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Troops anticipating onslaught in eastern theatre of war as winter approaches

Minister seeks to allay community concern about releases but admits full ramifications' of decision yet to be determined

Kathy Burke and Daniel Kaluuya among alumni of her London school, credited with making stars of often working-class studentsTributes have been paid to Anna Scher, an influential drama teacher who taught actors including Kathy Burke, Daniel Kaluuya and Adam Deacon, after the announcement of her death on Sunday, aged 78.Scher, who had taught children in north London to act for more than 50 years, has been credited with creating numerous stars, and was known for championing people from a working-class background. The Anna Scher Theatre (AST), which started as a drama club in January 1968, has a long list of well-known alumni, including Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson, Martin Kemp, Natalie Cassidy, Patsy Palmer, Sid Owen, Jake Wood, Reggie Yates and Brooke Kinsella. Continue reading...

Israel justifies attacks saying they are on Hamas bunkers and infrastructure in the area but the assault comes with diplomatic risks

One person critically hurt after vehicles hit by anti-tank missiles as Israel denies Hezbollah claim it was targeting soldiers

Officers believe claims made before Saturday's pro-Palestinian march stoked far-right violenceSuella Braverman's claims of police bias in the days leading up to Saturday's pro-Palestinian march were a significant factor in sustained" far-right attacks on members of the force, officers believe.One police source with close knowledge of the weekend's events said the intensity of attacks by far-right supporters on police officers in central London was unprecedented". Police believe some were in possession of and high on cocaine. Continue reading...

Tories reject international criminal court's right to investigate war with Hamas but Labour wants an inquiry into potential war crimes

Former Nato leader suggests Ukraine could join alliance without occupied Russian territories; senior Kyiv official played key role in sabotage of Nord Stream pipeline, media report saysDmitry Medvedev, Russia's former leader, posted on Telegram today an apparent response to a proposal put forth by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former Nato secretary general, to have Ukraine join the alliance without its currently Russian-occupied territories. Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chair of Russia's security council, used Russia's oft-touted and inaccurate rhetoric that Ukraine is not a country, and therefore cannot join Nato.Three Russian guard officers were killed in an explosion carried out by the local resistance in Russian-occupied Melitopol, Ukraine's defence intelligence said today.In Kyiv, veterans and family of Ukrainian servicemen held a rally calling for legislation regulating the length of active military duty in Ukraine.Large elements of the Wagner mercenary group have likely been assimilated into the command structure of Russian national guard (Rosgvardiya), the UK defence ministry said in its daily intelligence briefing. The Wagner arm in the Rosgvardiya is likely being led by Pavel Prigozhin, son of the late Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a plane crash shortly after Wagner fighters captured the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and marched on Moscow - acts that Vladimir Putin declared treason".A senior Ukrainian military official played a key role in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last year, according to a joint investigation by the Washington Post and Der Spiegel published Saturday. Roman Chervinsky, a colonel in Ukraine's Special Operations Forces, was the coordinator" of the Nord Stream operation, people familiar with his role told the US and German newspapers.Russian investigators have determined that the freight train that was derailed yesterday in Russia's Ryazan oblast was caused by a homemade bomb on the railway line. Authorities have opened a terrorism investigation into the derailment. While Kyiv has not yet commented on the incident, but Russian officials have previously blamed pro-Ukrainian saboteurs for several attacks on the country's railway system.Three people were killed in Russian attacks on the Donetsk oblast overnight, acting regional governor Ihor Moroz said on Telegram. Two people were killed in Toretsk, wehre 30 houses, an infrastructure facility and an administrative building were damaged in Russian attacks. One person was killed in Minkivka.A 64-year-old man was killed and his wife hospitalised this morning after the Russian shelling of Dnipro district of the city of Kherson, according to regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin.Parts of city of Donetsk have lost power after two projectile strikes in the north-western part of the city. It's unclear if the strikes came from Ukrainian or Russian forces.Russia has accused Kyiv of attacks on border regions. On Sunday, Russia said there had been a series of attacks in the border regions of Bryansk and Belgorod, damaging five train carriages and causing one injury.Russian forces have ramped up attacks in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to gain ground near two key frontline cities. The head of Ukraine's ground forces, said that Russian troops had begun a push to regain territory near Bakhmut.A Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson said on Sunday that Russian forceshad repelled five Ukrainian attacks over the previous day near Klischiivka and Kurdyumivka, two small settlements lying south of Bakhmut. Continue reading...

