Deadline is 31 January, although there will then be six-month grace period with such post still deliveredDo you have a book of stamps in your wallet, purse or drawer at home? Maybe you have stockpiled them to avoid future price rises.If so, you need to be aware that the official deadline for using up stamps without barcodes – notably the regular first and second-class “everyday” stamps featuring the profile of the late Queen – is getting closer. Continue reading...
Covid-19 situation across the strait, and concern at home sparked by Taiwan’s reopening for travel, have put strain on medicine suppliesTaiwan may restrict the bulk buying of pain relief medications as people stock up, with some planning to ship their purchases to China, where the worsened Covid-19 situation has put a strain on supplies.Hsueh Jui-yuan, Taiwan’s minister of health and welfare, told lawmakers at a legislative committee hearing on Thursday that the health agency would first instruct pharmacies to advise customers not to snap up Panadol and related drugs. Continue reading...
Seven or Nine would have to partner with Fox to compete with bid, but they are talking up their ability to promote the gameIn the life cycle of a Cricket Australia administration, nothing matters more than the home broadcast deal. There is prize money, ICC distributions, overseas broadcasts, but the value of showing the major summer sport to an Australian audience dwarfs the lot. Everything that CA does depends on that cashflow, as well as keeping cricket in front of as many people as possible. The current contract has another season to run, but with channels Seven, Nine, Ten, and Fox Sports all keen for a slice next time, everyone wants a deal done now.Last time, in 2018 in the dying months of James Sutherland’s time in charge, was a landmark missed opportunity. Channel Ten had spent the preceding years making a success of the Big Bash League, and with the backing of US giant CBS, offered $960m to put every Australian cricket match on free-to-air. That meant domestic men’s and women’s games, boosting the Sheffield Shield and the 50-over competitions along with internationals and the BBL. But CA wanted to top a billion dollars, and after a verbal agreement with Ten, reneged to split the rights between Seven and Fox for a relatively small increase to $1.18bn, with plenty of that value in contra advertising rather than in cash. Continue reading...
‘We believe we have agreed on a way forward that benefits this country,’ party leader Viliame Gavoka told reporters after an internal party voteFiji’s Social Democratic Liberal party (Sodelpa) said on Friday that it would form a coalition with two other parties, a move that will dislodge the current prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, signalling an end to the former military leader’s 16 years in power.“We believe we have agreed on a way forward that benefits this country,” party leader Viliame Gavoka said in a news conference after an internal party vote. Continue reading...
League of Gentlemen star’s two programmes are part of a rich seam of shows about the supernatural this yearThis year’s Christmas TV and radio schedules feature more spooky and supernatural content than before the pandemic, reflecting a hunger for answers during uncertain times or grief for loved ones.That’s according to Sherlock and League of Gentlemen writer and actor Mark Gatiss, who will be appearing in two ghostly programmes over the Christmas period. Continue reading...
Extradition of Abdullah al-Senussi over Lockerbie bombing would have closely followed that of Mohammed Abouagela MasudThe extradition to the US of Muammar Gaddafi’s most trusted and notorious aide was abruptly halted by Libya at the 11th hour this week for fear of public anger after the handover of another ex-senior Libyan intelligence operative, officials in Tripoli have told the Guardian.Abdullah al-Senussi, a former intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Gaddafi, is blamed for a series of lethal bombings directed at western aviation as well as other targets. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#674GZ)
Passengers arriving in UK can expect longer queues while mail may not arrive in time for ChristmasBorder Force officials will on Friday join the wave of industrial action across Britain, starting the first of a series of strikes at airports, while Royal Mail workers walk out again for two days before Christmas.Passengers travelling into the UK have been warned to be prepared for longer queues at immigration in airports, while many letters and parcels will now go undelivered before Christmas, as staff take action over pay trailing behind inflation. Continue reading...
UK ministers considering ‘nuclear option’ after MSPs overwhelmingly back bill on transgender rightsRishi Sunak’s government is threatening to block a new law that would make Scotland the first part of the UK to introduce a self-identification system for people who want to change gender.In a significant escalation that brings tensions around transgender rights into the constitutional arena, Westminster made clear it would consider a “nuclear option” of blocking the bill from going for royal assent, a move that would enrage supporters of the changes and nationalists. Continue reading...
by Jennifer Rankin in Brussels and Helena Smith in At on (#6743H)
Kaili is one of four charged with corruption and money laundering in relation to Qatar and will go on trial in BelgiumEva Kaili, the Greek MEP at the centre of a cash for influence scandal implicating Qatar, will remain in jail pending trial, a Belgian court has decided.“In its order this morning, the pre-council chamber extended the pre-trial detention of E.K by one month,” said a statement from the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office. If Kaili chooses to appeal against the decision within 24 hours, she will appear before a chamber at the Brussels court of appeal within 15 days. Continue reading...
