 61

Defence minister addresses US national security adviser as Biden administration presses for end to warIsrael will fight on until absolute victory against Hamas", the country's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told a senior official from the Biden administration, as another minister said the war could last more than several months".Netanyahu's comments were made to Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden's national security adviser, during a visit to Israel hours after its defence minister, Yoav Gallant, told Sullivan that many more months were needed to defeat Hamas in Gaza. Continue reading...

Local authority covering some of richest areas in England says it spent 11m preparing for rail lineA council in one of the wealthiest parts of the UK has warned it faces potential bankruptcy due to the devastating" impact of cancelling the northern leg of HS2.Leaders of Cheshire East council in north-west England said the authority had spent 11m preparing for the high-speed rail link, and this would now have to be written off. Most of this money - 8.6m - had been funded by borrowing and would now have to be funded from the council's already stretched revenue budget. Continue reading...

Decision after hours of tense negotiations in Brussels is critical boost to Volodymyr ZelenskiyThe EU has decided to open membership negotiations with Ukraine, in an unexpected move that will be a critical boost to Volodymyr Zelenskiy and deal a blow to Vladimir Putin.The announcement, made on Thursday after eight hours of tense negotiations in Brussels, came despite the opposition of Hungary, whose prime minister, Viktor Orban, had for weeks said it would veto any opening of accession talks. Continue reading...

Mother expresses relief at finally knowing who killed her daughter, 14, as Robert O'Brien, Andrew Kelly and Donna Marie Brand are found guiltyThree people have been convicted of the murder of a 14-year-old girl in 1996, with the judge describing their actions as depraved, brutal and wicked".Robert O'Brien, 45, and Andrew Kelly and Donna Marie Brand, both 44, were found guilty of killing O'Brien's girlfriend Caroline Glachan in West Dunbartonshire. Continue reading...

US and UK criticise move while one of the five decries transnational repression harassment tactics'Hong Kong police have offered million-dollar bounties for information leading to the arrest of five overseas-based activists, as part of a crackdown on dissent under a China-imposed national security law.The move, which adds to a list of eight overseas activists deemed fugitives by authorities in July, triggered criticism from the US and UK governments. Continue reading...

Israeli military says soldiers have been removed from duties after incident in West Bank cityThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have condemned the behaviour of several of their soldiers who were filmed singing and mocking the Islamic call to prayer over the loudspeaker of a mosque in the city of Jenin.The incident came during three days of raids in the occupied West Bank, during which Israeli troops have killed 12 Palestinians, including one youth shot dead at a hospital, according to Palestinian officials and international health charities. Continue reading...

Three held in Germany and one in Netherlands over plans for possible attacks on Jewish institutions, prosecutor saysFour people have been arrested in Germany and the Netherlands on suspicion of being part of a cross-border Hamas terror plot that German prosecutors said aimed to obtain weapons to target Jewish institutions in Europe.Three others were arrested in Denmark on separate terrorism offences, and the country's politicians indicated they were also Hamas related, while the prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said the threat was as serious as it gets". Continue reading...

Guilty plea at Old Bailey relates to alleged plot involving publication of videos on eunuch maker' websiteA man has admitted to participating in castration by clamping" as part of an alleged extreme body modification plot.Ion Ciucur, 29, a Romanian national who lives in Gretna Green, Scotland, admitted conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm at the Old Bailey on Thursday. Continue reading...

Regulator to look at whether the platform broke the law by giving inaccurate informationThe UK communications regulator has opened an investigation into whether TikTok gave inaccurate" information about its parental controls to the watchdog.Ofcom said it had asked the social video platform for information about its Family Pairing system and that is has reason to believe that the information it provided was inaccurate". Continue reading...

Severe explosion' at industrial estate in Rhondda Cynon Taf on Wednesday evening destroyed at least one buildingA body has been found by search teams after an explosion and a fire at an industrial estate in south Wales that destroyed at least one building.Almost 24 hours after the incident at Treforest industrial estate in Rhondda Cynon Taf, police said the body of a missing person had been found. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary says ceasefire needs to be sustainable' as he appears before House of Lords European affairs committeeRishi Sunak has said that he is open to considering ways in which his Rwanda bill can be improved".With Conservative rightwingers and centrists both wanting to amend the bill, in opposite directions, when it returns to the Commons in the new year, Sunak signalled that the government would be open to accepting some changes.I've been very consistently clear, as have all ministers, if there are ways that the legislation can be improved, to be made even more effective - with a respectable legal argument and maintaining the participation of the Rwandans in the scheme - of course we would be open to that, who wouldn't be?This is a damning report from the cross-party standards committee, clearly concluding that Scott Benton seriously breached parliamentary rules in flaunting his position as a parliamentarian in exchange for remuneration.This is not an isolated case, but comes off the back of a wave of Tory sleaze and scandal. Continue reading...

