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Conservative former cabinet minister joins growing exodus of high-profile members of party

Health Security Agency confirms that child in Ealing, west London, has died from bacterial infectionA fourth child has died in the UK after contracting Strep A, as health officials issued warnings to parents and school staff about signs and symptoms of infection.These include a sore throat, fever and minor skin infections. In rare incidences, it can become a severe illness, and anyone with high fever, severe muscle aches, pain in one area of the body and unexplained vomiting or diarrhoea should seek urgent medical help. Continue reading...

Since August, 199 people have died of acute kidney injury, prompting an inquiry and ban on some medicinesA dozen families, whose relatives died or fell ill after consuming cough syrup medicines, have sued the Indonesian government and companies accused of supplying the products.At least 199 people, many of them young children, have died as a result of acute kidney injury since August, prompting the government to ban some syrup medicines and launch an investigation. Continue reading...

People living near Tower of London site said largest diplomatic base in UK would put lives at riskLondon councillors have rejected plans for a new Chinese embassy, which would have been the largest diplomatic base in the UK, after residents and advocacy groups raised safety concerns.In a tense meeting, the Tower Hamlets council voted unanimously against the proposed development to move the current embassy to a 2-hectare (5-acre) site opposite the Tower of London. Local residents and advocacy groups, who feared being swept into protests, called the plans into question, saying they would endanger people’s lives. Continue reading...

Exclusive: More than 200 people have approached Indonesian embassy since July to report difficulties facedMore than 200 Indonesian fruit pickers have sought diplomatic help since July after facing difficulties working in Britain this season, the nation’s embassy has revealed.The Guardian has spoken to a pair of workers sent to a farm in Scotland that supplies berries to M&S, Waitrose, Tesco and Lidl. They claim pickers were sent back to the caravan if they could not work fast enough and left with large debts to repay. Continue reading...

Xiomara Castro has not yet fulfilled her promise to legalise emergency contraceptives and to address violence against womenAt her inauguration earlier this year, Xiomara Castro, the first female president of Honduras, ended her speech with a message to women.“Honduran women, I will not fail you, I will defend your rights, all your rights, count on me,” said Castro, whose resounding election victory ended a dozen years of conservative rule and generated high hopes for change in a country with one of the highest rates of femicide and most restrictive laws against reproductive rights in Latin America. Continue reading...

Little sign of Tory resurgence under Rishi Sunak after thumping win for Labour against difficult backdrop

Low pressure disrupts water and power supplies in Thessaloniki as meteorological winter beginsOn Thursday night last week, an area of low pressure formed off the southern coast of France. During the course of Friday, low pressure deepened into a storm as it travelled south-eastwards towards Italy.It brought heavy rain to much of Italy; however, the west coast received the brunt of the wet weather on Friday night with 197mm of rain recorded in 24 hours on the island of Capri. The island of Ischia, close to Capri, experienced flooding and a landslide early Saturday morning, which killed at least 10 people. Continue reading...

From Henry VIII to the telegram network, how the state intervened in the private sector – and who got the moneyMany are calling for change in England’s private water sector. But what should replace it?Is the answer the state buying back the water companies? Or would that simply land the public sector with the problems created by wealthy owners, who would walk away with a payout? And if nationalisation did come back on the table, as it did in Labour’s 2017 manifesto, how much compensation should be paid to English water’s current owners? Continue reading...

Next ethics adviser, when appointed by Rishi Sunak, will probably face calls to open at least two complex casesForty potential breaches of the ministerial code have never been referred for investigation by the ethics adviser, data shows.It comes as a parliamentary committee warned historical breaches of the code may never be investigated or resolved, including the conduct of the home secretary or Islamophobia claims against a former chief whip.Meetings by Nadhim Zahawi and Kwasi Kwarteng with the Libyan politician Fathi Bashagha, organised by the lobbyist Mark Fullbrook who became Truss’s chief of staff.Michael Gove’s acceptance of £120,000 in donations from property developers while serving as housing secretary.Multiple meetings held by Anne-Marie Trevelyan with a Chinese state-owned nuclear power company with no record of what was discussed. Continue reading...

Bridgerton actor, who will also direct the production, says she wants to talk about ‘body pathologising’Was Richard III inherently evil? Or was he othered, excluded and pathologised because of societal prejudices? What happens when the person who has been punched down, punches up?These are the questions Adjoa Andoh will ask when she steps into the shoes of one of Shakespeare’s most notorious villains, who deceived and murdered anyone who stood in his path to becoming king of England. Continue reading...

