Mohammad Javad Zarif says Israel wants to expand Gaza conflict in order to drag the US into the fightingThe former Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is urging his country not to become embroiled in a direct war with Israel or the US.The best way to defend the Palestinian people was to avoid giving the west a reason to claim they are acting as a proxy of Iran, Zarif said, adding that Israel was trying to lure Iran into such a battle. Continue reading...
by Mark Brown North of England correspondent on (#6GC0A)
British artist's 1947 painting Beach Scene, Lancashire to go to auction after 70 years in Canadian collectionIt is a beach painting full of cheerful hustle, bustle, play and paddling, though the jumpers and hats reveal it is a long way from Saint-Tropez.he 1947 work Beach Scene, Lancashire is a snapshot of an English summer's day, probably in Lytham, and is considered one of LS Lowry's finest seascape paintings. Continue reading...
Owner of Bluewater and Trinity Leeds also says brands are looking for fewer, bigger, better' storesOne of Britain's biggest property developers is shifting its London portfolio from the City of London to the West End as tenants want to be in vibrant locations with easy access to shopping and leisure activities.Landsec, which owns offices and shops around Victoria station and Piccadilly Circus in the heart of London, has sold 2.5bn of properties since 2020 - mostly single-let office buildings in the City, such as the Deutsche Bank and Deloitte headquarters, as well as the Harbour Exchange office block in Canary Wharf. More than three-quarters (76%) of the developer's portfolio is now in the West End and Southwark south of the Thames, up from 58% in 2020, while its City assets are down to 24%. Continue reading...
Masaya reportedly tortured and his body dumped on outskirts of Harare after being abducted while campaigningA Zimbabwe opposition activist has been found dead after he was abducted on Saturday during a political campaign just outside Harare, the Citizens Coalition for Change party has said. It was the second abduction in weeks of an opposition party member.Tapfumaneyi Masaya was reportedly bundled into a vehicle by unknown men while campaigning for the CCC's candidate ahead of byelections on 9 December, the party said. Continue reading...
Its insistence that customers need a police report to get a refund after goods fail to turn up could go against Consumer Rights ActAmazon has been accused of showing contempt for UK consumer law by insisting that customers whose orders fail to arrive submit a police report in order to qualify for a refund.Some buyers have been left hundreds of pounds out of pocket after the retail giant required them to report missing deliveries to police, then refused to accept their crime reference number. Continue reading...
Amnesty says heritage body has fallen short' in its responsibility to thousands of families thrown off the complex in CambodiaUnesco has fallen short of its responsibility to uphold and promote human rights" amid mass evictions at Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple complex, Amnesty International has claimed in a new investigation.The Cambodian government has used intimidation, harassment, threats and acts of violence" to remove about 10,000 families from the world heritage site, the report said. In an unusual move, Amnesty also named Unesco as a responsible actor", arguing that the UN body was made aware of alleged human rights abuses for months but did not investigate or acknowledge them.Additional reporting by Keat Soriththeavy Continue reading...
The barrister has been welcomed as a competent and intelligent choice by centrist ToriesVictoria Atkins might not have the public profile of cabinet peers, but her appointment as health secretary caps several years of steady, if unshowy, handling of briefs in junior ministerial roles.An MP since 2015 and a backer of Rishi Sunak in the 2022 Conservative leadership contest, her elevation has been warmly welcomed by colleagues in the centrist wing of the Conservative party, who also emphasised what they regarded as her competence. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: Why the former prime minister has returned to frontline politics as Rishi Sunak's foreign secretary Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. David Cameron really is the new foreign secretary. In a way, Rishi Sunak warned us: just over a year ago, he told Tory party conference that his mission was to break with a failed 30-year political consensus and usher in something genuinely different. All the same, I don't know if anyone could have predicted that he was planning to go back to a 60-year-old idea, instead. Even Cameron, truly the grown-up's grown-up, was barely out of nappies when Alec Douglas-Home, the last former prime minister to take over at the foreign office, got the job in 1970.On the other hand, it seems ... quite hard to break with a 30-year consensus by appointing one of its architects, even if doing so successfully drives the firing of home secretary Suella Braverman - who lost her job via an unceremonious phone call - from the front pages. He was the future once," the new cabinet minister once teased Tony Blair at prime minister's questions. We can now say that Cameron was the past once, a significantly more mind-bending proposition. The weirdest fact of the day: seven years after his resignation as prime minister, he's still four years younger than Keir Starmer.Israel-Hamas war | Israeli forces have reached the gates of Gaza's largest hospital as hundreds of patients, including dozens of babies, remained trapped inside. Thousands of people have fled al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, but health officials said the remaining patients were dying due to energy shortages amid intense fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas militants. For the latest, head to the live blog.Iceland volcano | Iceland's prime minister has sought to reassure the nation as it braces for a volcanic eruption. Between midnight and early afternoon on Monday, the Icelandic meteorological office detected about 900 earthquakes amid warnings of the significant likelihood of the Fagradalsfjall volcano erupting within days.Fertility | People who donate sperm, eggs and embryos to help others have children will lose the right to anonymity from the moment the child is born, under proposed changes to UK fertility law. The proposal, prompted by the ease with which people can sidestep formal routes to trace donors via private DNA testing and social media, is one of several proposals published by the regulator today.Environment | BP and Spotify were among companies who bought carbon credits at risk of being implicated in potential Uyghur forced labour, an investigation has found. A Guardian investigation found that provider South Pole was aware of the risk of forced labour linked to the scheme in 2021.Counter-terrorism | Downing Street's plan to ban the glorifying of terrorism risks criminalising supporters of the suffragettes, Nelson Mandela, or even the crowd at Murrayfield belting out Flower of Scotland", a former independent reviewer of terror legislation has warned. Continue reading...
