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Guardian investigation has revealed areas that need attention at nuclear site in CumbriaThe GMB trade union has called on the government and nuclear authorities to take urgent action" to address concerns over safety at Sellafield.The union has written to the energy minister, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Sellafield's chief executive to demand greater investment into keeping the 11,000 employees at the vast nuclear rubbish dump in Cumbria safe. Continue reading...

Simon Geoffrey Raymond handed probation and good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to seven chargesA man who admitted making threats to kill Victorian federal MP Anne Webster has been handed a good behaviour bond.Simon Geoffrey Raymond has pleaded guilty in a Brisbane court to three counts each of using a carriage service to make a threat to kill and using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, and one count of using a carriage service to make a threat to cause serious harm. Continue reading...

Melbourne businessman Di Sanh Duong the first to be prosecuted under 2018 laws, over a $37,000 hospital donation

National Education Union says too many LGBTQ+ young people still find school a negative experienceSchools in England must be involved properly" in developing new transgender guidance that needs to work alongside their existing safeguarding duties, the UK's largest education union has warned.As the government prepares to publish its first draft of the long-awaited guidance, the National Education Union (NEU) said many LGBTQ+ young people still found school a negative experience. Continue reading...

He faced a police investigation over an alleged contract killing, but Volodymyr Saldo is now beyond the reach of Ukrainian lawThe Russians were Volodymyr Saldo's salvation. The wealthy Ukrainian in his 50s had done a stint in the national parliament and won three terms as the mayor of the southern city of Kherson, but at the start of 2022 police had opened a case against him for ordering a contract killing.I wanted to jail him," says Oleksandr Prokudin, Kherson's police chief at the time and now the city's governor, sitting in the basement he uses for meetings since the Russians blew the roof off his office. Continue reading...

Australian pilot accused of training Chinese military denies he is a flight risk in letter requesting NSW home detention

Electronic monitoring and rules on who he can associate with will be imposed by Victorian supreme court

As the Ukraine war heads into a new calendar year, the country is battling not just the Russian army but also on the diplomatic front, to secure further aid from its allies. Luke Harding and Dan Sabbagh reportOn the face of it, support for Ukraine from its allies in Europe and the US has been unwavering: ministers and officials fly in and out of Kyiv to back Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his government's grinding fight to keep Russian troops at bay.But that moral support is more solid than the financial backing. As Dan Sabbagh tells Hannah Moore, funding packages worth tens of billions of pounds have been held up in the US Congress by Republican politicians, and in the EU by Hungary's prime minister, Victor Orban. Continue reading...

The $1.7bn offer for Azure Minerals comes during a rush of dealmaking for the metal used in batteries

White House warns US only has enough funding for one more aid package this year; Ukraine's top general says situation on frontline has not reached stalemate

Opposition leader says Fyles' alleged actions a profound betrayal of public trust'

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NSW police respond to reports of a break-in at a Ryde apartment - then discover 722kg of the drug

Broadcaster, 83, is waiting to hear result of miracle drug' and says she wants UK law to let the terminally ill choose how they dieThe ChildLine founder and broadcaster Esther Rantzen has said she has considered the option of assisted dying if her ongoing lung cancer treatment does not improve her condition.The 83-year-old revealed that her cancer had progressed to stage four in May and she has since joined the Swiss organisation Dignitas, which offers physician-assisted suicide to members with terminal illness or severe physical or mental illness. Continue reading...

Focusing on poorer children's social and emotional learning barely helps their results catch up with those of better-off peersTeaching character, grit and resilience in schools is valuable to children but is unlikely to play a major part in eradicating the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their wealthier peers, according to research.In recent years, policymakers in England and elsewhere in the world have focused on social and emotional learning, and the importance of developing character, determination and self-belief as a way of improving learning, particularly among children from lower income backgrounds. Continue reading...

Housing secretary aims to bring end to delays, as weakening of housing targets is confirmedMichael Gove will threaten to take action against councils that miss deadlines to submit their housing plans in a speech on Tuesday designed to highlight the government's commitment to build new homes across England.The housing secretary will say he will call out" local authorities that fail to publish their future development plans with a threat to intervene if necessary. Continue reading...

