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Under proposed scheme, an application could be made about a person convicted of a serious violent or sexual offence punishable by seven or more years in prison. But is it legal?

Watchdog says Services Australia and the Department of Social Services did not act promptly' to address the issue and calls on agencies to apologise

US military says the destroyer Carney shot down three drones as US Central Command says they believe attacks fully enabled by Iran'Three commercial vessels came under attack in international waters in the southern Red Sea, the US military said on Sunday, as Yemen's Houthi group claimed drone and missile attacks on two Israeli vessels in the area.Today there were four attacks against three separate commercial vessels operating in international waters in the southern Red Sea," the statement from the US Central Command reads. We have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran." Continue reading...

Detectives appeal for information about butcher Paul Norton, who disappeared in 1989

EU and UK carmakers have secured just 16% of lithium, cobalt and nickel needed to hit 2030 targets, says studyEuropean carmakers have secured less than a sixth of the key raw materials they will need by 2030 to make electric vehicle batteries, according to analysis that highlights the expected scramble for green-tech resources.Carmakers have secured contracts for 16% of the lithium, cobalt and nickel required to hit their 2030 electric car sales targets, according to public disclosures analysed by Transport & Environment (T&E), a Brussels-based campaign group. Continue reading...

Director behind Dunkirk, Inception and the Dark Knight trilogy awarded honour for pushing limits' of cinemaChristopher Nolan, the film director behind movies including Oppenheimer, Dunkirk and Interstellar, is to be awarded a BFI fellowship for constantly pushing the limits" of cinema.The honour, which is often awarded to actors and film-makers towards the end of their careers, will go to Nolan at what appears to be the peak of his. Continue reading...

Person finally passed at Worcestershire centre, says AA, spending 1,38o in processA learner driver failed the theory test 59 times before finally passing after spending 1,380 and taking 60 hours, the AA Driving School has said.The person, who has not been named, passed at a test centre in Redditch, Worcestershire, taking the record for the most attempts ever made in the UK. Continue reading...

Competition among sellers will increase as mortgage rates settle at elevated' level, website predictsAverage house prices in the UK will fall by 1% next year as competition increases among sellers, Britain's biggest property website has forecast.Sellers were likely to have to price more competitively to secure a buyer in 2024, while mortgage rates would settle down though remain elevated", said Rightmove. Continue reading...

IDF spokesperson says troops coming face-to-face with terrorists and killing them'

Suspect detained after German-Filipino man killed and two - one British and one French - injured near Eiffel TowerA 26-year-old man suspected of killing a German-Filipino tourist and wounding two others near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday night had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a video released online.The French anti-terrorism prosecutor, Jean-Francois Ricard, said the French suspect, named as Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, had recorded a video before committing the act", in which he spoke in Arabic, swore allegiance to Islamic State and supported its jihadists in different areas from Africa to Iraq, Syria and Pakistan. Continue reading...

Post-Thanksgiving box office is notoriously slow, but concert movie defied odds, opening in first place with $21m in ticket salesBeyonce ruled the box office this weekend.Her concert picture, Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce, opened in first place with $21m in North American ticket sales, according to estimates from AMC Theatres Sunday. Continue reading...

North Wales, the West Midlands, northern England and parts of Scotland expected to be affectedParts of the UK are forecast to see further snow and ice which is expected to cause local travel disruption on Monday.The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning of snow for north Wales, the West Midlands and northern England from 6pm on Sunday to 12pm on Monday. A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is also in place for the central eastern half of Scotland until midday on Monday. Continue reading...

Presenters make comments in reaction to question asking if Rishi Sunak might be a potential future campmateI'm a Celebrity ... Get Me out of Here! presenters Ant and Dec have called for the reality programme to take a break from having politicians as contestants.Asked whether Rishi Sunak would be a potential future campmate, Dec said: I think we do a year without any politicians." Agreed, agreed, agreed," Ant responded. Continue reading...

