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Callum Griffiths, 19, Jesse Owen, 18, and Morgan Smith, 18, declared dead at scene while two others suffer life-threatening injuriesThe families of three teenagers who died after a road traffic collision in a small village in south Wales have paid tribute to the young men.Callum Griffiths, 19, from Porth, and Jesse Owen, 18, and Morgan Smith, 18, both from Tonypandy, were killed in a collision between a bus and an Audi A1 on Ely Valley Road in Coedely, in the borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, at about 7pm on Monday. Continue reading...

Bill passes with a majority of 44 but prime minister faces further peril in the new year

The immigration legislation has cleared its first hurdle but the PM still faces a bumpy road if it is to become law

Prime minister's focus on small boats looks tragically misdirected and the storm clouds are still gatheringAs the storm clouds gathered over Westminster on Tuesday afternoon, one of Rishi Sunak's cabinet ministers looked up at the heavy grey sky and sighed: It's pathetic fallacy."Yet despite the dark mood among the prime minister's allies - and grim warnings to the contrary - the first stage of his flagship Rwanda bill passed easily through the House of Commons. Continue reading...

So-called five families deal blow to Rishi Sunak before vote on second reading of bill on Tuesday nightA collective of rightwing Conservative MPs have announced that they will not support the second reading of Rishi Sunak's bill which aims to overcome legal obstacles in deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda.The so-called five families - a loose alliance of five different rightwing Tory groups, who claim to represent more than 100 MPs overall - announced their decision as the Commons continued to debate the bill, which will be voted on at about 7pm. The bulk are expected to abstain. Continue reading...

Rabbi says antisemitic attack, hours after new PM vowed to reform Poland, had galvanised support for Jewish communityA far-right Polish MP has extinguished candles on a menorah lit for Hanukah in Poland's parliament, disrupting proceedings before a planned vote of confidence in the new government.Grzegorz Braun, a fringe far-right MP, was shown on television spraying the menorah with a fire extinguisher. Smoke and haze filled the area. The parliament took a break in proceedings to deal with the incident and Braun was suspended for the rest of the day. Continue reading...

Washington-based development organisation providing $20m for citizens suffering multidimensional poverty'

Speaker of house tells reporters that a complaint will be filed with the prosecutor's office against Grzegorz Braun after incidentAs Poland moves to form a new government, the European court of human rights issued a new judgment today that the lack of any form of legal recognition and protection for same-sex couples in Poland breaches the European convention on human rights.The court considered that the Polish state had failed to comply with its duty to ensure that the applicants had a specific legal framework providing for the recognition and protection of their samesex unions.That failure had resulted in the applicants' inability to regulate fundamental aspects of their lives and amounted to a breach of their right to respect for their private and family life.I protest against the xenophobia introduced by the authorities into public debate.I protest against the hostile attitude of the authorities towards immigrants.I protest against the incapacitation of public television.We will have different views on many issues, but we want to be a community and the work of the future government will focus on this.We are so different, we are attached to different traditions. This is our wealth. The community is built by the rule of law and the constitution, and we should not argue about this just to be able to safely argue about other topics. Continue reading...

Fury as Graham Stuart returns to London as Caroline Lucas says UK has obliterated its moral authority'Tuesday morning at Cop28 and we're back in a waiting game. Heads of delegation met until the early hours, mostly expressing their deep unhappiness with the draft text produced by the summit presidency late Monday afternoon.The scheduled end of the two-week conference has come and gone - that was 11am local - and as yet there is no new text to replace the document from yesterday. Anybody who says they know when this will end is guessing. Continue reading...

Police say Kenneth Law, 58, sent at least 1,200 packages containing lethal substances to addresses in more than 40 countriesA Canadian man who allegedly helped more than a dozen young people across the province of Ontario kill themselves by mailing them poison has been charged with 14 counts of second-degree murder, police said on Tuesday.Kenneth Law, 58, had previously been charged with 14 counts of counseling or aiding suicide.In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

The 22-year-old's family blocked from coming to France from Iran to collect Sakharov prizeThe European parliament has presented a rights prize posthumously to Mahsa Amini, whose death in Iranian custody prompted mass protests, as her mother hailed her daughter's name as a secret code for freedom".The award is the latest international recognition for the women challenging Iran's religious government after Narges Mohammadi, the jailed activist, was given the Nobel peace prize. Continue reading...

