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Foreign minister of Guyana condemns Venezuela president for holding referendum on country's claim to EssequiboThe foreign minister of the tiny South American nation of Guyana has said that neighbouring Venezuela is on the wrong side of history" as it risks sparking conflict over an oil-rich and long-contested swath of rainforest.Tensions between the two countries have reached unprecedented heights ahead of a referendum on Sunday intended to rubber-stamp Venezuela's claim on the region of Essequibo. Continue reading...

Beijing's strained relations with the west are less easily mollified by loans of cuddly endangered bearsAs the UK's only giant pandas leave Edinburgh zoo , returning to their native country after a 12-year sojourn away from China, the era of panda diplomacy also looks to be coming to an end.Tian Tian and Yang Guang will board the panda express back to Sichuan less than a month after three giant pandas left the Smithsonian national zoo in Washington DC, ending the zoo's five-decade panda programme. Continue reading...

Racing body will need to scramble to replace chair after Coalition and crossbench team up to try to strengthen oversight

Study covering period in late October and early November shows damage to 10 hospitals and health facilities

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Labor announces it will commit $46m towards $137m cost of upgrading Ekka showgrounds

Governor Ron DeSantis scheduled six of the country's 25 executions this year amid his presidential election bidThe US saw a rise in executions in 2023 as a result of Florida's revival of the death penalty, amid Ron DeSantis's tough on crime" campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.DeSantis scheduled six executions this year - the first time the state has judicially killed people since 2019 and the largest number in almost a decade. Florida also handed down five new death sentences this year, more than any other state. Continue reading...

Vessel was near Andalucian shore when passengers, believed to be from north Africa, were apparently pushed overboardSpanish police have opened an inquiry after four people were killed as a result of being forced out of a moving speedboat into the sea just metres from the southern shores of Andalucia.In a tactic the EU border agency has said is becoming increasingly common, the people who died on Wednesday were among 27 passengers apparently forced off the fast-moving vessel by its drivers near Camposoto beach in the province of Cadiz, officials said. Another eight were left near Sancti Petri beach. Continue reading...

Operation Maximise aims to cram' people into hotel rooms in attempt to drive down costsConcerns are mounting for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers living in accommodation provided by the Home Office as the government ramps up its Operation Maximise exercise to cram" more people into hotel rooms.A Guardian investigation has identified cases including that of a transgender man who slept on a staircase because he was afraid for his safety, and a gay man who was afraid to get undressed because of the amount of homophobic abuse he received. Continue reading...

Class-action lawsuit alleges footballer's promotion of world's largest cryptocurrency exchange was deceptive and unlawful'Cristiano Ronaldo has been hit with a class-action lawsuit seeking at least $US1bn in damages for his role in promoting cryptocurrency-related non-fungible tokens," or NFTs, issued by the beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange Binance.The lawsuit filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida on Monday alleges the footballer's promotion of Binance was deceptive and unlawful". Continue reading...

Liam Conlon is selected for the new Beckenham and Penge constituency in the south-east of the capitalThe son of Keir Starmer's chief of staff, Sue Gray, has been selected to stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election.Liam Conlon will run to become an MP in the Beckenham and Penge constituency in south-east London in the election expected to take place in 2024. Continue reading...

The photographer's storied career included defining pictures of Marilyn Monroe, Richard Nixon and a host of dogsElliott Erwitt, the photographer of American life, political history, starlets and humor, died on Thursday at his home in Manhattan, his daughter Sasha confirmed to the New York Times. He was 95.Over a remarkably varied, peripatetic career spanning more than 70 years, Erwitt captured numerous famous images, ranging from the somber (Jacqueline Kennedy clutching the flag from her husband's coffin at his funeral) to the glamorous (Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich) to the absurd (a glowing Coca-Cola machine amid a display of missiles in Alabama). Originally a photojournalist, Erwitt published more than 20 books during his lifetime and starred in numerous solo exhibitions at such institutions as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Musee d'Art Moderne in Paris and the Barbican in London. Continue reading...

Industry takings top 15bn as government considers curbs on online slots due to association with addictionGambling firms are raking in more money than ever from UK punters, fuelled by a surge in the use of online slot machines, which the government is considering curbing due to their association with heavy losses and addiction.The betting and gaming industry's revenues reached 15.1bn in the year to March 2023, or 10.95bn excluding the National Lottery, figures from the Gambling Commission released on Thursday show. Continue reading...

