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Theme park settles case with husband of Cindy Low, who was one of four who died in 2016 accidentGold Coast theme park Dreamworld has agreed to pay $2.15m to the husband and two children of a woman who died when a ride malfunctioned in 2016.Sydney woman Cindy Low, 42, died on the Thunder River Rapids ride, along with Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett and Roozi Araghi, when a water pump failed and caused the raft they were in to overturn. Continue reading...

Falls in prices are mostly affecting investors offloading high-density apartments, according to recent report

Ambulance workers and other NHS staff strike for between 12 and 24 hours in England and Wales

The SNP’s proposals including making it easier to get a gender recognition certificate polarised national politics and provoked angry debates over rightsWhen Scotland’s first minster Nicola Sturgeon pledged to reform gender recognition laws at a LGBTQ+ leaders’ hustings before the 2016 Holyrood elections, she could not have envisaged the escalating toxicity and political polarisation that would ultimately surround her plans, nor the personal toll it would exact.The proposals to bring in a system of self-declaration for individuals wishing to change their legal gender has led to multiple protests outside the Holyrood parliament, booing the avowedly feminist first minister as a “destroyer of women’s rights”. It has prompted the SNP’s biggest ever backbench rebellion and brought Sturgeon head to head with another of Scotland’s best-known women, the Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who on the eve of the final vote described the gender recognition reform bill as “the single biggest roll back of women’s rights in our lifetimes”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: national survey of young people also finds fewer than half used a condom during their most recent sexual experience

Border Force official does not rule out possibility of airport closures when staff go on strike from FridayPassengers travelling into the UK during a strike by Border Force staff over the holiday period should prepare for the prospect of long delays and a remote possibility that airports could close, a senior Border Force official has said.The warning came as a senior Home Office source said soldiers and civil servants covering for striking Border Force staff would not have the skills needed to spot modern slavery victims. Continue reading...

Sum raised in less than two weeks for grassroots charities helping those struggling amid cost of living crisis

After a couple of U-turns the PM wants to show he can’t be pushed around on pay rises but the public are on the side of health workersWhen Rishi Sunak appeared in front of parliament’s powerful liaison committee this week he doubled down on NHS pay rises in what looked very much like an attempt to turn the winter of strikes into his Thatcher moment.Just like his political heroine before him, he faced down the unions, telling MPs the country couldn’t afford bigger public sector pay rises; warning they risked making inflation worse; and that politicians should not “cut across” the independent pay review process. Continue reading...

Russia is expected to increase military spending over the next two years, as it prepares for a long and costly war

Rolling, live coverage as Octopus prepares to take on Bulb customers following collapse and lengthy administrationThe value of the pound has slipped back on Wednesday morning after UK government finances data showed borrowing that was higher than economists had expected.It is not a huge move, but the pound is trading at about $1.2130 against the US dollar, down 0.4% today. You can see how it moved down this morning. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy will use Biden invitation to bolster alliance as some in US criticise huge aid packages for Ukraine warA few months ago Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s aides were adamant. The president would not go abroad until Russia was defeated. In the days after Vladimir Putin’s February invasion, as Russian tanks rolled towards Kyiv, Zelenskiy refused to flee. He turned down offers of assistance and told his citizens: “I’m here”. He also famously declared: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”On Wednesday, however, Zelenskiy was riding to Washington by plane at the personal invitation of President Joe Biden. It is his first foreign trip since Russia’s full-scale attack. It comes at a pivotal moment: on the battlefield, where Russian and Ukrainian troops are locked in a grinding face-off, and in the politically rancorous halls of the US Congress. Continue reading...

Three time Wimbledon champion says prison experience left him ‘shrewder and humbler’ in German TV interview after deportationTennis legend Boris Becker has spoken of his fear of being murdered during the eight months he spent in prison in the UK but insisted the overall experience, including small food portions and no alcohol or cigarettes, has been good for his health.The former Wimbledon champion appeared considerably slimmed down and healthier than the last time he appeared in public in April before he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail for concealing £2.5m of assets. He was speaking for the first time since his release from prison and deportation to Germany, via a friend’s private jet, almost a week ago. Continue reading...