Minister, MEP and wife of Labour leader Neil, Kinnock, who has died at 79, spoke out on issues from nuclear weapons to apartheidThe campaigner and politician Glenys Kinnock, who died on Sunday with Alzheimer's disease, was born into an activist family in 1944.Her parents - Cyril Parry, a trade unionist and railway signalman, and Doris Evans - were credited with instilling in their daughter a strong sense of social justice and a love of Wales. She was born in Northamptonshire, but soon afterwards the family moved back to their native Holyhead, where Glenys learned to speak Welsh. Continue reading...

Committee head says report of 15m being paid on top of 140m already spent shows total disregard' for parliamentary scrutinyMinisters are deliberately hiding the mounting costs of the Rwanda deportation scheme from the public, the head of an influential parliamentary watchdog has told the Guardian, as insiders expect a new deal with the African country to be signed off within days.Dame Diana Johnson, the chair of the home affairs select committee, said the government had total disregard" for parliament's rights to scrutinise the key immigration policy after a senior civil servant said that any extra costs on top of the 140m already paid to Rwanda would not be disclosed until the summer. Continue reading...

Police say explosion at Mindanao State University gymnasium in Marawi could be revenge by pro-Islamic State militantsPhilippine forces were on high alert after a bomb killed four people and wounded many more during a Catholic mass in a university gymnasium in the south of the country, an attack the authorities called Islamist terrorism.I condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless and most heinous acts perpetrated by foreign terrorists," said the president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Extremists who wield violence against the innocent will always be regarded as enemies to our society." Continue reading...

Ukraine says Russian troops committed war crime as video appears to show two men surrendering before being shotThere it is, on a wintry morning: charred masonry, gnarled metal, glass shards, rubble and dust.Yet another ravaged building in Ukraine: each has its own story, and this violation is against Kherson's regional library for children, a place of effervescent creativity with a wonderful collection, named Dnipro Seagull library, after the birds that soar over the city's mighty river - a symbol of the region. Continue reading...

Family say she died in her sleep and her husband Neil, the former Labour leader, was with her in her final momentsGlenys Kinnock, the senior Labour politician and wife of the former leader Neil Kinnock, has died aged 79.In a statement on Sunday, her family said: It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of Glenys Kinnock. Glenys died peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of Sunday morning at home in London. She was the beloved wife and life partner of Neil, the cherished mother of Steve and Rachel and an adored grandmother." Continue reading...

Video shows two unarmed Ukrainian soldiers being shot dead as they emerged from dugout near Avdiivka

Members campaigning against men-only rule say numbers opposed to change had fallen due to revised legal adviseThe slow-moving campaign to force the Garrick, one of London's last remaining gentlemen's clubs, to admit women has notched a partial victory with an internal poll revealing that a majority of members are in favour of dropping the men-only rule.This is the second significant development in the space of a year in the remarkably languid battle for gender equality at the club, which counts among its members the former supreme court judges Lord Neuberger and Lord Sumption, actors Hugh Bonneville and Stephen Fry, and Michael Gove, a cabinet minister. Continue reading...

Demonstration is first time abductees' families have come together with other activists

A growing number of people are discovering the joys of going to makers' markets, where the public buy directly from craftspeopleWhen product designer Ben Watson went to his first ever craft fair in October, he didn't have great expectations. I thought it would be akin to a car boot sale, with retirement-age couples having a nose around to fill their Sunday," he says.Watson is part of Green Grads, a scheme that supports makers using recycled or waste materials. So the University of Northumbria student had already had his elegant lamps made from discarded vape cases displayed at Heal's furniture store in London and at Grand Designs Live, Birmingham. A stall at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair (GNCCF) at Victoria Baths, Manchester, didn't seem like a big deal. Safe to say I was surprised at the huge variety of attendees, most of whom engaged with makers throughout the day, creating a buzzing atmosphere," he says. Each stall offered something wholly unique, which made walking the halls of the fair a real journey of discovery, never quite sure what's around the corner." Continue reading...