Announcement comes weeks after singer’s final US show and will be his second appearance ever at a UK festivalElton John has announced that his last ever UK show will take place at next year’s Glastonbury festival.In the event’s first act to be revealed, John will perform on the Pyramid Stage on Sunday 25 June, closing out the main stage with only his second-ever appearance at a UK festival. Continue reading...

Party also questions whether troops would ‘bail out failing services rather than provide emergency back-up’Labour has complained that the British army is being used to “bail out failing services” in the UK, at a time when the threat from Russia remains acute and British forces are being withdrawn from Estonia.John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, has written to the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, to warn that troops “may be diverted from essential defence tasks” to plug staffing gaps caused by strikes in Border Force, the NHS and elsewhere. Continue reading...

Ex-minister claimed I’m a Celebrity appearance would raise profile of his dyslexia campaign but he only fleetingly mentioned itA charity has called on Matt Hancock to renew his efforts to raise awareness about dyslexia after apparently only fleetingly addressing the issue on I’m a Celebrity.The former health secretary defended his decision to take a break from Westminster and sign up for the ITV reality show in the Australian jungle by claiming he wanted to use it as a platform to raise the profile of his dyslexia campaign. Continue reading...

Crackdown launched on virtual private networks, which protesters and other citizens had used to access banned non-Chinese news and social media appsChinese authorities have initiated the highest “emergency response” level of censorship, according to leaked directives, including a crackdown on VPNs and other methods of bypassing online censorship after unprecedented protests demonstrated widespread public frustration with the zero-Covid policy.The crackdown, including the tracking and questioning of protesters, comes alongside easing of pandemic restrictions, in an apparent carrot and stick approach to an outpouring of public grievances. During an extraordinary week in China, protests against zero-Covid restrictions included criticism of the authoritarian rule of Xi Jinping – which was further highlighted by the death of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin. Continue reading...

Organisers say accusation Red Sea event is a ‘reputation laundering tool’ for Riyadh smacks of western hypocrisyA glitzy international film festival in Saudi Arabia has laid out the red carpet for a host of famed actors and directors, promising a “zero-censorship” event that will feature LGBTQ+ themes despite being held in a country where homosexuality is criminalised.Only five years since the hardline Gulf monarchy lifted a decades-old ban on cinemas, the Red Sea international film festival launched 10 days of screenings on Thursday. Guests include the Lebanese actor and director Nadine Labaki, as well as fellow directors Guy Ritchie and the Oscar winner Spike Lee. Continue reading...

Review of Google and Meta agreements suggests ACCC look at what other social media platforms should be brought to table with publishers

The former Sydney schoolteacher and subject of the Teacher’s Pet podcast will be eligible for parole in 18 years

Infections climbing at slower pace than last month and death rate stable but experts say reporting changes making numbers harder to interpret

Decision announced by director of public prosecutions means retrial of Lehrmann, who pleaded not guilty, will not go ahead

Rising cases of respiratory syncytial virus after pandemic leading to critical hospital pressuresIntensive care doctors in Germany have warned that hospital paediatric units in the country are stretched to breaking point in part due to rising cases of respiratory infections among infants.The intensive care association DIVI said the seasonal rise in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases and a shortage of nurses was causing a “catastrophic situation” in hospitals. Continue reading...

Noongar woman Diane Miller, 30, had been in critical condition after block was allegedly thrown through her car’s open window

Sentence to be handed down in NSW supreme court 13 weeks after judge found Dawson guilty of murder

Administration program to cancel billions of dollars of debt was blocked by lower court last monthThe US supreme court on Thursday agreed to hear Joe Biden’s attempt to reinstate his plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt after it was blocked by a lower court in a challenge by six states that have accused his administration of exceeding its authority.The justices deferred taking action on the president’s request to lift an injunction issued on 14 November by the St Louis-based eighth US circuit court of appeals blocking the program, but said in a brief order that they would hear oral arguments in the case in their session that runs from late February to early March. Continue reading...

Molten rock from Mauna Loa could damage the Big Island’s transportation infrastructure – and no one can stop itRivers of glowing lava oozing from the world’s largest volcano could swallow the main highway linking the east and west coasts of Hawaii’s Big Island as early as this weekend, and there’s nothing humans can do to stop it, experts said.Mauna Loa awoke from its 38-year slumber on Sunday, spewing volcanic ash and debris into the sky. The molten rock is drawing thousands of awestruck viewers to Route 200 as it passes near Hawaii Volcanoes national park, and they endure a thick smell of volcanic gases and sulfur to watch the wide stream of lava creep closer. Continue reading...