by Patrick Butler Social policy editor on (#6GBSC)
Families resorting to desperate measures' and struggling with frightening' level of hardship amid cost of living crisisAbout 2m UK households have been forced to turn off their fridge or freezer to save money as they continue to struggle with what poverty campaigners called a frightening" level of hardship.Nearly half of those households said that since May they had to disconnect their fridge or freezer for the first time, a sign the cost of living crisis was still hurting low-income families, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) charity. Continue reading...
Rishi Sunak's decision to bring a more moderate figure to his cabinet and oust Suella Braverman is viewed as likely to set up a clash with the Tory rightThe return of former PM David Cameron to government as foreign secretary has evoked surprise for many, shock for some, and anger among MPs on the right of the Tory party. The British papers reflect the full spectrum of reactions.The Guardian says: Cameron's shock return in high-stakes reshuffle", noting that the political comeback for the now Lord Cameron marks a return to a more centrist team for Rishi Sunak, particularly given the sacking of Suella Braverman as home secretary. Continue reading...
Incoming PM Christopher Luxon must bring together the libertarian Act party and populist New Zealand First, parties that have major differencesOne month on from New Zealand's general election, the country is still waiting for three parties to reach an agreement on the makeup of the next coalition government.On 14 October, the conservative National Party beat the current centre-left Labour party government, winning a razor-thin majority to govern in a coalition with the ring-wing Act Party. That majority disappeared once additional voting results were announced three weeks later, forcing National to rely on a third party, the nationalist New Zealand First, to reach the 61-seat majority needed to form a government.This story was amended on 14 November to correct the date of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi Continue reading...
by Helen Livingstone (now); Léonie Chao-Fong, Richar on (#6GAVD)
This blog has closed. You can see all our Israel-Hamas war coverage here and see our latest full report on the conflict hereIn case you missed this earlier, hundreds of patients were trapped and thousands of people sought shelter around Gaza's largest hospital on Monday, as Israeli troops and Hamas fighters battled near the compound.On Sunday, witnesses at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City told AFP that violent fighting" raged throughout the night. Continue reading...
WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis fruit puree recalled as reported symptoms include headache, vomiting and diarrheaUS health officials are warning doctors to be on the lookout for possible cases of lead poisoning in children after at least 22 toddlers in 14 states were sickened by lead linked to tainted pouches of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce.Children ages one to three were affected, and at least one child showed a blood lead level eight times higher than the level that raises concern, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. Continue reading...
Regulator says access to DNA testing and genetic matching already allows identification without formally applying for details at age 18People who donate sperm, eggs and embryos to help others have children will lose the right to anonymity from the moment the child is born, under proposed changes to UK fertility law.Existing rules around IVF treatment state that children conceived from donor tissues can apply for details that identify their biological parents only once they reach the age of 18. Continue reading...
Authorities look into Jesus Ociel Baena's cause of death as activists urge full investigation into gender identity-related threatsMexico's first openly non-binary magistrate and a prominent LGBTQ+ activist has been found dead at home in the central state of Aguascalientes.Jesus Ociel Baena, who used they/them pronouns, was celebrated across Latin America for their work to advance the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Continue reading...