Staff at Iceni Care Home say vulnerable residents were treated as if they were on a farm' to reduce workloadCare workers at a private care home forced dementia sufferers out of bed as early as 5am and woke them by blasting loud radio music to save money, whistleblowers have alleged.The management of Iceni Care Home in Swaffham, Norfolk, received repeated complaints about the practice this summer, as concerned staff said vulnerable residents were being treated as if they were on a farm" in order to reduce the workload on daycare staff. Continue reading...

Labour leader risks wrath of his own party by hailing sense of mission' of former Conservative prime ministerKeir Starmer has praised Margaret Thatcher's sense of mission" as he makes a pitch for Conservative voters heading into the next election.The Labour leader picked Thatcher as one of three former prime ministers he wanted to emulate if he became prime minister, alongside his Labour predecessors Tony Blair and Clement Attlee. All three, he said had a drive and sense of purpose that defined their premiership. Continue reading...

Ziad, a 35-year-old Palestinian, writes a letter to Santa, asking if he has any safety or hope he can offer the children of Gaza

Health secretary, Victoria Atkins, urges doctors to settle with government over pay and conditionsRishi Sunak is in danger of missing his target to cut NHS waiting lists unless doctors drop plans to take industrial action over the coming months, the UK health secretary has warned.Victoria Atkins on Sunday urged doctors to come to an agreement with the government over pay and conditions, suggesting the prime minister's waiting list pledge would not be hit unless they do. Continue reading...

The Royal College of Nurses is demanding an improved pay offer after generous deal with consultantsRishi Sunak has been warned he faces the prospect of more strike action in the new year unless the government corrects" a decision to hand nurses one of the lowest pay rises in the public sector.Nursing leaders said it was an absolute disgrace" that their members had not been prioritised in the last year, adding that they would consider reballoting members over strikes if necessary once they had guided the NHS through winter. The warning follows a pay deal for NHS consultants that came on top of rise that was already larger than that offered to nurses. Continue reading...

Guyana considers poll on Essequibo by Nicolas Maduro's government a step toward annexationVenezuelans are voting in a referendum to supposedly decide the future of a large swath of neighbouring Guyana of which their government claims ownership, arguing the territory was stolen when a north-south border was drawn more than a century ago.Guyana considers the referendum a step toward annexation and the poll has its residents on edge. It asks Venezuelans whether they support establishing a state in the disputed territory known as Essequibo, granting citizenship to current and future area residents, and rejecting the jurisdiction of the United Nations' top court in settling the disagreement between the two South American countries. Continue reading...

Many have little or no income after the closure of crossings into Israel and restrictions on workers, according ILOHundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank have lost their jobs or had their salaries frozen after the Israeli authorities cancelled their work permits and imposed severe restrictions on crossings after the 7 October attacks.Approximately 182,000 Gaza residents who work in Israel and the settlements had their employment terminated, initial estimates by the International Labour Organization (ILO) suggest, while about 24% of employment in the West Bank has also been lost - equivalent to 208,000 jobs - as a result of the Israel-Hamas war. Continue reading...

Survey found stores put foods high in fat, salt or sugar in prominent locations despite government regulationsSome supermarkets are flouting pester power" rules aimed at tackling childhood obesity, a new report has found.In a survey, Obesity Health Alliance (OHA) and Food Active found that about a quarter of the 25 stores they visited had put sweets, crisps, fizzy drinks or other so-called less healthy" foods in prominent parts of the shop, such as close to checkouts or in end-of-aisle displays. Continue reading...

