World news | The Guardian

Harry Dunn’s family want to know if Chris Pincher was distracted by misconduct claims at time of immunity rowLabour has written to the foreign secretary to press for answers about the involvement of the disgraced MP Chris Pincher in the government’s botched handling of the case of Anne Sacoolas, the US citizen who killed the British teenager Harry Dunn.The shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, called for the publication of any correspondence between US authorities and Pincher – who was minister for the Americas at the time – over the decision not to object to Anne Sacoolas being flown out of the UK after the crash that killed Dunn in August 2019. Continue reading...

PM says he has signed deal with Albania and will resume ‘hostile environment’ checks on bank accountsRishi Sunak has insisted he can clear a backlog of nearly 100,000 asylum claims by the end of next year as part of a set of policies that include resuming “hostile environment” checks on bank accounts suspended after the Windrush scandal.The prime minister outlined a five-point plan in the Commons including law changes to criminalise and then remove tens of thousands of people who claim asylum after travelling to the UK by small boats, and a deal with Albania to aid removals to the Balkan state.A small boats command, with an extra 700 staff from Border Force, the National Crime Agency and other agencies, to combat people smugglers and the surge in arrivals across the Channel.An end to the use of hotels for more than 40,000 asylum seekers. They will be sent to disused former military bases, holiday camps and student accommodation. Continue reading...

Adrian Trevor Moore described as a ‘depraved misogynist’ who used his position in the Western Australia police force to facilitate his offending

Atlanta writer Stefani Robinson is taking charge of another effort to remake the British comedy but with two female leadsThe long-running British comedy series Peep Show is set to be remade in the US.The Emmy-nominated Atlanta writer Stefani Robinson will act as writer and exec producer for the series which will air on FX. It will use the same narrative format as the original, which showed events through the eyes of its two leads, but will be headed up by two female characters. Continue reading...

Immigration and asylum now poll third among issues facing the UK, and PM knows he needs to rise to the challengeHow does Rishi Sunak avoid the impression sinking in that Britain is broken, when that is the very word his home secretary recently used to describe the handling of one of the country’s biggest challenges?While pulling the NHS back from the brink and rescuing the Conservatives’ reputation for economic security remain two of the prime minister’s top priorities, he is nervously keeping an eye on a third. Continue reading...

Chair of Police Federation says request to drive ambulances comes as forces already overstretchedRank and file police officers have expressed “grave concern” at being asked to cover ambulance workers during strikes this month, at a time when they say law enforcement is already facing unprecedented pressure.Steve Hartshorn, the chair of the Police Federation, has issued a strongly worded warning to the government that requiring police to drive ambulances would push over-burdened officers “closer towards a tipping point”. Continue reading...

Third nation in conservative Caribbean region to do so this year, in pivotal moment for those who have long fought against such lawsA top court in Barbados has struck down colonial-era laws that criminalize gay sex, becoming the third nation in the conservative Caribbean region to do so this year.The ruling issued Monday by the Barbados high court is a pivotal moment for activists and nonprofit organizations who have long fought against such laws on the eastern Caribbean island, including one that demands up to a life sentence for gay men found guilty of having sex. Continue reading...

Chokri Chafroud and Mohamed Ghraieb among eight convicted of links to terrorist who drove truck into Nice crowds, killing 86Eight people have been found guilty over their links to the terrorist who drove a heavy lorry into Bastille Day crowds in Nice in 2016, killing 86 people and injuring 450 others.Survivors of the attack described how the seafront in the Riviera city resembled a “war zone” after Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel zig-zagged down it at high speed, deliberately aiming at those celebrating France’s national day. Continue reading...

Accused had a gynaecological condition and was unaware she was pregnant, court told, as verdict hailed a victory by women’s rights activistsA woman in Argentina accused of killing her baby after suffering an obstetric emergency has had her case dismissed.A court in Buenos Aires, cleared La China*, 43, after the prosecution withdrew its charge of aggravated homicide. Continue reading...

Guidance that extends definition of ‘woman’ to transgender women with gender recognition certificate is lawful, court rulesScotland’s highest court has ruled that transgender women should be included in legislation aimed at improving gender balance on public boards.The court of session found that Scottish government guidance that extends the definition of “woman” to transgender women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) is lawful. Continue reading...

Large parts of national rail network grind to halt as RMT union members strike for increased pay

Exclusive: Cabinet Office to extend contract with law firm to defend claims ex-PM misled parliament, sources say• UK politics live – latest news updatesMinisters have been accused of writing a “blank cheque” for Boris Johnson’s legal bills, as it emerged taxpayer-funded support was being extended to help defend him against claims he misled parliament over Partygate.With just days left until a contract expires with the law firm Peters and Peters, which Johnson and the government have relied on to disparage an investigation by the privileges committee, the Guardian has learned the Cabinet Office intends to renew it. Continue reading...