The academic was abducted in Baghdad nearly nine months ago and had not been heard from sinceAn Iraqi network has broadcast a video showing a kidnapped Israeli-Russian academic, in the first sign of life from Elizabeth Tsurkov since her abduction in Baghdad nearly nine months ago.Israeli authorities revealed in July that Tsurkov had been kidnapped, blaming pro-Iranian militants after she had gone missing in Iraq in late March. Continue reading...
Staff say they fear rising numbers of deaths at hospital on third day without power, and with shooting and bombing outsideDozens of corpses lay on the courtyard outside Gaza's largest hospital, covering the ground next to a blue refrigerated truck that had long ceased to be able to keep the bodies cool. Most of the bodies were shrouded in colourful blankets originally meant for the living, after the hospital ran out of white bodybags. A severely burnt arm protruded from one of the blankets. Elsewhere, according to video footage seen by the Guardian, the charred body of a child was visible among the soft folds of the material.We are under siege," said Munir al-Boursh, a doctor who is also a Palestinian health ministry undersecretary, speaking from inside Dar al-Shifa hospital. The hospital had intended to dig a mass grave, until Israeli tanks and snipers encircled the the complex on Friday, making movement around it impossible. Continue reading...
Presidential candidate calls former UK prime minister one of the great leaders in the history of humanity' during debateArgentina's libertarian presidential candidate Javier Milei has been pilloried by veterans of the Falklands war after he praised Margaret Thatcher as one of the great leaders in the history of humanity" during the final electoral debate before next Sunday's election.Milei - a self-described anarcho-capitalist - has frequently expressed admiration for Thatcher's free-market policies. But she is still reviled in Argentina for ordering the sinking of the General Belgrano cruiser, killing 323 people on board, during the 1982 war with the UK over the Falkland islands, which Argentina claims as Islas Malvinas. Continue reading...
Shadow chancellor also backs planning changes and industrial strategy, but no unfunded tax cuts'Rachel Reeves is proposing to shake up Britain's pension system as part of a three-pronged plan aimed at boosting the economy's sluggish growth rate if Labour wins the next election.The , wants more of the money saved for retirement schemes to find its way into support for expanding UK businesses, and says her reforms could increase the size of the average pension pot by up to 37,000. Continue reading...
Officials launch investigation after separatist leader posts video warning Sikhs against flying with airline on 19 NovemberCanadian officials and the Royal Canadian Mounted police are investigating alleged threats" against Air India after a separatist leader warned Sikhs against flying with the airline on 19 November.The US-based activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun posted a video last week in which he called for a boycott of India's flagship carrier. Continue reading...
by Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent on (#6GB4V)
Whistleblower claims hospital director colluded with online intermediaries' to sell birth certificates for about 10,750Six people have been arrested in central China's Hubei province over alleged involvement in a baby-trafficking ring linked to a hospital in one of the province's biggest cities.The allegations about Xiangyang Jianqiao hospital first came to light on 6 November via a Weibo user by the name of Shangguan Zhengyi, who describes himself as an anti-trafficking volunteer". Shangguan posted a series of claims about the hospital's director, Ye Youzhi, whom he accused of colluding with online intermediaries" to sell birth certificates for 96,000 yuan (10,750). Continue reading...
Underlying profits, however, up 3.4% to 142m in half year to end of September, driven by higher market rentsSoaring rental rates and increasing demand for office and retail space have boosted profits at the property company British Land, but rising interest rates slashed almost 200m off the value of its portfolio.British Land, which owns sites including the Broadgate Centre in the City of London and the Paddington Central development, reported a 3.4% rise in underlying profits to 142m in the half year to the end of September. Continue reading...
Group famous for house-to-house visits is to open franchises as it also expands deal with SuperdrugAvon, the beauty company famous for building a global business by making house-to-house visits, is to open its first physical UK stores in its 137-year history.The company, which was founded in New York in 1886 by the travelling book salesman David H McConnell, has had to strategically rethink its business model after its 5 million door-to-door sales representatives had to stop making Avon house calls during the Covid pandemic. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent on (#6GB1H)
Exclusive: Peter Wright calls for reform of private rented sector to address serious systemic failings'A loophole allowing landlords to rent out squalid homes is contributing to shameful" conditions of the type seen nearly a century ago, the head of England's environmental health chiefs has said.Peter Wright called for wholesale reform of how the private rented sector is regulated to address serious systemic failings" that leave tenants at the mercy of rogue landlords. Continue reading...
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