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Conservative cleric and a newspaper editor openly critical of government’s stance on weapons it supplied to Moscow

Green Lithium, backed by Trafigura, will create 250 permanent jobs at plant in PD Ports’ Teesport

Poll finds only 43% of people think England and Wales should take part, while 39% think they should notA large majority of people in Britain think the World Cup should not be held in Qatar because of its position on LGBTQ+ rights.Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, attracting punishments of up to seven years in prison. Despite this and other serious human rights concerns, Fifa members voted in 2010 to award the 2022 tournament to the Gulf state. Continue reading...

Government embarks on campaign to raise awareness over weather threat as England remains in droughtSevere flooding caused by La Niña is predicted for February despite England remaining in drought, the Met Office has said.Two-thirds of people at risk of flooding were unaware of the situation, the government said on Monday, as it embarked on an awareness campaign. This average cost to a flooded household is £30,000, figures show. Continue reading...

Met police had made pre-emptive arrests of Just Stop Oil activists protesting against climate crisis

Dying Matters photography project aims to spark conversation about grief in UK amid pandemicMany would cherish the opportunity to recreate a treasured photo with someone who has died. Now, a number of bereaved people who lost loved ones during the Covid pandemic will be featured in a new portrait series by the photographer Rankin alongside them for one last time.The project, called Dying Matters, is in partnership with Hospice UK and aims to spark a conversation about grief, amid a pandemic that has left an estimated additional 750,000 people bereaved across the UK. Continue reading...

Study by anti-poverty NGO shows more than half feel at financial risk and 80% have already made hard spending choicesOne in four Europeans describe their financial position as “precarious”, more than half see a serious risk it will become so over the coming months, and 80% have already been forced into hard spending choices, according to a survey.As the cost of living crisis, driven by high energy prices, rampant inflation and Russia’s war on Ukraine, tightens its grip, the six-country survey for the French anti-poverty NGO Secours Populaire painted an alarming picture of “a continent on the brink”. Continue reading...

Scheme in honour of Off-White designer who championed equality in education is financed by anonymous US donorA scholarship for underrepresented communities in creative and design industries honouring the fashion designer Virgil Abloh, who died last year, has been launched by the Royal College of Art (RCA).The RCA Virgil Abloh Scholarship is to be offered annually to “an extraordinarily talented, but financially restricted, Black British student”. Continue reading...

Demonstrators gather outside facility at centre of political row over conditions and dangerous overcrowdingHundreds of people have held a protest in the rain outside Manston detention centre in Kent to demand its closure.Demonstrators from Action Against Detention and Deportation chanted and banged metal pots outside the site in Thanet, which has been at the centre of a political row after it became dangerously overcrowded. Continue reading...

Movement against country’s regime sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death keeps going in face of crackdownNew protests erupted in Iran on Sunday at universities and in the largely Kurdish northwest, keeping a seven-week anti-regime movement going even in the face of a fierce crackdown.The protests, triggered in mid-September by the death of Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for allegedly breaching strict dress rules for women, have evolved into the biggest challenge for the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution. Continue reading...

New advertising campaign encourages those at higher risk of infection ‘to look out for symptoms and get vaccinated if eligible’

Met Office says persistent rain could lead to flooding in an area stretching from West Sussex to KentA yellow weather warning of heavy rain causing potential flooding to homes is in place for large parts of south-east England, with rain predicted for much of the coming week.The Met Office has warned that persistent heavy rain could lead to flooding of homes and businesses and affect public transport in an area stretching from Chichester in West Sussex to Canterbury in Kent. Continue reading...

MPs and campaigners call for urgent review of property price cap for UK government schemeA government scheme to help people save for their first home is preventing some from buying a property and leaving others thousands of pounds out of pocket, MPs and campaigners have said.They are calling on ministers to conduct an urgent review of the rules that apply to the lifetime Isa – which lets people save for a first home or retirement – because of fears they are penalising some first-time buyers. Continue reading...