Jury hears woman's 999 call and sees CCTV footage showing teenagers walking homeThe teenagers accused of murdering Brianna Ghey, 16, were pictured on CCTV walking home together after the attack, after being disturbed at the scene by a couple walking their dogs.The two 16-year-olds, a girl and a boy, who cannot be named, ran away from Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington shortly after Brianna was stabbed 28 times on 11 February this year, Manchester crown court heard. Continue reading...

Ex-health secretary has described Boris Johnson's Downing Street as undermined by culture of fear'Tens of thousands of lives could have been saved if the UK had locked down three weeks earlier, Matt Hancock has told the Covid inquiry, as he described the operation of Boris Johnson's Downing Street as undermined by a culture of fear".The former health secretary said his staff were abused by Dominic Cummings and that Johnson's then chief adviser attempted to exclude ministers and even Johnson himself from key decisions at the start of the pandemic, hampering the government's response. Continue reading...

Michael D Higgins compares Pogues frontman's songs with perfectly crafted poems'The Irish president, Michael D Higgins, has led Ireland's tributes to Shane MacGowan, describing the Pogues frontman as one of music's greatest lyricists".After the singer's death at the age of 65, Higgins compared MacGowan's songs with perfectly crafted poems" that captured the measure of our dreams". Continue reading...

Dutch version of book pulped after king and duchess named as speculating about skin colour of Harry and Meghan's son, in pages on unconscious bias'A royal author has said an investigation is under way into how the Dutch version of his new book named two senior members of the British royal family alleged to have discussed the skin colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's unborn son.In an edition that has now been withdrawn from bookshelves, King Charles and the Princess of Wales were named as taking part in conversations about Prince Archie before his birth, according to allegations in the book that have been broadcast on TV programmes in the UK and the Netherlands. Continue reading...

Creative director targets east Asia's luxury market as his preppy streetwear is given a tropical twistFor his first show as men's creative director of Louis Vuitton in June, Pharrell Williams closed down the Pont Neuf in Paris, and counted mega-celebrities including Beyonce and Jay-Z, and Rihanna and A$AP Rocky as guests.His second effort took place in Hong Kong and focused on local stars in the front row. The actors Zhu Yilong and Chow Yun-fat were joined by three members of the Cantopop band Mirror and the rapper Tyson Yoshi. There was also a take on celestial stars, with a light show at the end rendering the Louis Vuitton monogram in twinkling lights across the city's harbour. Continue reading...

Matthew Hedges, tortured in UAE in 2018, tells reporters and activists to take clean phones and watch who they deal withJournalists and campaigners attending the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai should not be naive" and take steps to protect their physical and digital security, a British academic who was tortured in the summit's host country has warned.Matthew Hedges, who was detained in the United Arab Emirates for seven months in 2018, advised reporters and activists to take new, clean phones, think carefully about who they deal with and how and where they protest. Continue reading...

One of the all-time great bandleaders and writer of Christmas classic Fairytale of New York, MacGowan invigorated rock with the power of Irish folk musicShane MacGowan, the lead singer and songwriter of trailblazing Celtic punk band the Pogues and one of the all-time great bandleaders, has died aged 65 following a long period of ill health. His wife Victoria Mary Clarke said: Shane will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love of my life."In December 2022, he was hospitalised with viral encephalitis, and as a result spent several months of 2023 in intensive care. Continue reading...

Lender to ramp up cost-cutting plans after rescue deal and assess seven-days-a-week branch modelMetro Bank plans to cut about 800 jobs by the end of March, and review its famous seven-days-a-week branch model, after ramping up cost-cutting plans in the wake of last month's multimillion-pound rescue deal.The lender said plans to cut a fifth of its 4,000-strong workforce followed further evaluation of the cost base", which found it could save up to 50m a year, including by investing in automation and potentially scaling back opening hours for its 76 branches. Continue reading...

Anthony Hurndall, whose son was shot by the IDF in 2003, has called on governments to challenge Israeli claims about deaths of women and childrenWestern governments are actively encourag[ing] the killing of women and children" in Gaza, because they are not willing to challenge Israeli accounts of the war there, the father of a British peace activist killed by an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) sniper has warned.Anthony Hurndall's son, Tom Hurndall, was shot in the head in April 2003 in Rafah, while he was helping Palestinian children. Continue reading...

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Defensive weapon called a sasumata gains popular appeal after jewellery store owner uses one to fend off attackersAn employee at a jewellery shop in Tokyo has been hailed a hero after thwarting an attempted robbery and giving chase after the three suspects fled. But the hero of the hour wasn't armed with a Taser or pepper spray, but with a weapon invented hundreds of years by samurai warriors: the sasumata, a pole with two prongs attached to the end.After footage of the attempted robbery early on Sunday evening attracted attention online, an auto parts manufacturer that also makes the forked pole reported a deluge of requests for the traditional weapon. Continue reading...

