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Extra payment would be levied at 1.33 a month on bills paid between April next year and March 2025The energy watchdog has set out plans that would result in households paying an extra 16 on top of their energy bills to help suppliers recover almost 3bn in bad debts from customers struggling to pay bills.Ofgem said the one-off extra charge, which would be levied at 1.33 a month on bills paid between April next year and March 2025, was to protect the market and consumers" after figures showed energy debt had hit a record 3bn. Continue reading...

We want to see more Australian stories shown on screen,' arts minister Tony Burke says

French authorities say at least 66 people were onboard when vessel was spotted about five miles off coastOne person has died after a boat carrying dozens of refugees ran into difficulties while attempting to cross the Channel, French authorities have said.At least 66 people had been onboard the craft when it was spotted about five miles (8km) off the coast of Grand-Fort-Philippe at about 12.30am local time on Friday, Premar Manche, a French agency that monitors the Channel, said. Continue reading...

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Situation facing finance minister described as one of most challenging fiscal backdrops' since devolutionScottish ministers are facing a 1.5bn black hole before next week's draft budget, as a combination of surging inflation and expensive public sector pay deals put extreme pressure on government spending.The independent Fraser of Allander Institute describes the situation facing the finance minister, Shona Robison, as one of the most challenging fiscal backdrops in the history of Scottish devolution" in its annual budget report. Continue reading...

The rear-end collision happened in the Chinese capital, which has been hit by snow storms in recent daysAn evening rush-hour accident on the Beijing metro left 102 people with fractures after a rear-end collision on an above-ground section of tracks, state media said.The Chinese capital - where such incidents are rare - has been hit by snowstorms in recent days, affecting operating conditions and resulting in transport delays across the city. Continue reading...

Lehrmann has sued Wilkinson and Network Ten for defamation in the federal court of Australia. This blog is now closed

Transcript of a five-hour conversation Higgins and David Sharaz had with Wilkinson and The Project producer Angus Llewellyn in 2021 released during defamation trial

He loved to torment his audiences but it was from a place of love', his son Rupert said of his father

Law Enforcement Conduct Commission is conducting independent investigation of this matter' after May incident in NorthConnex tunnel

Pair were earlier blocked from suing over abuse they claim they suffered from alleged prolific paedophile priest David Joseph Perrett

This blog is now closed. See all our Israel-Gaza war coverage hereA pro-Palestinian group temporarily hacked into the Israeli army website on Wednesday.The group, calling themselves Anonymous Jo, left a message on the homepage of the website warning of further attacks against Israeli forces. Continue reading...

Victorian state coroner John Cain says gaps in the evidence' related to Elly Warren's case means cause of her 2016 death remains unresolved

Joint commission composed of foreign ministers of both countries will address the problem, with a report expected within three monthsThe leaders of Guyana and Venezuela promised in a tense meeting that neither side would use threats or force against the other, but failed to reach agreement on how to address a bitter dispute over a vast border region rich with oil and minerals that has concerned many in the region.Instead, a joint commission composed of the foreign ministers of both countries and other officials will address the problem, with a report expected within three months. Continue reading...

With only 316 days until the next election, Labor has embarked on its largest cabinet reshuffle in its nine years in power

William Swale, 66, released on bail after crashing into regional Victoria pub beer garden killing five people

Andy Yen says draft safety standards would force online services ... to access, collect and read users' private conversations'

Premier says North East Link to connect M80 Ring Road to the Eastern Freeway will likely cost $26.1bn

EU decides to open membership negotiations with Ukraine; Putin says there will only be peace in Ukraine when we achieve our aims'

Australian Medical Association study also shows $500 difference in benefits between insurers for identical procedures

Bloc's leaders decide to open negotiations after hours of talks as Viktor Orban says Hungary does not want to take part in bad decision'

Report calls for immediate closure of Wethersfield as conditions causing irreparable harm to residentsAsylum seekers housed in the UK's largest mass accommodation site have attempted to kill themselves and set themselves on fire because of conditions no different from Libya", according to a report.The controversial Wethersfield site, on a remote military airbase near Braintree in Essex, is in the constituency of the home secretary, James Cleverly, who said earlier this year in a social media post that the site was not appropriate". Continue reading...

Emmy-winning actor, who also starred in Homicide: Life on the Street, died at age 61

Defence minister addresses US national security adviser as Biden administration presses for end to warIsrael will fight on until absolute victory against Hamas", the country's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told a senior official from the Biden administration, as another minister said the war could last more than several months".Netanyahu's comments were made to Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden's national security adviser, during a visit to Israel hours after its defence minister, Yoav Gallant, told Sullivan that many more months were needed to defeat Hamas in Gaza. Continue reading...

