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One scheme participant tells how he was quoted $800 for a wheelchair fix a panel beater did for free

The 78-year-old was driven away in his own BMW alongside his Colombian partner, according to a police reportA British businessman and the former UK honorary consul in Guayaquil, Colin Armstrong, has been kidnapped by hooded men at his home in Ecuador's Los Rios province, according to police reports.Armstrong, 78, was snatched in the early hours of Saturday alongside a Colombian woman identified as his partner Katherine Paola Santos from his home in the town of Baba, according to a police report seen by the Guardian. He was driven away in his own black BMW, which was later found dumped, the report said. Continue reading...

Territory's global reputation on the line as media mogul and democracy activist finally tried over alleged national security crimesHong Kong's global reputation will be tested this week when the long-delayed trial of the pro-democracy activist and former media mogul Jimmy Lai gets under way.Lai, who turned 76 in jail this month, is charged with colluding with foreign forces under the national security law, as well as sedition. If convicted, which experts say is highly likely, the British national faces spending the rest of his life in prison. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. Read our full report on the latest developments here.Israel has said it is opening a military police investigation into the killing of two Palestinians in the West Bank after an Israeli human rights group posted videos that appeared to show Israeli troops killing the men - one who was incapacitated and the second unarmed - during a military raid in a West Bank refugee camp.The B'Tselem human rights group accused the army of carrying out a pair of illegal executions". Continue reading...

UK foreign minister David Cameron and German counterpart Annalena Baerbock say goal must be peace lasting generations'The foreign secretary, David Cameron, has called for a sustainable" ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, as he warned that too many civilians have been killed" by Israel in spite of its right to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas.In a significant shift in tone by the UK government, Cameron, in a joint article with the German foreign affairs minister Annalena Baerbock, wrote: Our goal cannot simply be an end to fighting today. It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations. We therefore support a ceasefire, but only if it is sustainable. Continue reading...

Home Office plans wording update' but campaigners call for new offence to help address low conviction rateThe Home Office has announced plans to modernise" spiking laws in a move it claims will help bring perpetrators to justice. But experts said the changes will not make any difference without simultaneous investment in police training and other measures to improve the handling of cases on the ground.Under plans unveiled this weekend, the government will amend the criminal justice bill to make clear that spiking is illegal. It is also drawing up new guidance to provide an unequivocal" definition of the crime. Continue reading...

The ex-Coronation Street actor grew and grew over the series, while her partner went one better than his runner-up placing last yearIt was a night of high-quality hoofing, high scores and high camp but ultimately, the Strictly Come Dancing final went the way that bookmakers predicted. Odds-on favourite Ellie Leach and her professional partner, Vito Coppola, were crowned champions. As they lifted the glitter ball trophy and sparkly confetti fell, it made a fitting climax to another feelgood series.Former Coronation Street actor Leach, 22, had blossomed before viewers' eyes. Initially an unfancied contender, she visibly grew in confidence to become a pocket rocket performer. Continue reading...

Burgess was recruited in November 1973 to help form AC/DC, and fired in February 1974, accused of being drunk on stageThe Australian drummer Colin Burgess, an original member of the hard-rock band AC/DC in the early 1970s, has died, the band confirmed on its social media accounts. He was 77.Very sad to hear of the passing of Colin Burgess," says an unsigned post on the band's official Facebook page late Friday. He was our first drummer and a very respected musician. Happy memories, rock in peace Colin." Continue reading...

Sunak's approval increases slightly after surviving potential rebellion over Rwanda billLabour's lead over the Conservatives is now at 13 points, the lowest since before the party conferences, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.Both Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak's approval ratings have stayed steady since they both saw a big hit to their ratings last week. Starmer's net approval is now -9, while Sunak's net approval is now -29, a 3-point increase from a week ago. Continue reading...

