World news | The Guardian

Nationwide records monthly increase of 0.9% but average property value down 3.3% year on year

This blog is now closed.

Among the 241 annual reports released all at once are 45 children's deaths, triple-zero success and a fish misadventure' at the zoo

In today's newsletter: Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain gave evidence at Dorland House on Tuesday - what did they reveal? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Today we're headed to the Covid inquiry, which is increasingly revealing staggering - and foulmouthed (you've been warned) - insights into how Boris Johnson and his advisers handled the outbreak of the pandemic.Those who were once closest to the former prime minister have revealed Johnson was referred to as the trolley" by pretty much everyone" due to the inconsistency of his decision making and that he described coronavirus as just nature's way of dealing with old people".Israel-Hamas war | Israeli airstrikes destroyed apartment blocks and killed dozens of people at a refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to the Hamas regime, as the UN said the conflict had become a graveyard" for children.Transport | Plans to close railway station ticket offices in England have been scrapped in a government U-turn. The transport secretary, Mark Harper, said the government had asked train operators to withdraw their proposals" after a huge public backlash.AI | The Guardian has accused Microsoft of damaging its journalistic reputation by publishing an AI-generated poll speculating on the cause of a woman's death next to a Guardian article. The automated poll appeared next to a story about the death of Lilie James, a 21-year-old water polo coach who was found dead with serious head injuries at a school in Sydney last week. It asked: What do you think is the reason behind the woman's death?" Readers were then asked to choose from three options: murder, accident or suicide.Finance | Odey Asset Management is closing down, five months after allegations of sexual misconduct made by junior female members of staff against its founder Crispin Odey threw the hedge fund into turmoil.Weather | Forecasters have said Storm Ciaran poses a potential threat to life in southern England later this week, bringing gusts of wind likely to hit 80mph. Continue reading...

Consumer Affairs Victoria says it redirected extra staff to manage 120% rise in requests for rent increase reviews

Letter signed by at least 330 councillors says refusal to back end to violence is harming communities'At least 330 Labour councillors have signed a letter urging Keir Starmer to back a ceasefire in Gaza, despite the Labour leader's attempts to reassure the party over the issue.The councillors, two-thirds of whom the Guardian understands are not Muslim, have criticised the party's refusal to back the policy, which they say is harming communities across the UK". Continue reading...

Some have waited years in Pakistan for Britain to fulfil its promises - and are now at risk of deportationFor a year after the fall of Kabul and the swift withdrawal of international allies from Afghanistan, Jawed* and his family were in hiding, evading the ruling Taliban as they counted the days waiting for relocation promises from the British government to be realised.But that didn't happen. To this day, two years and two months [later], we're still living in limbo," Jawed, a former English teacher for the British Council, said from a hotel in Islamabad. Continue reading...

Medical professionals warn tobacco addiction is rising after years of decline and call for reforms on political donations and corporate sponsorships

Advocates fear blowout in wait time could force people to choose between homelessness or staying in an abusive relationship

Court rules that another aspect of Coalition-era laws to strip citizenship is invalid

Facebook and Instagram owner tells Defence we allow for such memes' following multiple emails over Pineapple Express page

This blog is now closed.

Lead appellant's case concerned NT housing authority's failure to provide a door, while other Ltyentye Apurte residents complained of leaking sewage and unstable electricity

Fund recommends further monetary tightening by RBA to ensure Australia's price rises return to target range by 2025

Incentives for doctors will triple in bid to help children, pensioners and healthcare card holders

The Australian Institute of Architects' 2023 awards took a turn to sustainable designs that make the most of inner-city infrastructure and the environment

Committal proceedings adjourned for six weeks while Lehrmann's solicitor reviews 400-500 files sent by Queensland police last week

Bolivia's leftwing government cuts diplomatic ties with Israel, alleging crimes and human rights abuses in Gaza, as Chile and Colombia recall ambassadors

More than 10,000 arrests and nearly 3,000 prosecutions, with 82% given jail including extraordinary high' proportion of childrenProtesters involved in the 2019-2020 pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong have been treated extraordinarily harshly by the criminal justice system compared with local and international norms, a report has found.The surge in arrests, detentions and charges in the wake of the anti-extradition bill protests that saw millions of Hongkongers taking to the streets to oppose closer ties with mainland China meant that the criminal justice system was put under extreme stress", according to Jun Chan, Eric Yan-ho Lai and Thomas E Kellogg at the Center for Asian Law of Georgetown University. Continue reading...