Senior lawyers had told home secretary about risks of inflammatory rhetoric long before she referred to asylum seekers as an ‘invasion’The home secretary, Suella Braverman, who last week caused outrage by referring to asylum seekers entering the UK as an “invasion”, had been warned by government lawyers that inflammatory immigration rhetoric risked inspiring a far-right terror attack.Braverman’s comments came just one day after a man with links to the far right threw firebombs at a Dover immigration centre. On Saturday, counter-terrorism police announced they had found evidence that the attack was motivated by an “extreme rightwing” terrorist ideology. Continue reading...

Premier says more to come on cost-of-living measures and asks ‘what is the point’ of News Corp story on his 2021 fall

Detainees say they have not been told where they are going as minister announces closure after protests over conditionsThe minister for immigration has announced that a detention centre near Heathrow will be emptied by the end of Saturday after power cuts and a disturbance at the site.A power outage that began just after midnight on Friday morning plunged the Harmondsworth immigration removal centre, in west London, into darkness.

Only 7% of Opinium respondents believe government is in control of situation in the English ChannelThe vast majority of the public believe that Britain has not regained control of its borders since Brexit, according to a new Observer poll that suggests that most do not think leaving the EU has improved the UK’s ability to manage immigration.According to the latest Opinium poll, 73% think the UK has not been in control of its borders since Brexit. Only 12% think Britain has been in control. Meanwhile, only 9% of the public believe Brexit has made Britain’s ability to manage its borders better, while 45% think it has made it worse. Continue reading...

32 tonnes of packaged drug found in raids on farms and production plants across countryMarijuana with a street value of at least €64m (£56m) has been seized in Spain – the largest amount ever found – police said.Spanish police said they had seized 32 tonnes of packaged marijuana. Continue reading...

Many high street chains are putting up their menu prices as they struggle to heat premises, retain staff and pay for suppliesPrices of some of the most popular high street meals, snacks and drinks have risen by as much as 26% since 2020 as food outlets face the highest inflation since the 1980s. Restaurant bosses warn of widespread closures as businesses struggle with the costs of heating their premises, staff shortages and rising ingredient prices.UKHospitality, which represents about 740 companies, says food businesses are struggling with inflation of about 18% on their total costs, from food to energy bills. This means consumers are seeing price increases on some popular menu choices. Continue reading...

Player donated to Great Ormond Street and apologised to Anna Palus for saying she was drunk during finalNick Kyrgios has settled a legal case with a spectator he accused of having “about 700 drinks” during this year’s Wimbledon final.Kyrgios had complained to the umpire about the behaviour of Anna Palus during his four-set defeat by Novak Djokovic on Centre Court. Continue reading...

Proceeds from sale of 150 works owned by the late billionaire Paul Allen will go to charityThe vast private art collection of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is expected to fetch a record-breaking $1bn (£890m) when it is auctioned next week.The collection of more than 150 masterpieces includes Georges Seurat’s Les Poseuses, Ensemble (petite version) and Paul Cézanne’s landscape La Montagne Sainte-Victoire, which are both expected to sell for more than $100m, and Gustav Klimt’s 1903 work Birch Forest, which has an auctioneer’s estimate of $90m. Continue reading...

Group of more than 100 including British and American travellers were detained in protest over government response to oil spillIndigenous protesters have released more than 100 tourists and local people who were held on a boat for more than a day in an attempt to force the Peruvian government to act over oil spills in the Amazon region where they live.The Indigenous Kukama had held a boatload of Peruvians and foreign tourists – including US and European citizens and at least three British nationals – since Thursday in Peru’s largest Amazon region, Loreto. Continue reading...

China and Russia, meanwhile, accuse US of inflaming tensions with large-scale joint military exercises with South KoreaThe United States has accused Russia and China of providing “blanket protection” to North Korea from further UN Security Council action and said the pair had “bent over backwards” to justify Pyongyang’s ballistic missile launches.The US, Britain, France, Albania, Ireland and Norway requested that the Security Council meet on Friday after North Korea, formally known as the DPRK, fired multiple missiles, including a possible failed intercontinental ballistic missile. Continue reading...

