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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...

Six people injured during attack on southern Ukrainian city, says local governor

Justin Welby's call came as British Palestinians with relatives in Gaza demanded a meeting with the prime minister

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...

PM clearly hopes to rewrite the narrative with shock appointment, but will it shift the dial with voters?

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...

Inquiry found ex-PM had sent dozens of messages to former colleagues asking them to help his then employer

Index reveals rental affordability has plunged over year with situation particularly difficult in Sydney

New draft of animal care and protection act may make Victoria first state to explicitly recognise animal sentience

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...

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...

Change of tack sees government treading fine line between being more business friendly' and defending national interestThe UK government is looking to roll back powers to intervene in company takeovers less than two years after they were introduced, in an attempt to be more business friendly".Oliver Dowden said the government will review measures narrowing and refining" the National Security and Investment Act, which only entered into force in January 2022, and allowed much greater scrutiny of foreign investments in British companies. Continue reading...

Former senator was arrested after launching inquiry into ex-president's brutal war on drugs, now an ICC investigationThe most prominent critic of the former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's so-called war on drugs" has been granted bail, after more than six years in jail on what rights groups condemned as trumped-up charges.Leila de Lima, 64, a former senator and human rights commissioner, emerged from court on Monday to cheers from supporters, who chanted Justice" and Leila will soon be free". Continue reading...

Travel site Trivago says UK destinations are dominating Britons' hotel bookings in the latter half of 2024Blackpool is more popular than Benidorm for British holidaymakers booking trips away next year as soaring air fares lead people to opt for stayactions, according to accommodation search website Trivago.The group's chief executive, Johannes Thomas, said UK hotel bookings in the third and fourth quarters of 2024 are dominated by domestic destinations. Continue reading...

Police and on-the-ground accounts suggest violence came largely from counterprotesters rather than those on Palestine march

Entrance to Silkyara tunnel collapsed in early hours of Sunday with dozens of workers insideA huge operation is under way to rescue 40 construction workers trapped after a tunnel partially collapsed in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.The entrance to the Silkyara tunnel, which was under construction as part of a road project in Uttarkashi district, collapsed in the early hours of Sunday morning while dozens of workers were inside. Continue reading...

Animal Justice party to fight state government's absurd' move to extend Racing NSW chairman Russell Balding's term

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Prime minister says all civilian deaths should be mourned as he faces criticism from both Greens and Coalition over Labor's position on Gaza conflict

The telco will establish a complaints team for small businesses after criticism of its compensation offer of 200GB of free data

Heavy rain and gale-force winds moving from Ireland towards north-west England, Wales and ScotlandAn amber weather warning is in place for parts of north-west England on Monday as Storm Debi hits the UK, bringing heavy rain and severe gale-force winds - while much of the Republic of Ireland is covered by red and orange wind warnings until mid-morning.The alert for England is active from 10am until 4pm and has been issued for areas north of Liverpool up to Whitehaven and west to areas that include Blackpool. The Met Office has warned people should be wary of solid and disruptive winds with the possibility of flying debris. Damage to buildings and structures is likely and heavy items such as tiles blown from roofs may present a potential danger to life. Continue reading...

PM Anthony Albanese says formal apology for effects of morning sickness drug that caused birth defects during 1950s and 1960s is well overdue

My two precious pythons have been safely returned to me,' the woman wrote on social media on Monday

Albanese government releases formal response to Catherine Holmes's inquiry into Centrelink debt recovery scheme

MP Monique Ryan wants tougher laws around lobbying of politicians, saying current guidelines are toothless and ineffective'

Anthony Koletti to walk away with handful of luxury goods with other items to be sold and funds returned to investors

Exclusive: Yvette Greenway-Mansfield given compensation after Coventry's University Hospital was found to be medically negligentA woman who suffered traumatic complications from a vaginal mesh implant has been awarded a record settlement of at least 1m from the NHS.Yvette Greenway-Mansfield, 59, was given a mesh implant at Coventry's University Hospital in 2009 and went on to suffer serious complications. Her medical negligence claim against the hospital trust found that the surgery was carried out prematurely and unnecessarily and that her consent form had been doctored to include additional risks after Greenway-Mansfield had signed it. Continue reading...

A victory for the immigration and asylum policy on Wednesday will come with headaches, but a defeat could split the Conservative partyWednesday marks a potentially pivotal moment in the government's fortunes when the supreme court rules whether its plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is lawful.The decision could have significant implications not just for immigration and asylum policy, but also for the future direction of Rishi Sunak's government, and the Conservative party more widely. Here is what could follow from a government win or loss. Continue reading...

Bombardment on Sunday concentrated around Gaza City hospital, with intense fighting between Hamas and Israeli ground forces

DP World pulls plug on its internet connection after finding hackers inside its systems

Minister Ben Carroll says six advanced Chinese language students received the wrong exam papers

Victorian judicial watchdog dismisses complaints after judge Mark Gamble orders mother to leave courtroom for breastfeeding child

Third such case in less than a week in Canadian city but unclear if incidents are relatedA Jewish school in Montreal was hit by gunfire, according to local media, marking the Canadian city's third such attack in less than a week amid heightened tensions over the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.No one was injured when the facade of Yeshiva Gedola of Montreal was struck early on Sunday. Bullet marks and shells were found after residents heard gunfire, CBC News in Canada reported. Continue reading...

Clarifications on religious freedom' to be reconsidered, says communications minister Michelle Rowland, after strong pushback from Coalition

Pro-Ukraine fighters in Russia kill colonel of security service'; Russian forces try to regain territory around Bakhmut; temporary lull in Avdiivka battle

Chinese and US presidents meeting amid a deteriorating geopolitical climate, with the countries on opposing sides of two major conflictsOne year after their last in-person talks, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden will come face to face once again on Wednesday in San Francisco, in an encounter that will dominate events at the Apec summit as the Chinese and US presidents seek to stabilise relations in an increasingly fraught geopolitical climate.The meeting, which could last several hours, is the culmination of months of lower level dialogues which took place over the summer, with Washington sending more delegates to China than Beijing did to the US. Continue reading...

Two dozen people who gathered at the Dolphin Sands boat ramp were safely escorted from the area

Bank reports 14% increase in year-on-year profits and says Australians are muddling through pretty well'

Former military lawyer addresses supporters outside ACT court before trial over allegations he leaked material regarding war crimes in AfghanistanDavid McBride has declared today I serve my country" as he entered an ACT court to face trial for the alleged leaking of material later used to expose Australian war crimes in Afghanistan.McBride faces five charges, including the unauthorised disclosure of information, breaches of the Defence Act and the theft of commonwealth property. His trial started on Monday in the ACT supreme court.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Pension Insurance Corporation is building 125 affordable homes in London as part of 500m plan for 1,000 affordable homes over next five yearsThe UK's pension funds are increasingly stepping in to build affordable homes as the housing crisis worsens.Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension schemes, is the latest to enter the market. It is building 125 affordable homes in Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, in partnership with the developer London Square and its affordable housing subsidiary, Square Roots. Continue reading...

Met and BTP seeking people in footage from Saturday's marches, in particular at a racially aggravated altercation' at WaterlooPolice are looking for people seen in pictures and videos featuring antisemitic and Islamophobic language and symbols after Saturday's pro-Palestinian and far-right marches in London.Both the Metropolitan police and British Transport Police (BTP) released images on Sunday of individuals they hoped to identify. Continue reading...

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...