Home secretary's rhetoric is dividing Conservative MPs, who are frustrated that Rishi Sunak has not sacked herSuella Braverman has demanded further action" against pro-Palestine marches, as centrist Conservative MPs expressed despair at Rishi Sunak's delay in sacking his rogue home secretary.One senior backbencher predicted a lot of noise" from angry colleagues when they return to parliament on Monday, with no signs of imminent action from Sunak after a series of controversies involving Braverman. Continue reading...

Workforce report says that government strategy to boost staff may have come too lateA growing number of doctors plan to leave the profession due to burnout and dissatisfaction, the General Medical Council has said, highlighting fears that the government's long-term strategy for the NHS may have come too late.The GMC's annual report on the medical workforce said the benefits of measures announced by the government in the NHS long-term workforce plan in June, such as the ambition to create more medical school places, will only start to be seen a decade from now". Continue reading...

Wagner arm likely led by son of Yevgeny Prigozhin, killed in plane crash after fighters marched on Moscow, says UK defence ministryParts of city of Donetsk have lost power following two projectile strikes in the northwestern part of the city.Alexey Kulemzin, the Russian-appointed mayor of Donetsk, said on Telegram that there are partial power outages in the Voroshylovskyi, Kyivskyi, Kirovskyi, Kuibyshivskyi, and Leninskyi districts. Continue reading...

Exclusive: fallout includes anger from listeners, potential legal action and concerns from OfcomThe BBC is facing a backlash from listeners, potential legal action and concerns from the regulator Ofcom over controversial cuts to its local radio output.Complaints have been made about the corporation's decision to share more programmes across its 39 local stations and about the axing of presenters. Continue reading...

Forecasters issue yellow warnings for entire island and stronger warning of severe and damaging gusts' for 18 Irish countiesWeather warnings have been issued for the entire island of Ireland as forecasters said Storm Debi would bring a new spell of heavy rain and strong winds. Parts of the island are still recovering fromfloods during intense spells of rain in the preceding storms, Babet and Ciaran. Continue reading...

Michael Grade, now chair of Ofcom, says the government should re-examine the fee and criticised the BBC's handling of complaintsThe head of Britain's media regulator and a former chair of the BBC, Michael Grade, has described the broadcaster's licence fee a regressive tax" that needs to be re-examined by the government.Pointing out that both he, a well-paid executive, and a single mother living on a low income, pay the same 159 licence fee, the former ITV and Channel 4 boss said one of the big questions for the next BBC charter review was whether the broadcaster should be allowed to compete for advertising revenue against commercial stations. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Nearly 31,000 children aged four or under admitted to hospital each year in England due to respiratory virus, with 80% developing acute bronchiolitisThousands of babies and toddlers are being admitted to hospital in England each year with lung conditions probably linked to damp and mould-ridden homes, a senior doctor has warned.Dr Andy Knox, an associate medical director for the NHS, said squalid housing was having a profoundly negative impact on the nation's health" and worsening the crisis in the NHS. Continue reading...

Iranian president had travelled to Saudi Arabia to try to force a more interventionist approach to Israel-Hamas war

Judges rule Derbyshire-born infant with incurable mitochondrial condition should be allowed to dieA critically ill baby girl has been removed from life support after judges ruled that she should be allowed to die, a campaign group supporting her parents has said.Eight-month-old Indi Gregory has an incurable mitochondrial condition and medics say they can do no more for her. Continue reading...

Grattan Institute says Australia's regional roads are a dangerous disgrace' due to paltry federal funding

Transport Workers Union chief says ground crew and pilots fear mistakes being made due to their unsustainable working conditions'

Current childcare funding model does not work for many families in rural and regional Australia, a new report has found

Sandy Bolton raises prospect of reintroducing Newman-era policy scrapped by Labor as she helms powerful youth crime committee

Max Caller, tasked with pulling the local authority from financial brink, calls crisis self-inflicted'Councillors at Birmingham city council ignored the warning signs" of its financial crisis and caused a self-inflicted" disaster that will take years of cuts to rectify, according to the lead government commissioner drafted in to help.Local government expert Max Caller, who has been nicknamed Max the Axe for his unsparing approach to budget cuts, was lured out of retirement to take on the task of fixing England's largest local authority after it effectively declared itself bankrupt. Continue reading...