Local authority covering some of richest areas in England says it spent 11m preparing for rail lineA council in one of the wealthiest parts of the UK has warned it faces potential bankruptcy due to the devastating" impact of cancelling the northern leg of HS2.Leaders of Cheshire East council in north-west England said the authority had spent 11m preparing for the high-speed rail link, and this would now have to be written off. Most of this money - 8.6m - had been funded by borrowing and would now have to be funded from the council's already stretched revenue budget. Continue reading...

Decision after hours of tense negotiations in Brussels is critical boost to Volodymyr ZelenskiyThe EU has decided to open membership negotiations with Ukraine, in an unexpected move that will be a critical boost to Volodymyr Zelenskiy and deal a blow to Vladimir Putin.The announcement, made on Thursday after eight hours of tense negotiations in Brussels, came despite the opposition of Hungary, whose prime minister, Viktor Orban, had for weeks said it would veto any opening of accession talks. Continue reading...

Mother expresses relief at finally knowing who killed her daughter, 14, as Robert O'Brien, Andrew Kelly and Donna Marie Brand are found guiltyThree people have been convicted of the murder of a 14-year-old girl in 1996, with the judge describing their actions as depraved, brutal and wicked".Robert O'Brien, 45, and Andrew Kelly and Donna Marie Brand, both 44, were found guilty of killing O'Brien's girlfriend Caroline Glachan in West Dunbartonshire. Continue reading...

US and UK criticise move while one of the five decries transnational repression harassment tactics'Hong Kong police have offered million-dollar bounties for information leading to the arrest of five overseas-based activists, as part of a crackdown on dissent under a China-imposed national security law.The move, which adds to a list of eight overseas activists deemed fugitives by authorities in July, triggered criticism from the US and UK governments. Continue reading...

Israeli military says soldiers have been removed from duties after incident in West Bank cityThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have condemned the behaviour of several of their soldiers who were filmed singing and mocking the Islamic call to prayer over the loudspeaker of a mosque in the city of Jenin.The incident came during three days of raids in the occupied West Bank, during which Israeli troops have killed 12 Palestinians, including one youth shot dead at a hospital, according to Palestinian officials and international health charities. Continue reading...

Three held in Germany and one in Netherlands over plans for possible attacks on Jewish institutions, prosecutor saysFour people have been arrested in Germany and the Netherlands on suspicion of being part of a cross-border Hamas terror plot that German prosecutors said aimed to obtain weapons to target Jewish institutions in Europe.Three others were arrested in Denmark on separate terrorism offences, and the country's politicians indicated they were also Hamas related, while the prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said the threat was as serious as it gets". Continue reading...

Guilty plea at Old Bailey relates to alleged plot involving publication of videos on eunuch maker' websiteA man has admitted to participating in castration by clamping" as part of an alleged extreme body modification plot.Ion Ciucur, 29, a Romanian national who lives in Gretna Green, Scotland, admitted conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm at the Old Bailey on Thursday. Continue reading...

Regulator to look at whether the platform broke the law by giving inaccurate informationThe UK communications regulator has opened an investigation into whether TikTok gave inaccurate" information about its parental controls to the watchdog.Ofcom said it had asked the social video platform for information about its Family Pairing system and that is has reason to believe that the information it provided was inaccurate". Continue reading...

Severe explosion' at industrial estate in Rhondda Cynon Taf on Wednesday evening destroyed at least one buildingA body has been found by search teams after an explosion and a fire at an industrial estate in south Wales that destroyed at least one building.Almost 24 hours after the incident at Treforest industrial estate in Rhondda Cynon Taf, police said the body of a missing person had been found. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary says ceasefire needs to be sustainable' as he appears before House of Lords European affairs committeeRishi Sunak has said that he is open to considering ways in which his Rwanda bill can be improved".With Conservative rightwingers and centrists both wanting to amend the bill, in opposite directions, when it returns to the Commons in the new year, Sunak signalled that the government would be open to accepting some changes.I've been very consistently clear, as have all ministers, if there are ways that the legislation can be improved, to be made even more effective - with a respectable legal argument and maintaining the participation of the Rwandans in the scheme - of course we would be open to that, who wouldn't be?This is a damning report from the cross-party standards committee, clearly concluding that Scott Benton seriously breached parliamentary rules in flaunting his position as a parliamentarian in exchange for remuneration.This is not an isolated case, but comes off the back of a wave of Tory sleaze and scandal. Continue reading...

