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Downing Street refuses to endorse home secretary as he says his aim is to reduce number of people crossing Channel on small boats to zero'. This live blog is closed

Media tycoon and pro-democracy activist is accused of conspiring to commit foreign collusion and publish seditious materialJimmy Lai has pleaded not guilty to all charges at the resumption of his national security trial in Hong Kong.The media tycoon and pro-democracy activist is facing up to life in prison if found guilty on the charges against him, brought under the 2021 national security law and a colonial-era sedition law. Continue reading...

Man reportedly shot at the building and fired additional rounds while inside, but no one was injured by the gunfirePolice have arrested a Colorado man who they say broke into the state's supreme court building and held a security guard at gunpoint.Authorities have said the break-in is not connected to previous threats received by Colorado supreme court justices after their decision last month to remove Donald Trump from the state's 2024 Republican primary ballot. Rather, they said it resulted from a nearby car crash in which one motorist pulled a gun on another. Continue reading...

Two new studies show female film-makers still underrepresented despite recent successes such as BarbieGreta Gerwig's Barbie may have been the top-grossing film of 2023, but women are still dramatically underrepresented behind the camera in Hollywood, according to two major studies of the industry.At the same time, major studios that pledged to re-examine their diversity and inclusion practices in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 still fail to produce many films from people of color, according to USC's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. The center's latest report, titled Inclusion in the Director's Chair, called the entertainment industry's pledges to promote inclusion performative acts" and not real steps towards fostering change". Continue reading...

Hundreds evacuated from burning passenger jet after collision with coastguard plane at Haneda airport

Figures show 98,599 people awaiting a decision, as ministers face questions over unresolved legacy' cases being counted as cleared

Portraits and objects explore those who looked after the royals, from the keeper of ice and snow' to the groom of the stool'From pages to cooks, and wet nurses to seamstresses, little is known about the servants and courtiers who ran the royal palaces of Britain over the centuries.They came from all walks of life and all corners of the world, managing life at the royal court and attending to the needs of their royal masters and mistresses. Continue reading...

Judge tells Alice Wood she may never be released for killing Ryan Watson in May 2022A philosophy student has been found guilty of murdering her boyfriend when she lost her temper" and drunkenly ran over him with her car, dragging him underneath.Alice Wood, 23, used her Ford Fiesta as a weapon when she hit partner, Ryan Watson, 24, near the home they shared in Rode Heath, Cheshire, at about 11.30pm on 6 May last year. Continue reading...

Mogadishu recalls ambassador to Ethiopia over null and void' Gulf of Aden port agreementSomalia has promised to defend its territory by any legal means" and recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia after Addis Ababa struck a deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.Mogadishu called the surprise pact, which would give landlocked Ethiopia long-sought access to the Gulf of Aden, a clear violation" of its sovereignty and appealed to the international community to stand by its side. Continue reading...

Dr Iain Kennedy calls for higher pay and better facilities and training to stem vacancy crisis in remote areasThe leader of Scotland's doctors has called for rural GPs to get higher pay and special status to cope with a critical shortfall of medics in the Highlands, islands and rural counties.Dr Iain Kennedy, the chair of the British Medical Association in Scotland, said urgent action was needed to reverse a crisis with doctors quitting rural practices in growing numbers, which had left many remote areas dependent on locum GPs who are paid 900 a day. Continue reading...

Shoppers switch to discounters and buy more own-label goods to offset hefty food price inflationThe grocery discounters Aldi and Lidl both rang up their best ever Christmas sales performance in the UK as shoppers sought ways to save cash during the cost of living crisis.Lidl's sales rose 12% in the four weeks to Christmas, helped by an 11% rise in sales of the chain's premium Deluxe own-label foods, while sales of its Montaudon brut champagne doubled. Continue reading...

