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Plaid Cymru's byelection victory signals a seismic shift in Welsh politics that will rattle Westminster

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Exclusive: Ben Munday claims he is co-creator of 2004 images but Levine has called him only a collaboratorAn artist who claims he is a co-creator of two of the most famous images ever taken of the late queen is suing Chris Levine, the photographer who claims sole authorship of the portraits, in a high court dispute.Ben Munday claims he is a co-author of two 2004 portraits of the queen that were created using holography technology, which involves the use of light projection and multiple cameras to render a 3D image. Continue reading...

Police have charged three more men over the death of 45-year-old Thi Kim Tran

Figure caught on camera at Chester Castle among accounts of eerie goings on at historic propertiesAlerted to an intruder, the security guard at Chester Castle knew something was up when his normally fearless dog refused to leave the car. When the guard investigated, he felt a hundred eyes" on him but found no one.The cameras did, however, record a strange, faceless figure walking in front of the main gates, precisely where the medieval gatehouse once stood. Continue reading...

China and India likely to scale back Russian oil imports as Trump tries to bring an end to war in UkraineVladimir Putin has said Russia will never bow to US pressure but conceded new sanctions could cause some economic pain, as China and India were reported to be scaling back Russian oil imports after Washington targeted Moscow's two largest producers.The US on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as nearly three dozen of their subsidiaries, as the Trump administration increased pressure on the Kremlin to negotiate an end to its war against Ukraine. The EU separately agreed to a phased ban on the import of Russian liquefied natural gas, and added two Chinese oil refiners to its Russian sanctions list. Continue reading...

Female members of the military shouldn't have to fight off their colleagues on a daily basis, lawyer says

Rhun ap Iorwerth's party, which wants Wales to become independent, seizes Senedd seat after Reform UK challenge

At least 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting in Russia's war against UkraineNorth Korea has begun constructing a memorial for its soldiers killed fighting in Russia's war on Ukraine, state media reported, as leader Kim Jong-un hailed a historic peak" in ties with Moscow.The so-called Memorial Museum of Combat Feats will be built in the capital, Pyongyang, where Kim and Russia's ambassador to North Korea attended a groundbreaking ceremony, according to a reports by the Korean Central News Agency on Thursday. Continue reading...

Banking industry data shows 629m was stolen in six months from fraud that included gold, wine and propertyThe amount of money lost to investment scams by UK consumers has leapt 55% in a year as cryptocurrency fraudsters intensify their efforts to cheat people out of their savings, data shows.Official UK banking industry data shows that while the total amount stolen by fraudsters increased 3% to 629m in the first six months of this year compared with last year, investment scam losses surged, reaching 97.7m during the period - more than 500,000 a day. Continue reading...

At least 6,000 men a year with hormone-sensitive cancer to get access to darolutamide, which blocks growth with fewer side-effectsThousands of men with advanced prostate cancer in England are to be offered a drug that can halve the risk of death.In guidance published on Friday, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) gave the green light to darolutamide, which attacks the disease by starving cancer cells and has fewer side-effects than existing treatments. Continue reading...

Belgium derails proposal to use billions located in Brussels to fund 140bn loan to Ukraine for its war effortEU leaders have swerved a decision on using Russia's frozen assets to fund Ukraine's defence, despite a plea from Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take swift action to make Moscow pay for its war.Hopes of agreeing a new way of funding Ukraine's war effort were dashed after opposition from Belgium, which hosts most of the Russian central bank funds immobilised in the EU at the Brussels-based institution Euroclear. Continue reading...

New York attorney general challenging appointment of attorney who obtained indictment against her, filing saysThe New York attorney general, Letitia James, on Thursday revealed that her legal team plans to ask a federal judge to dismiss the criminal charges against her on the grounds that the US attorney in eastern Virginia who obtained the indictment was unlawfully appointed, according to a court filing.James's legal team made the move the day before James is scheduled to be arraigned in the US district court in Norfolk, Virginia, where she is expected to plead not guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution. Continue reading...

Splits grow over its remit as survivors angered by effort to recruit chairs from professions that failed to protect themDeep divisions surrounding Keir Starmer's inquiry into grooming gangs were first disclosed by the Guardian last week. But for one of the survivors now refusing to take part, splits first emerged in July, a month after the inquiry was announced.Fiona Goddard, who was abused by a gang while a teenager in a Bradford children's home, said she and other grooming gang survivors were told in June that the inquiry would centre on group-based child sexual exploitation of girls by grooming gangs. Continue reading...