Telegraph bidder RedBird IMI in talks to buy UK's largest independent TV production groupThe Abu Dhabi-backed investment group that has struck a deal to buy the Telegraph is close to securing a 1bn-plus takeover of another prize UK media asset - All3Media, the TV production group behind shows including Call the Midwife, Squid Game: The Challenge, Gogglebox and Midsomer Murders.RedBird IMI, a joint-venture between the US company RedBird Capital and International Media Investments (IMI) of Abu Dhabi, the investment vehicle for the UAE vice-president, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, is understood to be in advanced negotiations to buy the UK's largest independent TV production group. Continue reading...

Majority of additional revenue disclosed in mid-year budget update likely to be banked to avoid further stoking inflation

The nation's outdoorsy reputation may not be fully deserved, according to the AllTrails app study, with many too scared to go on walksAustralians' outdoorsy reputation may not be earned when it comes to survival skills, according to a new survey.Just one in three Australians know how to deal with getting lost, while two in three Australians entirely reconsider going on trail walks due to safety concerns, according to research commissioned by popular hiking app AllTrails. Continue reading...

Having built a public reputation as a wisecracking political warrior, the premier designate is attempting to show he's up to the task

Opposition accuses Labor of achieving absolutely nothing' towards its fast rail ambition

The children were wrongly deemed to be adults by federal police and Australian courts, who were relying on a wildly inaccurate technique

Graham Stuart's surprise exit leaves civil servants in Dubai to finish negotiations in his absence

Circles UK is one of a handful of organisations taking creative approaches to help tackle an escalating problemJames (not his real name) was in his early 20s and sinking into depression after the death of his father when he started to visit anonymous online chatrooms. There he formed a relationship he now recognises as really unhealthy" with a man who encouraged him to download indecent images of children.James describes his arrest - his first contact with the criminal justice system - as shocking. He had only the vaguest idea that this activity was illegal and understood it as victimless. I think very differently now," he says. Continue reading...

Consumers may be misled by green' claims on some essential household products, says watchdogUnilever, the maker of Marmite, Domestos and Vaseline, is to be investigated by the UK's competition watchdog over concerns that consumers are being misled by the company's green" claims on some essential household products.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Unilever may be overstating how green certain products are through the use of vague and broad" claims, unclear statements about recyclability, and natural-looking images and logos such as green leaves. Continue reading...

Michael Tomlinson leaves open prospect that Tory MPs who vote against Rwanda bill could lose whip

Exclusive: Report calls for new law on maximum indoor temperature to stop workers overheatingA maximum indoor temperature working law giving people a day off if workplace temperatures surpass 30C should be mandated by government, a new report recommends.The report by the Fabian Society thinktank highlights inequalities in who bears the brunt of the impacts of climate breakdown and puts responsibility on bosses and landlords to stop people from overheating. Continue reading...

Customers should be told clearly upfront rather than facing inflation-linked mid-contract increases, Ofcom says

Michael Yung, head of the Women's and Children's Hospital paediatric intensive care unit, has died in hospital after he was attacked in his Gilberton home

Singer who played for Nelson Mandela at his home had been hospitalised with physical pains', and previously suffered liver damage from alcoholismThe South African pop singer Zahara, whose soaring voice and strident ballads earned her multiple platinum-selling albums in her home country, has died aged 35.South Africa's sports, arts and culture minister, Zizi Kodwa, announced her death, saying: My deepest condolences to the Mkutukana family and the South African music industry. Government has been with the family for some time now. Zahara and her guitar made an incredible and lasting impact in South African music." Continue reading...