Seven of at least 148 people released after November judgment have since been rearrestedA further two former immigration detainees released in the wake of the high court's NZYQ ruling have been rearrested after breaches of their conditions.The men's arrests over the Christmas period bring the total number of arrests to seven since the high court ruled that indefinite detention is unlawful where it is not possible to deport the non-citizen. At least 148 people have been released as a result of the November ruling, sparking a political crisis for the Albanese government. Continue reading...

Sir Martyn Oliver says he is a proud northerner who has taken on some of the most difficult and damaged' schoolsTurning around some of the toughest schools in England is the ideal preparation to become Ofsted's chief inspector when schools are still struggling after the Covid crisis, according to Sir Martyn Oliver.With 28 years as a teacher and school leader behind him before being appointed to lead Ofsted, Oliver has spent the past 14 years of that time as headteacher and chief executive with the Outwood Grange academies trust, which runs 41 primary and secondary academies in the Midlands and north of England. Continue reading...

Firm says he is a self-employed subcontractor, but he says he is a worker and should get holidays and sick payA fitter working for the furniture chain Sharps Bedrooms is taking legal action for better employment rights in a case that could open the door to improving conditions and pay for thousands of gig economy workers fitting kitchens, bathrooms and cupboards for big chains.David Lockwood, who has been classed as a self-employed independent subcontractor by Sharps, says he should instead bedefined as a worker - an official employment status which comes with benefits including holiday pay, statutory sick pay and the right to the legal minimum wage. Continue reading...

Tyalgum residents hit by devastating flooding in 2022 have stepped up to support each other again after being isolated for nearly two daysResidents of a small town near the New South Wales-Queensland border still grappling with the fallout from major flooding in 2022 have banded together to support each other after the community was again hit by severe weather.Tyalgum, a Tweed Shire village of about 500 people in north-eastern NSW about 70km from the Gold Coast, was cut off by flood waters for nearly two days over the New Year's period. Continue reading...

Fisherman who narrowly escaped attack north of Mackay said he had fished in the spot for decades but never seen a crocodile behave in that wayA report of a large crocodile leaping into a fisherman's boat has triggered an investigation into possible threats to public safety and whether to relocate the animal.A man was fishing from his tinnie at Jane Creek near St Helen's Beach, north of Mackay, about 10am on December 31 when he saw a crocodile approaching the boat. Continue reading...

Husband Rohan Dennis, a fellow world champion rider, has been charged with killing Hoskins with his vehicle on the weekendThe devastated family of world champion cyclist Melissa Hoskins have remembered her as a freewheeling spirit with a big heart as they struggle to come to terms with her death.The 32-year-old mother of two died in hospital after she was struck by a car on Saturday night in Adelaide's inner north. Continue reading...

Sales of 1,589 bottles prove Lords is archaic and out of touch' during cost of living crisis, says the SNPAlmost 90,000 worth of champagne was bought for events within the House of Lords last year and from its gift shop, according to new figures, the highest level for five years.Details of the sales - equating to 1,589 bottles - were obtained by the Scottish National party, which claimed this proved the Lords was archaic and out of touch" at the time of a raging cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

Safety bureau's interim report says drug in Ashley Jenkinson's system unlikely to have affected his flyingA helicopter pilot among four people killed in a mid-air collision on the Gold Coast had cocaine in his system but at a level unlikely to have affected his flying, a preliminary investigation has found.The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) on Tuesday released an interim report on the 2 January 2023 collision between two helicopters near Sea World on the Gold Coast. It found some passengers weren't wearing their seatbelts properly. Continue reading...

Disaster recovery minister urges caution as up to 350mm of rain expected in very dangerous forecast' for storm-hit region of stateAustralian defence force personnel will be deployed across storm-hit south-east Queensland, as rain continues to pummel the country's saturated east coast.The Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday warned of potentially life-threatening flooding, with alerts stretching from Maryborough in Queensland down to the northern rivers in New South Wales. Some areas can anticipate up to 300mm of rain, after more than 500mm fell on parts of the Gold Coast in 48 hours over the new year.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that Lee's assailant had been arrested at the scene in the port city of BusanSouth Korea's opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung has been hospitalised after being attacked during a visit to the southern port city of Busan, sustaining injuries that health officials said were not life threatening.Lee, 59, was stabbed on the left side of his neck with a weapon by an unidentified man pretending to be a supporter, South Korean news agency Yonhap said. The weapon was approximately 20 to 30cm long, according to eyewitnesses. Continue reading...