Residents of Ladispoli, at the seaside near Rome, told to stay at home before animal was sedated and capturedA lion prowled the streets of an Italian seaside town for several hours after escaping from a local circus, before being sedated and captured.Alessandro Grando, the mayor of Ladispoli, near Rome, had told residents to stay at home on Saturday while police and circus staff sought to catch the animal. Continue reading...

As Scunthorpe faces 2,000 job losses in a move to greener tech, MPs and unions fear for workers and a strategic UK industrySteve Barnes, co-owner of the Lucky Tuppence sweetshop on Scunthorpe's high street, has experienced the decline of the UK's steel industry first-hand: he was made redundant in 1981, when Margaret Thatcher's government cut thousands of jobs. Barnes said the lack of investment in steel in the decades that followed has felt like a way of punching the north".In between weighing lollipops and chocolate buttons from the array of jars that line his shelves, he is now contemplating the latest blow to the town: British Steel's plans to axe more than 2,000 jobs in Scunthorpe, out of a workforce of about 3,800, in a shift to greener technology. Continue reading...

Bereaved families frustrated by slow pace of work by memorial commissionA memorial to commemorate the 72 lives lost in the Grenfell Tower fire will not be completed until at least 2027, a decade after the fire, according to a new report.A report, Remembering Grenfell, by the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission says the earliest point" building on a memorial could start would be late 2026. The government has not yet made any decision on the future of the tower in west London, which is now covered in a protective wrapping. Continue reading...

Dreams, surreal visions and pagan rituals play a central part in works now filling galleries and in high demand around the worldWhen artist Stuart Pearson Wright was about five, he was woken by a spectral black dog standing over him. It growled and scratched the wall by his bed, leaving marks still visible the next morning. The incident stayed with him, and when he was older, Pearson Wright was fascinated by the myths of such grims" (spectral dogs). In his new exhibition, he even creates portraits of them.As an artist, he's not alone in his interest in the paranormal. As recent exhibitions and auctions show, a new generation has been inspired by witchcraft, mysticism and spiritualism. The Horror Show at Somerset House, London, last year was a group show about ghosts, monsters and witches, including pieces by artist David Shrigley and Turner prize winner Tai Shani. In the summer, the Tate Modern showed Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondrian. Klint was clairvoyant and believed much of her work was created through automatic painting guided by spirits. Continue reading...

Israeli raids raise tensions in a West Bank paying the human price of warAfter the march through the town centre, the men dispersed: to mosques, to their homes, to the few stands that had opened to sell juice or coffee. Many were armed, cradling their M16 assault rifles and ammunition in their arms. All were young, with close-cropped hair, wearing black T-shirts and baseball caps, trainers or combat boots, and all ready to fight.The day before, many had done exactly that. A raid by Israeli forces into Jenin, a town in the far north of the occupied West Bank, had led to a protracted and chaotic battle. When it ended, 14 were dead and many more injured. These included at least two non-combatants: a 31-year-old paramedic badly wounded when she tried to retrieve an injured militant, and a 40-year-old construction worker who was killed. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said they had detained terrorist leaders, destroyed terrorist infrastructure and seized a stash of handmade bombs. Continue reading...

With waiting times on the rise and a challenging winter ahead, analysts claim the financial bottom line' is being prioritisedRishi Sunak's pledge to slash NHS waiting lists has effectively been downgraded, the Observer has been told, amid an increase in the number of patients in England waiting longer than 18 months for treatment.Hospital leaders are warning that morale is low, staff absences are high, and funds for new equipment and repairs are having to be raided ahead of winter. They have now been told to prioritise controlling costs in favour of some of the extra work being done towards the prime minister's pledge to bring down waits. Continue reading...