Premier League match halted and Luton Town captain was taken away on a stretcher, described as alert and responsive'Luton's Premier League match at Bournemouth on Saturday was abandoned after their captain, Tom Lockyer, collapsed on the pitch after a cardiac arrest.The match was stopped in the 59th minute as medics tended to Lockyer, who collapsed off the ball. Continue reading...

Beyond desperate and terrified' relatives among hundreds inside compound amid bombing by Israeli forces

Bridie West got more than 135,000 likes on TikTok after creating edible version of location used in Cameron Diaz Christmas romcomAn Essex cake baker has gone viral after making a cake version of the iconic cottage from the Christmas film The Holiday.The clip of Bridie West, 30, meticulously piping buttercream over a cake shaped as Rosehill Cottage has garnered more than 1.2m views on TikTok and 46,700 on Instagram. Though the clip depicts mere seconds of Continue reading...

The party has made it clear that Keir Starmer had no intention of reviving the second stage of the Leveson inquiryThe Labour party has backed away from plans to impose new controls on the press in a move likely to spark fierce controversy inside the party after Prince Harry's landmark victory in his phone-hacking case against the Daily Mirror.Party sources made clear on Saturday that Keir Starmer was not intending to revive a second stage of the Leveson inquiry into press standards - abandoned by the Tories in 2018 - nor would Labour oppose current Conservative plans to weaken the press regulation regime in the media bill now going through parliament. Continue reading...

Prime minister makes controversial remarks at Rome conference organised by Giorgia Meloni's partyRishi Sunak has been accused of adopting the toxic" rhetoric of his former home secretary Suella Braverman, after he warned that migration would overwhelm" European countries without firm action.In remarks that will further inflame the Tory row over migration that has been raging for weeks, the prime minister said that enemies" were deliberately driving people to our shores to try to destabilise our society". Continue reading...

Former ACT minister Emma Davidson voices unease after states and territories given just one month to review landmark report into scheme

A public hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma in Wagga Wagga this week heard calls to overhaul pregnancy and maternal healthcare services

New report shows wealthiest schools received over $200m in tax-deductible philanthropic donations for lavish' projects that did not affect government support

Two other workers were injured when a 30m section of wall around the Old City of Kairouan gave way while being restoredA section of the ancient walls around the Old City of Kairouan collapsed on Saturday, killing three masons carrying out repairs on the Unesco world heritage site, Tunisian authorities said.In addition two workers were injured when a 30-metre (100ft) section of the 6-metre-high walls near the Gate of the Floggers crashed to the ground, the Civil Protection department said. Continue reading...

Residents of Jenin say Israeli army seems intent only on revenge as they pick through wreckage of their homesFluffy pink slippers on her feet and scarves thrown over her hair and pyjamas, Amal Abu Ghazi, 39, leaned against a wall as she watched her family clear out the rubble from their ruined house in the Jenin refugee camp, in the north of the occupied West Bank.Her husband used a stick to smash the remaining shards of glass out of the window frames of their two-storey home and her brothers-in-law hauled out the remains of sofas and tables; somehow, a laptop had managed to survive intact. Israeli soldiers had burst in two nights ago, Abu Ghazi said, arresting her sons, 20 and 18, and ordering the rest of the family to wait outside before troops used explosives to demolish the building. Continue reading...

Food and Drug Administration is investigating facility in Ecuador and working with authorities to inspect cinnamon supplierThe Food and Drug Administration on Friday said it thinks elevated levels of lead in cinnamon applesauce that has poisoned dozens of American children could be linked to deliberate additives in the cinnamon, and is inspecting a food facility in Ecuador.There have been more than 60 reports of children reporting adverse effects" after eating applesauce and apple puree pouches from the brands WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis. The products have been recalled. Continue reading...

Teenager whose disappearance, aged 11, sparked an international police hunt is due to fly home after being found in FranceMore than 2,200 days after being abducted while on holiday in Spain, Alex Batty was expected to return home on Saturday night to rebuild a life in Greater Manchester that has been on hold since 2017.Batty vanished on a trip to Andalucia six years ago with his mother and grandfather, sparking an international hunt by police for his whereabouts. Continue reading...