Putin says Russia will intensify' strikes on military targets in Ukraine; Zelenskiy says Moscow is suffering major lossesRussian president Vladimir Putin said that his forces would intensify strikes on military targets in Ukraine, after an unprecedented Ukrainian attack over the weekend on the Russian city of Belgorod. We're going to intensify the strikes. No crime against civilians will rest unpunished, that's for certain," Putin said during a visit to a military hospital on Monday. We are doing that today and tomorrow we will continue doing it," he said.The death toll following Ukrainian strikes on Belgorod has risen to 25, according to the region's governor. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Monday a four-year-old girl died from injuries sustained in the attack. The attack on Saturday came after Moscow launched a large-scale attack on Ukrainian cities on Friday.Ukraine claims Russia has launched a record number' of attack drones on New Year's Day. Ukraine's air force said 87 out of 90 drones had successfully been shot down.Russian drones attacked a university and a museum linked to two of the most prominent 20th century defenders of Ukrainian national identity on Monday, leaving locals vowing to repair the damage. The first smashed windows and much of the roof at the National Agrarian University, outside the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where Stepan Bandera - a hero in Ukraine but a villain according to the Kremlin - studied. The second ravaged a nearby museum devoted to Roman Shukhevych.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Economist that the notion that Russia was winning the nearly two-year-old war was only a feeling" and that Moscow was still suffering heavy battlefield losses. Zelenskiy, in an interview published on Monday, provided no substantiation of his allegation on Russian losses. He said Ukraine's priorities in 2024 included hitting Russia's strengths in Crimea to reduce the number of attacks on his country as well as protecting key cities on the eastern front.In the interview, Zelenskiy rejected any suggestion that Moscow was interested in peace talks, pointing to Moscow's repeated waves of aerial strikes. I see only the steps of a terrorist country," he said.Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...

Figure estimated to be down by a fifth, as rising interest rates and high house prices had impact

Patients registered with GPs in England exceeds population meaning practices could be getting money for people who are not realThe number of patients who might not exist but are registered with GPs has risen by almost two-thirds over the last five years, figures suggest.Ghost patients' refers to when more people are registered with GP practices than are in the population. GPs are paid for patients on their list, meaning practices could be receiving millions of extra pounds for people who may not be real. Continue reading...

PM promised to clear backlog of cases from before June 2022 by end of 2023 but 4,500 complex cases need further checksThe Home Office is yet to make decisions on thousands of asylum applications from before June 2022 despite Rishi Sunak's promise to clear the legacy backlog.Caseworkers have been offered financial incentives to help hit the prime minister's target of processing 92,000 cases from before June 2022. But in a statement released on Monday, the department said 4,500 complex cases from the backlog were still subject to further investigation. Continue reading...

Major tsunami warnings downgraded but residents in coastal areas told not to return to homesA powerful earthquake has struck central Japan's western coastline, triggering waves over a metre high and prompting tsunami alerts and warnings for people to evacuate.The quake, which is estimated to have been magnitude 7.6, struck the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture on the main central island of Honshu at about 4.10pm local time (07.10 GMT). It knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and disrupted flights and rail services. Continue reading...

