Nearly 5m 50p coins will enter circulation across 9,452 Post Office branches throughout DecemberThe first coinage featuring King Charles III will appear on the 50p coin in circulation in post offices around the UK from Thursday.Created by sculptor Martin Jennings and personally approved by Charles, the king’s portrait faces to the left, in the opposite direction to the late Queen. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth, Aubrey Allegretti and Gwyn Topham on (#66M3N)
TUC and Unison say government is not negotiating in good faith, while PM accuses union leaders of being ‘unreasonable’Union leaders have told ministers to stop “hiding behind” pay review bodies in winter strike talks amid warnings that industrial action on the railways could continue for six months.As a rolling wave of industrial action looms, Frances O’Grady, secretary general of the Trades Union Congress, and Christina McAnea, the general secretary of healthcare union Unison, accused the government of refusing to negotiate in good faith and told the chancellor: “Now is not the time for smoke and mirrors. Now is the time for genuine negotiations.” Continue reading...
A safety risk in Port Macquarie, an inappropriately spiky star and a literal coat rack are among the nation’s least-accomplished examples of festive spirit
People with Covid who have mild or no symptoms can now quarantine at home, but PCR tests are still required to enter many placesIn the strongest sign so far that China is rolling back on its long-running zero-Covid policy, the national health commission said that people with Covid-19 who have mild or no symptoms can quarantine at home. The directive also instructed officials to halt temporary lockdowns and ended testing and health code requirements for people entering Beijing. Continue reading...
Gas company Cadent distributed electric heaters, but residents were told to stop using them after grid breachSheffield residents say their entire households are sleeping in the same room with a single electric heater or have moved out altogether as they face a fifth day without gas as temperatures plummet.A major incident was declared and 2,000 homes affected in Stannington, a suburb of Sheffield, after 600,000 litres of water entered a gas main on Friday evening. Nearby Hillsborough is also affected. Olivia Blake, the MP for Sheffield Hallam, has called on the government to provide emergency support on the ground. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Complaint lodged against senior party figure under Labour’s independent processThe senior Labour MP Conor McGinn has had the whip suspended after a complaint was lodged against him under the party’s independent complaints process, the Guardian has been told.The MP for St Helens North, who had previously played a key role in getting Labour ready for the next general election, is now under investigation. Continue reading...
Mustafa Nadeem is believed to have been riding a Voi e-scooter and was pronounced dead at the sceneA 12-year-old boy who was killed riding an e-scooter that collided with a bus in Birmingham has been named as Mustafa Nadeem.He is believed to have been riding a Voi e-scooter when the incident occurred on Tuesday morning, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...
by Léonie Chao-Fong (now); Tom Ambrose and Helen Sul on (#66K1G)
This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine coverage hereMore now on Europe’s energy crisis, via AFP:Sky-high energy prices have caused numerous factories, particularly in Germany’s chemicals sector, which was highly dependent upon cheap Russian gas, to halt operations. But European nations were able to fill their gas reservoirs and no one has been cut off yet. Continue reading...
Outrage continues over police shooting of teenage boy, with clashes erupting in major urban centresRomany leaders in Greece have appealed for calm following a second day of violent protests triggered by the police shooting of a teenage boy who is in intensive care.Outrage over the incident, which took place in Thessaloniki when the 16-year old reportedly sped out of a petrol station without paying a €20 fuel bill, has resulted in thousands spilling on to the streets and clashes erupting in major urban centres. Continue reading...
Announcement by Pedro Castillo prompted mass resignations and accusations of a coup d’étatPeru’s president Pedro Castillo has announced the immediate dissolution of congress and the installation of a “government of exception” to rule by decree until new legislative elections – just hours before he was due to face an impeachment vote in a dramatic escalation of his fight with the opposition-led chamber.The announcement on Tuesday was the latest dramatic twist in Castillo’s tumultuous 17 months in power which has already seen five cabinets, six criminal investigations and two failed attempts to impeach him. Continue reading...
Despite description of alleged plotters by prosecutors as a ‘motley crew’, the threat was considered very realAt 6am on Wednesday, German special forces stormed a house in the Berlin lakeside villa quarter of Wannsee and arrested a former MP of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), Birgit Malsack-Winkemann. Three minutes later, they entered the Waidmannsheil hunting lodge in Bad Lobenstein in Thuringia. Simultaneous raids took place in 30 other locations, including a car repair shop and a carpenters’ studio, as well as in the Austrian ski resort of Kitzbühel and the Italian city of Perugia.Twenty-five people were arrested, and by lunchtime eight of them were in police custody, among them a serving soldier of the elite KSK unit, a lawyer, a pilot, a gourmet chef and a prince, the alleged ringleader who had led the plans to overthrow the German state and replace it with a “monarchistic order”. Continue reading...