Opposition leader's call follows latest court order to free Iranian asylum seeker who had been detained since 2013

Family of Paul Rusesabagina, who campaigned to have him freed from jail, say country's justice system is a tool to oppress people'The Rwandan legal system is incapable of protecting refugees sent from the UK, according to the daughters of Paul Rusesabagina, the man who inspired the Oscar-nominated movie Hotel Rwanda.Carine and Anaise Kanimba campaigned for more than two years to secure the release of their father, who was freed from a Kigali jail after three years of incarceration earlier this year, and they have detailed first-hand knowledge of the true nature of the Rwandan legal system. Continue reading...

With olives the largest single agricultural product on the West Bank, Palestinians say Israeli restrictions and settler violence are losing them $70mShaadi, Isa and Mahmud Saleh look out across the valley, bite their nails, wring their hands and worry. There is no work locally and travelling to find any is almost impossible because of restrictions imposed by Israel on the occupied West Bank after the 7 October attacks by Hamas that killed more than 1,200 people. The main road into their village has been almost entirely blocked. Their debts are mounting up.There has never been anything like this," says Isa, 73. Life is not normal." Continue reading...

As the Cop28 climate summit begins in Dubai today, a secret Saudi Arabian plan to get poorer countries hooked on its harmful products' has emerged. Damian Carrington reportsDelegates from every country in the world are meeting today at the beginning of the Cop28 climate talks in Dubai, hosted by the United Arab Emirates. The scale of the challenge ahead of them is immense: phasing out the fossil fuels that power the global economy before a planetary tipping point is reached.As the Guardian's environment editor, Damian Carrington, tells Michael Safi this week, that task has got even tougher. It has emerged that Saudi Arabia is driving a huge global investment plan to create demand for its oil and gas in developing countries. Critics say the plan is designed to get countries hooked on its harmful products". Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. Follow the latest updates in our new Israel-Hamas blogForeign ministers of the Group of Seven countries have said in a joint statement that they support the further extension of the truce and future pauses in order to increase assistance and facilitate the release of all hostages.The group urged Hamas to release all the hostages immediately and unconditionally". Continue reading...

Seasonal bushfire outlook for 2023-24 suggests large areas of eastern Australia could burn but authorities say forecast not as dire as 2019's black summer

New Zealand's national icon is also one of its most vulnerable birds and conservationists believe it was absent from capital for generationsTwo kiwi chicks have been born in the wild around Wellington for the first time in more than 100 years, one year after an initiative began to reintroduce the national bird back to New Zealand's capital.The fluffy and flightless kiwi is one of the most vulnerable birds in New Zealand and conservationists believe it has been absent from the capital for generations. Continue reading...

The threatened bird index reveals largest declines were in Queensland and South Australia

Federal treasurer downplays prospect of posting a second successive budget surplus

Officials in the east African country are frustrated by delays in migrants arriving and negative attention scheme has engenderedThe UK and Rwanda remain committed to their controversial migrant deportation deal, sources have said, after reports emerged that support in Kigali for the agreement had cooled because of the continual delays.Westminster has already paid the Rwandan government more than 140m but nobody has been sent to the east African country yet. The first flight was scheduled for June 2022 but was cancelled after legal challenges. Continue reading...

STC says actors' demonstration hurt many in our community' while longtime board member resigns

Ten Israelis, two Russian citizens and four Thais have been handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza, according to the Israeli militarySixteen hostages have been released from captivity in Gaza, the Israeli military said, as diplomatic efforts continued to extend the truce further to allow for more exchanges.The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said late on Wednesday evening that two hostages with Russian citizenship had crossed into Egypt. Continue reading...

Tory MP queries claims marked withdrawn as government tries to clear backlog by end of yearRishi Sunak has been accused of losing control of the UK's borders after the Home Office admitted that it does not know the whereabouts of 17,000 people whose asylum claims have been withdrawn.Amid a stalled Rwanda deportation scheme and rising costs for housing people seeking refuge in hotels, senior civil servants in the department were told by the Conservative MP and deputy party chair Lee Anderson they hadn't got a clue" after failing to provide answers on people seeking refuge in the UK or foreign offender removals. Continue reading...