Then 16-year-old effectively died for an hour before being revived after stabbing in Brixton last yearTwo young men have been jailed for life for a knife attack on teenager James Bascoe-Smith, who effectively died for nearly an hour on a street in south London last year.James, then aged 16, now uses a wheelchair after he was knocked off a bicycle and repeatedly stabbed by masked men in Brixton on 23 February 2021. The Old Bailey heard James was the innocent victim of a gang stabbing. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can find more of our Ukraine coverage hereNine Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones were shot down last night, according to the Ukrainian military.“Our air defence forces shot down 3 ‘Shahed-136’ UAVs,” the latest report from Ukraine’s general staff of the armed forces reads.We have invited the IAEA to check, we have given them full freedom of action at the relevant facilities, and we have clear and irrefutable evidence that no one in Ukraine has created or is creating any dirty bombs,” he said.The only thing that is dirty in our region now is the heads of those in Moscow who, unfortunately, seized control of the Russian state and are terrorising Ukraine and the whole world.”

Exclusive: Lawyer for Diane Dawking says he has dozens more teachers interested in pursuing similar action

Church of England bishops say clergy should be able to act according to conscience on issue that has divided ChristianityFive more Anglican bishops have publicly backed a call for the Church of England to lift its ban on same-sex marriage, in a sign that momentum may be building for a historic change.The bishops of Worcester and Dudley have written to all clergy in their area saying “the time has come for the church to celebrate and honour same sex relations”. John Inge, a senior bishop, and Martin Gorick, a junior bishop in the diocese, said they favoured same-sex couples being able to marry in church, although clergy should be permitted to act according to their conscience on the issue. Continue reading...

Russia continues its relentless assault on Ukraine’s power grid; Putin rejoins UN grain export deal in humiliating U-turn; Kherson residents defy Russian call to evacuate cityEight months after Russia captured Kherson, the first major Ukrainian city to fall, Moscow’s grip on the city appears to be slipping as many of those who have refused Russia’s calls to evacuate anxiously wait for their city to be liberated, Pjotr Sauer writes. Continue reading...

Late notice means services will still be affected; Royal Mail and CWU to start fresh talks over postal strikesThree 24-hour strikes by railway workers scheduled for the coming week have been called off, the RMT union has announced, saying it will now enter “a period of intensive negotiations” with Network Rail and rail operators.The news came as Royal Mail and the CWU union agreed to a week of intensive talks in an attempt to resolve a pay and change dispute that has prompted postal workers to call two 48-hour strikes, starting on 24 and 30 November. Continue reading...

Three days of action from 18 November could mean disruption for football fans heading to QatarHundreds of Heathrow airport workers will go on strike for three days later this month, potentially disrupting travel plans for football fans planning to fly to the World Cup in Qatar.The Unite union said 700 workers involved in ground handling, airside transport and cargo at Europe’s busiest airport were to go on strike from the early hours of 18 November to the early hours of 21 November over pay demands. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Key members of the new cabinet have consistently voted against abortion rights in EnglandAll four holders of the “Great Offices of State” have failed to support a woman’s right to access safe abortions in England over the past seven years, the Guardian can reveal.Abortion providers have warned that access to safe abortions is at risk and accused the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, of taking a “anti-abortion stance”, after the minister for women, Maria Caulfield, was given responsibility for abortion services as part of her second role as a health minister. Continue reading...

Police launched murder investigation after Norma Girolami, from Highgate, ended all contact in August 2021The remains of a missing 70-year-old woman have been found by police in a north London churchyard.Norma Girolami, from Highgate, was last seen in August 2021 and police launched a murder investigation in October. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester mayor says report into 2017 atrocity raises serious questions for whole of UKThe “poor leadership” of emergency services meant Manchester was not ready for the terrorist attack that killed 22 people in 2017, the region’s mayor, Andy Burnham, has said.A damning inquiry report on the Manchester arena bombing identified significant failings by police, fire and ambulance services. At least one of those killed would probably have survived were it not for a response that was described as badly prepared, delayed and chaotic, it was found. Continue reading...

