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Group's chief refuses to sign contracts with Kremlin, says head of Duma defence committee; Russian president poses for selfies in Dagestan

Leftwing opposition leader who was PM during eurozone crisis says party needs profound renewal'Alexis Tsipras, the former student activist who rose to become Greece's first radical leftwing prime minister, has resigned as leader of Syriza four days after the party's crushing defeat in general elections.Eight years after taking Europe by storm, Tsipras said he was stepping down to make way for a new leader who could oversee Syriza's profound renewal". Continue reading...

Promises on inflation, debt and waiting lists are already looking shaky, but Tories will not give up small boats plan easily UK politics live - latest updatesIf the five pledges on which Rishi Sunak has pinned Conservative hopes of re-election were already looking shaky, the appeal court ruling on the government's Rwanda asylum policy is a major setback ahead of a general election that must take place before January 2025.With promises to halve inflation this year, reduce national debt and shorten NHS waiting lists all in doubt, his stop the boats" pledge is now bereft of the supposed deterrent effect of being able to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their claims processed. Continue reading...

Passengers held on trains for up to hour as services suspended between Heathrow and Abbey WoodServices on a major section of London's new 19bn Elizabeth line have been suspended because of a swan blocking the tracks.Transport for London (TfL) said there were no services between Heathrow airport in west London and Abbey Wood in south-east London - via the centre of the capital - due to an obstruction on the track". It said there were severe delays on the rest of the line. Continue reading...

Congress party accused Narendra Modi of abject failure' over two-month long crisis between majority Meitei and Kuki groupsRahul Gandhi, the leader of India's main opposition Congress party, has visited a north-eastern state beset by two months of violence, as a shootout there claimed two more lives.The shooting on the outskirts of Imphal, the state capital of Manipur, also left four wounded. Continue reading...

Her former boyfriend Daryl Maguire may face charges, but proving criminal activity by the former premier would be difficult

Rishi Sunak announces government will seek supreme court appeal, but Labour says policy is unravelling after judges' decision

James Cleverly says global south deserves more powerful voice at top table and review needed into five permanent members' vetoThe global south deserves a more powerful voice at the world's top table by expanding the UN security council, the UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has said.Cleverly also called for a review of the use of the veto by the council's five permanent five members, adding that the world's poorest countries feel their voice is not heard even on issues of direct concern to them. Continue reading...

TravelSupermarket figures show steepest rises in Crete at 25%, followed by Tenerife at 22% and Mallorca at 21%Package holidays to popular Mediterranean destinations such as Majorca and Crete have soared in price by up to a quarter compared with last year amid high demand and rising costs for providers.All-inclusive deals for the most sought-after destinations for British holidaymakers - Spain, Turkey, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus - have gone up by nearly 12%, according to TravelSupermarket. Continue reading...

German Chancellor says uprising shows cracks' in autocracy in Moscow, after Vladimir Putin greeted crowds of fans in unusual tour of southern city

Bank of England data shows families drew on 4.6bn in May to help them cope with the cost of living crisisUK households are pulling money out of their savings accounts at the fastest rate ever recorded, as they draw on rainy day funds to weather the cost of living storm.Figures from the Bank of England show households withdrew a net 4.6bn from banks and building societies in May, the highest level of withdrawals since it started collecting the monthly data in October 1997. Continue reading...

William O'Neill says survival of a nation' is at stake and also calls for deployment of an international forceA UN official has called for an immediate arms embargo for Haiti and an intervention force to combat endemic gang violence in the Caribbean state, after the killings of more than 200 gang members in recent months.William O'Neill, who was appointed in April as an expert on human rights in Haiti, added his voice to growing calls for an international intervention in the country, which has descended into crime-fuelled anarchy since the murder of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. Continue reading...

Upbeat figures from discounter and fashion chain follow similar updates from Next and PrimarkShoppers searching for ways to trim their budgets have boosted sales at the discounter B&M and the fashion chain H&M in the latest sign of resilient trading on Britain's high streets.B&M said sales rose 9.2% at its core UK stores with trade in both groceries and non-food doing well. Continue reading...

Report says officers collected details of activists' sexuality and bank accounts and operations should have been shut down What is the spy cops' scandal and why was inquiry set up?Undercover operations to infiltrate leftwing groups in the 1970s and early 1980s were not justified and should have been closed down, a retired judge leading a public inquiry has concluded.In a critical report published on Thursday, Sir John Mitting found that undercover police officers collected a striking and extensive" amount of information about the personal lives of political activists, such as their holiday plans, sexuality and bank accounts. Continue reading...

Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries among Tories accused of trying to undermine parliamentary report

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Committee points finger of blame at MPs including Nadine Dorries, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti PatelConservative MPs and peers close to Boris Johnson launched an unprecedented and co-ordinated" campaign to undermine the privileges committee, a new report has said.They came under scrutiny after concerns were raised during the investigation into Johnson's Partygate denials about a sustained and coordinated attempt to undermine the credibility of the committee. Continue reading...

Rate higher than at height of Covid pandemic as health service contends with difficult new normal'

Death toll in Kramatorsk rocket attack rises to 12 as rescue operations end; Ukraine claims to be making advances towards Berdiansk and Mariupol

US multinational Bechtel was contracted to build three large plants on Curtis Island, near Gladstone

Treasurer says payroll tax will apply to less than 10% of the state's private school sector - and bring in $100m less than originally budgeted

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Allocations are not on first come, first served basis but at random once users are in waiting lounge', says company selling Eras tour 2024 tickets

Former premier says almost 700-page Icac report is being examined by her legal team

Nature series Our Big Blue Backyard drew one complaint to media watchdog that it should not have given the program a G, or general, classificationNew Zealand's media watchdog has reprimanded public broadcaster TVNZ for not giving a higher classification to a documentary with dramatised" scenes of dolphin mating.The nature series Our Big Blue Backyard drew the ire of one viewer who successfully complained to the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA). In the offending scene, a female dolphin is targeted by a pack of male dolphins that mate with her. Continue reading...

Survey finds German is most affected by shift towards single-language offer in key stage 3Two-thirds of English state secondary schools teach only one foreign language, research shows, undermining the government's efforts to shore up the numbers of pupils learning modern languages.This year's Language Trends report by the British Council surveyed state and private secondary schools in England about their linguistic provision. With growing evidence that state schools were cutting the number of languages taught, the 2023 report specifically asked for the first time if pupils learned more than one language. Continue reading...

Aleksey Pavlovsky also says the Australian government had engaged in a theatre of the absurd' over contested future embassy site in Canberra

An investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative journalism has uncovered claims from villagers in Kenya of violence and even killings linked to guards on a Del Monte pineapple farm. Emily Dugan reports

Commonwealth seeks access to evidence gathered during the defamation trial to use in ongoing war crimes investigations, federal court hears

Nineteen staffers affected, according to Washington Post, with celebrated magazine to end newsstand salesNational Geographic has reportedly laid off its last staff writers and will no longer be sold on US newsstands.Nineteen editorial staffers were affected by the layoffs, the Washington Post reported, and several staffers confirmed the news on Twitter. Continue reading...

New data shows the birthrate went up in 2021, after a record low in 2020 and years of decline

Berejiklian stood down in 2021 after it was revealed she was in a close personal relationship' with Maguire, who was also found to be corrupt by Icac's Operation Keppel

Pieces of mangled craft brought ashore in Newfoundland, Canada, after five killed on voyage to Titanic wreckPresumed human remains have been recovered from within the wreckage of the Titan, the submersible that imploded on a voyage to the Titanic earlier this month, the US Coast Guard reported on Wednesday.The Coast Guard will transport the evidence recovered from the north Atlantic to a US port where medical professionals will conduct a formal analysis of the remains, officials said. Continue reading...

Council of Europe team raised a wide range of concerns based on visit to Kent detention centre last yearMany asylum seekers may have been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment at Manston holding facility in Kent, according to a report.A seven-strong delegation from the Council of Europe's prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment committee carried out a rapid reaction" visit to Manston over 25-28 November due to concerns about conditions there, a visit that officials described as relatively rare" in these circumstances.Some people absconded from Manston.One-sixth of those who arrived in small boats were lone children.Some people were detained at Manston for up to 15 days after being granted bail.Three different Home Office databases did not communicate well with each other.There were two documented cases of migrants trying to strangle themselves with seatbelts while segregated in a cell van on the site. The delegation invoked human rights legislation to ensure that the cell van was removed from the site, a stipulation that the Home Office has complied with.There were cases of people being detained for up to 43 days at Manston. Continue reading...

Committee says ministers do not have credible strategy to tackle digital exclusionThe government is failing millions of digitally excluded citizens who do not have the means, money or ability to go online, a House of Lords committee has said.Ministers do not have a credible strategy to tackle digital exclusion and are allowing millions of citizens to fall behind", according to a report by the Lords communications and digital committee. Continue reading...