Tony-winning actor was known for screen roles in Misery, ER and Cheers, and for stage roles in On Golden Pond and The HeiressFrances Sternhagen, the Tony award-winning actor known for playing formidable women on stage in Driving Miss Daisy and on screen in Cheers, Misery and Sex and the City, has died at her home in New York. She was 93.Her son, John Carlin, confirmed her death on Instagram. Frannie," he wrote. Mom. Frances Sternhagen. On Monday night, Nov 27, she died peacefully at her home, a month and a half shy of her 94th birthday ... Fly on, Frannie. The curtain goes down on a life so richly, passionately, humbly and generously lived." Continue reading...

Inquiry hears extracts from Patrick Vallance's diary as ex-minister Sajid Javid gives evidence to inquiry

Camps also springing up in London and other cities as Liverpool council warns of housing emergencyThe number of homeless refugees in Glasgow has doubled in recent months as the Home Office accelerates its plan to clear the asylum backlog by the end of the year.Mini refugee camps are also springing up across London, and Liverpool council has said the situation is nothing short of an emergency". Continue reading...

Rush to write legislation means clauses to ban the leaseholds will be added via amendmentsMichael Gove's flagship bill to end leaseholds on newly built houses in England and Wales contains no provision to end leaseholds on newly built houses in England and Wales, as the key clauses to do so were omitted in a last-minute rush to write it.The housing secretary unveiled his long-promised leasehold reform bill this week, after the government announced it in the king's speech. Gove has long promised to end what he calls the feudal" leasehold system, which is unique to England and Wales among developed nations. Continue reading...

Restoration planned for renaissance master's work located in Naples home after vanishing from Italy's state records half a century agoA painting by Sandro Botticelli that was forgotten" for more than 50 years after disappearing from the Italian state's art records has been recovered from a family home near Naples.The artwork, which dates to the 15th century and is believed to be worth about 100m, was initially housed in a church in the town of Santa Maria la Carita, before being entrusted to a local family who kept it at a private residence for generations. Continue reading...

Team who made breakthrough hope acclaim will lead to more awareness of their value and the risks of their workThe rat hole" miners who finally rescued 41 Indian workers who had been trapped in a mountain tunnel for more than two weeks on Tuesday have said the operation involved 26 hours of digging by hand, as they sought to highlight the harsh conditions and lack of dignity faced by manual labourers in India.Munna Qureshi, 33, was the first of the 12-man team to break through a wall of rubble and lay eyes on the 41 workers who had been trapped in the collapsed tunnel in the Himalayan mountains since 12 November. Continue reading...

Local authority issues section 114 notice suspending spending as it admits it cannot balance budget

Regulator says that big discounts for members may be restricting competition and disadvantaging those outside the schemesThe competition watchdog is to investigate the effect on consumers of the rise of loyalty card price cuts amid concerns that they could limit competition and lead to price rises for shoppers not signed up to such marketing schemes.Sainsbury's began offering special discounts for its Nectar card holders in April when the Co-op also brought in members' pricing on some products, while Tesco has ramped up use of its Clubcard discounts this year. Lidl launched a loyalty scheme in 2020 and updated it last year so that shoppers had to spend more to get the top level of discounts. Continue reading...

Legal expert says court ruling in case where information accessed on work laptop at Mecrus confirms Australians still don't have a right to privacy'

Police will not seek warrant to dig up London site where serial killer claims to have buried ChauDetectives have decided that the convicted serial killer Levi Bellfield was lying when he made repeated sworn confessions to the kidnap, murder and burial of Elizabeth Chau, who went missing in 1999, the Guardian has learned.The decision means the Metropolitan police will not seek a warrant to dig up the west London site where Bellfield claimed to have buried the remains of Chau, 19, a computer studies student. Continue reading...

Judge says verdict is tentatively' three or four months away after 10 months of hearingsThe long-running national security trial of a group of pro-democracy figures known as the Hong Kong 47 began hearing closing arguments on Wednesday, more than 1,000 days after the accused were first arrested and after 10 months of hearings.The trial is Hong Kong's biggest since authorities introduced the national security law in June 2020. Ten days have been allowed for closing arguments and on Wednesday one of the judges, Andrew Chan, said a verdict was tentatively" three or four months away. Continue reading...

About 40 branches in New South Wales have now passed motions demanding a full ceasefire

Workers could be restricted to bringing one relative under plans to reduce migrationThe number of dependants that foreign care workers are allowed to bring in to the UK could be cut under government plans to reduce immigration, a cabinet minister has said.Steve Barclay, the environment secretary, said restrictions on dependant numbers were being considered by the home secretary, James Cleverly, as an option to reduce figures. Continue reading...