Director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold is expected to make a statement on Friday morning

The outgoing leader of the SNP’s Westminster group had a turbulent time recently with his own MPsAfter five years in Westminster, Ian Blackford will be remembered for his verbose yet pugnacious speeches in the Commons and the weekly chorus of loud groans he prompted from Conservative MPs at prime ministers’ questions.Despite his dogged efforts to hold a series of Tory prime ministers to account – going toe-to-toe with Boris Johnson in a way that the more cautious Keir Starmer never felt able – the outgoing SNP leader has had a turbulent time with his own MPs, much of it self-inflicted. Continue reading...

Beckmann painted work in Amsterdam after fleeing Nazi Germany and shows him as younger man with enigmatic smileA rare and remarkable self-portrait by the 20th-century German expressionist Max Beckmann has sold in Berlin for €20m (£17m), breaking the record for a work of art sold at auction in Germany.The striking Selbstbildnis gelb-rosa (Self-portrait Yellow-Pink) was painted by Beckmann during his wartime exile in Amsterdam after he fled Nazi Germany. The identity of its new owner was not immediately available. With fees and other charges, the cost to the buyer was €23.2m. Continue reading...

From Manchester to London, three people tell of stress, fear and eviction as cost of private renting rockets• Soaring rents making life ‘unaffordable’ for private UK tenants£8,000 a year; £300 a month; 60%. These are just some of the rent rises demanded from private tenants as winter approaches. The alternative can be eviction, sofa surfing or scrambling in an overheated market for another place. With homelessness the fear, it is extremely stressful.The already expensive housing markets of London and the south-east are worst affected but it is a national problem. In Manchester Clara Graziani, 27, a customer services worker, was paying £695 a month on a city centre flat until she was served with an eviction notice in September. Her landlord used the “no fault eviction” process the government has repeatedly pledged to abolish, but still hasn’t. Graziani had agreed to pay 8% extra, but then, without explanation, she was evicted. Continue reading...

‘It is a relic from the past’: strong opposition to oath from three political parties of French-speaking provinceQuebec’s premier, François Legault, said that his government would introduce legislation next week to end elected officials’ required oath to Britain’s King Charles, as pressure mounts in the Canadian province to cut such ties with the monarchy.Fresh legislation from the governing Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) follows a separate bill introduced on Thursday by the left-leaning Québec Solidaire party that would allow elected officials to just take an oath to the people. of Quebec. Continue reading...

Councillors to use extra £3m expected to be raised by the move to tackle area’s ‘immoral’ homelessness crisisSecond-home owners in north Wales will have to pay a 150% council tax premium to tackle the area’s spiralling and “immoral” homelessness crisis.Councillors in Gwynedd agreed to raise the premium from its current 100% level – so already twice what permanent residents pay – and use the extra £3m it believes it will raise to provide more accommodation for people who are struggling to find a home. Continue reading...

Labor’s workplace reforms – the biggest for decades – go through despite attempts by Michaelia Cash to thwart its passage

Progress made with at least 60 MPs, says source, as levelling up secretary considers amendments to bill

Coffin was earlier driven through Shanghai in choreographed scene contrasting with recent protestsThe body of the former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin has arrived in Beijing after being driven through the streets of Shanghai in a highly choreographed scene contrasting sharply with protests this week calling for the removal of the Communist party.China Central Television in its main evening news broadcast on Thursday showed footage of a hearse carrying Jiang’s body through Shanghai, while people dressed in black – likely to have been government employees – lined the streets and bowed their heads in silence. Continue reading...

Student arrested five months after posting comment about Aisha BuhariNigeria has charged a student with “criminal defamation” over a tweet he posted about the physical appearance of the country’s first lady.Aminu Adamu was arrested at his university in northern Jigawa state on 18 November and transferred to the capital, Abuja, five months after his online post about Aisha Buhari, the president’s wife. Continue reading...

Baltic state has held out against cap set at level it believes would have no impact on Putin’s war machine

UK high street banks are accused of not passing on benefits of money market movements to savers and borrowersBig high street banks stand accused of failing to pass on to customers the recent movements in the money markets that should have improved mortgage and savings rates.Some lenders are offering fixed-rate mortgage deals that are 50%-60% more expensive than those they were selling three months ago – despite the fact the money market “swap rates” that largely determine the pricing of new fixed deals have fallen sharply since the highs which followed Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget. Continue reading...

Status lost after BBC film and open letter from workers alleging ‘culture of fear’ at self-styled ‘punk brewery’The controversial beer brand BrewDog has lost its status as a B Corp less than two years after joining the scheme, which offers certification of a company’s ethical commitment to the environment, community and staff.The company, which was recently called hypocritical for running a World Cup ad campaign highlighting Qatar’s poor human rights record despite being criticised by the Unite Hospitality union for the treatment of its own workers, achieved B Corp status last February. Continue reading...