After an estimated four million people queued online for tickets on Wednesday the American pop star has announced two more Australian datesTaylor Swift has announced two more shows in her Australian tour next February after record-setting ticket sales on Wednesday.Presale tickets to three Sydney concerts and two in Melbourne sold out in hours after more than 4m users joined the online queue for under half a million tickets - though some of the numbers may have been fans opening multiple browsers to maximise their chances. Continue reading...

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption is set to release its findings from Operation Keppel, which investigated Berejiklian and former MP Daryl Maguire

Philippe Hategekimana also convicted of crimes against humanity relating to mass killings in 1994A Paris court has found a former Rwandan military policeman guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1994 slaughter in his home country and sentenced him to life in prison.The court found Philippe Hategekimana, 66, guilty of nearly all the charges against him. Continue reading...

Pop singer's 35-city Celebration tour was scheduled to kick off in Vancouver on 15 JulyMadonna's upcoming Celebration tour has been postponed after the singer was hospitalized with a serious bacterial infection", according to an Instagram post from her longtime manager Guy Oseary. The tour was scheduled to kick off in Vancouver on 15 July.On Saturday, June 24, Madonna developed a serious bacterial infection which led to a several-day stay in the ICU," he wrote. Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care. A full recovery is expected. Continue reading...

Watered-down law passed which says three specialists must agree that a termination is necessaryMaltese lawmakers have unanimously approved legislation to ease the strictest abortion laws in the EU, voting to allow terminations - but only in cases where a woman's life is at risk.Ahead of the vote on Wednesday, pro-choice campaigners withdrew their support, saying last-minute changes make the legislation vague, unworkable and even dangerous". Continue reading...

Three men have been arrested after girl, who travelled to London from Barnsley, Yorkshire, reported missing on SundayPolice have begun a kidnap investigation after a 13-year-old girl from Yorkshire disappeared following a house party in London.Three men have been arrested on suspicion of kidnap as officers from the Metropolitan Police work around the clock" to find Carmelle Hepi, from Barnsley. Continue reading...

Staff and supporters of Croydon Athletic share hopes for football club under new ownershipWhen he was at secondary school, George Pickering, a supporter of AFC Croydon Athletic, would make it a ritual to play football on a recreation ground near where the club is now. One day, a young, really talkative" kid with lots of energy" turned up to play with them.It just felt like he wanted somewhere to go, a bit of an outlet," Pickering, now 34, recalled. It was only years later and from a friend's recollection that he learned the boy they kicked around with was Stormzy - or Michael, as they knew him. Continue reading...

Chris Cam' Cameron, 53, calls for aid after 30 days because of declining weather conditions'A teacher and army veteran who was attempting to set a world record for the number of days living on a barren rock in the north Atlantic was rescued by coastguards on Wednesday.Chris Cam" Cameron, 53, aspired to live alone on Rockall for up to 60 days and at least surpass the record of 45 days set in 2014 by Nick Hancock, a chartered surveyor and adventurer. Continue reading...

US intelligence claims Gen Sergei Surovikin, who has close ties to Yevgeny Prigozhin, had prior knowledge of uprising

Exclusive: Special report will raise issues encountered during initial inquiry into Johnson rule breaches

Novelist and TV producer Daisy Goodwin says Daniel Korski touched her breast at Downing Street meeting

Gabriel Fortin, 48, found guilty of murder of two HR directors and a jobs centre worker and attempted murder of a fourth person in 2021 attacksAn unemployed French engineer who shot dead three women he blamed for his joblessness was given a life sentence on Wednesday for the 2021 murders.Gabriel Fortin, 48, killed two human resources directors and a job centre employee, and attempted to kill a company executive following a string of dismissals. Continue reading...

TV producer Daisy Goodwin accused Tory hopeful of groping her a decade agoPMQs is coming up soon.Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.We remain seriously concerned about the potential implications of the illegal migration bill on human rights and the safety of individuals.Careful consideration should continue to be given to the impact of the bill on different groups with protected characteristics - including children, pregnant women, disabled people, torture survivors, and victims of trafficking. Continue reading...

Energy company Drax scraps plan to bring two others out of retirement to help guard against power cutsBritain will be down to its last coal-fired energy plant this winter after Drax scrapped a proposal to bring two coal-fired units at its vast power plant in North Yorkshire out of retirement to help guard against power cuts.The FTSE 250 energy company had been in talks with National Grid's electricity system operator (ESO) to restart two coal power units that were shut this year after 50 years of coal-fired generation at the Drax site near Selby. Continue reading...

At least 56 people injured when Russian rocket hit packed restaurant in eastern city of Kramatorsk