Simon Pizzey was determined to find owners of misdelivered box marked with name of Manston asylum centreAn NHS boss has kept a vow he made to himself to reunite two small boat arrivals with precious belongings from which they were separated for 68 days, having been delivered to him by mistake.Simon Pizzey, 35, who works for an NHS trust in Leicestershire, said the seven days between receiving the sodden belongings and tracking down their owners was “an epic journey of emotional highs and lows”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Albanese government flags it will seek leave to appeal in high court

Graham Kent, who investigated the 1987 shooting, says national register stalled because of ‘competitions between jurisdictions’

Study of people born in 1921 shows happiness is linked to independence, with many using ‘subversive tactics’ to maintain thisIt is the age of rebellion. They may be frail, but 95-year-olds engage in miniature campaigns of “resistance and subversion” to foster a sense of control over their lives, a study has confirmed.From refusing to wear emergency call buttons to casting aside walking sticks, many members of a cohort born in 1921 studied by health scientists at the Universities of York and Newcastle used “subversive tactics to maintain a level of independence,”, often laced with humour and secrecy aimed at their offspring. Continue reading...

£8.8m to fund hundreds of supported housing places for ex-armed forces in England that had faced closureUK ministers have pledged to end rough sleeping among military veterans next year after announcing more than £8.8m to fund hundreds of supported housing places that had faced closure.Johnny Mercer, the minister for veterans affairs, and Rishi Sunak will host homeless former members of the armed forces, as well as charities at Downing Street on Wednesday to mark the launch of a scheme called Operation Fortitude. The scheme will enable veterans at risk of homelessness to access supported housing and wraparound specialist care in health, accommodation and education. Continue reading...

Appeal for information about fatal shooting of Ashley Dale comes on what would have been her 29th birthdayThe family of Ashley Dale, who was shot dead in her garden in Liverpool in August, have issued a fresh appeal to find her killer on what would have been her 29th birthday.In a statement released by Merseyside police, the family of Dale, one of three people to be shot dead in Liverpool in one week, said life had become a “living nightmare” since she was killed. Continue reading...

Survey finds as many as 40% may forgo the fish, which is traditionally the centrepiece of the festive feastFor most Poles, no Christmas would be complete without carp for dinner. But with prices rising and shopping budgets already stretched by surging inflation, consumers are having to fork out more for their favourite festive fish.Polish people hold their main celebration on Christmas Eve, with carp the centrepiece of a 12-dish feast that is traditionally meat-free. Continue reading...

Warraber Island man was found clinging to debris on Wednesday after stormy conditions hampered search on Tuesday night

Government borrowed £13.9bn more in month than year earlier, a level not seen since records began in 1993Government support for households and businesses with energy bills and higher interest payments pushed UK public borrowing to a record £22bn in November, the highest level for the month since records began.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the state spent more than it received in taxes and other income, meaning it had to borrow £13.9bn more in November than a year earlier, taking borrowing to its highest level for the period since monthly data started being issued in 1993. Continue reading...

Gaby Hutchinson, who was on duty during Asake show, ‘protected those they loved fiercely’, say relativesThe family of a security guard who died after the crowd crush at O2 Academy Brixton have paid tribute to their “selfless” relative.Gaby Hutchinson, 23, was on duty during a show by the Afrobeats artist Asake when ticketless fans tried to force entry to the south London venue last Thursday. Continue reading...

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Deal to connect Snowy 2.0 and renewable zones was struck in return for support for coal price cap

Kevin Lygo says presenter should apologise for column about Duchess of Sussex that attracted record number of complaintsJeremy Clarkson will remain host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? “at the moment”, ITV’s boss has said, as the presenter’s comments about the Duchess of Sussex attracted a record number of press regulator complaints.Kevin Lygo said ITV had “no control” over what Clarkson said in his Sun newspaper column but that “he should apologise” for his comments. Continue reading...

Arnold to meet Football Australia chiefs in early January as L’Equipe puts him in top spot following last-16 achievementGraham Arnold will sit down with Football Australia chiefs in early January to thrash out a new deal that is expected to see him remain in charge of the Socceroos, with the coach’s bargaining power having received a fillip after he was named the best coach of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.Highly regarded sports newspaper L’Equipe put the out-of-contract Australian in top spot on its rankings, above the likes of Lionel Scaloni of Argentina and France’s Didier Deschamps. Continue reading...

Twenty-three remain unaccounted for after the HTMS Sukhothai was knocked over by four-metre waves and strong winds late on SundayThailand’s navy has discovered the bodies of six marines after a small warship sank in the Gulf of Thailand. One marine was rescued alive on Monday as the military mobilised helicopters, warships and unmanned drones off its central coast.Twenty-three people remained unaccounted for after the HTMS Sukhothai was knocked over by four-metre waves and strong winds late on Sunday. Some were without life vests. Continue reading...