Unemployed mother of two is among winners as world’s biggest lottery hands out prizes of up to €325,000A Gambian man who crossed from the Mediterranean by boat and an unemployed mother of two were among those rejoicing after the world’s biggest lottery sprayed money across Spain.On Thursday, the country celebrated the Christmas lottery known as El Gordo, or the Fat One, which dished out €2.5bn (£2.2bn) in prize money. Continue reading...
O2 venue to be subject to full hearing in January after fans at Asake gig were trapped in crowd surgeThe O2 Academy Brixton has had its licence suspended following last week’s crush at the south London venue in which two people died and others were injured.Fans attending a gig by the Afrobeats singer Asake were trapped in a crowd surge outside last Thursday night when a large number of people tried to enter the venue, leading to two deaths. A third person is still in a critical condition and eight others needed hospital care. Continue reading...
‘Don’t mingle’ advice comes as UK Health Security Agency says scarlet fever and strep A infections continue to riseFlu and Covid are on the rise in England, with experts stressing the importance of vaccination and warning that people who feel unwell should stay at home rather than mingling with others during the festive season.The figures come as cases of scarlet fever and strep A infections continue to rise. Continue reading...
Judge at Cardiff hearing rejects families’ complaint, saying relationships curriculum does not advocate any one gender identityA group of parents has lost a legal challenge against the teaching of children about gender identity and sex in primary schools across Wales.Campaigners launched a judicial review in the high court against the Welsh government’s new relationships and sexuality education (RSE) curriculum, which they depicted as “dangerous” and “woke”. Continue reading...
Federal intelligence service says man is suspected of treason for sharing state secrets this yearGermany arrested a foreign intelligence service agent on Wednesday on suspicion of sharing state secrets with Russia this year, raiding his home and workplace as well as that of another person.“The accused is suspected of state treason,” the federal prosecutors’ office said in a statement. “In 2022, he shared information that he came by in the course of his work with a Russian intelligence agency. The content is considered a state secret.” Continue reading...
Private university to pay £37,000 after missing multiple deadlines and creating ‘significant regulatory risk’The University of Buckingham has been fined by England’s higher education regulator for missing multiple deadlines to publish its audited accounts, creating “a significant regulatory risk” in the event of financial failure.Officially opened by Margaret Thatcher as education secretary in 1976 – becoming the UK’s first private university since the first world war – Buckingham is the first university to be fined by the Office for Students (OfS). Continue reading...
Shopworkers union Usdaw can proceed to top UK court with case highlighting supermarket tactic involving lower payThe shopworkers union Usdaw has been given the green light by the supreme court to challenge Tesco’s controversial tactic of firing staff then rehiring them on less favourable contracts.The union was granted permission to proceed with a case after the appeal court overturned a high court ruling that banned Tesco from dismissing staff at its warehouses in Daventry and Litchfield and then seeking to re-employ them on lower pay. Continue reading...
Agreements with parties to support Likud in power could regularise illegal settlements in occupied territoriesBenjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that an extremist anti-Arab party will join his new coalition as he prepares to return as prime minister for what would be the most rightwing government in Israel’s history.The agreement, which further heightens the powers of Itamar Ben-Gvir, the firebrand head of the Jewish Power party and incoming national security minister, came hours after Netanyahu informed the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, that he had succeeded in forming a government. It is due to be sworn in by 2 January. Continue reading...
Stoppage by 48 PCS union members to run until Christmas Day, as RAC warns of heavier than usual road traffic due to rail strikes* How England’s motorists face tougher trip this ChristmasNational Highways workers have started strike action that will run until Christmas Day, as millions start their Christmas getaways by road.Nearly 20m road journeys are expected to be made in the UK this week, with Friday and Christmas Eve alone forecast to account for nearly 8m journeys, the RAC said. Continue reading...
Vehicles to be banned due to batteries that can produce ‘vapour of toxic gases and lead to fire or risk of explosion’Avanti West Coast has issued a ban on e-scooters across all its trains and stations over safety fears.The train operator said that from Tuesday 27 December the devices will be prohibited because of the risk posed by the lithium-ion batteries that are normally in e-scooters. It said these batteries can produce “a vapour of toxic gases and lead to a fire or a risk of explosion” if they become damaged or overheated. Continue reading...
