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Ofcom proposals will require online providers to seek proof of being over 18 to stop children accessing contentOnline pornography sites will be required to use age-checking measures to ensure users are over 18, under new guidelines.Communications watchdog Ofcom has launched a consultation under the Online Safety Act to stop children from accessing websites that display or publish pornographic content. Continue reading...

Domestic legislation also planned so parliament can assert country is a safe destination for asylum seekersJames Cleverly is travelling to Kigali to sign a new treaty with Rwanda, as Rishi Sunak responds to the UK supreme court's ruling against the policy to send people there.Domestic legislation is also planned so parliament could assert Rwanda is a safe destination for asylum seekers who arrive in Britain. Continue reading...

Attorney general signed off on AHRC's intervention in favour of the plaintiff NZYQ, provided it made clear it was doing so on its own behalf

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Estimate includes 63bn cost to people affected, 19bn cost to NHS and 15bn cost to societyBritain's weight problem costs almost 100bn a year, analysis suggests, prompting calls for a government crackdown on unhealthy food and a drive to promote fresh ingredients.The spiralling cost shows that the growing prevalence of people being overweight is an absolute public health disaster", said Henry Dimbleby, the government's former adviser on food. Continue reading...

Measures designed to cut number of migrant workers and their dependants entering UK could damage health sector, say expertsJames Cleverly has announced a package of measures designed to cut the number of migrant workers and their dependants entering Britain, making it far harder for employers to bring in overseas staff, including in the NHS and social care sector.The home secretary presented a five-point plan in which the minimum salary requirement for a skilled worker visa would rise to 38,700, while the rule allowing the most-needed professions to be hired at 20% below the going rate would be scrapped. Continue reading...

In a statement released with annual accounts, business lobby group says it has had to deal with exceptional costs'The Confederation of British Industry has said it is suffering a considerable level of financial stress" and there remains material uncertainty" that it can continue operating in the long term after sexual misconduct allegations.The scandal-hit business lobby group said it was emerging from an unprecedented situation" that had led to exceptional costs", warning there was also material uncertainty arising from the CBI's financial performance since the year end". Continue reading...

Player was charged hours before he was meant to appear for the Barbarians against Wales on 4 NovemberRugby player Api Ratuniyarawa has admitted to a series of sexual assaults committed days before he was due to play for the Barbarians in Cardiff last month.Appearing before Cardiff crown court, the 37-year-old Fiji international pleaded guilty to two charges of assault by penetration and one charge of sexual assault. Continue reading...

Israel orders people to evacuate areas marked on maps online, but move criticised as many in Gaza do not have internet access

Berkshire coroner's office hears there was one reference to managing stress given to inspectors before November 2022Ofsted inspectors were not given specific written guidance about what to do if a headteacher becomes distressed during an inspection, an inquest has heard.Ruth Perry's family have said she killed herself after a report from the schools watchdog downgraded her Caversham primary school in Reading from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. 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 Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Covid inquiry expected to be told former PM was open to military options' to obtain impounded' jabs from factory in LeidenBoris Johnson's appearance before the Covid-19 inquiry is not until Wednesday but it is already making headlines in the Netherlands amid a mixture of amusement and alarm at claims he asked for British spies to plan a raid" on a Dutch vaccine plant.The operation - according to sources who briefed Johnson's employer, the Daily Mail - would have taken place against the backdrop of a tit-for-tat row in March 2021 between the then prime minister and the EU, which was moving towards restricting exports of vaccines across the Channel. Continue reading...

French president says there is no lasting security for Israel if it comes at the cost of Palestinian lives

A number of community organisations say they were left struggling after bank closed or froze accounts without warning'Some charities, churches and other community groups have described being thrown into financial disarray after Barclays shut or froze their bank accounts without warning.Several of the organisations affected, which include charities helping young people, and a Methodist church in the midst of significant building works, have banked with Barclays for over 20 years. But they say that counted for nothing as cheques and direct debits were cancelled by the bank without warning. Continue reading...

Food Standards Agency says hygiene and labelling laws may not have been followedConsumers have been warned not to buy or eat fake branded Wonka or Prime chocolate bars over fears they could be unsafe.The Food Standards Agency said it had received reports of the bars being on sale, and was working with Trading Standards to protect consumers. Continue reading...