Until the appointment of Annelies Kusters, UK had only hearing people as full professors in the fieldTrains in the Indian megacity of Mumbai are famously among the most crowded in the world, but they have also become deaf meeting spots" where deaf people meet and socialise on their daily commute.These unexpected gatherings in carriages reserved for disabled passengers have been documented by Annelies Kusters, who has just become the first deaf scholar to be made a full professor in the field of deaf studies and sign language studies in the UK. Continue reading...

Inaugural exhibition at new museum space will chart more than a century of musical development, from calypso and reggae to grime and drillFrom jazz to calypso, dub poetry to UK drill lyrics, drum'n'bass raves to grime freestyles, the brilliance and cross-cultural richness of Black British music will be the focus for the inaugural exhibition at the V&A's new outpost in east London.Opening in 2025, The Music Is Black: A British Story will span from 1900 to the present day, celebrating everyone from pioneers such as Winifred Atwell and Janet Kay to today's generation including Stormzy and Little Simz, and explore how artists from Fleetwood Mac to the Beatles adopted elements of the music created by the UK's Black community. Continue reading...

Visiting monarch speaks of sorrow and deepest regret for past wrongdoings' under British ruleKing Charles has spoken of Britain's abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence" committed against Kenyans during their fight for independence, but stopped short of an apology despite human rights groups demanding one.The monarch made the comments in a speech, delivered during a banquet in Kenya held in his honour, in which he referred to the greatest sorrow" and deepest regret" for the wrongdoings" of the past. Continue reading...

Disciplinary panel had found Julian Bennett guilty of gross misconduct for refusing test when accused of smoking cannabisA senior Metropolitan police commander who wrote the force's drug strategy has been sacked after he was found guilty of gross misconduct for refusing to take a drugs test when he was accused of smoking cannabis.A disciplinary panel cleared Julian Bennett, who has served in the force since 1976, of using the drug at home in late 2019, but found that he had breached force standards for honesty and integrity, orders and instructions, and discreditable conduct by refusing to provide a urine sample for a drug test on 21 July 2020. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson's former chief adviser denies contributing to an atmosphere of misogyny at No 10, saying he was much ruder about men'Heather Hallett, the chair, intervenes at this point. She asks Cain if he is defending the 10-day gap. She says she finds that curious if he is.Cain says locking down the country is a huge, huge undertaking. In government terms, that is government acting at speed. But it was longer than you would hope", he says.Do I understand from what you said earlier that you would defend the 10-day gap between the decision taken that there had to be a national lockdown and actually implementing that decision? Because I find that curious.As I said, I think it is longer than you would like, but I think it's important just to emphasise the amount of things that had to be done and the amount of people we had to take with us to deliver a nationwide lockdown.It's a huge, huge undertaking and to be honest, from my understanding of government, that is government moving at a tremendous speed - which maybe says more about government than other things. Continue reading...

Three men found guilty of terrorist crimes including attacks on immigrants and critical infrastructureThree Finnish men who embraced neo-Nazi ideology have been found guilty of committing crimes with terrorist intent including plotting attacks against immigrants, critical infrastructure, and their perceived political opponents.Prosecutors told the court that the men had produced semi-automatic weapons using a 3D printer in preparation for a race war" against their opponents. Continue reading...

Israeli military says it bombed Jabalia camp to target a key Hamas commander, Ibrahim Biari

Evidence from the conflict zone suggests the IDF is seeking to encircle Gaza City as the military and Hamas report fierce initial battles

Sentences range from eight to 20 years for men guilty of offences committed between 2004 and 2006Five men from Rochdale have been sentenced to between eight and 20 years in prison after being found guilty of grooming and abusing two girls between 2004 and 2006.The longest sentence was given to the oldest defendant, Jahn Shahid Ghani, a 50-year-old care worker. He was at least 30 when he took advantage of the girls when they were 14 or 15. He would pick them up from school while they were still in uniform and ply them with drink and drugs before exploiting them. Continue reading...

Breed will be added to banned list from 31 December and owners have until end of January to register themAmerican XL bully dogs will be added to the list of banned breeds from 31 December, the government has confirmed, as it released further details of how the ban will be implemented.Rules coming into force at the end of year will make it illegal to breed, sell, advertise, exchange, gift, rehome, abandon or allow to stray XL bully dogs in England and Wales. Continue reading...

Communities who have clung on for decades are leaving their homes in the face of rising attrition by Israelis

Lloyd Austin guarantees Putin will be successful' if US support for Kyiv ends during Senate hearing on Joe Biden's request for funding

Local authorities argue that Home Office would act unlawfully by moving refugees to RAF Scampton and RAF WethersfieldCouncil bosses have called for the high court to quash government plans to use the land of two former RAF bases to house asylum seekers.Lawyers representing West Lindsey district council in Lincolnshire argue that plans to use the disused RAF Scampton, where the dambusters" were based during the second world war, are unlawful. Continue reading...