Burnt-out car was found on Sunday morning on Mansfield-Woods Point Road in Piries

Rare move comes after years of criticism from Strickland, a strong supporter of former US president Donald TrumpPope Francis has dismissed a bishop in Texas, Joseph Strickland, one of his fiercest critics among US Roman Catholic conservatives, the Vatican has said.It is very rare for a bishop to be relieved of his duties outright. Usually bishops in trouble with the Vatican are asked to resign before submitting a resignation, which the pope accepts. Continue reading...

As Israeli missiles rain down on crowded apartment blocks, survivors are left numb as entire family groups are wiped outThe first call informing Fares Alghoul that a relative's home had been hit by an Israeli airstrike arrived late on a Friday. The internet in Gaza was cut only moments later, forcing him to wait 12 hours to learn the names of the 18 dead. He would have to wait even longer for the confirmation that a further 18 family members stuck under the rubble had also been killed, bringing his family's death toll to 36.As a journalist, Alghoul has covered all Gaza's previous wars but now lives in Canada, where he has had to watch from a distance as generations of his family are wiped out. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. You can read all our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war hereThe al-Shifa hospital director, Muhammad Abu Salmiya, has warned we are minutes away from imminent death" with patients dying by the minute".Speaking from inside the besieged facility in Gaza City to Al Jazeera, he said:All I can say is that we've started to lose lives. Patients are dying by the minute, victims and wounded are also dying - even babies in the incubators.We lost a baby in the incubator, we also lost a young man in the intensive care unit. Continue reading...

Sirul Azhar Umar, sentenced in Malaysia over a politically charged murder, cannot be deported by Australia because he would face the death penalty

Luis Manuel Diaz has described how he spent 12 days trekking through mountains with almost no sleepThe father of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz has spoken publicly of how he endured almost two weeks of arduous treks and sleepless nights while held captive by armed guerrillas on the Colombian-Venezuelan border.Luis Manuel Diaz, 58, said: It was a lot of horseback riding, really hard, a lot of mountains, a lot of rain, too many insects." A weak Diaz, who was helped to and from a chair by his family, told journalists in his home town of Barrancas in Colombia: I couldn't sleep peacefully, it was very difficult, almost 12 days without sleep." Continue reading...

Australian foreign minister calls on Israel to show greater restraint around medical facilities and for Hamas to release hostages

Met assistant commissioner Matt Twist says nine officers were injured while preventing a violent crowd reaching the CenotaphScores of people have gathered in Hyde Park for a stewards' meeting" before the march, the PA Media agency reports.They are all wearing hi-vis jackets, while many have also donned keffiyehs, Palestinian scarves.Armistice Day is a moment of solemn national reflection in remembrance of those who have given their lives in service of our country. It's important that people can use our rail network to safely travel, free from intimidation.That's why I have granted consent for the British Transport Police to make orders under section 14A of the Public Order Act 1986 prohibiting planned protests at various London stations today, meaning anyone taking part will be subject to arrest. Continue reading...

Statet MP Jeff Bourman says his Hunters for the Hungry' proposal will help deal with ballooning deer numbers

Closures at subsidiary Coutts led to resignation of Alison Rose, the chief executive of NatWestNigel Farage is to launch a legal battle with NatWest over the closure of his accounts at its private bank subsidiary Coutts. The debanking scandal ultimately led to the resignation of Alison Rose, the chief executive of NatWest, in July and the departure of Peter Flavel, the chief executive of Coutts, soon after.The former leader of Ukip and the Brexit party said he is instructing lawyers to take action against NatWest, with the aim of turning it into a class action. Continue reading...

Police escort communities secretary as protesters shout Shame on you' shortly after London station sit-inMichael Gove has been mobbed by protesters as he walked through London's Victoria station, moments after a sit-in protest for Palestine ended.Pro-Palestinian protesters chanted shame on you" as the communities secretary, escorted by police officers, made his way through the concourse. Video footage posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, shows a number of protesters waving flags and surging towards Gove as Metropolitan police officers pushed them away and shouted at them to get back". Continue reading...

Doctors accuse IDF of attacking people trying to flee al-Shifa, the hospital portrayed by Israel as the main command post for HamasIsrael's campaign against Hamas in Gaza appeared to be reaching a key moment, with close-quarter battles raging around the most important hospital in the heart of its biggest city.Residents said Israeli forces had been fighting Hamas gunmen all night and throughout the day in the neighbourhood in Gaza City where the al-Shifa hospital is located, considered a key strategic area. Continue reading...