European court of human rights finds that Polish abortion legislation breached a pregnant woman's right to privacy and family life, after her foetus was diagnosed with Down's syndromePoland's 2020 abortion legislation violated the rights of a woman who was forced to travel abroad to access an abortion, the European court of human rights ruled on Thursday.The court found that while the legislation, which prevented the applicant from accessing an abortion after her foetus was diagnosed with trisomy 21 (Down's syndrome), did not legally amount to inhuman or degrading treatment", it did violate her right to privacy and family life, protected under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Continue reading...

Bill does not include a number of conservative policy demands, though Republicans won concessions on DEI training in militaryCongress passed a US defense policy bill on Thursday that authorizes the biggest pay rise for troops in more than two decades, while leaving behind many of the policy priorities that social conservatives were clamoring for.Lawmakers have been negotiating a final bill for months. Some of the priorities championed by social conservatives were a no-go for Democrats, so negotiators dropped them from the final product to get it over the finish line. Continue reading...

Use of ecstasy and nitrous oxide fall overall and drug use of all kinds falls among younger peopleOne in 100 people in England and Wales took hallucinogenic drugs in the last year, as magic mushroom" use increased by tens of thousands of people, while use of ecstasy and nitrous oxide fell.Increasing use by older adults was behind the rise in psychedelic tripping, according to annual figures about drug use among 16 to 59-year-olds from the Office for National Statistics. Continue reading...

High-level negotiations in St Vincent will discuss Venezuelan president's claim for two-thirds of neighbour's oil-rich territoryVenezuela risks becoming an international pariah if President Nicolas Maduro does not de-escalate growing tensions with Guyana, the neighbouring nation's foreign minister told the Guardian ahead of a high-level meeting between the two countries.We've seen throughout history what happens to nation states who decide to go it alone ... it usually sets the country back decades," Hugh Todd said ahead of the summit in St Vincent on Thursday. Continue reading...

Experts say crumbling concrete and other issues threaten catastrophic failures or major disruption to clinical services'The NHS in England has a record repairs bill of almost 12bn, new figures show, with ministers needing to find more than 2bn for urgent maintenance to prevent catastrophic failure.The annual report into the condition of the health service's estate said on Thursday that the cost of improving rundown buildings and decrepit equipment is two and a half times larger than in 2011-2012, when it stood at 4.7bn. Continue reading...

After almost a decade on the frontline, the city is a wreck, with just 1,200 people left, but it remains of huge symbolic valueFor two months, the Russian army has been trying to seize the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka. First, it launched a massive frontal assault. Dozens of pieces of equipment were destroyed. Then it dispatched armoured columns in different directions. Now, in a third wave, small groups of infantry are being sent to penetrate Ukrainian positions.There are dozens of bodies. They try to advance. We kill them. They send more," said Ivan Smaga, the deputy commander of Ukraine's 25th storm battalion, which is defending Avdiivka. To begin with it was groups of 10 men. Now it's one or two or three without support. Their commander uses them like live meat." Continue reading...

Emmanuelle Debever died on same day the allegations were re-aired on TV, according to French mediaEmmanuelle Debever, a French actor who was among the first to accuse Gerard Depardieu of sexual assault, died earlier this month, the same day her allegations against her former co-star were re-aired on television, French media reported.Debever, who in 2019 accused Depardieu of assaulting her on the set of the 1982 film Danton, died on 7 December, Liberation newspaper reported on Thursday. Continue reading...

Donations in support of refugee and asylum seekers have got off to a strong start thanks to our readers

Standards committee recommends 35-day suspension, which could trigger byelection in former Tory's Blackpool South seat

Singer suffers sudden illness while on tour and cancels remainder of datesPatti Smith has been briefly hospitalised following an illness while on tour in Italy.The 76-year-old singer had been due to perform in Bologna but she cancelled the concert after suffering what the city's Teatro Duse venue described as a sudden illness". Continue reading...

PM dismisses dissent among his MPs to his Rwanda bill as debating society' behaviour

Seyyed Farshchi, 50, worked refugee relentlessly' for little pay and threatened to have him sent back to his home countryA Melbourne chiropractor who subjected a vulnerable refugee to forced labour for his own financial gain has urged a judge not to send him to prison.A county court jury in October found Seyyed Farshchi, 50, guilty of causing a person to remain in forced labour and conducting a business involving forced labour.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Folbigg to seek NSW government compensation payout bigger than any substantial payment' ever made, lawyer says

Students across the state take to social media to share reactions to top marks while premier says results are just a step on your journey'

Broadcaster also hits back during defamation trial at suggestion she was captured' by Brittany Higgins and had no desire to check or scrutinise anything she said'

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Kathleen Folbigg was considered country's worst female serial killer and spent two decades in jail. Now she is free and has cleared her nameKathleen Folbigg was reviled as a baby killer and Australia's most hated woman" when she was convicted in 2003 of murdering three of her children and for the manslaughter of another.But on Thursday, Folbigg's convictions were quashed by an appeals court following an inquiry that examined new scientific evidence and found there was reasonable doubt of her guilt. Continue reading...