Bob Carr among more than 50 current and former Labor MPs to sign letter urging Australia to examine its relationship with Israel

Joseph Fiddler performed and recorded with Prince, Seal and Maxwell, and mentored hip-hop producer J DillaJoseph Fiddler, the funk musician known as Amp Fiddler who was acclaimed for solo work and collaborations with generations of diverse musicians, has died aged 65.A statement on social media read: Detroit's own world renowned ambassador of funk, soul, & electronic music, keyboardist, producer, afro-futurist, and guiding force of light for so many, has transitioned at the age of 65. After an extensive and noble battle with cancer, he now gracefully rests in peace and power." Continue reading...

US says it cannot support a reference to a cessation of hostilities', but might accept a call for a suspension of hostilities'The United Nations security council has postponed a vote calling for a sustainable cessation of hostilities in Gaza to give more time for diplomats to meet US objections to the wording of the draft resolution.The vote had been due on Monday in New York but the US said it could not support a reference to a cessation of hostilities", but might accept a call for a suspension of hostilities". Continue reading...

Disgraced Tory peer says government always knew of involvement in Covid contracts as calls mount for her to stay away from LordsA furious row has broken out between the disgraced Conservative peer Michelle Mone and the government over how much they knew about her links to a company that won lucrative deals during the pandemic.Mone claimed the Cabinet Office, which Michael Gove led at the time, the government and the NHS all knew about my involvement from the very beginning" before awarding her husband's firm 203m in contracts. Continue reading...

Lloyd Austin discusses focus on precise targeting of Hamas leaders; however, UN delays vote calling for cessation of hostilities

Parts of UK have more recently gone decades without Christmas snow, and in the past it was more hardship than dreamBing Crosby may have been dreaming of a white Christmas, but it seems such nostalgia might end up becoming a thing of the past in the UK. Not only do records reveal that some parts of the UK have at times gone decades without a yuletide flurry, but experts say the chances of a white Christmas are becoming ever smaller as a result of the climate crisis.According to the Met Office, a Christmas in the UK is white if even one snowflake is observed falling somewhere in the 24 hours of 25 December. Last year was, technically, a white Christmas in the UK, though none of the Met Office observation stations reported snow lying on the ground. Continue reading...

Advance comes after three days of intense fighting that forced thousands to flee towards the southSudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have seized Wad Madani, the country's second city, which had taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees from the capital, Khartoum, early in the eight-month war between the regular army and the paramilitary RSF.Videos posted by the RSF on Monday showed fighters in pickup trucks driving along streets in the city, the capital of el-Gezira state. Continue reading...

Manchester crown court jury begin deliberations after being told they don't need to find explanation for why 16-year-old was killedTwo teenagers blaming each other for the frenzied" murder of Brianna Ghey in a Warrington park were in it together", jurors have been told before starting their deliberations.The 16-year-old was stabbed 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back in Linear Park, Culcheth, a village near Warrington, Cheshire, on the afternoon of 11 February this year. Continue reading...

Labour leader also reiterates support for two-stage solution' as the only way this is going to be resolved'

Exclusive: Unite union finds some employers did not even allow simple adjustments such as fans for hot flushesMore than 80% of women in the UK say their employers provide no support at work for those with menopause symptoms, polling has found.A survey of 13,000 female union members by the Unite trade union about toilet, period and menopause dignity at work found that many women still struggle to get adequate toilet breaks or adjustments for their menopause symptoms. Continue reading...

Day after Aleksandar Vui's populist ruling party declared victory, concerns raised over vote-buying and ballot box stuffing. This live blog is closed

Met says a man in his 40s attended a police station on Thursday for interview in relation to six alleged offencesScotland Yard detectives have interviewed Russell Brand for a second time over allegations of sexual offences, it is understood.Brand was interviewed under caution at a police station in south London in November in relation to three non-recent alleged sexual offences, it is believed, and has been interviewed under caution again in relation to six further non-recent alleged sexual offences. Continue reading...

Former Tory peer claims she never concealed her link to PPE Medpro from officials dealing with the contractMark Harper, the transport secretary, has announced in a written statement that Transport for London is getting a capital funding settlement worth 250m for 2024. It will fund upgrades to the Piccadilly line. Sadiq Khan, the mayor, welcomed that announcement but, as the Evening Standard reports, said a decent long-term funding settlement" from the government was still needed.Rishi Sunak has said that too many civilian lives have been lost in Gaza - but declined to back Ben Wallace's claim that Israel is engaged in a killing rage". (See 10.27am.)Israel obviously has a right to defend itself against what was an appalling terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas, but it must do that in accordance with humanitarian law.It's clear that too many civilian lives have been lost and nobody wants to see this conflict go on a day longer than it has to. Continue reading...