Fashion retailer joins Joules founder in last-minute £41m deal, but 24 stores will closeNext has teamed up with the founder of the collapsed fashion chain Joules to rescue it from administration in a £41m deal that will save about 100 shops and 1,450 jobs.Sources said Next placed a last-minute bid in the early hours of Thursday morning, trumping one placed by South Africa’s Foschini Group, the owner of Hobbs and Whistles. Marks & Spencer and Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group are also thought to have taken an interest in Joules, which is best known for its jackets and patterned wellington boots.CarmarthenCheltenhamChichesterEdinburghExeterGatesheadLyme RegisNewburyNorthcote Road, south LondonOxfordPeak Village, DerbyshirePeterboroughReigateSalcombe Fore StreetSherborneSouthwold Little JouleSt DavidsWaterloo station, LondonWatford Continue reading...

Charity founder Ngozi Fulani felt violated after Lady Susan Hussey’s ‘deeply regrettable comments’. Here’s whyThe royal family has been embroiled in another racism scandal following the resignation of Lady Susan Hussey after making “unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments” to a black charity boss during a Buckingham Palace reception.Ngozi Fulani, the founder of the charity Sistah Space, said Hussey left her feeling violated after she allegedly took her lock and moved it away from her badge, then repeatedly questioned her about where she “really came from”. Continue reading...

Calls from across communications, health, education and rail sectors come as dispute at Royal Mail escalatesUnion leaders across the communications, rail, health and education sectors have said only fair pay and job security can end the UK’s waves of strike action amid a fresh war of words in the bitter dispute at Royal Mail.Dave Ward, the secretary general of the Communication Workers Union, which is midway through a series of strikes running up to Christmas, accused bosses of “goading” members and creating “a psychological attack” on postal workers. Continue reading...

The moderate Pesutto and conservative Brad Battin will vie to lead the opposition after state election loss

Farha, debut film of Jordanian film-maker, depicts Zionist atrocities against Palestinians during Nakba conflictA Netflix film depicting Zionist forces murdering a Palestinian family during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation has been condemned by Israeli officials as “creating a false narrative”.Farha, the debut of the Jordanian film-maker Darin Sallam, has been shown at several film festivals around the world since its release last year, and is Jordan’s Oscars entry for 2023. It is due to begin streaming to a global audience on the online entertainment service on Thursday. Continue reading...

The grocery is pressuring part-time employees to add work hours, a constraint on some with parenting or school commitmentsTrader Joe’s, a specialty grocery chain with about 500 locations in the US and 50,000 employees, is rolling out new, unofficial policies at stores across the US starting in January 2023, according to workers, that will mandate part-time workers work a minimum of three days a week to maintain their employment with the company.A Trader Joe’s worker in the north-east US who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation criticized the changes. The employee learned of the policy in August because they had planned to reduce their work days to one or two days a week to have time to start their own business and had already seen a co-worker affected by it for trying to return from a maternity leave to a reduced schedule. Continue reading...

Head of Royal College of Emergency Medicine says lengthy waits forcing ambulances to be ‘wards on wheels’More than 200 people who died last week in England are estimated to have been affected by problems with urgent and emergency care, according to the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.Dr Adrian Boyle, who is also a consultant in emergency medicine, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a failure to address problems discharging patients to social care was a “massive own goal”. Continue reading...

Climate change minister tells parliament official projection of 40% cut does not factor in all Labor’s policy commitments

The ruangrupa collective’s last show was removed from key German exhibition for caricatures of JewsAn Indonesian collective that became embroiled in an antisemitism row earlier this year has taken the No 1 spot in the annual ranking of the contemporary art world’s most influential people and organisations.The ruangrupa group, founded in Jakarta in 2000, are the first artists from Asia to top the ArtReview Power 100. Their position “reflects the growing influence of the global south and the move towards greater diversity in the art world,” ArtReview said. Continue reading...

Fans gathered in Melbourne’s Federation Square for Australia’s first three games but there has not been a major live site in Sydney

Cost of food imported from EU rose because of extra red tape, with poorest most affectedBrexit added almost £6bn to UK food bills in the two years to the end of 2021, affecting poorest households the most, research has found.The cost of food imported from the EU shot up because of extra red tape, adding £210 to the average household food bills over 2020 and 2021, London School of Economics (LSE) researchers discovered. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Musical and children’s play are among vast archive explored in upcoming film about comedic geniusA musical and a children’s play written by Spike Milligan are among unmade scripts within a vast archive to which film-makers have been given unprecedented access for a forthcoming documentary on the comic genius.Seb Barfield, the producer-director of Spike Milligan: The Unseen Archive, was astonished to find entire shows, sketches and poems among hundreds of papers and reels of footage. Continue reading...