European court of human rights finds that Polish abortion legislation breached a pregnant woman's right to privacy and family life, after her foetus was diagnosed with Down's syndromePoland's 2020 abortion legislation violated the rights of a woman who was forced to travel abroad to access an abortion, the European court of human rights ruled on Thursday.The court found that while the legislation, which prevented the applicant from accessing an abortion after her foetus was diagnosed with trisomy 21 (Down's syndrome), did not legally amount to inhuman or degrading treatment", it did violate her right to privacy and family life, protected under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Continue reading...

Bill does not include a number of conservative policy demands, though Republicans won concessions on DEI training in militaryCongress passed a US defense policy bill on Thursday that authorizes the biggest pay rise for troops in more than two decades, while leaving behind many of the policy priorities that social conservatives were clamoring for.Lawmakers have been negotiating a final bill for months. Some of the priorities championed by social conservatives were a no-go for Democrats, so negotiators dropped them from the final product to get it over the finish line. Continue reading...

Use of ecstasy and nitrous oxide fall overall and drug use of all kinds falls among younger peopleOne in 100 people in England and Wales took hallucinogenic drugs in the last year, as magic mushroom" use increased by tens of thousands of people, while use of ecstasy and nitrous oxide fell.Increasing use by older adults was behind the rise in psychedelic tripping, according to annual figures about drug use among 16 to 59-year-olds from the Office for National Statistics. Continue reading...

High-level negotiations in St Vincent will discuss Venezuelan president's claim for two-thirds of neighbour's oil-rich territoryVenezuela risks becoming an international pariah if President Nicolas Maduro does not de-escalate growing tensions with Guyana, the neighbouring nation's foreign minister told the Guardian ahead of a high-level meeting between the two countries.We've seen throughout history what happens to nation states who decide to go it alone ... it usually sets the country back decades," Hugh Todd said ahead of the summit in St Vincent on Thursday. Continue reading...

Experts say crumbling concrete and other issues threaten catastrophic failures or major disruption to clinical services'The NHS in England has a record repairs bill of almost 12bn, new figures show, with ministers needing to find more than 2bn for urgent maintenance to prevent catastrophic failure.The annual report into the condition of the health service's estate said on Thursday that the cost of improving rundown buildings and decrepit equipment is two and a half times larger than in 2011-2012, when it stood at 4.7bn. Continue reading...

After almost a decade on the frontline, the city is a wreck, with just 1,200 people left, but it remains of huge symbolic valueFor two months, the Russian army has been trying to seize the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka. First, it launched a massive frontal assault. Dozens of pieces of equipment were destroyed. Then it dispatched armoured columns in different directions. Now, in a third wave, small groups of infantry are being sent to penetrate Ukrainian positions.There are dozens of bodies. They try to advance. We kill them. They send more," said Ivan Smaga, the deputy commander of Ukraine's 25th storm battalion, which is defending Avdiivka. To begin with it was groups of 10 men. Now it's one or two or three without support. Their commander uses them like live meat." Continue reading...

Emmanuelle Debever died on same day the allegations were re-aired on TV, according to French mediaEmmanuelle Debever, a French actor who was among the first to accuse Gerard Depardieu of sexual assault, died earlier this month, the same day her allegations against her former co-star were re-aired on television, French media reported.Debever, who in 2019 accused Depardieu of assaulting her on the set of the 1982 film Danton, died on 7 December, Liberation newspaper reported on Thursday. Continue reading...

Donations in support of refugee and asylum seekers have got off to a strong start thanks to our readers

Standards committee recommends 35-day suspension, which could trigger byelection in former Tory's Blackpool South seat

Singer suffers sudden illness while on tour and cancels remainder of datesPatti Smith has been briefly hospitalised following an illness while on tour in Italy.The 76-year-old singer had been due to perform in Bologna but she cancelled the concert after suffering what the city's Teatro Duse venue described as a sudden illness". Continue reading...

PM dismisses dissent among his MPs to his Rwanda bill as debating society' behaviour

Seyyed Farshchi, 50, worked refugee relentlessly' for little pay and threatened to have him sent back to his home countryA Melbourne chiropractor who subjected a vulnerable refugee to forced labour for his own financial gain has urged a judge not to send him to prison.A county court jury in October found Seyyed Farshchi, 50, guilty of causing a person to remain in forced labour and conducting a business involving forced labour.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Folbigg to seek NSW government compensation payout bigger than any substantial payment' ever made, lawyer says

Students across the state take to social media to share reactions to top marks while premier says results are just a step on your journey'

Broadcaster also hits back during defamation trial at suggestion she was captured' by Brittany Higgins and had no desire to check or scrutinise anything she said'

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