Co-defendant says Girl X carved boyfriend's name into her arm and used to joke about dead babies'The 16-year-old girl accused of murdering Brianna Ghey carved her boyfriend's name into her arm and once claimed to be a satanist, a jury has heard.Her co-defendant, a 16-year-old boy known as Y to protect his identity, told police he saw the girl, known as X, stabbing Brianna in Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington on 11 February, Manchester crown court heard. Continue reading...

Deal is thought to value the owner of the Balmoral and Brown's hotels at about 1.2bnSir Rocco Forte has agreed to sell 49% of his family's luxury hotel chain to Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.Rocco Forte Hotels, which owns 14 upmarket hotels including Brown's in London and the Balmoral in Edinburgh, announced on Monday that it had agreed to sell almost half of the company to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund in a deal that values the hotel group at about 1.2bn. Continue reading...

Dr Alastair Bush's not-so-hairbrained decision to keep his pandemic-grown locks comes good in AustraliaA British GP has been crowned the holder of mullet of the year in Australia for the curls he grew during Covid lockdowns.Dr Alastair Bush's 30cm long light brown hair won for best international mullet at the annual Mulletfest competition in the small Australian town of Kurri Kurri, which attracts thousands of visitors. Continue reading...

East of country may fall to close to -50C, while Moscow has its third snowiest November this centuryTemperatures across large parts of Russia are expected to plummet in the second half of this week. A large area of high pressure will sit over a large portion of the west of the country, introducing arctic air to the region, and keeping temperatures well below the seasonal average.In Perm and Omsk, daytime temperatures are not forecast to rise above -25C later this week, which is about 20C below the seasonal norm. For the Perm region, this week is expected to be the coldest since 2016. Continue reading...

Calls grow for independent inquiry after the bank's internal watchdog found 21 cases of child sexual abuse by teaching staffThe World Bank has been accused of failing to prevent child abuse at a school chain it funded in Kenya.The bank's internal watchdog, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), found that the bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) had failed to satisfy its own environmental and social requirements before it started funding Bridge International Academies in 2014, and during its supervision of its investment in the project, which came to an end last year. Continue reading...

The band had a string of US and Canadian hits in the 1970s and 80s, including power ballad Just Between You and MeMyles Goodwyn, who fronted the popular Canadian classic rock band April Wine from its formation in 1969 until earlier this year, has died aged 75. His death was announced by his publicist, who did not give the cause but heralded Goodwyn's distinctive and immediately recognisable" voice and prolific songwriting.Goodwyn formed the band in Nova Scotia, after suffering the death of his mother to brain cancer as a boy alongside his two brothers. Four males living under the same roof, but there were never any hugs, never any communication," he later said of his home life. We were four lost souls roaming around that household. So I took to music. It was music that saved me." Continue reading...

Hong Kong court gives property developer until 29 January to formulate deal for creditorsThe property developer Evergrande has been granted an extension until late January to try to restructure its debts and avoid liquidation in one of the most high-profile cases in China's long-running property crisis.Evergrande was once China's biggest property developer, but a default on offshore debt obligations in 2021 started a lurch from one crisis to another. It has reported debts of more than $300bn (237bn), much of it to individuals whose properties were never built. Continue reading...

Imminent announcement likely to signal further cuts to broadcaster's staffing and programmesThe BBC will receive a below-inflation increase to the licence fee, the culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, has effectively confirmedafter Rishi Sunak said he welcomed cuts made by the corporation to its spending and services.The 159 annual fee has been frozen for two years, and if it were to increase in line with inflation it would go up by about 15. During an interview round on Monday, Frazer said this was extremely unlikely to happen. Continue reading...

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Rescuers say dozens of hikers were on the volcano when it erupted on Sunday, with three found alive and at least 12 missingIndonesian rescuers have found the bodies of 11 climbers after the eruption of the Mount Merapi volcano in West Sumatra.A rescue official said three people were found alive on the volcano and at least 12 climbers were still missing. Another official put the number of missing at 22. Continue reading...

A report by the national broadcaster found the prominent no campaigner did not agree to a single interview on a major broadcast program'

Author blamed literary success of the fictional detective for his highbrow historical novels lying unread'Arthur Conan Doyle secretly hated his creation Sherlock Holmes and blamed the cerebral detective character for denying him recognition as the author of highbrow historical fiction, according to the historian Lucy Worsley.Doyle was catapulted from obscurity to worldwide fame" after his crime stories began appearing in a magazine in 1891, Worsley writes in the Radio Times. Eleven years later he was awarded a knighthood. Continue reading...