Defamation trial also played two secret recordings, including one in which Michaelia Cash tells Higgins we didn't know anything'The Project producer Angus Llewellyn has been cross-examined in the federal court about whether the program checked the credibility of what Brittany Higgins told them before her interview with Lisa Wilkinson was broadcast on Ten.Bruce Lehrmann brought the defamation case against Network Ten and Wilkinson over the interview, in which Higgins alleged she was raped by a Liberal staffer in Parliament House in March 2019. Network Ten and Wilkinson are defending the case. Continue reading...

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At least 38 people, including a new mother, have died in the month after the earthquake struck, among 40,000 people living under tarpaulinAt least 38 people who survived an earthquake in Nepal have died after spending more than a month living in tents in freezing temperatures. Among the dead is a woman who gave birth two days after the earthquake struck the west of the country on 3 November.More than 40,000 people are now living under sheets of tarpaulin, according to the directorate of health for Karnali province. Continue reading...

500-year-old miniature acquired under acceptance in lieu scheme will go on display at Fitzwilliam Museum in CambridgeOne of the finest Italian Renaissance bronzes ever made, a miniature of an ancient Greek marble statue of Apollo, has been donated to the nation in lieu of a 10.5m inheritance tax bill.The Apollo Belvedere, created 500 years ago by Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, known as Antico, will go on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, home to an outstanding collection of Renaissance and baroque bronzes. Continue reading...

Victory for former self-defense forces member Rina Gonoi after long battle for justice that challenged taboos in a male-dominated societyA Japanese court has found three former soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting a female colleague, in a victory for the victim's long battle for justice which challenged taboos in a traditional, male-dominated society.The case of 24-year-old former self-defence forces member Rina Gonoi, which has drawn international attention, relates to a 2021 incident during her time in the army when she alleges she was assaulted by three male colleagues. Continue reading...

Recordings of Leon Zwier and others in Sydney bar reportedly revealed lawyer discussing how Higgins could respond to cross-examination. Zwier has denied coaching his client through her fiance

Number rose by almost 60% in a year to 49,691 stores, making China a global coffee industry powerhouse'The branded coffee chain craze may trace its roots to a single Starbucks in Seattle's Pike Place market in 1971, but now China has toppled the US as the country with the most branded coffee shops.The number of branded coffee shops in China increased by 58% over the past 12 months to a record 49,691 outlets, according to research by World Coffee Portal. That was more than 9,000 in excess of the 40,062 in the US, where the market grew by just 4%. The US had held the crown as the world's biggest coffee shop market for the entire 20-year history of the research. Continue reading...

Known by friends for his courage and monstrous stubbornness', Tusk will aim to deliver reform in the face of a divided electorate and a hostile presidentIt was the young Donald Tusk's habit, after watching or playing a game of football with friends, to make two toasts at the Pod Kasztanami bar in Gdask: the first to the fortunes of his club, Lechia Gdask, and the second to the end of komunizm" in Poland.Tusk, now 66, is unlikely to make the annual game of football that his close circle has been playing for the last 40 years, always at noon on New Year's Eve. But at the final whistle there is likely to be a tentative third toast offered - to Tusk's return as prime minister and the end of Poland's disastrous flirtation with a populism that has ploughed deep divisions in society, undermined democratic institutions and driven a wedge between Warsaw and the EU. Continue reading...

Many say Germany's historical responsibility for Nazi crimes makes it hard for people to criticise Gaza strategyLobna Shammout was initially only vaguely aware of the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October, because she had been celebrating her 40th birthday. The breaking news was crashing my phone, I thought please, not today'," the Palestinian-German said. When I finally checked ... each newsflash was worse than the one before."In the following weeks, as Israel launched an all-out assault on Gaza in retaliation for the attacks, which killed 1,200 people, Shammout has waited anxiously for news of her relatives and friends in Gaza. Some have been killed, among the estimated 15,000 Palestinians who the Hamas-run health ministry says have lost their lives. Continue reading...