Media watchdog finds two breaches in documentary on 2020 US election but broadcaster says ruling will have ‘negative consequences’ for public interest journalism

Charity documents experiences of some of England’s 121,000 children housed in temporary accommodationChildren in temporary accommodation are living in cramped conditions and alongside former prisoners, in hostels up to 55 miles away from school, according to a leading housing charity.One 16-year-old from Manchester, who is sharing a single room in an emergency B&B with her mother and two sisters, described having to study sitting on the toilet, her textbook propped on her knees, to revise for GCSEs. “It’s so cold in there my legs go numb after 10 minutes,” she said. Continue reading...

Peak sports group tells parliamentary inquiry existing advertising restrictions are sufficient, despite rise in problem gambling

The suspects – ages 13 to 16 – were said to have met via social media before gathering downtown and allegedly ‘swarming’ victimEight teenage girls who appear to have met on social media have been charged with second-degree murder over the death of a 59-year-old man who was stabbed in downtown Toronto.Police allege that the girls assaulted and stabbed the man at a plaza near the main rail station in Canada’s largest city early on Sunday morning. Three of the girls are 13, three are 14 and two are 16, police said on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Cut-back of cover for suppliers is latest in a series of headaches for founder of the troubled businessThe troubled online beauty retailer THG faces more pain after a leading credit insurer reduced cover to its suppliers.The Guardian can reveal that Allianz Trade, one of the UK’s largest credit insurers, cut back cover for suppliers to the beauty-to-nutrition retailer, formerly known as the Hut Group, in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Normally neutral Lindsay Hoyle could trigger row with Keir Starmer over one of party’s flagship policiesThe speaker of the House of Commons has criticised one of Keir Starmer’s flagship policies, saying he does not want to see the House of Lords replaced with an elected upper chamber.In an unusual policy intervention from the normally neutral speaker, Lindsay Hoyle told LBC radio he thought an elected Lords would threaten the supremacy of the Commons. Continue reading...

Conspiracists attempting to present an alternative reality of the Wieambilla attack that left two police officers and a neighbour dead

Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, brother of cartel boss ‘El Mencho’, is third member of family to be arrested by Mexican authoritiesThe brother of one of Mexico’s top drug lords has been arrested, the Mexican military said, marking another high-profile capture amid a wave of violence that has overwhelmed the country.Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, brother of the Jalisco New Generation cartel boss known as “El Mencho”, was arrested on Tuesday in the state of Jalisco by the Mexican army working with the national guard, the attorney general’s office and the national intelligence agency. Continue reading...

Welsh ambulance service apologises to Elizabeth Davies, whose care home and family made 10 calls for help after she fellThe Welsh ambulance service has apologised after a 93-year-old woman was left “screaming in pain” while lying on the floor with a broken hip during a 25-hour ambulance wait.Elizabeth Davies fell at her care home on Saturday and was finally picked up at 1.15pm on Sunday and admitted to Ysbyty Gwynedd hospital in Bangor on Monday, where she endured another 12-hour wait before being admitted to a ward. A hip fracture was later confirmed in surgery. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can find our latest Ukraine coverage hereThe Biden administration has crossed a new line in its support for Ukraine, by indicating its willingness to send Patriot air and missile defence systems to aid in the war against Russia.The system – which includes powerful missile interceptors and radar – is likely to prove highly effective for Ukraine, and marks a significant step forward in the scope and complexity of the US’s support. But the gift of such prestige systems will present longer-term challenges for Nato. Continue reading...

Ben Wallace says Putin regime will supply military technology in return for drones used to attack Ukraine

Finds at site west of Jerusalem named after woman said to have assisted at the birth of Jesus ChristArchaeologists have unveiled pilgrims’ lamps and other finds from the ”tomb of Salome”, a burial site named after a woman said to have assisted at the birth of Christ.The tomb was discovered by grave robbers in what is now Tel Lachish national park, west of Jerusalem, in the 1980s. Continue reading...

PM says rises could make inflation worse and states politicians should not ‘cut across’ independent pay review processRishi Sunak has refused to budge on NHS pay, saying that rises could make soaring inflation worse as he comes under growing pressure to negotiate with striking health workers.The prime minister suggested that politicians should not “cut across” the independent pay review process to boost salaries for nurses and paramedics even if it meant further damaging strikes this winter. Continue reading...

