World news | The Guardian

In today’s newsletter: A timeline of increasing dissent as Chinese citizens demand ‘food, not PCR tests’ and blame Xi Jinping’s government for restrictions they say have cost lives

Maguire has been charged with criminal conspiracy over alleged offences committed while he was a NSW MP

Court victory by Redfern Legal Centre prompts government to cancel half of all fines issued for breaching pandemic restrictions

End Fuel Poverty Coalition fears energy suppliers are using warrants to disconnect poorest ‘by the back door’Campaigners have called for an immediate ban on pre-payment meter (PPM) installations made under court warrants because of fears that energy suppliers are using them to disconnect the poorest, most indebted customers “by the back door”.Energy firms’ licence conditions protect many vulnerable people from formal disconnection over the winter, but the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said transferring households on to PPMs, which require regular top-ups and charge for energy at a higher rate, often prompted people in debt to “self-disconnect”. Continue reading...

Jason Penrose launched a ‘campaign of consistent stalking’ against The Crown actor, making her fear for her life, court toldA persistent stalker who left Claire Foy “terrified in her own home” and fearing he would kill her and her daughter entered the UK illegally, a court has heard.Jason Penrose, 49, launched a “campaign of consistent stalking” and even turned up at the The Crown star’s home on 17 December last year and repeatedly rang the doorbell, Wood Green crown court was told on Monday. Continue reading...

Scotland secretary tells MPs Simon Case is considering issue related to would-be independence referendumSimon Case, the head of the UK civil service, is looking into whether officials in Scotland should still be allowed to do work related to a second independence referendum, Alister Jack, the Scotland secretary, has said.Jack said the cabinet secretary and Whitehall’s propriety and ethics team were examining whether it was appropriate for work to continue on independence in light of the supreme court decision that only the UK government could allow another poll. Continue reading...

Priorities will be creativity and profitability, a shift from a costly streaming services growth strategy pursued by predecessorReturning Disney boss Bob Iger told employees that he will prioritize creativity and profitability at a staff meeting at the company’s Burbank headquarters on Monday – outlining a shift from a costly streaming services growth strategy pursued by his predecessor, who was dramatically ousted from the company eight days ago.Iger, 71, held the top Disney job from 2005 to 2020. After a two-year break, he was reinstated after the company ousted Bob Chapek following an earnings report that showed the company lost close to $1.5bn in just three months on its streaming services platform. Continue reading...

Trusts may also have to suspend chemotherapy, kidney dialysis and other key elements of healthcareHospitals may not be able to provide key elements of healthcare such as urgent surgery, chemotherapy and kidney dialysis during the forthcoming strikes by nurses, NHS bosses have said.Trusts may also have to stop discharging patients, postpone urgent diagnostic tests and temporarily withdraw services to people undergoing a mental health crisis. Continue reading...

Foreign Office minister says case of Hussein Abo al-Kheir raised ‘at highest level’ and demands end to executionsThe British government has condemned as “abhorrent” what it said was the clear torture of a Jordanian national on death row in Saudi Arabia for drug offences, and demanded an end to a sudden spate of executions in the Gulf monarchy.It was the first time the British government has made the allegation. Continue reading...

Police announce arrest of suspect in pair of 40-year-old sexual assaults and slayings in TorontoA 61-year-old Canadian man has been charged in the cold case killings of two women who were found dead in their Toronto homes within months of each other almost four decades ago.The Toronto police chief, James Ramer, said Joseph George Sutherland, of Moosonee, Ontario, was arrested on Thursday and charged with first-degree murder in the killings of Erin Gilmour and Susan Tice in 1983. Continue reading...

Two men and a woman arrested on suspicion of concealing birth of a child after bodies found in BridgendTwo babies were found dead in a house on an estate on the outskirts of Bridgend at the weekend.South Wales police said two men, aged 37 and 47, and a 29-year-old woman had been arrested on suspicion of concealing the birth of a child after the distressing discovery in Wildmill, a 55-year-old Radburn estate. Continue reading...