Exclusive: In fresh controversy, the women write to Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood to speak up for safeguarding minister

Four out of five secondary school teachers surveyed say they have heard perplexing viral phrase called outTeachers call it the most brain dead meme" but six-seven slang has invaded classrooms across the UK, with students even painting the numbers on their faces and leaving staff perplexed.A survey of 10,000 teachers found that four out of five working in secondary schools had heard the viral phrase called out last week, with the percentage soaring to 90% among younger teachers. Continue reading...

Nearly 50 backbenchers write to business secretary over potential costs and legal minefield' of upcoming guidance

Strike on 14-19 November is part of escalating industrial action over pay and job insecurityDoctors in England will go on strike for five days in November in a row over jobs and pay.The British Medical Association (BMA) said resident doctors would strike on five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November. Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, make up about half of all doctors in the NHS. Continue reading...

Men, aged 44, 45 and 48, detained by Metropolitan police under section 3 of National Security ActThree men, aged 44, 45 and 48, were arrested in west and central London on Thursday morning on suspicion of assisting a Russian intelligence service as part of what police said was an ongoing national security investigation.They were held under section 3 of the National Security Act, the Metropolitan police said, while searches continued at the addresses where they were picked up plus at a further location in west London. Continue reading...

Soldier F was on trial in relation to events in Derry in 1972 when Parachute regiment shot dead 13 civil rights protestersThe only British army veteran ever charged in relation to Bloody Sunday has been found not guilty of murder and attempted murder.Belfast crown court on Thursday acquitted Soldier F of all charges in relation to the day the Parachute regiment shot dead 13 civil rights protesters in Derry in 1972, a seminal event in Northern Ireland's Troubles. Continue reading...

Julian Hartley says his role at CQC incompatible' with investigation into Leeds trust he headed for 10 yearsThe chief executive of the Care Quality Commission has quit after the announcement of an independent inquiry into maternity failings at an NHS trust he led for a decade.Sir Julian Hartley said staying in his current role was incompatible" with the investigation into Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust (LTH), which he led for 10 years until 2023, and said it could undermine trust and confidence in the regulator". Continue reading...

Andrew Cuomo belittled Zohran Mamdani's lack of experience. The Democrat countered that his much older opponents speak only in the past because that is all they know'The second and final debate before early voting in New York City's mayoral race was a bitter affair, with sharp exchanges and few courtesies.Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, worked to defend his polling lead while his chief rival, Andrew Cuomo, sought to puncture his credibility - dismissing the 34-year-old state lawmaker as a kid" who, he said, Donald Trump would knock on his tuchus". Continue reading...

Bank's drop in quarterly earnings comes after it put aside further 800m to cover expected wave of driver claimsLloyds Banking Group profits have been sent plunging by more than a third by the car loans commission scandal, as the lender steels itself for a surge in compensation payouts to drivers.The high street bank took the 36% hit in the third quarter after putting aside a further 800m to cover the prospective costs of a redress scheme proposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Continue reading...

Children's minister, Josh MacAlister, insists Phillips will remain safeguarding minister as four abuse survivors call for her resignationA minister has said the government has full confidence" in Jess Phillips after four abuse survivors called for her resignation as a condition for their participation in the national grooming gangs inquiry.The crisis engulfing the inquiry deepened on Wednesday as the four survivors accused Phillips of betrayal" and said she was unfit to oversee a process that requires survivors to trust the government". Continue reading...

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Broadcaster was taken off air following what BBC News reported as a conduct complaint'Award-winning broadcaster Kaye Adams has not had any complaints put to her more than two weeks after she was taken off air by BBC Radio Scotland.BBC News reported that she had been taken off the programme after a conduct complaint" but the corporation has not specified the nature of the allegations, and a spokesperson for Adams, who is also a regular host on ITV's Loose Women, confirmed that no complaints had been presented to her by the BBC as of Wednesday. Continue reading...

Independent candidate's smooth campaign has enthused younger voters but views on Nato and Hamas may concern European alliesThe lights dimmed and the youthful crowd packed into Vicar Street, a concert venue in inner-city Dublin, eyes locked on the stage.The emcee made barbed jokes about Ireland's government, but there was little need to warm up the audience. The atmosphere was already electric. He launched a chant. I say Catherine. You say?" Continue reading...

Plaid Cymru and Reform UK have run fierce campaigns in Labour-run south Wales constituencyVoters are going to the polls on Thursday in a byelection that could mark a historic shift in Welsh politics.Labour has run the Welsh parliament since the devolved administration was established in 1999, and Caerphilly has been one of its strongholds. Continue reading...