Chris Philp’s comments spark row as government faces pressure to fix ‘chaos’ at Manston refugee centreNo 10 has distanced itself from a Home Office minister’s remarks that it is “a bit of cheek” for asylum seekers to complain about the conditions at migrant processing centres.The government has come under criticism for allowing 4,000 people to be held at the Manston centre, a short-term holding facility in Kent, which is designed to hold no more than 1,600 asylum seekers for only a few days. Continue reading...

Despite relatively low case numbers, there are reportedly about 200 lockdowns across the countryWaves of outrage and frustration over China’s lockdown measures this week have demonstrated widening cracks in the general compliance with the government’s zero-Covid policy.Rising anger has been driven by the tragic death of a toddler, and highly public problematic lockdowns in the Henan capital, Zhengzhou. Officials were left scrambling to control the narrative, amid swirling rumours of imminent policy shifts and a former government health expert saying on Friday that “substantive changes will happen soon”. Continue reading...

L’Oréal and Budweiser owner advertise on Basic with Ads but high prices for slots put off some agencies

Exclusive: Staff disciplined after asylum seekers understood to have complained about attempts to sell them cannabis

Danny Miller predicts former health secretary will be punished for his Covid record before being voted offThe reigning I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! champion, Danny Miller, has said Matt Hancock should expect the public to use him as a “toy” before voting him off the show.The actor, known for playing Aaron Livesy on the ITV soap Emmerdale, suggested viewers would want to mete out punishments to the former health secretary as retribution for his handling of the Covid pandemic in the UK. Continue reading...

Postal service follows up April’s limited edition stamp celebrating attack on Russian flagship Moskva

Poll date deferred amid claims EU and UK near agreement on some controversial Brexit arrangementsFresh elections for the Northern Ireland assembly have been put back to the new year amid claims that the EU and the UK are close to agreement on some elements of the controversial Brexit arrangements that have caused a Democratic Unionist party (DUP) boycott of Stormont.The Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, had said an election would be called last Friday, the deadline for the resumption of power-sharing. But all parties warned such an outcome would be reckless and would not end the impasse over the Northern Ireland protocol. Continue reading...

UK parliamentarians call for inquiry into 2% levy on Eritreans abroad, amid fears that it fuels Tigray warA group of UK parliamentarians is calling for an urgent investigation into the collection of a “diaspora tax” by the Eritrean authorities, which they say could have helped fund war in neighbouring Ethiopia.MPs and members of the House of Lords want the government to launch a “full, formal, and fully funded” public inquiry into the collection of the 2% tax in the UK, and take “robust action to stop the practice”. Continue reading...

The 34-year-old woman killed the man with an axe purchased from Bunnings in a jealous quest for revenge, court hears

Guidance states under-18s should only get such drugs alongside therapy and after being assessed by a psychiatristGPs are breaching medical guidelines by prescribing antidepressants for children as young as 11 who cannot get other help for their mental health problems, NHS-funded research reveals.Official guidance says that under-18s should only be given the drugs in conjunction with talking therapies and after being assessed by a psychiatrist. Continue reading...

Airline chief will receive $4m in shares on top of his $2m-plus salary, despite customer fury at service failures

Australian citizen Daniel Duggan detained after western governments warned China was luring serving and former jet pilots to train its own air force

Retailers go before John Lewis amid reports customers are bringing forward shopping to spread costsThe Christmas ad season has kicked off with big retailers including Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer altering their plans as a consequence of the cost of living crisis.M&S’s clothing and home advert, which last year had an extravaganza inspired by Singin’ in the Rain and Busby Berkeley’s 1930s showgirls, this year puts charitable causes at the heart of its ad. Continue reading...

Premier says ‘these outages happen from time to time’ after equipment failures at state-owned Callide power station

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus tasks Australian Law Reform Commission to look into existing anti-discrimination legislation

Matthew Guy seeks to woo outer-metropolitan voters while Daniel Andrews campaigns in inner suburbs on day three of the Victoria election

Former AFL coach accuses officers of using images taken of her at the races to ‘disparage and ridicule’ her