New details emerge from report on London’s brigades as opposition parties demand national reviewThe Home Office is facing demands from opposition MPs for a national inquiry into the culture of the UK’s fire services, as new details emerged from a damning report on London’s brigades that revealed widespread misogyny and racism.Labour and the Liberal Democrats said the inquiry was necessary after the government overlooked previous warnings that fire brigades across the country were riven with bullying. Continue reading...

Biden administration’s centerpiece student loan relief measure paused after Trump-appointed judge rules plan is unconstitutionalAcross the US in recent weeks student loan borrowers hoping to have their debts eased have opened their email inboxes to a message from the US secretary of education, Miguel Cardona.It read in part: “Lawsuits are preventing the US Department of Education from implementing its one-time student loan debt relief program; we are holding your approved application.” Continue reading...

Greens and teal independents look set to gain seats as early count shows both Labor and Liberal votes going backwards

Protesters in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, blame restrictions for death toll of 10 in apartment block fireProtests have broken out in China’s far western Xinjiang region, with crowds shouting at hazmat-suited guards after a deadly fire triggered anger over their prolonged Covid-19 lockdown as nationwide infections set another record.Crowds chanted “End the lockdown,” pumping their fists in the air as they walked down a street, according to videos circulated on Chinese social media on Friday night. Reuters verified the footage was published from the Xinjiang capital, Urumqi. Continue reading...

Programme to subsidise exports of grain to poor and hungry countries launched on anniversary of Ukraine’s Holodomor famineUp to 60 Ukrainian grain ships can be sent by the middle of next year to some of the world’s poorest countries in Africa, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said in a statement released to the Guardian.In a move that challenges the Russian narrative that the west’s response to its war on Ukraine has aggravated pre-existing food shortages in Africa, Zelenskiy said ships moving out of the Ukrainian port of Odesa can reach humanitarian hotspots such as Sudan, Yemen and Somalia, but only so long as international funding comes forward to subsidise the grain. Continue reading...

Thousands expected to demonstrate on Sunday to urge UK government to help those fleeing TalibanThousands of people are expected to take to London’s streets on Sunday calling on the UK government to create a safe asylum route for Afghan women and girls at risk.Sunday’s march for freedom for Afghan women and girls in London, organised by the campaign group Action for Afghanistan, comes weeks after MPs appealed to the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, for a renewed focus on women and girls at risk after Britain’s 20-year campaign in the country. Continue reading...

Artist’s choice of footwear for Order of Merit luncheon highlights shoe brand’s enduring popularityIt is a question that must have plagued those attending King Charles’s first luncheon for the Order of Merit on Thursday – what to wear while eating partridge pie with the new monarch.For the 85-year-old artist David Hockney it was simple – his signature checked Savile Row suit, a knitted checkerboard tie … and a pair of yellow garden Crocs. As a fan of the great outdoors, the king was delighted. “Your yellow galoshes!” he remarked. “Beautifully chosen.” Continue reading...

Bar on telecommunications products from firms including ZTE, Dahua and Hikvision are part of latest crackdown on Chinese tech giants amid spying fearsThe Biden administration has banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies and ZTE because they pose “an unacceptable risk” to US national security.The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Friday it had adopted the final rules, which also bar the sale or import of equipment made by Chinese surveillance equipment maker Dahua Technology, video surveillance firm Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and telecoms firm Hytera Communications Corp. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Andy Marsh, head of the College of Policing, calls for new code of practice to mend bond of trust with womenOne of the most senior figures in policing in England and Wales is calling for a new gold standard for gender-based violence investigations, saying women have been “systematically failed” by the criminal justice system. Andy Marsh, the chief executive of the College of Policing, said he wanted a new code of practice for the policing of violence against women and girls – the first since the police code of ethics was introduced eight years ago – saying the bond of trust between women and the police “must be mended”.The move comes after a damning official report into misogyny in policing – ordered after the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021 by a serving Metropolitan police officer – found defective vetting and failures by police leaders had allowed potentially thousands of “predatory” officers into police ranks. Continue reading...

People urged to travel only if necessary as train drivers with Aslef at 11 rail operators take industrial action over payPassengers across Britain face another day of cancelled or disrupted rail services on Saturday as drivers for 11 train companies go on strike.Train operators urged people to travel only if necessary and to check before setting out, with no trains or only a handful of services running on affected routes. Continue reading...