Hospital bosses worry BMA will not honour agreement to return junior doctors to work in event of major incidentNHS bosses fear patient safety could be compromised during this week's junior doctors strikes if medics do not honour an agreement to abandon picket lines if hospitals become overwhelmed during the winter crisis.Hospital bosses can ask the British Medical Association (BMA) to allow junior doctors to return to work to help if an emergency arises during their six-day strike starting on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Buildings collapse, trapping residents, and fires break out but tsunami warning lowered after series of major earthquakes in Japan

I cried. And then I watched it back and cried again,' says one as nation processes shock royal broadcastIt began like any other Danish New Year's Eve. Martin Ebmark, a hotelier from the central town of Billund, was, like everyone", sitting watching the queen's annual address on the television with his family.He and his wife raised a toast to the queen, resplendent in a Cadbury-purple frock, when she started talking about the right time'. My wife turned to me and said, she's not doing what I think she's doing! Is she?' Then, she did it." Continue reading...

Met Office issues yellow warnings, as heavy rain expected in Wales and strong winds across EnglandA widely wet" start to the new year is expected for many areas, with heavy rainfall predicted for parts of the UK and dozens of flood warnings in place.The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for rain and wind for large parts of England and Wales on Tuesday. The heaviest rain is more likely across parts of Wales, the Midlands towards eastern England and Yorkshire while gusts could reach 60mph in coastal areas or 40 to 50mph elsewhere, the forecaster said. Continue reading...

Financial pressures have led to postponement of 19% of divorces, involving 270,000 couples, Legal & General claimsThe start of the new year is often boom time for divorce lawyers, but 2024 may be different as new research shows the cost of living crisis has delayed more than 270,000 couples from splitting.Financial pressures delayed 19% of divorces, researchers at Legal & General found. The impact has been particularly pronounced since 2020, with income concerns, cost of living pressures and the price of divorce all cited as reasons to postpone the split. Continue reading...

Iran security chief praises brave actions' of Houthi rebels who have targeted Israeli-linked vessels in shipping lane

Joe Outlaw is one of the 2,921 inmates still on IPP sentences, which were abolished in 2012It should be impossible to escape from a high-security prison, doubly so for prisoners held on the segregation unit, who are allowed only to exercise in a caged yard.But on 21 June, the summer solstice and the hottest day of the year at that point, Joe Outlaw managed to break through the cage and get on to the roof of HMP Frankland, a Durham prison dubbed Monster mansion" due to many of its inmates being convicted murderers, terrorists and sex offenders. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Proliferation comes amid treatment shortage and poses major public health threat, say expertsDoctors are reporting a surge in scabies cases across the UK amid an acute shortage of treatments, and say the nightmare" situation poses a major public health threat.Scabies is a highly contagious condition caused by mites, that results in an itchy rash. It is spread through close skin contact, anyone can get it, and it should be treated quickly to stop it spreading. Continue reading...

Immigration Services Union says recent lull in migrant Channel crossings was due to bad weatherThe number of people arriving in Britain in small boats is expected to rise again this year after a lull caused by bad weather, according to the union representing Border Force officials.Migrant arrivals across the Channel have fallen year on year for the first time since current records began, new government figures show. But Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services Union warned that the latest slowdown was likely a glitch" due to extremely poor weather in recent months. Continue reading...

Border Force director reportedly hopes to create intelligent border' after being impressed by schemes in Australia and DubaiIt has happened to the best of us. The last-minute racking of brains on arrival in the UK to try to remember where the passports were packed, followed by the panicked fumbling all the way to the bottom of every compartment of every bag.That may all be in the past though, should plans reportedly proposed by the government's borders agency go ahead, with the need to present the document on arrival in the UK being replaced by facial recognition technology. Continue reading...

Blaze in Dublin comes less than fortnight after suspected arson attack on vacant Galway hotel earmarked for asylum seekersIrish police have been investigating a second fire in less than a fortnight at a building local residents reportedly believed would be used to accommodate asylum seekers.The emergency services were called to the scene at Ringsend area of Dublin in the early hours of New Year's Eve. Continue reading...