Arif Ahmed will face a balancing act when his position - that legal speech gets protected - runs into messy realityEngland's newly appointed university free speech tsar, Arif Ahmed, finds himself in the same position as the leaders of three of the US's elite universities: having to nurture free speech on campus but struggling to explain those principles in real-life cases.Last week the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were at the centre of compelling political theatre as they were grilled by the Republican representative Elise Stefanik on the tension between free speech and antisemitism. Continue reading...

Arif Ahmed of OfS says universities that infringe rights to expression will face fines under new systemUniversity staff and students can make provocative statements on subjects such as Israel and Gaza as long as they do not break laws on incitement or harassment, under proposals by the government's campus free speech tsar.Arif Ahmed, the newly appointed director for academic freedom of speech at the Office for Students (OfS), said universities and colleges in England that infringed the rights to expression of individuals would face fines under the new complaints process. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Peter Johnson says police shouldn't be suspicious of footage if they are dealing with people properly'

This blog is now closed. See all our Israel-Gaza war coverage hereThe Times of Israel is reporting a little more detail on the incident in the Red Sea earlier, which caused the UK maritime trade operations (UKMTO) agency to issue a warning. [See 7.46 GMT]Citing US officials, it reports that two missiles fired from Yemen missed a commercial tanker near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It also reports that a US navy vessel shot down a drone that was heading towards it. Continue reading...

Forty thousand homes and businesses are without power, with flood warnings issued for the Daintree and Mossman River

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International claim that authorities failed to mobilise appropriate resources', while Greece says the ship's crew refused assistanceHuman rights groups have deplored the lack of progress made by Greek authorities in their investigation into the controversial circumstances in which a migrant ship sank off the Peloponnese - leaving more than 500 dead - in one of the Mediterranean's worst ever boat disasters.Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International claim there are credible allegations that the Hellenic Coast Guard's actions and omissions" contributed to the 14 June shipwreck. Continue reading...

Joblessness rate rose despite 61,500 new jobs because the number of people seeking work also grew strongly

League announces penalty less than 24 hours after Green hit Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurki and received foul and ejectionGolden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was suspended indefinitely by the NBA on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he hit Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurki in the face and received a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection.The league announced the penalty handed down by operations chief Joe Dumars and said the suspension begins immediately. It's already Green's second suspension this season. Continue reading...

ACCC report finds there may not be enough market pressure on dominant port operators as companies blame high shipping charges for rising prices

EU leaders prepare for showdown with Hungary over Ukrainian membership talks; more than 50 injured in Russian missile attack on Kyiv

Speaking from Israel, MP plays down significance of UN resolution, saying violence won't end without Hamas being removed from power'

Research by Shelter finds 309,000 people set to spend festive season in a tiny hostel room or freezing doorway' after rise in rough sleepingNearly 40,000 more people than last year are expected to spend this Christmas homeless, in a sign that England's housing emergency is out of control, according to the charity Shelter.The 14% increase in people spending the festive season in hotels, B&Bs and other temporary accommodation emerged from official figures and freedom of information requests. Continue reading...

US navy request comes as Iran-aligned militia wade into the Israel-Hamas conflict, attacking vessels in commercial shipping lanes

SAS veteran Davis describes very vicious' clash outside parliamentThe Conservative MP David Davis has spoken of how he fought off an attack near parliament as he intervened to help a rough sleeper who was being beaten up.Davis, a former cabinet minister and leadership contender, said he aggressively stood between the attackers and the homeless man, and dodged two punches. Continue reading...

Conservative Robert Buckland said he wants bill to be more compatible with European convention on human rights

Concerns raised over security, food and lack of information after resident's suicide as cost of vessel revealed to be more than 22mAsylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm barge are becoming increasingly desperate about their living conditions as the Home Office admitted that the vessel has cost taxpayers more than 22m so far.After the suicide of an unidentified resident on Tuesday, asylum seekers said that conditions had deteriorated since up to 300 people were moved on to the barge. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Key sectors of capital's economy worth billions to exchequer could be left understaffed, mayor warnsSadiq Khan has said ministers' plans to cut legal migration will lead to a full-blown recruitment crisis" in London, with vacancies in hospitality alone still higher than they were pre-pandemic.Net migration to the UK boosted the UK population by 672,000 in the year ending June 2023, and about half (48%) of the country's foreign-born population live in London or the south-east of England. Continue reading...