Kate Dixon has issued a warning to other gardeners after authorities seized 50 plants she thought were ornamental varieties

Chair Nazir Afzal labelled the service ‘institutionally misogynist’ and hoped the review would be a ‘turning point’Incidents of misogyny, racism and bullying have been exposed by an independent report on the culture at the UK’s largest firefighting and rescue organisation.Female firefighters have been groped, beaten and had their helmets filled with urine, a review of the London fire brigade has found. Continue reading...

Drill artist Chinx (OS) reveals he has to send new song lyrics to police and probation service in case they are deemed to incite violenceSince being released from prison on licence last October, drill artist Chinx (OS), from the Regent’s Park Estate in north-west London, has written 17 music tracks.Each one could have sent the 24-year-old, desperate not to fall back into his past life after serving four years of an eight-year sentence for possession of a firearm with intent to harm, back to jail. Continue reading...

Many have also used their own money to buy pupils stationery or uniforms while struggling with their own billsSchool support staff are dipping into their own pockets to help pay for food, stationery and uniforms for needy pupils, while skipping meals and taking on multiple jobs to pay their own bills, a union survey has found.The poll by Unison revealed that teaching assistants (TA), catering and cleaning workers, librarians and sports coaches, who are among the lowest-paid workers in the sector, are struggling to pay their own bills, but still stepping up to support pupils. Continue reading...

Royal College of Nursing announces unprecedented action, likely to to be first in a series of strikes by NHS staff over winterThe Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced its members will stage national strikes – the first in its 106-year history – on 15 and 20 December, with action expected to last for 12 hours on both days.The unprecedented industrial action will seriously disrupt care and is likely to be the first in a series of strikes over the winter and into the spring by NHS staff, including junior doctors and ambulance workers. Continue reading...

The ‘perfect ball of marzipan’ has become the highest-ranked all-breed dog in the country with 78th winA French bulldog with “personality and beauty”, owing to his “razzle-dazzle”, is the winner of the National Dog Show, which aired on Thursday following the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.Winston, who was aptly described by a cheerleader on social media as a “perfect ball of marzipan”, is now the highest-ranked all-breed dog in the country, with this latest win delivering him his 78th best in show title. Continue reading...

Ipsa’s earlier advice on expenses for food and decorations led to MPs receiving abuse from the publicThe MPs’ expenses watchdog has apologised for telling parliamentarians they could claim back some costs for Christmas parties.The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), a body created largely as a response to the MPs’ expenses scandal in 2009, had been widely criticised for its initial decision. Continue reading...

Thrashed in 2018, the Liberal leader is hoping to find redemption in this weekend’s Victorian election – but the polls are not on his side

Andrew Bragg says businesses promote themselves as regulated – despite there being no regulation of cryptocurrency in Australia

Party will roll out tougher sentences as statistics reveal almost 97% of sexual offences fail to end in chargesKeir Starmer has pledged to take a “zero-tolerance approach” to violence against women and girls as fresh statistics reveal that almost 97% of sexual offences are failing to result in charges.He said his Labour government will roll out tougher sentences for rape, stalking and domestic murder, and introduce a domestic abuse register to make it easier for officials to track offenders. Continue reading...

Marine Accident Investigation Branch condemned for slow progress in determining how last November’s tragedy occurredBereaved families who lost relatives in a mass drowning in the Channel a year ago have criticised the UK body investigating the tragedy for a lack of progress in determining how and why dozens of lives were lost.An interim report from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) published on Thursday confirmed that the boat had reached UK waters. Continue reading...

31 people attempting to reach the UK from France died in the Channel’s worst disaster for 30 yearsBereaved relatives of those who died in the Channel a year ago have called for justice for their loved ones at a vigil to commemorate the victims.On 24 November 2021, 31 people attempting to reach the UK from France died in the worst maritime disaster in the Channel for 30 years. The bodies of four of the victims have still not been recovered. Continue reading...