Experts welcome the addition but urge the health service to improve awareness of checks in the first placeNHS health checks are to include questions about the menopause for the first time, ministers have announced, with millions of women in England expected to benefit.Adults aged from 40 to 74 who do not have a pre-existing long-term health condition are eligible for an NHS health check every five years. The checks are intended to identify those at higher risk of heart and kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and stroke. Continue reading...

Budapest marches by ruling Fidesz party and opposition Tisza will take place in a highly polarised political climateTens of thousands of people are expected to turn out for rival rallies by Viktor Orban's ruling party and his main opponent as they kick off campaigning for elections next year in a highly polarised political climate.The anniversary on Thursday of Hungary's thwarted 1956 uprising against Soviet rule holds a central place in the ideology of the populist far-right Fidesz party, which was once firmly anti-Soviet but has grown closer to Russia under Orban. Continue reading...

Officers pelted with stones and fireworks near Citywest facility after man charged over alleged assault on 10-year-oldTwenty-three people were arrested after an hours-long standoff with Irish police, whose members were directly struck with fireworks, stones and other debris on a third consecutive night of disorder in Dublin.Two members of the Irish police service, An Garda Siochana, were taken to hospital with injuries sustained during clashes with protesters. One garda was struck on the head by a bottle while the other sustained a shoulder injury. Continue reading...

Trump administration hardens stance against the Kremlin day after cancelling a planned summit with Russian leaderThe US has sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia's two largest oil companies, as the Trump administration increased pressure on the Kremlin to negotiate an end to its war against Ukraine.The sanctions were the first against Russia since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, and were targeted to cut key revenues from oil sales that finance the Russian war machine. Continue reading...

School joins University of Pennsylvania, Columbia and Brown in bowing to White House to restore fundingThe University of Virginia (UVA) has become the latest institution to agree to the Trump administration's demands concerning discrimination in admissions and hiring following significant pressure from the justice department.The deal, which the department announced on Wednesday, comes after the president of the esteemed public university resigned in June to resolve a justice department investigation into UVA's diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Continue reading...

South Carolina man in custody over allegations he kept people captive charged with murder of 49-year-old womanA man in South Carolina, who is already in custody over allegations that he kept four people - including a married couple - captive in his basement for years while using their money, is now facing additional charges, including murder.Police announced that 35-year-old Donnie Ray Birchfield Jr has been charged with the murder of 49-year-old Shirley Arnsdorff, as well as first degree criminal sexual conduct. Continue reading...

Zhi Dong Zhang, known by alias Brother Wang', is also wanted by US and has alleged ties to Mexican drug cartelsCuba has arrested an alleged Chinese fentanyl kingpin who escaped custody in Mexico in July and is also wanted by the US, Mexican security sources told AFP on Wednesday.Zhi Dong Zhang, known by the alias Brother Wang" and with alleged ties to Mexico's Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation drug cartels, will remain in Cuba awaiting a decision on his possible extradition, the sources added. Continue reading...

Coroner said a care coordinator might have prompted a multi-agency risk meeting before Cameron Davis killed 74-year-old Lorna EnglandA man with mental health issues and a history of making violent threats murdered a woman in a Devon park after falling off a waiting list for a care coordinator, possibly because a health trust's computer records were compromised by a cyber-attack, an inquest has heard.If Cameron Davis had been allocated a care coordinator, a multi-agency meeting on him may have been called before he stabbed 74-year-old Lorna England, the senior coroner for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, Philip Spinney, concluded. Continue reading...

Conservative leader's spokesperson sets out plan to strip the right of indefinite leave to remain from people claiming benefitsThe Conservative MP Katie Lam was broadly in line" with party policy when she called for very large numbers of legally settled people to be deported from the UK, Kemi Badenoch's spokesperson has said.Setting out Tory plans to retrospectively strip the right of indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from people who claim benefits, the spokesperson said this would not be the case for people getting the state pension, but he was unable to say whether someone could be deported if they received statutory maternity pay or shared parental leave. Continue reading...

Vilnius airport closed overnight for safety reasons after latest incursion of balloons from BelarusDozens of balloons used by smugglers to transport cigarettes from Belarus into Lithuania forced the temporary closure of Vilnius airport overnight.The Lithuanian capital's airport was closed from 11pm local time on Tuesday to 6.30am on Wednesday. Smugglers use the balloons to send Belarusian cigarettes into the European Union, where tobacco products are more expensive. Continue reading...