Crane installs weathervane symbolising resurrection, resilience and hope following devastating 2019 fireThe installation by a crane of a new golden rooster on Notre Dame, reimagined as a dramatic phoenix with licking, flamed feathers, goes beyond being just a weathervane atop the cathedral spire.It symbolises resilience amid destruction after the devastating April 2019 fire - as restoration officials also revealed an anti-fire misting system is being kitted out under the cathedral's roof. Continue reading...

Region had been a place of refuge for those escaping conflict in Khartoum between the army and the Rapid Support ForcesThousands of people are fleeing their homes in Wad Madani, Sudan's second city, where the majority of the capital city Khartoum's displaced people took refuge at the beginning of the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces last April.The fighting reached Wad Madani, the capital city of el-Gezira state, home to Africa's biggest agricultural scheme, in central Sudan on Friday. People have been seen on buses, while some are walking towards the south. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage hereRussia is increasing its efforts to capture Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, transporting battalion reserves to the area, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian army has said.Kupiansk was liberated from Russian occupation in September 2022 by the Ukrainian counteroffensive, and has been a target since then, as it serves as an important logistics centre for the Russian invasion's progression to the south and west. It was captured by Russia in February 2022. Continue reading...

Teenager believed to have been abducted by mother in 2017 was found in France earlier this weekAlex Batty, the British teenager who has been missing for six years, will return to the UK on Saturday afternoon.The 17-year-old is expected to be reunited with his grandmother, Susan Caruana, his legal guardian, who has not seen her grandson since he disappeared in 2017. Continue reading...

Home Office says 292 people made crossing on Friday, when one person drowned and another was left in critical conditionAlmost 300 people crossed the Channel from France to England in small boats on the same day a person died when a vessel sank off the French coast.The Home Office said 292 people made the crossing in seven boats on Friday. Continue reading...

Two others injured and man believed to be driver arrested after incident in Ilkeston at about 2am on SaturdayA man has died after a group of people were struck by a van in Derbyshire.Emergency services were called to Market Place in Ilkeston just before 2.10am, Derbyshire police said. Continue reading...

Renewed debate over issue follows Observer's publication of impassioned plea for legalisation by actor Diana Rigg recorded before her deathCampaigners for an assisted dying law are hoping to make 2024 a turning point in the public debate about the measure in the UK, amid a flurry of attempts to change the law across the British Isles.Efforts to create new rights for terminally ill people to seek assistance in ending their lives are due to take place in the Isle of Man and Jersey in the new year, with a bill also being debated in Scotland. Continue reading...

200% suspension rates at zero tolerance' trusts in England could affect highly vulnerable children, experts warnThe suspension rate at some of England's strictest academy schools is 30 times the national average, with experts warning that this is affecting some of the country's most vulnerable children.An Observer analysis of the latest Department for Education (DfE) annual data on suspensions has found that dozens of multi-academy trusts had suspension rates that far exceeded the national average in a number of their schools in 2021-22. Two of the country's biggest trusts, Astrea and Outward Grange Academies Trust (OGAT), had schools with a suspension rate of about 200% of their pupil numbers - although some pupils were counted several times because they were suspended repeatedly - compared with a national average of 6.9%. Continue reading...

Sparse 103-year-old tree was bought by the family of Dorothy Grant, who kept it until her death at 101One of the world's first mass-produced Christmas trees, bought for 6p in 1920, has sold for more than 3,400 at auctionDescribed by the auctioneer as the humblest Christmas tree in the world", it is 79cm (31in) tall and has 25 branches, 12 berries and six mini candle holders. The tree sits in a small, red-painted wooden base with a simple decorative emblem. Continue reading...

The ex-London schools commissioner and chief education officer for Birmingham was hailed by colleaguesTeachers and education experts this weekend paid tribute to Sir Tim Brighouse, one of the great educators of this century" and a delightful human being", who has died at the age of 83.The former schools commissioner for London and chief education officer for Birmingham and for Oxfordshire, who said he had learned from his own mistakes in teaching and believed in teachers' ability to change the world, died on Friday after a short illness. Continue reading...