Labour MP makes call after branches' role highlighted in Cyprus Confidential and other investigationsThe accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has been urged to show that it is not using its complex international structure to evade responsibility for assisting with illicit financial flows and the undermining of sanctions".In an open letter to PwC, Dame Margaret Hodge, the veteran anti-corruption campaigner and Labour MP, raised concerns about the London-based firm's role in successive investigations by the Guardian and other media organisations, including the Cyprus Confidential leaks published last month. Continue reading...

Turner prize-winning artist joined on X by broadcaster Jon Sopel a fellow EDF customer, who complained of being asked for 18,000One is a Turner prize-winning artist, the other is a well-known journalist and broadcaster but both have been brought together by a seemingly evergreen gripe - inordinate energy bills.Grayson Perry, known for his ceramic vases and tapestries, revealed on X on Monday he had been stung with a 39,000 a month electricity bill - an astronomical leap from the previous charge of 300 a month. Continue reading...

Department hopes to save 4.5m a year by digitising - then binning - about 100m wills that date back 150 yearsSheer vandalism" and insane". This is how leading historians on Monday described government plans to destroy millions of historical wills to save on storage costs.The Ministry of Justice is consulting on digitising and then throwing away about 100m paper originals of the last wills and testaments of British people dating back more than 150 years in an effort to save 4.5m a year. Continue reading...

Likeness on display at Grevin Museum since 1981 is removed as allegations against actor are back in spotlightA French museum has removed a wax likeness of Gerard Depardieu, the latest measure taken against the actor since he faced allegations of sexual assault.The Grevin Museum in Paris said on Monday it had taken away the waxwork following the negative reactions of visitors" passing in front of it, as well as comments on social media. Continue reading...

Former Tory peer says government was aware of her involvement in PPE Medpro from the very beginning'

About 230 earthquakes reported near Reykjanes peninsula overnight as police alert remains at danger level

Chair of Actuaries Institute committee says money could go towards establishing early intervention programs for those with developmental delays

Choice poll also finds less than half of all flight refunds are received within a month as government considers additional regulation

Acma ruling prompts calls for money to be returned to punters as government continues to consult on tougher regulation

Serbia Against Violence opposition says it will not recognise results and will demand a rerun of the ballotSerbia's ruling populist party comfortably won Sunday's parliamentary elections, according to an early official vote count, but political tensions rose over allegations of irregularities in a local election race in the capital, Belgrade.An opposition group said it was robbed of victory in the Belgrade local election, would not recognise the results and would demand a rerun of the ballot. Continue reading...

The education minister joins Vaughan Gething, the economy minister, in contestJeremy Miles has entered the race to become Welsh first minister and said that as a young gay man from a working-class family he could never have imagined putting himself forward as the leader of Labour and Wales.Miles, the education minister, joins the current economy minister, Vaughan Gething, in the contest to replace Mark Drakeford, who announced his resignation last week. Continue reading...

Rock star is sued by unnamed woman who alleges he attacked her on board helicopter in 2003Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee has been accused of sexual assault, in an incident in 2003.A new civil lawsuit filed on Friday by an unnamed woman, Jane Doe - and reported by Rolling Stone - accuses Lee of forcibly groping, kissing and penetrating her with his fingers, and attempting to force her to perform oral copulation". The woman had been invited on to a helicopter by pilot David Martz and believed she would be on a sightseeing tour around San Diego, but was told they would be flying with Lee to Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Health spokesperson Wes Streeting reiterates need for caution over spending if party wins next general election

High-profile figure on party's right accused of causing significant damage' to reputation of parliament

As English water companies plan to hike bills, the Guardian reveals customers are paying a high price for combined debts of 60bn

Other refugees onboard say Albanian national Leonard Farruku appeared to be in distress before he died

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A 29-year-old man has been arrested and taken to hospital under police guard after the body of a woman was found in a storeroom at the zoo

Budget airline's shares hit record high, taking chief executive closer to massive payout

Martin Callahan says he hopes colleague sees sense' after Mone admitted lying to media over links to PPE firm

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