Police say there’s ‘nothing really to indicate’ that the Wieambilla shooting could be classified as terrorismExperts have questioned why Queensland police have resisted classifying the murder of two police officers in Wieambilla as terrorism, amid evidence that the shooters had been inspired by fundamentalist Christianity and conspiracy theories.Queensland deputy police commissioner Tracy Linford on Thursday said the murder of constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold on a remote property was not deemed an act of domestic terror because there was no evidence of a connection to any “particular group”.
Industry body says industrial action and weather led to cancellation rate of 30% across UK last weekSales at pubs, bars and restaurants in the City of London last week were almost half of pre-pandemic levels, as rail strikes and wintry weather caused a string of bookings to be cancelled.The financial district was the worst affected part of London, with sales down 46% in the week beginning 12 December compared with the same period in 2019, according to the sector’s trade body, UKHospitality. Continue reading...
People living in Tower Hamlets blocks complain of mould and cold conditions, as gas system issue also leaves them without hot waterTwo residential blocks in Tower Hamlets in east London have been without heating and hot water for 91 days, with residents saying the conditions were leading to children falling ill.Residents in Milo and Diagoras House in Bow have had no heating or hot water since 22 September after issues with the gas system were found. Internal works to remedy the situation did not start until 31 October.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...
Capital most popular location by some distance after south-west led for several months last yearThe lockdown dream of leaving the city behind and owning a spacious house in the countryside or by the sea faded in 2022 as homebuyers picked up where they left off before the pandemic: house hunting in London.Rightmove said the capital was 2022’s top location by some distance with searches 9% higher than last year. Meanwhile the number of searches for homes in Cornwall and Devon fell sharply although the counties, famous for their spectacular coastlines, hung on to second and third place on the property website’s annual list of most searched for locations. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#672VA)
Vote on law that would remove need for diagnosis of gender dysphoria to obtain gender recognition certificate pushed back after fraught debateThe final vote on the Scottish government’s long-awaited changes to simplify how someone can legally change gender has been delayed until Thursday after two days of fraught, chaotic and sometimes emotional debate among MSPs.With discussion of more than 150 amendments continuing late into Wednesday night, the decision was taken by Holyrood business managers to reschedule the crunch vote for Thursday afternoon rather than have the session run on into the early hours. It concluded at about 1.30am. Continue reading...
Bags containing toxic thornapple leaves have been recalled but cautious shoppers are still leaving the vegetable on supermarket shelvesAustralians are being reassured that spinach is safe to eat, after sales dropped by 30% this week amid concerns that weeds mixed in with some of the leafy green products poisoned about 200 people.Shoppers are leaving bags of spinach on supermarket shelves during the busiest time of the year after Riviera Farms products were recalled this week amid a contamination scare.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...
Campaign to stem the spread of the disease takes place against a backdrop of political chaos, gang violence and fuel shortagesHaiti has received its first shipment of cholera vaccines since an outbreak was declared more than two months ago.The first of the 1.1m doses, delivered last week, will be distributed in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding areas in the hope of stemming the spread of the disease, which has been aided by political instability and lawlessness. Continue reading...
Critics say President Salva Kiir is unfit to lead long-suffering nation while others decry mocking of ‘an elder’Footage of the South Sudanese president Salva Kiir apparently urinating on himself at an official event has sparked an online debate across Africa about his ability to lead the country, and the ethics of sharing the incident on social media.Standing for the national anthem while opening a new road last week, Kiir, 71, seemed at first unaware of what was happening. After a pool formed at his feet, some of his entourage noticed and the film crew that was broadcasting the event live abruptly pointed the camera away from the ceremony. Continue reading...
Theme park settles case with husband of Cindy Low, who was one of four who died in 2016 accidentGold Coast theme park Dreamworld has agreed to pay $2.15m to the husband and two children of a woman who died when a ride malfunctioned in 2016.Sydney woman Cindy Low, 42, died on the Thunder River Rapids ride, along with Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett and Roozi Araghi, when a water pump failed and caused the raft they were in to overturn. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#672ZM)
The SNP’s proposals including making it easier to get a gender recognition certificate polarised national politics and provoked angry debates over rightsWhen Scotland’s first minster Nicola Sturgeon pledged to reform gender recognition laws at a LGBTQ+ leaders’ hustings before the 2016 Holyrood elections, she could not have envisaged the escalating toxicity and political polarisation that would ultimately surround her plans, nor the personal toll it would exact.The proposals to bring in a system of self-declaration for individuals wishing to change their legal gender has led to multiple protests outside the Holyrood parliament, booing the avowedly feminist first minister as a “destroyer of women’s rights”. It has prompted the SNP’s biggest ever backbench rebellion and brought Sturgeon head to head with another of Scotland’s best-known women, the Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who on the eve of the final vote described the gender recognition reform bill as “the single biggest roll back of women’s rights in our lifetimes”. Continue reading...