The journalism foundation board did not say it would withdraw Seven's shortlisting for the 2023 scoop of the year award for Liam Bartlett's interview with Lehrmann

Also on Sunday, families and friends of hostages taken by Hamas addressed a gathering at a Sydney synagogue

Adrian Schrinner says controversial plans for Brisbane's Gabba stadium were the final straw and accuses Palaszczuk government of ignoring stakeholders

People who worked for or were affiliated with the British Council may lose babies as government delays relocation to UKPregnant Afghan women who are eligible for resettlement in the UK have been told their babies may not survive unless they are urgently evacuated.The women, who worked for or are affiliated with the British Council, should be entitled to relocation through the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme (ACRS). Despite Foreign Office and Home Office instructions to move to Pakistan and await relocation, they are stuck in hotels with limited access to medical care nearly two years after the scheme launched. Continue reading...

A health crisis is looming as residents fleeing the north are crowded into a small area that lacks basic services

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PM's blunder' highlights the issue of the disputed Parthenon sculptures, fuelling campaign to send them home to AthensAn air of optimism pervades the Acropolis Museum. Blown in on a breeze from Britain, it has come to fill its cavernous lobby, corridors and upper gallery, home of the embodiment in marble of the glory that was the golden age: the Parthenon sculptures.In a week when the row over the fifth-century BC antiquities has erupted with renewed vigour, the goalposts have moved in unexpected ways. Which is why Nikos Stampolidis, classical archaeologist by profession, and for the past two years the museum's director, is in ebullient mood. It has been a magnificent week," he told the Observer. I think it's fair to say events are moving us forward and are in our favour. I'm hopeful and very optimistic." Continue reading...

The magnitude 7.5 quake in Mindanao triggered tsunami warnings in Japan and more than 600 aftershocksPhilippine residents were allowed to return to their homes on Sunday after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck the country's south, killing at least one person, with disaster officials reporting minor damage to some infrastructure.The Saturday night quake shook parts of Surigao del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces, triggering coastal evacuations and tsunami alerts in the country and in Japan. Continue reading...

The draft laws allow the government to apply to a court to put migrants released after a landmark high court decision back in detention

A team from Israel's Mossad intelligence services has been ordered home after talks in Qatar about another pause in fighting in Gaza reach a dead end'

Australian federal police says platforms allow players to act out an extremist ideological narrative, disseminate propaganda and recruit other users

Russia attempting to quell dissent from wives of soldiers deployed in Ukraine; former Ukraine president Poroshenko prevented from leaving the country

Police said the man was expected to be charged with murdering his wife after she was found dead

Labour leader says former PM set loose our natural entrepreneurialism' in appeal to Tory voters to back himKeir Starmer has praised Margaret Thatcher for effecting meaningful change" in Britain in an article directly appealing to Conservative voters to switch to Labour.Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, the Labour leader said Thatcher had set loose our natural entrepreneurialism" during her time as prime minister. Continue reading...

MoD says any information on the potential whereabouts of captives will be shared with Israel

Drivers urged not to make unnecessary journeys as cars stuck in traffic and some roads impassableCumbria police have declared a major incident and warned against unnecessary journeys after heavy snowfall on the county's roads, as freezing conditions hit the UK.Police said a multi-agency response" is under way, with reports of cars stuck in traffic and some roads in the South Lakes area impassable due to the snow. Continue reading...

Actor, 50, sustains injury hours before the quarter-finals, leaving just four celebrities in competitionNigel Harman has withdrawn from Strictly Come Dancing after sustaining a rib injury just hours before the quarter-finals of the competition.The Casualty actor, 50, had been due to compete with a Charleston to Step in Time from Disney's Mary Poppins with his partner, Katya Jones, on Saturday night. Continue reading...

Conservative MP blames stress of job as under-secretary of state in Department for Environment for 2018 illnessThe Conservative MP Therese Coffey has claimed she came close to dying" from a brain abscess and blamed it on the stress of being a government minister.In an interview with the Sunday Times, Coffey revealed she was diagnosed with the rare brain abscess in May 2018, after she had pain in her head for several days. Continue reading...

As pressure grows on Israel to avoid civilian deaths, IDF believes killing leaders will collapse organisation

Exclusive: Minns government to place every aspect of housing under the microscope' as it confronts rental crisis