Family ‘heartbroken’ and angry by decision not to search landfill after four women were believed to have been killed by serial killerPolice in Canada have said they don’t have the resources to search a landfill to recover the bodies of two Indigenous women murdered by an alleged serial killer – a decision that has left the daughters of one victim “heartbroken” and angry.Last week, police in Winnipeg announced that four Indigenous women – Marcedes Myran, Morgan Harris, Rebecca Contois and a fourth woman who they had not identified – were believed to have been killed by an alleged serial killer. Winnipeg police have charged Jeremy Skibicki in their deaths. Continue reading...
by Harriet Sherwood Arts and culture correspondent on (#66KK7)
The London venue known for nurturing Mike Leigh, Harold Pinter, Hanif Kureishi and Abi Morgan ‘can no longer continue solely as a new writing theatre’, says outgoing artistic director Roxana SilbertHampstead theatre, which has nurtured emerging playwrights including Harold Pinter, Mike Leigh and Hanif Kureishi over its 60-year history, is set to “change direction” after the Arts Council cut its funding to zero last month.Roxana Silbert has quit as the north London theatre’s artistic director because of the financial constraints it is facing after Arts Council England’s decision not to renew its £766,455 annual grant. Continue reading...
Man accused of stabbing another to death in 2017 was executed by his father before senior Taliban officialsThe Taliban put to death a man accused of murder in western Afghanistan, its spokesperson said on Wednesday, in the first officially confirmed public execution since the group took over the country last year.The execution in western Farah province was of a man accused of stabbing another man to death in 2017, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said, and was attended by senior officials of the group. Continue reading...
Surrey force continues to investigate burglary at England star’s home after connection with another raid ruled outPolice officers continue to investigate a burglary at the home of the England footballer Raheem Sterling after a potential lead proved to be short-lived.Surrey police said they were questioning two men arrested on suspicion of a separate offence of attempted burglary on Tuesday in connection to the break-in at Sterling’s property in Oxshott, Surrey. Continue reading...
Pub and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers lauds sales rise but warns of risks aheadThe All Bar One owner, Mitchells & Butlers, has lauded recent encouraging sales at the pub and restaurant group but warned that risks from rising food and energy costs lie ahead.The hospitality chain, which also owns Toby Carvery and Harvester, told shareholders on Wednesday that like-for-like sales have increased by 6.5% since the end of its latest financial year in late September. Continue reading...
Albanian ambassador to UK calls for end to ‘campaign of discrimination’ amid debate over small boat arrivalsAlbanian children are being subjected to racist bullying in UK schools because of the debate surrounding arrivals by small boats, the country’s ambassador in London has said.Qirjako Qirko spoke out after Albanians were singled out by ministers and sections of the media during the recent rise in the number of his country’s citizens travelling across the Channel to claim asylum in the UK. Continue reading...
‘It was quite amusing, until it actually happened,’ says customer, after being left £75,000 overdrawnA family of four were told they owed nearly £1m to EDF for a year’s electricity and had £80,000 taken by direct debit, despite telling the company it was clearly incorrect.The payment, which put Richard Baron and his family more than £75,000 over their overdraft limit, was refunded by their bank’s fraud team before any serious damage was done. However, after cancelling their direct debit, they were put on a higher tariff with the energy provider. Continue reading...
The star formerly known as Cheryl Tweedy will play Jenny, who believes her new home is haunted, in the hit play by Danny RobinsThe former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl is to follow in the footsteps of pop star Lily Allen and make her West End acting debut in the thriller 2:22 – A Ghost Story.The star, formerly known as Cheryl Tweedy, will play Jenny, who believes her new home is haunted, in the hit play by Danny Robins. “I am really excited to be taking part in what is such a new challenge,” said Cheryl who described herself as “a big fan of theatre”. The star said that Robins’ style of writing “has an odd sense of familiarity to me, being a fellow Geordie” and Robins added: “We grew up very close to each other in Newcastle so I can’t wait to hear Jenny with a Geordie accent.” Continue reading...
Number of species on red list in the country doubled in last 20 yearsThe number of bird species seriously threatened in Wales has doubled in the last 20 years, with the rook, swift and greenfinch added to the red list.A report from a coalition of conservation groups places 60 species on the red list, accounting for a quarter of the species in Wales – more than ever before. Continue reading...
Former Gympie resident Christian Kath, his wife Misty and their 12-year-old daughter Lily died when plane crashed in Gulf of MexicoThe Australian government is providing consular assistance to the family of three Australians killed in a single-engine plane crash in the US.Dfat officials have been dispatched to Florida following the crash in the Gulf of Mexico which killed three members of the same family. Continue reading...