Border Force official does not rule out possibility of airport closures when staff go on strike from FridayPassengers travelling into the UK during a strike by Border Force staff over the holiday period should prepare for the prospect of long delays and a remote possibility that airports could close, a senior Border Force official has said.The warning came as a senior Home Office source said soldiers and civil servants covering for striking Border Force staff would not have the skills needed to spot modern slavery victims. Continue reading...
After a couple of U-turns the PM wants to show he can’t be pushed around on pay rises but the public are on the side of health workersWhen Rishi Sunak appeared in front of parliament’s powerful liaison committee this week he doubled down on NHS pay rises in what looked very much like an attempt to turn the winter of strikes into his Thatcher moment.Just like his political heroine before him, he faced down the unions, telling MPs the country couldn’t afford bigger public sector pay rises; warning they risked making inflation worse; and that politicians should not “cut across” the independent pay review process. Continue reading...
Rolling, live coverage as Octopus prepares to take on Bulb customers following collapse and lengthy administrationThe value of the pound has slipped back on Wednesday morning after UK government finances data showed borrowing that was higher than economists had expected.It is not a huge move, but the pound is trading at about $1.2130 against the US dollar, down 0.4% today. You can see how it moved down this morning. Continue reading...
Volodymyr Zelenskiy will use Biden invitation to bolster alliance as some in US criticise huge aid packages for Ukraine warA few months ago Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s aides were adamant. The president would not go abroad until Russia was defeated. In the days after Vladimir Putin’s February invasion, as Russian tanks rolled towards Kyiv, Zelenskiy refused to flee. He turned down offers of assistance and told his citizens: “I’m here”. He also famously declared: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”On Wednesday, however, Zelenskiy was riding to Washington by plane at the personal invitation of President Joe Biden. It is his first foreign trip since Russia’s full-scale attack. It comes at a pivotal moment: on the battlefield, where Russian and Ukrainian troops are locked in a grinding face-off, and in the politically rancorous halls of the US Congress. Continue reading...
Three time Wimbledon champion says prison experience left him ‘shrewder and humbler’ in German TV interview after deportationTennis legend Boris Becker has spoken of his fear of being murdered during the eight months he spent in prison in the UK but insisted the overall experience, including small food portions and no alcohol or cigarettes, has been good for his health.The former Wimbledon champion appeared considerably slimmed down and healthier than the last time he appeared in public in April before he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail for concealing £2.5m of assets. He was speaking for the first time since his release from prison and deportation to Germany, via a friend’s private jet, almost a week ago. Continue reading...
Simon Pizzey was determined to find owners of misdelivered box marked with name of Manston asylum centreAn NHS boss has kept a vow he made to himself to reunite two small boat arrivals with precious belongings from which they were separated for 68 days, having been delivered to him by mistake.Simon Pizzey, 35, who works for an NHS trust in Leicestershire, said the seven days between receiving the sodden belongings and tracking down their owners was “an epic journey of emotional highs and lows”. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#672J2)
Study of people born in 1921 shows happiness is linked to independence, with many using ‘subversive tactics’ to maintain thisIt is the age of rebellion. They may be frail, but 95-year-olds engage in miniature campaigns of “resistance and subversion” to foster a sense of control over their lives, a study has confirmed.From refusing to wear emergency call buttons to casting aside walking sticks, many members of a cohort born in 1921 studied by health scientists at the Universities of York and Newcastle used “subversive tactics to maintain a level of independence,”, often laced with humour and secrecy aimed at their offspring. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#672GX)
£8.8m to fund hundreds of supported housing places for ex-armed forces in England that had faced closureUK ministers have pledged to end rough sleeping among military veterans next year after announcing more than £8.8m to fund hundreds of supported housing places that had faced closure.Johnny Mercer, the minister for veterans affairs, and Rishi Sunak will host homeless former members of the armed forces, as well as charities at Downing Street on Wednesday to mark the launch of a scheme called Operation Fortitude. The scheme will enable veterans at risk of homelessness to access supported housing and wraparound specialist care in health, accommodation and education. Continue reading...
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