Report proposes memorial to tragedy should emphasise height and visibility' but says tower remains cannot stand foreverThe Grenfell Tower disaster should be remembered with a permanent memorial reaching high into the sky but the building itself cannot remain forever in its current form", the commission established to determine the future of the site has concluded.A memorial that lasts generations should consider incorporating the names of some or all of the 72 people who died in the June 2017 fire and make sure the world can never forget", states a report by the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission circulated to the bereaved, survivors and local people and seen by the Guardian. Continue reading...

Water-stained bill of fare from three days before disaster reveals passengers dined on shellfish, salmon, squab and Victoria puddingIt was not quite the last supper for the first-class passengers on board RMS Titanic, but very nearly. A unique surviving ship's menu from 11 April 1912, going under the hammer this weekend, has revealed the treats that were served on the doomed liner just three days before it hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic.Expected to sell for up to 70,000, the bill of fare poses some interesting questions: among them, who grabbed a menu while making for the lifeboats, and what is Victoria pudding? Continue reading...

The latest Opinium poll shows Keir Starmer's personal rating has slumped but the Tories are also suffering from internal divisions

Police arrest scores of people amid skirmishes with rightwingers in London moments before Armistice Day silence

Yousef Wynne, 39, remanded in custody after Andy Foster was attacked with suspected ammonia in AugustA fourth person has been charged with the murder of a man who died after a suspected ammonia attack, Northumbria police have said.Andy Foster, 26, was injured in a suspected ammonia attack when he opened the door at an address in Wrekenton, Gateshead, on 20 August. Continue reading...

UK's largest survey on knife crime, bullying and gang rivalry has uncovered shocking and unacceptable' levels of violence

Best chances of seeing aurora borealis are in northern Scotland, north Wales and MidlandsThe northern lights could illuminate skies across the UK on Saturday evening into Sunday morning, according to the Met Office.The forecaster predicts the natural phenomenon could be as strong as the lights that were spotted last weekend by webcams from Shetland and from onlookers in central and eastern parts of England. Continue reading...

As sci-fi show's 60th anniversary nears, a collector pleads for BBC to offer amnesty to those with recordings discarded by corporationFor Doctor Who-lovers they are the missing crown jewels: lost episodes of the first series of the TV sci-fi drama, shown in the 1960s. But now film recordings of not just one, but two of the early BBC adventures, both featuring the first doctor, William Hartnell, has been found in Britain by amateur sleuths.The episodes, one featuring the Daleks, would offer viewers a chance to travel back in time without the use of a Tardis. But the Observer has learned that the owners of the rare, rediscovered footage are not prepared to hand it over to the BBC, even as the clock ticks down to the 60th anniversary of the show's launch this month. Continue reading...

Girl stabbed in September in south London was said to leave a legacy of faith, determination and love for justice'Mourners have gathered in Croydon for the funeral of Elianne Andam, who dreamed of becoming a lawyer and was described as leaving behind a legacy of faith, determination and love for justice".The funeral for the 15-year-old, who died after being stabbed during the morning rush hour at a bus stop in Croydon, south London, on 27 September, was held at the New Life Christian Centre on Saturday. More than 2,000 people followed the ceremony on a live stream. Continue reading...

Activists have secured a string of legal victories in Hong Kong but it is a very different story on the mainlandAfter months of pandemic-related delays, Asia's first Gay Games was held in Hong Kong last week, with nearly 2,400 athletes competing. At the opening ceremony, Regina Ip, the convenor of Hong Kong's executive council, said the competition represented the city's commitment to equal opportunity and non-discrimination", and praised Hong Kong's courts for the numerous judgments" handed down in favour of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade.This was met with bemusement by activists and lawyers, who pointed out that Ip's government has opposed each of those judgments, losing in nearly every single case. Since 2018, there have been at least seven cases relating to LGBTQ+ rights heard by Hong Kong's courts, with many reaching the Court of Final Appeal, the city's highest bench. Why are they still wasting taxpayers' money fighting these tooth-and-nail litigations when they're recycling the same arguments and losing?" said Mark Daly, a human rights lawyer who has worked on a number of the cases. Continue reading...