Strikes, involving over 400 drones and 28 missiles, launched hours after Putin-Trump meeting in Budapest cancelled

Cybersecurity body says more than 5,000 organisations affected in most costly cyber-attack to hit Britain

Woman who quit panel says she was asked about broader approach', despite Shabana Mahmood's insistence focus will not changeGrooming gang victims have accused the UK government of attempting to manipulate them into broadening a national inquiry to include other forms of sexual abuse despite Shabana Mahmood's insistence the focus will not change.They suspect that the government is attempting to deflect focus away from Labour-led councils, wishes to impose a government-friendly chair, and wishes to avoid raising questions over the ethnicity of the perpetrators, many of whom were men of Pakistani descent. Continue reading...

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The warmness shown by the US president was held up as vindication of the PM's foreign policy acumen, and the nerve he had shown in not begging for an earlier meeting

In today's newsletter: Inside a tortuous political saga where fandom and antisemitism once again became a political footballGood morning. In the end, the decision that capped the controversy over the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending their away match against Aston Villa was taken not in Birmingham, or even Westminster - but Tel Aviv. On Monday night, a statement on the team's website said the club would be declining any allocation even if the ban was reversed. Because of hate-filled falsehoods", it added, a toxic atmosphere has been created, which makes the safety of our fans wishing to attend very much in doubt".That means that the government's efforts to make their attendance possible are now academic. But it also heads off a potential nightmare scenario for those in the UK who have decried the ban: Maccabi fans being allowed to attend, and serious disorder breaking out as a result.UK news | Family courts will no longer work on the presumption that having contact with both parents is in the best interests of a child, in a landmark change that domestic abuse campaigners have said will save so many children's lives".Ukraine | Plans to hold a summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Budapest have been put on hold as Ukraine and its European allies rallied in pushing for a ceasefire without territorial concessions from Kyiv. Last night, Russian drones and missiles killed two people in Kyiv and damaged key energy facilities.Covid inquiry | Boris Johnson has rejected claims that his government failed to prepare for school closures at the outbreak of the pandemic, telling the Covid-19 inquiry that it would be amazing" if the Department for Education (DfE) had not realised that plans were needed.Environment | Coal use hit a record high around the world last year despite efforts to switch to clean energy, imperilling the world's attempts to rein in global heating, according to the annual State of Climate Action report published on Wednesday.Business | Almost half a million workers are to receive a pay boost after it was announced that the real living wage paid voluntarily by 16,000 UK companies will rise to 13.45 an hour in April. Continue reading...

Organisation behind $3.6bn international project releases findings of report that found none of the claims of financial mismanagement had been upheld

US vice-president to visit Netanyahu while Hamas joins talks in Cairo meant to iron out differencesThe US vice-president, JD Vance, expressed great optimism" over the Gaza truce plan which he described as durable" and going better than expected", during a visit to Israel on Tuesday, two days after Israeli airstrikes killed 26 Palestinians.Vance's trip, as part of the Trump administration's efforts to strengthen the ceasefire agreement, comes as Hamas officials joined talks in Cairo meant to bridge outstanding differences with Israel. Continue reading...

Photographers capture extremely unusual phenomenon - also known as red sprites - against backdrop of the Milky WayA trio of photographers in New Zealand have captured images of red sprites", or red lightning, one of the rarest light phenomena in the world, in which luminous crimson flashes appear in the sky.New Zealand photographer Tom Rae and Spanish photographers Dan Zafra and Jose Cantabrana set out to shoot the Milky Way over the mrama Clay cliffs in the South Island on 11 October, when they chanced upon the extraordinary event. Continue reading...

New law puts needs of survivors above the needs of rapists', says MP Natalie Fleet, who campaigned for the changeSex offenders will no longer be entitled to parental responsibility for children conceived through rape, under new measures proposed in parliament.In a government-backed amendment to the Victims and Courts Bill, due to come before parliament on Monday 27 October, parental responsibility will automatically be restricted where a child is born of rape. Continue reading...

Kosovo is an outlier in the region, whose other leaders say looking for places to dump immigrants' is evidence the UK is in a very dark place'Kosovo has become the first country to indicate it will accept Britain's refused asylum seekers as part of government plans to set up return hubs" in third countries.Albin Kurti, the prime minister of Kosovo, said he wants to help the UK" and confirmed discussions were taking place with officials from the UK, the Times reports. The plans would seek to send people whose asylum claims had been turned down to foreign detention centres once they had exhausted all avenues of appeal. Continue reading...

Groundbreaking' repeal of presumption of parental involvement in England and Wales will ensure courts place safety of children above all else'The family courts will no longer work on the presumption that having contact with both parents is in the best interests of a child, in a landmark change that domestic abuse campaigners have said will save so many children's lives".The move has been heralded as groundbreaking" by family lawyers and campaigners who have long argued that the pro-contact culture" in the family courts places the rights of abusive fathers over the safety and wellbeing of children. Continue reading...