Home Office argues people trafficked to Syria were exposed to extreme violence which poses ‘almighty problem’People trafficked to Syria and radicalised remain threats to national security as they may be desensitised after exposure to extreme violence, the Home Office has argued, in contesting Shamima Begum’s appeal against the removal of her British citizenship.Begum was 15 when she travelled from her home in Bethnal Green, east London, through Turkey and into territory controlled by Islamic State (IS). After she was found, nine months pregnant in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019, the then home secretary, Sajid Javid, revoked her British citizenship on national security grounds. Continue reading...

Prosecutor looking into allegations about 2017 and 2022 elections, which were won by Emmanuel MacronFrance’s financial prosecutor has opened an investigation into the role of consultancy groups including McKinsey in the 2017 and 2022 French election races, when Emmanuel Macron was elected and then won a second term.The financial prosecutor’s office confirmed that its current investigation into potential tax fraud by the US-based consultancy giant McKinsey had been widened to include consulting firms’ possible involvement in the two election races. Investigators are looking into allegations of “improperly keeping campaign accounts”, the “undervaluing of the role of consulting firms” and “favouritism”. Continue reading...

Lecturers, librarians and researchers join picket lines as UCU says staff are at ‘breaking point’The University and College Union (UCU) has claimed that record numbers of its members took part in picket lines at universities around the UK, on the first day of strikes affecting more than 150 higher education institutions.An estimated 70,000 striking researchers, academics and administrators were joined by students on Thursday, as well as caterers, cleaners and other support staff from the Unison and Unite unions who are also striking for better pay and working conditions at a number of universities. Continue reading...

Abdalle Mumin was held after press groups said government edicts on coverage of offensive against al-Shabaab put them at riskAuthorities in Somalia have imposed strict bail conditions on a respected journalist and media rights campaigner that will prevent him from seeking medical attention for a suspected kidney condition aggravated by poor conditions during his detention by intelligence services and police earlier this year.Abdalle Mumin, a co-founder of the Somali Journalists Syndicate and a frequent contributor to the Guardian, was arrested in October after press organisations protested that directives issued by the information ministry on coverage of an offensive against Islamic militants in the unstable east African state put them at risk. Continue reading...

Tarek Namouz accused of making at least seven money transfers to Islamic State fighter last yearA barber who received taxpayer-funded Covid grants allegedly sent £25,000 to an Islamic State fighter in Syria, a court heard.Tarek Namouz, 43, is accused of making at least seven transfers to Yahya Ahmed Alia between November 2020 and May 2021 so Alia could buy weapons and explosives to commit terror attacks in Syria. Continue reading...

Jump in number of international students a factor in figure that is at least 400,000 higher than home secretary is aiming for

Minister’s insistence he referred all offers to civil service channels appears at odds with previously released email correspondence

Moscow’s ambassador has quit as chair of group in charge of list of world heritage sites, which was in deadlock over Ukraine invasion

Exclusive: A fierce internal debate raged as Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen pushed for an ambitious climate policy for the 2022 federal election

Sector-wide staff shortages, high fuel prices and less available seats are pushing fares to record highs on domestic and international flights

Thousands take part in first national strike for 40 years after dismissing latest pay offer as an ‘insult’

In one case the Courier-Mail columnist and Sky News presenter filled almost half a column with the unattributed reporting of a regional ABC journalist

Lawyers for education department asked for change, Michael Whine tells trial brought by five ex-Brighton Secondary College studentsWARNING: This story contains offensive language

NSW watchdog will oversee internal police investigation, saying it can take it over if it has any concerns, as Sydney activist released from hospital

Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura traditional owners say government should have consulted them about response to Rio Tinto’s destruction of sacred site

Ukraine’s president labels Russia’s strikes on energy sites as crimes against humanity, as G7 discussions to cap Russian oil prices reportedly hit a set-backFresh Russian strikes battered Ukraine’s already failing electricity grid, causing blackouts across the country and in neighbouring Moldova, in attacks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the UN were “an obvious crime against humanity”.Addressing an urgent meeting of the UN security council late on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said Ukraine would put forward a resolution condemning “any forms of energy terror”. Referring to Russia’s likely veto, he said, “it’s nonsense that the veto right is secured for the party that wages this war.” Continue reading...

NSW police say several transnational organised criminal networks were collaborating on drug imports