Some told police they had been forced to quit their job and move house to avoid Michael SellersAt least eight women were harassed by the man who went on to murder Gracie Spinks, with some reporting that they had to quit their job and move house to avoid him, an inquest has heard.Michael Sellers, 35, is believed to have stabbed Spinks to death after he became obsessed" with her, having met her through work. Continue reading...

Labour leader criticises Israeli bombardment but says ceasefire is not the correct position now'

Russia makes first known arrests of its own soldiers after 2022 invasion on suspicion of killing Ukrainian civilians

Artist spent months in a chamber below the Medici Chapels to evade Pope Clement VII's death sentenceMichelangelo Buonarroti left behind a trail of artistic marvels, including his statue of David and the sublime frescoes that adorn the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.Now a secret" room in Florence whose walls are sketched with doodles that the Italian Renaissance master is believed to have created while evading a death sentence ordered by Pope Clement VII amid his falling out with the powerful Medici family is to officially open to the public for the first time. Continue reading...

Xahra Saleem admitted offence relating to fundraiser before Bristol BLM protest when slave trader's statue was dumped in harbourA key organiser of the protest in Bristol during which a statue of the slave trader Edward Colston was toppled and dumped in the city's harbour has been jailed for two and a half years for fraud.Xahra Saleem, 23, admitted using more than 30,000 that was supposed to go to a charity for disadvantaged youngsters in the city to fund her lifestyle, including spending almost 6,000 on Uber rides. Continue reading...

Andy McDonald was suspended from the Labour party for using the phrase, which some say advocates the eradication of Israel

Sobering-up facility not completed, emergency workers unclear about their role in new scheme - and it begins on Melbourne Cup Day

Survey finds 47% believe Aukus locks Australia in to supporting the US in an armed conflict, while concern about conflict with China has fallen

Economists say limited sales volumes and rising populations have more than made up for the dampening effect of higher interest rates

Exclusive: DP World, part-owned by the Dubai government, may have artificially reduced profits', a new report claims

Heir to throne pledges allegiance to constitution at congress in Madrid on her 18th birthdayPrincess Leonor, the heir to the Spanish throne, has pledged her allegiance to the constitution in a ceremony that was boycotted by republican government ministers and Catalan and Basque nationalist MPs.Leonor swore the oath in Spain's congress as she turned 18 on Tuesday, and was accompanied by her parents, King Felipe and Queen Letizia, her sister, Sofia, and Spain's acting prime minister, Pedro Sanchez. Her grandfather Juan Carlos, the self-exiled former king, was absent. Continue reading...

King urged to offer apology while in Kenya for UK's brutal and inhuman treatment' during the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950sThe Kenya Human Rights Commission has called on King Charles to offer an unequivocal public apology" for colonial abuses, during his visit to the country this week.We call upon the king, on behalf of the British government, to issue an unconditional and unequivocal public apology (as opposed to the very cautious, self-preserving and protective statements of regrets) for the brutal and inhuman treatment inflicted on Kenyan citizens," the KHRC said. Continue reading...

Transport secretary asks train operators to withdraw proposals after public backlashRailway station ticket offices in England will not be closed, in a government U-turn.The transport secretary, Mark Harper, said the government had asked train operators to withdraw their proposals". Continue reading...

IDF says it struck 300 targets this week and killed numerous' militants, including Hamas commander

Recent union contract gains against a backdrop of decades of union decline, worsening wealth inequality and broken labor lawsThe US labor movement is having a moment amid some recent big union contract wins, surges in strikes, historic union election wins at aggressively anti-union corporations, and a presidential administration that touts itself as the most pro-union in history".Last week, the United Auto Workers reached a historic tentative agreement with Ford that includes 25% wage gains, then shortly after reached an agreement with Stellantis and General Motors. The UAW has called on other unions to time their contract expirations with 1 May to collectively pressure employers simultaneously, with the next UAW contracts at the Big 3 set to expire on 1 May 2028. Continue reading...

Results are company's first since shock exit of its chief executive Bernard Looney last monthBP has reported weaker than expected profits of $3.3bn (2.7bn) for the third quarter of this year amid lower global energy market prices and a slump in its gas trading business.The company said its profits halved in the three months to September after it made bumper profits of $8.2bn in the same months last year when oil and gas prices soared after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Multiple emergency warnings current across northern NSW and Queensland, for areas including Nymboida, Tabulam, Woodside, Tara and Wieambilla

NSW premier says complaints procedures already exist after Greens call for redress for people harmed by scrapped potentially unlawful policy