Cold weather expected to remain through the weekend but south may get some respite from next TuesdayWinter is arriving across the UK as temperatures are expected to plummet to -10C at night in parts of the country and sleet, frost and snow are forecast for some areas.The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for parts of Wales, Northern Ireland, England’s east coast, northern Scotland and the western isles. Continue reading...
Duke and Duchess of Sussex honoured for their activism days ahead of revelatory Netflix showA US human rights charity has awarded Harry and Meghan its Ripple of Hope award for their activism on racial justice and mental health.In a statement celebrating their award, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said “a ripple of hope can turn into a wave of change”. The couple received the award on Tuesday night in New York, two days before the release of a tell-all Netflix show expected to include damning revelations about the royal family. Continue reading...
Average price of property in November was £285,579, down 2.3% from £292,406 in OctoberHouse prices in the UK fell by 2.3% in November, according to Halifax, the largest monthly drop on its index since the beginning of the financial crash in 2008.The fall is the third in a row, and means the average house price last month was £285,579, down from £292,406 in October. Continue reading...
Documents believed to have been written by author withdrawn from auction after expert doubts veracityTwo letters described as written by Charles Dickens in the 1850s have been withdrawn from a forthcoming auction after a leading academic dismissed them as forgeries.Dr Leon Litvack, an expert analyst of Dickens’ letters and manuscripts, told the Guardian: “The handwriting is wrong. It’s the signature that is always the giveaway. I have letters from the same period that will confirm that these are forgeries.” Continue reading...
Welsh ministers under pressure as census shows decline since 2011, largely driven by fall among children and young peopleCampaigners, teachers and politicians have expressed concern that the percentage of residents in Wales able to speak Welsh has dropped to the lowest proportion ever recorded in a census.On census day, 21 March 2021, an estimated 538,300 Welsh citizens aged three and over were reported as being able to speak Welsh – about 17.8% of the population. Continue reading...
New Zealand high court case has become a focus of protests from anti-vaxxersA New Zealand high court judge has ruled in favour of health authorities who sought guardianship of a baby boy after his parents refused to consent to a transfusion of “vaccinated blood” in a life-saving operation.The landmark decision, delivered on Thursday, is expected to have wide-ranging ramifications and has become a focus of protests for anti-vaxxers who held demonstrations outside the courtroom. Continue reading...
by Martin Chulov Middle East correspondent on (#66JZE)
Chinese president’s three-day trip to Riyadh will lead to a ‘strategic agreement’ between the authoritarian powersXi Jinping will arrive in Riyadh on Wednesday on a long awaited visit to a regional ally that has readied full state pageantry and a round of agreements likely to cement ties between China and Saudi Arabia – and deepen alarm in Washington.China’s president will meet more than 30 heads of state and business leaders during his three-day visit to the Saudi capital, which is set to lead to a “strategic agreement” between the authoritarian powers. The trip is the culmination of decades of cooperation once based on oil sales, which has grown into bilateral trade of close to $90bn a year. Continue reading...
Chelsea Banning tweeted about being ‘upset’ when only two friends showed up to her signing. Then some of the world’s biggest authors – and Flavor Flav – stepped inWhen debut author Chelsea Banning vented on Twitter about no one showing up at her book signing, she didn’t expect that some of the world’s most famous authors, including Stephen King, Margaret Atwood and Neil Gaiman, would respond with tales of their own nightmare public appearances.“At my first Salem’s Lot signing, I had one customer. A fat kid who said, ‘Hey bud, do you know where there’s some Nazi books?’” King wrote to her. Continue reading...
Japanese official says corruption claims could damage Sapporo’s chances of hosting 2030 eventMore than a year after the Tokyo Olympics were held in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, their legacy has been overshadowed by a bribery scandal that threatens to derail a bid by another Japanese city to host the Winter Games.This summer, as officials in Sapporo, on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido, promoted their bid for the 2030 Games, police arrested Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympics executive, on suspicion of taking bribes in return for helping companies become official sponsors for last year’s event. Continue reading...
by Helen Davidson and Chi Hui Lin in Taipei on (#66JXG)
Joseph Wu backs Chinese protesters but says Beijing ‘might try to create external crisis to divert domestic attention’Taiwan’s foreign minister has backed China’s anti-Covid protesters but also expressed concerns that Beijing could seek to scapegoat Taiwan if demonstrations restarted.Joseph Wu said Taiwan stood alongside other democracies in calling for China to “respect basic human rights” regarding the extraordinary protests that spread across China last week and the swift police response to close in on those involved. Continue reading...
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