Committee criticises NHS inaction as minority ethnic patients less likely to find right blood or organ matchNHS inaction" for more than a decade is causing unnecessary deaths of black, Asian and minority ethnic transplant patients, a report by MPs has concluded.An inquiry into organ donation in the UK found that minority ethnic and mixed heritage people faced a double whammy of inequity": they are more likely to need donors, because they are disproportionately affected by conditions such as sickle cell and kidney disease, and they are less likely to find the right blood, stem cell or organ match on donor registers. Continue reading...

John O'Connor says he was devastated to find out he had lower chance of finding a match due to his ethnicityDuring a trip to the US in 2016, John O'Connor's face became swollen and he initially thought he had been bitten. The side of my neck where the lymph nodes are were basically like a golf ball," he said.When he returned to the UK, the condition of his skin began to deteriorate, leading O'Connor to be misdiagnosed as having eczema and psoriasis. It was only after seven years of sustained efforts to try to find out what was happening, suspecting that it could be leukaemia, that he and his wife were able to find some answers. Continue reading...

Ahmed Marcouch, directly targeted by Geert Wilders during his career, grapples with how best to heal country's woundsSoon after news broke that the populist Geert Wilders and his anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) had won the most votes of any party in the Dutch elections, Ahmed Marcouch found himself comforting his distraught eight-year-old.Earlier in the day, a teacher at his son's school had explained the election results, discussing the wide differences between parties. Now Marcouch's son was terrified that the family would have to leave the country. Continue reading...

Countries at loggerheads over access to fishing grounds in north Atlantic since Brexit referendum in 2016Irish fisheries leaders have warned of fresh conflicts with Scotland over fishing rights around the north Atlantic islet of Rockall as evidence emerged about the roots of the long-running sovereignty dispute.Scotland and Ireland have been at loggerheads over access to fishing grounds within 12 nautical miles of Rockall since the Brexit referendum in 2016, which signalled an end to the UK's membership of the common fisheries policy. Continue reading...

Veteran broadcaster to host Saturday Extra as national broadcaster shuffles radio lineup

Extra lanes could ease pinch points' as new interchange funnels extra traffic on to roads ahead of Anzac Bridge in Sydney

This blog has now closed. You can read our full report on the latest developments hereAl Jazeera is carrying a quote from Unicef's global spokesperson, James Elder, who had this to say about conditions inside al-Nassar hospital in Khan Younis:Everywhere you turn to, there are children with third-degree burns, shrapnel wounds, brain injuries and broken bones. Mothers crying over children who look as if they are hours away from death. It seems like a death zone right now.The UKTMO has received a report of Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) activity including a potential explosion in the vicinity of the Bab el Mandeb originating from the direction of Yemen.Vessels in the vicinity are advised to follow industry guidance on loitering munitions and advised to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO. Continue reading...

Under proposed scheme, an application could be made about a person convicted of a serious violent or sexual offence punishable by seven or more years in prison. But is it legal?

Watchdog says Services Australia and the Department of Social Services did not act promptly' to address the issue and calls on agencies to apologise

US military says the destroyer Carney shot down three drones as US Central Command says they believe attacks fully enabled by Iran'Three commercial vessels came under attack in international waters in the southern Red Sea, the US military said on Sunday, as Yemen's Houthi group claimed drone and missile attacks on two Israeli vessels in the area.Today there were four attacks against three separate commercial vessels operating in international waters in the southern Red Sea," the statement from the US Central Command reads. We have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran." Continue reading...

Detectives appeal for information about butcher Paul Norton, who disappeared in 1989

EU and UK carmakers have secured just 16% of lithium, cobalt and nickel needed to hit 2030 targets, says studyEuropean carmakers have secured less than a sixth of the key raw materials they will need by 2030 to make electric vehicle batteries, according to analysis that highlights the expected scramble for green-tech resources.Carmakers have secured contracts for 16% of the lithium, cobalt and nickel required to hit their 2030 electric car sales targets, according to public disclosures analysed by Transport & Environment (T&E), a Brussels-based campaign group. Continue reading...

Director behind Dunkirk, Inception and the Dark Knight trilogy awarded honour for pushing limits' of cinemaChristopher Nolan, the film director behind movies including Oppenheimer, Dunkirk and Interstellar, is to be awarded a BFI fellowship for constantly pushing the limits" of cinema.The honour, which is often awarded to actors and film-makers towards the end of their careers, will go to Nolan at what appears to be the peak of his. Continue reading...