A project from an anti-discrimination creative arts organization pairs LGBTQ+ youth in need of help with donors willing to give itAt first glance, they could be letters to Santa Claus from any excited young child, hoping they have been good enough to earn a special gift. Meek is looking forward to hearing sleigh bells: I think I have tried my best this year. I try to be positive," they wrote. Alex, meanwhile, would love a bicycle and gift cards to bring some cheer to the end of an extremely hard year".Look a little deeper, and all is not as it seems. The letters are genuine, but their authors are young people who are transgender or non-binary, writing not to the North Pole but to an alternative seasonal benefactor named Transanta, whose workshop exists in cyberspace. Continue reading...

Pump prices are at an average of 142.57p a litre, and could fall below 140p in the next weekPetrol prices have fallen to their lowest in more than two years, the RAC has said.A litre of unleaded petrol now costs 142.57p on average at the pumps, a price not seen since the end of October 2021. Continue reading...

Actor and comedian says Prince Harry's partial high court win shows need for tighter press regulationSteve Coogan has said the Duke of Sussex's partial victory in a high court phone-hacking claim shows there is an omerta ... of systemic concealment by the press" and has called for a bolstered system of independent regulation.The British actor and comedian, who is involved with the Hacked Off campaign, reiterated his calls for press reform after Prince Harry won a substantial part of his case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). Continue reading...

News anchor Maryam Moshiri said she was glad the footage showed she was joking with crewMillions have seen the viral clip of a BBC News presenter holding up her middle finger to the camera.Now the full video of the chief BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri counting down to her viral middle-finger moment has been released. Continue reading...

Seven people sentenced to years in prison over 2021 race in Gansu province hit by extreme weatherOrganisers of a 2021 ultramarathon in north-west China during which 21 runners died in extreme weather conditions have been sentenced to years in prison for their roles, state media reported.Five individuals involved in planning the ill-fated event were given jail terms ranging from three to five-and-a-half years by a court in Baiyin, a city in Gansu, the province where the deaths occurred, the state news agency Xinhua reported late on Friday. Continue reading...

Short even of firewood, Palestinians are left burning solid waste as they struggle to cook and stay warm - but the pollution means respiratory illness is on the riseIsrael-Gaza war - live updatesWherever trees have been left standing in Gaza, they are being chopped down for fuel. When wood - furniture and doors included - cannot be found, Gaza's residents burn waste.To cook or heat themselves, people in the Palestinian enclave are burning what they can find in crude stoves they have made of clay, scrap metal or loose bricks to replace kitchen cookers or gas stoves. Israel's siege means it is no longer possible for people to find gas. Continue reading...

Nadia Murad and 430 US citizens of Yazidi background suing conglomerate over payments it made to terrorist groupAbout 430 Americans of Yazidi background and Nobel laureate Nadia Murad accused French conglomerate Lafarge of supporting brutal attacks on the population through a conspiracy with the Islamic State, according to a complaint reviewed by AFP.The civil suit, filed in a New York court by attorneys that include human rights lawyer Amal Clooney references a $778m US Department of Justice fine and guilty criminal plea in October 2022 by Lafarge, which was acquired by Swiss company Holcim in 2015. Continue reading...

Marketing of processed foods and sugary drinks plays significant role in influencing children's diets, expert says

People who want to buy property costing more than 450,000 say they unfairly face losing moneyCampaigners are pressing for changes to a UK government scheme for would-be first-time buyers that fines" people if they use it to buy a home costing more than 450,000.Martin Lewis, the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, is among those calling for an urgent revamp of the rules that apply to lifetime Isas, which let people save for a first home or for their retirement. Continue reading...