Polling reveals cool attitude to accession of Georgia and some western Balkan states, and opposition to admitting Turkey

Journalists stopped from entering via Israel and Egypt have to rely mostly on Palestinian insiders and social media

BoM expects storm to strengthen into category 2 cyclone on Tuesday before arriving near Cairns in far north Qld on Wednesday afternoon

Labor minister immediately criticised by Peter Dutton who says Husic's comments are ill-considered' and offensive'

Communications minister's department urged government to learn lessons from failed US Disinformation Governance Board

Report finds reasons for opposing bail included intoxicated parents or lack of stable accommodation, with First Nations children particularly over-represented

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Legal team for Justice Gregory Geason, who has pleaded not guilty to assault and emotional abuse, says attempt to suspend him is unconstitutional

Lords report says there is too much learning by rote and many key Tory changes should be reversedA major parliamentary report has called for an urgent overhaul of secondary education in England that would reverse many of the Conservatives' key education changes of the past decade.The House of Lords report says the education system for 11- to 16-year-olds is too focused on academic learning and written exams, resulting in too much learning by rote and not enough opportunity for pupils to pursue creative and technical subjects. Continue reading...

Researchers say astounding' inequalities are widest where risk can be cut with lifestyle changesThe risk of dying from cancer in England varies massively" depending on where a person lives, according to a study that experts say exposes astounding" health inequalities.Researchers who analysed data spanning two decades found staggering geographical differences. In the poorest areas, the risk of dying from cancer was more than 70% higher than the wealthiest areas. The findings were published in the Lancet Oncology. Continue reading...

Suffolk constabulary said two men released, but teenage female' remains in custodyTwo men arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of a newborn baby in Ipswich have been released on bail. A teenage female" also arrested on suspicion of murder remains in custody for questioning, Suffolk constabulary said on Monday evening.Officers were called at about 12.35pm on Saturday to a property in Norwich Road, where the body of a newborn baby had been found outside. Paramedics also attended, but the baby was declared dead at the scene. Continue reading...

Race to replace Annastacia Palaszczuk ends within 24 hours after right faction MPs throw support behind her anointed successor

Damian Green says government must stick to guns' but chair of European Research Group calls for bill to be pulled and rewrittenSunak says the PM had to balance competing interests during Covid.Only he could do that, because only he saw all the competing arguments made by different cabinet ministers.Your phone, you said, doesn't retain, and nor do you have access to, text messages at all relating to the period of the crisis.In addition, you said although on occasion you use WhatsApp to communicate around meetings and logistics and so on, you generally were only party to WhatsApp groups that were set up to deal with individual circumstances such as arrangements for calls, meetings and so on and so forth. You don't now have access to any of the WhatsApps that you did send during the time of the crisis, do you?I've changed my phone multiple times over the past few years and, as that has happened, the messages have not come across.As you said, I'm not a prolific user of WhatsApp in the first instance - primarily communication with my private office and obviously anything that was of significance through those conversations or exchanges would have been recorded officially by my civil servants as one would expect. Continue reading...

Prime minister will host emergency breakfast at No 10 after frenetic day in Westminster reminiscent of Brexit fightsRishi Sunak is engaged in a desperate lobbying push to persuade Conservative MPs to back his Rwanda bill as he hopes to avoid a defeat which could fatally undermine his authority.The prime minister will host an emergency breakfast in Downing Street with members of the rightwing New Conservative group of backbenchers on Tuesday in an effort to reassure wavering MPs. Danny Kruger, the co-chair of the New Conservatives, was one of a number of senior Tories to say on Monday that they did not support the bill in its current form. Continue reading...

NAHT and ASCL call on Gillian Keegan and Amanda Spielman to allow time to address concerns raised by coronerTwo unions representing school leaders in England have called for a halt to Ofsted inspections to allow time for concerns raised by the inquest into the death of headteacher Ruth Perry to be properly addressed.The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the decision by Ofsted to suspend inspections for just one day on Monday to bring together lead inspectors for a briefing did not go nearly far enough. Continue reading...