Person finally passed at Worcestershire centre, says AA, spending 1,38o in processA learner driver failed the theory test 59 times before finally passing after spending 1,380 and taking 60 hours, the AA Driving School has said.The person, who has not been named, passed at a test centre in Redditch, Worcestershire, taking the record for the most attempts ever made in the UK. Continue reading...

Competition among sellers will increase as mortgage rates settle at elevated' level, website predictsAverage house prices in the UK will fall by 1% next year as competition increases among sellers, Britain's biggest property website has forecast.Sellers were likely to have to price more competitively to secure a buyer in 2024, while mortgage rates would settle down though remain elevated", said Rightmove. Continue reading...

IDF spokesperson says troops coming face-to-face with terrorists and killing them'

Suspect detained after German-Filipino man killed and two - one British and one French - injured near Eiffel TowerA 26-year-old man suspected of killing a German-Filipino tourist and wounding two others near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday night had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a video released online.The French anti-terrorism prosecutor, Jean-Francois Ricard, said the French suspect, named as Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, had recorded a video before committing the act", in which he spoke in Arabic, swore allegiance to Islamic State and supported its jihadists in different areas from Africa to Iraq, Syria and Pakistan. Continue reading...

Post-Thanksgiving box office is notoriously slow, but concert movie defied odds, opening in first place with $21m in ticket salesBeyonce ruled the box office this weekend.Her concert picture, Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce, opened in first place with $21m in North American ticket sales, according to estimates from AMC Theatres Sunday. Continue reading...

North Wales, the West Midlands, northern England and parts of Scotland expected to be affectedParts of the UK are forecast to see further snow and ice which is expected to cause local travel disruption on Monday.The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning of snow for north Wales, the West Midlands and northern England from 6pm on Sunday to 12pm on Monday. A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is also in place for the central eastern half of Scotland until midday on Monday. Continue reading...

Presenters make comments in reaction to question asking if Rishi Sunak might be a potential future campmateI'm a Celebrity ... Get Me out of Here! presenters Ant and Dec have called for the reality programme to take a break from having politicians as contestants.Asked whether Rishi Sunak would be a potential future campmate, Dec said: I think we do a year without any politicians." Agreed, agreed, agreed," Ant responded. Continue reading...

Minister, MEP and wife of Labour leader Neil, Kinnock, who has died at 79, spoke out on issues from nuclear weapons to apartheidThe campaigner and politician Glenys Kinnock, who died on Sunday with Alzheimer's disease, was born into an activist family in 1944.Her parents - Cyril Parry, a trade unionist and railway signalman, and Doris Evans - were credited with instilling in their daughter a strong sense of social justice and a love of Wales. She was born in Northamptonshire, but soon afterwards the family moved back to their native Holyhead, where Glenys learned to speak Welsh. Continue reading...

Committee head says report of 15m being paid on top of 140m already spent shows total disregard' for parliamentary scrutinyMinisters are deliberately hiding the mounting costs of the Rwanda deportation scheme from the public, the head of an influential parliamentary watchdog has told the Guardian, as insiders expect a new deal with the African country to be signed off within days.Dame Diana Johnson, the chair of the home affairs select committee, said the government had total disregard" for parliament's rights to scrutinise the key immigration policy after a senior civil servant said that any extra costs on top of the 140m already paid to Rwanda would not be disclosed until the summer. Continue reading...

Police say explosion at Mindanao State University gymnasium in Marawi could be revenge by pro-Islamic State militantsPhilippine forces were on high alert after a bomb killed four people and wounded many more during a Catholic mass in a university gymnasium in the south of the country, an attack the authorities called Islamist terrorism.I condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless and most heinous acts perpetrated by foreign terrorists," said the president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Extremists who wield violence against the innocent will always be regarded as enemies to our society." Continue reading...

Ukraine says Russian troops committed war crime as video appears to show two men surrendering before being shotThere it is, on a wintry morning: charred masonry, gnarled metal, glass shards, rubble and dust.Yet another ravaged building in Ukraine: each has its own story, and this violation is against Kherson's regional library for children, a place of effervescent creativity with a wonderful collection, named Dnipro Seagull library, after the birds that soar over the city's mighty river - a symbol of the region. Continue reading...