The militant group's ideology and its complex tunnel network means it is no ordinary enemyIsrael's insistence to the Biden administration that it needs more time to defeat Hamas has raised questions over the level of damage inflicted on the Islamist militant organisation, and whether it is changing tactics in its fight against the Israel Defense Forces.In a week in which nine Israeli soldiers were killed, including two senior commanders and several other officers in a single complex ambush in the Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City, analysts and commentators have begun to question previously bullish assessments about Hamas's ability to fight. Continue reading...

Two men, one unarmed and the other already injured, died after being shot in a military raid on a refugee campIsrael has said it is opening a military police investigation into the killing of two Palestinians in the West Bank after an Israeli human rights group posted videos that appeared to show Israeli troops killing the men - one who was incapacitated and the second unarmed - during a military raid in a West Bank refugee camp.The B'Tselem human rights group accused the army of carrying out a pair of illegal executions." Continue reading...

Marina Hyde, John Crace and Polly Toynbee are among those ready to take your calls in support of refugeesReaders have the opportunity to talk to some of their favourite Guardian and Observer journalists on Saturday as part of the annual charity telethon, this year in support of refugees and asylum seekers.Journalists including Marina Hyde, John Crace, Polly Toynbee, Owen Jones, Peter Bradshaw, Sali Hughes, Simon Hattenstone, Nosheen Iqbal, Zoe Williams and many more will be on hand to take your calls and donations.Non-telethon donations can be made online by credit card, debit card or PayPal. Continue reading...

Residents absolutely fuming' about council's decision to shut Colvestone primary and transfer its pupilsHelen Davis could not believe her children's luck when Hackney council announced the borough's first 21st-century street" was going to be built on the doorstep of their local school.It still makes me tingle just to think about it," she said. Colvestone primary school was going to be at the heart of this new, pedestrianised, green space. Pupils were going to be able to grow their own vegetables, run conservation projects and have outside play activities. They were even planning an outdoor classroom." Continue reading...

London boroughs among hardest hit due to falling birth rate and family struggles with Covid and rising costsPrimary schools are being closed, merged and shrunk as councils across England to respond to falling numbers of pupils due to the falling birth rate as well as family upheaval triggered by rising costs, Brexit and Covid.London boroughs are among the hardest hit, with thousands of school places being lost, but the closures and cuts extend to other cities and areas as they adjust to fewer children being born or moving into their catchment areas. Continue reading...

Piedmont town near French border is now best budget ski resort in Europe for adults, figures showThe ski resorts of Bulgaria have long been seen as the best option for British skiers hoping to hit the slopes on a budget. Borovets and Bansko might not have the glitz of Verbier, the after-ski buzz of St Anton, or the picturesque villages of the Trois Vallees, but as the solid, wallet-friendly option, Bulgaria has been unbeatable for more than a decade.All that has changed, however, with the Bulgarian resorts this year being eclipsed by an unlikely budget rival: Bardonecchia in Italy. The Piedmont town, 96km from Turin and a few minutes' drive from the border with France, is now the best value ski resort in Europe for adults, according to research. Continue reading...

Authorities say lithium-ion battery fires happen every week across Australia and poorly built buys could lead to new wave of damage

This blog is now closed. See all our Israel-Gaza war coverage hereThe Israeli heritage minister, Amichai Eliyahu, of Otzma Yehudit, the far-right party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, said in a radio interview that the Gaza Strip must be fully" occupied.In comments reported by Haaretz, Eliyahu said: Anyone who sells an illusion that [Hamas] will return to manage things does not want to remember what happened on Simhat Torah." Continue reading...

NSW Ambulance expects 10% uptick in calls and Bureau of Meteorology warns of the chance of destructive afternoon storms

Corporation halts production on world's longest-running sport quiz after 53 years and says it is not the final whistle'The BBC is pulling Question of Sport, the world's longest-running sport quiz, citing funding difficulties".The show began in 1970 with David Vine as presenter, followed by David Coleman, Sue Barker and the current incumbent, Paddy McGuinness, who took over two years ago. Continue reading...