Registrations open after Estonia became first former Soviet-ruled country to legalise gay marriageNSame-sex couples in Estonia are able to marry from today, in a milestone move people say brings the Baltic nation closer to its Nordic neighbours.Estonia became the first former Soviet-ruled country to legalise gay marriage when the Riigikogu, Estonia's parliament, voted in favour of marriage equality in June. A majority of 55 MPs voted for amending the Family Act, while 34 MPs voted against the bill in the 101-seat parliament. Continue reading...

Prizewinner has earned the enmity of the prime minister, who accused him of sucking blood' from poor peopleNobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus has been convicted of violating Bangladesh's labour laws in a case decried by his supporters as politically motivated.The 83-year-old is credited with lifting millions out of poverty with his pioneering microfinance bank, but has earned the enmity of Sheikh Hasina, the longtime prime minister who has accused him of sucking blood" from poor people. Continue reading...

Exclusive: London mayor says voting system changes could result in Hall starting series of hard-right victories in 2024Sadiq Khan has linked Susan Hall, his Conservative challenger for the London mayoralty, with Donald Trump, saying a win for her could start a string of victories in 2024 for the extreme, populist right.Khan predicted this wave of hard-right populism could include Suella Braverman replacing Rishi Sunak as Tory leader. Continue reading...

Australian federal police notified after 23-year-old woman allegedly became abusive on board a plane at Gold Coast airportA Victorian woman allegedly assaulted airline staff at Gold Coast airport on New Year's Eve while on board a plane bound for Melbourne.The 23-year-old was arrested after airline staff notified the Australian federal police that a passenger was allegedly being verbally abusive on the plane, the AFP said. Continue reading...

State government says group has specialist skills and appropriate agency is chosen at federal levelThe Australian defence force was not deployed after storms hit the Gold Coast because it was determined other agencies would be better suited to the clean-up task, according to the Queensland disaster coordinator.Acting deputy commissioner, Shane Chelepy, told media on Monday afternoon that the state response to continued thunderstorms and flooding has been bolstered by 50 cleanup workers from a veteran-led not-for-profit, Disaster Relief Australia. Continue reading...

Rise of 6% shows consequences of prisoner overcrowding and low staffing levels, say Liberal DemocratsThere were nearly 8,000 assaults on prison staff in the year to June 2023, almost one an hour on average, the Liberal Democrats have said, arguing that the statistic shows the consequences of prisoner overcrowding and low staffing levels.Official statistics showed there were 7,908 assaults over the 12 months in prisons across England and Wales - 6% higher than the same period a year before - with 748 of them classified as serious. Continue reading...

New Year's address made almost no direct reference to the situation on the 1,000-km front line or the limited success of a counteroffensive

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Defence secretary says UK would not hesitate to take direct action' after US sank boats targeting a container shipBritain is reportedly considering airstrikes on Houthi rebels after the US said its navy sank three boats that had been targeting a container ship in the Red Sea.Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said the government would not hesitate to take direct action" to prevent further attacks amid reports the UK and US are preparing a joint statement to issue a final warning to the Yemeni group. Continue reading...

Measures include target for British food in public institutions and seeking veterinary deal with EULabour has pledged to improve food security and boost the UK's agriculture sector with a new deal for farmers", including a target that at least half of the food used in hospitals, schools and prisons is British.Condemning what the party called an abandonment of farmers under the Conservatives, the plan also includes a reiteration of Labour's proposal to seek to sign a new veterinary agreement with the EU. Continue reading...

Reports name Hoskins as woman who died after being hit by car in Adelaide and Dennis as the driverTwo-time Olympian and former world champion cyclist Melissa Hoskins has died after she was struck by a car in Adelaide's inner north.Hoskins' husband and fellow Australian Olympic cyclist, Rohan Dennis, has reportedly been charged in relation to her death. Continue reading...

Boy and girl pulled from the water by members of the public on Sunday afteroon, but could not be revivedTwo young children have died after they were found floating in Perth's Swan River on New Year's Eve.The boy and girl, both under 10, were spotted at Burswood near Perth Stadium about 5.25pm on Sunday. Continue reading...