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Major reversal for the Canadian province’s conservative government follows days of immense political pressureOntario has announced it will fully repeal controversial legislation that undermined workers’ right to strike, in a major reversal for the province’s conservative government following days of immense political pressure – and the looming threat of a general strike.Nearly 55,000 Canadian Union of Public Employees walked out on Friday after the conservative government of the Ontario premier, Doug Ford, introduced legislation that would unilaterally impose a contract on education workers, and levy hefty fines for striking. But on Monday morning, union leaders announced they would end their protest “in a gesture of good faith” following the conservative government’s abrupt turnaround. Continue reading...

Prosecutors investigate case of girl said to have been hidden by mother and grandparents in AttendornAn eight-year-old girl has been freed after allegedly being locked away by her mother and grandparents in western Germany since she was less than a year old, leaving her so physically underdeveloped as to be barely able to climb a flight of stairs.The girl, named only as “Maria” in German media, is understood to have spent most of the last seven and a half years in a locked room at her grandparents’ house in Attendorn, a town of about 25,000 residents east of Cologne. Continue reading...

Lawyers for Jasmine Hill say tube was squashed by Gloucestershire hospital trolley but pathologist unable to ascertain cause of deathA teenager died after a breathing tube was possibly squashed by a wheel of her hospital trolley during emergency surgery, an inquest has heard.Jasmine Hill, 19, had a cardiac arrest shortly after undergoing a procedure on her neck at Gloucestershire royal hospital in Gloucester. Continue reading...

Watchdog tells MPs plans to allow ministers to amend regulations would dent UK’s reputation

Proposal by company owned by Guy Hands’ Terra Firma had been contingent on MoD dropping plan to wrest back ownershipA property company owned by Guy Hands’s private equity firm Terra Firma has withdrawn a £105m offer to repair the “appalling” military homes that it owns and is leasing back to the Ministry of Defence.The proposal by Annington Homes, which owns about 38,000 service properties, had been contingent on the MoD dropping its attempt to forcibly buy-back the estate sold to the firm in 1996. Continue reading...

Exclusive: party seeks amendment to financial services and markets bill and says ministers are failing on ‘new types of fraud’Labour will press the government for the first “national fraud strategy” in a decade as figures show fraud and financial scams affecting consumers and businesses hit a record £1.3bn of lost cash last year.The party will seek to force a vote on the financial services and markets bill with an amendment calling for a new fraud strategy, as households and businesses are losing more than ever. Continue reading...

High-profile names, including grandson of military dictator, complained they were being denied free speechElon Musk has promised to investigate why several far-right personalities in Brazil were removed from Twitter after some high-profile names, including the grandson of a former military dictator, complained they were being denied free speech.

Proposal by company owned by Guy Hands’ Terra Firma had been contingent on MoD dropping plan to wrest back ownershipA property company owned by Guy Hands’s private equity firm Terra Firma has withdrawn a £105m offer to repair the “appalling” military homes that it owns and is leasing back to the Ministry of Defence.The proposal by Annington Homes, which owns about 38,000 service properties, had been contingent on the MoD dropping its attempt to forcibly buy-back the estate sold to the firm in 1996. Continue reading...

‘Significant editorial failings’ in news coverage of abuse of about 40 Jewish people by group of men in LondonThe BBC committed “significant editorial failings” in its TV and online reporting of an antisemitic attack on Jewish students travelling on a bus in London, according to an investigation by Ofcom.The UK media regulator said that its investigation into the BBC’s coverage, which drew complaints from parties including the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the chief rabbi, found that the corporation failed to follow its own editorial guidelines to report news with “due accuracy and due impartiality”. Continue reading...

The chat show host said ‘I am grateful to the Academy for asking me so quickly after everyone good said no’Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is to present the 2023 Oscar ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) has announced.Kimmel, who has hosted the event twice before, in 2017 and 2018, has been picked to lead the Oscars as it attempts to regain its popularity. In 2022, the Academy hired three main presenters – Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall – while for the three years previous, 2019-21, there was no official host. Continue reading...

PM’s spokesperson says Sunak believes Williamson has ‘important contribution to make’

Campaigners and TUC say rise to almost £4m is unjustifiable during cost of living crisisBosses of the UK’s 100 biggest publicly listed companies have seen their pay jump by an average of 23% to almost £4m because of record bonus payments.The average pay of chief executives of FTSE 100 companies increased from £3.2m last year to £3.9m this year, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The soaring pay at the top comes as companies push back against workers’ demands for pay rises to help them cope with high inflation and the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

Jonathan Hall KC makes observation after firebomb attack at Dover migration centre by Andrew Leak, 66Older men are now the main perpetrators of rightwing terror attacks, the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism said on Monday after the firebomb attack on an immigration centre.Jonathan Hall KC’s observation come as Rishi Sunak said that tackling Channel crossings by people seeking asylum was his “key priority” while attending Cop27. Continue reading...

Beijing ‘resolutely opposes’ official exchanges between Taipei and UK government, says foreign ministry• UK politics live – latest news updatesChina has criticised the British government for sending the trade minister Greg Hands to Taiwan and said the UK must cease “sending the wrong signals” to pro-independence forces on the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as its territory.Hands began a two-day visit to Taipei on Monday, during which he is scheduled to meet the democracy’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, and co-host the 25th annual UK-Taiwan trade talks. Continue reading...

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