The People’s Alliance leader will take over after he secured the backing of the Social Liberal Democratic party to oust longstanding rivalFrank Bainimarama’s reign as leader of Fiji has ended almost 16 years after he instigated a coup in 2006 and installed himself as prime minister the next year.Cheering, singing and car horns filled the streets on Tuesday outside the office of the man who will be crowned Fiji’s new prime minister. Continue reading...

Higher education ministry issues indefinite order three months after thousands sat entrance examsAfghanistan’s Taliban rulers have ordered an indefinite ban on university education for the country’s women, the ministry of higher education said in a letter issued to all government and private universities.“You all are informed to implement the mentioned order of suspending education of females until further notice,” said the letter signed by the minister for higher education, Neda Mohammad Nadeem. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read more about Wednesday’s ambulance workers’ strike hereIn his interviews this morning Will Quince, the health minister, said that the military personnel who are helping out when ambulance staff are on strike tomorrow will not be allowed to turn on blue lights when driving ambulances, or drive them through red lights. “They will be there to drive ambulances in a support capacity for individual trusts,” he said.At the health committee hearing Dr John Martin, president of the College of Paramedics, told MPs that ambulance staff are now having to deal with “a sicker population who are calling us more often” than they were in the past. But, despite that, ambulance staff were seeing fewer patients per shift, he said, because of the delays getting people into hospital because of delayed discharges. Continue reading...

Remarks highlight Moscow’s growing acknowledgement that invasion is not going to plan

Open letter signed by Emma Thompson, Mark Rylance and Steve McQueen expresses outrage at Oscar-winner’s arrestFilm stars, playwrights, novelists and directors from across the world have rallied to the defence of the Iranian actor Taraneh Alidoosti, calling for her immediate release from the infamous Evin prison in Tehran.The Oscar-winning actor was arrested at her home on Saturday and has since told her family she is being detained in Evin. She has been asked to explain Instagram posts in which she denounced the Iranian government for imposing the death penalty on protesters. She had posted a picture of herself in which she was not wearing the hijab and holding a piece of paper reading “women, life, freedom” – the slogan that has come to encapsulate a nationwide protest movement. Continue reading...

Scotland Yard to look into footage in which Beckenham MP tells activist Sayed Alwadaei ‘go back to Bahrain’Police will investigate an allegation of racial abuse after the Guardian revealed a confrontation with Tory MP Bob Stewart, who told an activist to “go back to Bahrain”.Scotland Yard have said they will investigate the video footage after a complaint from Sayed Alwadaei, the director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird), who had an angry exchange with Stewart outside a reception hosted by the Bahraini embassy. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester police believe part of mill used as illegal cannabis factoryFour Vietnamese men who died in a mill fire were likely to have been the victims of modern slavery, police have said.The men’s bodies were discovered 10 weeks after a huge fire destroyed the derelict Bismark House Mill in Oldham, Greater Manchester, on 7 May. Continue reading...

Aslef action falls between two 48-hour strikes by RMT, knocking out most trains for five daysTrain drivers have called a fresh 24-hour strike on 5 January in the long-running dispute over pay and conditions on UK railways.The action at 15 train operators by members of the Aslef union falls between two 48-hour strikes by the RMT union on 3-4 and 6-7 January, meaning most trains will be wiped out for five consecutive days. Continue reading...

Conservative judges froze passage of measures meant to overhaul appointments to their courtSpain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has vowed to use “whatever measures are needed” to end to a long-running judicial deadlock after conservative judges at the country’s constitutional court took the unprecedented step of suspending the passage of legislation that would overhaul the way appointments to their court are made.Last week, Sánchez’s Socialist-led coalition government managed to get its changes to the penal code through congress, the lower house of Spain’s parliament. Continue reading...

Actor plays ‘intimidating’ role of Coleen Rooney in Channel 4 adaptation of libel action brought by Rebekah VardyIt was one of the most closely followed high court trials in recent years, spawning gossip, memes and social commentary across newspapers, Twitter and the legal industry.But one person who didn’t keep up with the now infamous “Wagatha Christie” trial – the whodunnit of the digital-age – was Chanel Cresswell, the actor who will be stepping into the shoes of one of its key players. Continue reading...