Emergency services continue search after incident in which three children died in West MidlandsA six-year-old boy who fell through the ice into a lake in Solihull is fighting for his life in hospital, as emergency services continue searching the waters after the tragedy that claimed the lives of three children.The community of Kingshurst was still reeling in shock after three boys, 11, 10 and eight, died after falling through ice into the lake on Sunday. Continue reading...

North West Ambulance Service issues appeal after hundreds of patients left waiting outside hospitals due to delaysAmbulance bosses have pleaded with people to call 999 only in “life-threatening emergencies” after many patients were left waiting outside hospitals in freezing conditions.Emergency teams in north-west England said 100 ambulances were being held outside hospitals on Monday night as a result of delays in handing over patients. Continue reading...

Cars and buses torched after violence erupts following ratification of Lula’s election victoryFanatical supporters of Brazil’s outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro, have torched cars and buses and tried to storm the federal police headquarters in the country’s capital in what one commentator called a botched attempt to spark a January 6-style turmoil.The violence erupted on Monday evening after the leftwing politician who defeated Bolsonaro in October’s historic election – former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – had his victory officially ratified by Brazil’s electoral court. Continue reading...

Family of Melvyn Ryan say he could have died if they had not driven him in a van as no ambulances availableThe family of an 89-year-old man with a broken hip and shoulder and a cut head who they had to take to hospital strapped to a plank in the back of a van because there were no ambulances have said he could have died had they not found a makeshift way of getting him to safety.Melvyn Ryan’s granddaughter, Nicole Lea, found him lying on the floor of his home in Cwmbran, south Wales, in the early hours but when she dialled 999 a call handler told her no ambulances were available and advised her to book a taxi before ringing off. Continue reading...

Conspiracy theories and any prior planning will be central to an investigation in Wieambilla

Bristol, Leeds Bradford and Luton airports also criticised by CAA for poor accessibility performanceMany disabled and less mobile passengers missed summer flights at Heathrow – one of the busiest airports in the world – due to its poor accessibility performance, the aviation watchdog has found.Bristol, Leeds Bradford and Luton airports were also criticised along with Britain’s biggest airport by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in its interim airport accessibility report. Continue reading...

Sewell pleads not guilty to assault and claims he acted in self-defence and was defending his cameraman outside Nine offices

The 30-year-old begins five weeks of training amid questions over future of the global phenomenon bandJin, the oldest member of the K-pop phenomenon BTS, was due to begin his mandatory military service on Tuesday at a base close to the border with North Korea, amid growing speculation about the band’s future.The 30-year-old, now sporting a buzzcut, will be followed into the military by younger members of the band in the coming years, after their impending enlistment sparked a debate among South Koreans over whether the band, and other successful entertainers, should be granted exemptions. Continue reading...

Law Enforcement Conduct Commission report says Fuller’s failure to disclose potential conflict of interest warrants criticism but not a serious misconduct finding

Man eligible for parole within days after he hired an undercover police officer to target pastor his wife had used as a confidant about domestic violence

The rapper’s attorneys confirmed the fellow music star would present testimony on WednesdayOpening statements in the trial of Tory Lanez, the rapper accused of shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion in the foot, began on Monday in Los Angeles. Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, faces more than 22 years in prison if he is convicted on all three felony counts he is currently charged with.Los Angeles county prosecutors Kathy Ta and Alexander Bott allege Peterson shot the rapper, whose real name is Megan Pete, with a semi-automatic firearm during an argument that began inside a vehicle in Hollywood Hills. Peterson has pleaded not guilty to three separate felony charges stemming from the alleged shooting including assault and having a concealed gun in a vehicle. Continue reading...

Police commissioner Katarina Carroll says it’s a miracle two officers survived after being confronted by a ‘hail of gunshots’

Labour highlights issue to back up pledge to invest heavily in addressing shortagesThe number of operations cancelled by the NHS in England because of staff shortages may have doubled in three years, with an estimated 30,000 not proceeding because no staff were available to perform them.At least a third of cancelled operations were those that were deemed urgent, according to the analysis by Labour. It suggested at least 2,500 cancelled operations for cancer patients and 8,000 on children. Continue reading...

Dr Kajal Sharma was only one of 12 senior academics not to be reappointed to her postA university has been found to have discriminated against an Indian lecturer on the grounds of race after it failed to reappoint her for a job she had been doing for five years, replacing her with a white candidate with no experience of the role.Dr Kajal Sharma was one of only two senior lecturers at the University of Portsmouth who were not reappointed to their jobs when their contract came to an end, while 11 out of 12 white colleagues were successful, an employment tribunal heard. Continue reading...

Human rights group warns death of Majidreza Rahnavard ‘a significant escalation of violence against protesters’Fears are growing that Iran is preparing to execute scores more protesters after authorities hanged a 23-year-old man from a crane, in a public killing carried out less than a month after he was arrested and following a secretive trial.Majidreza Rahnavard was sentenced to death by a court in the city of Mashhad, a centre of the protests, for allegedly killing two members of the paramilitary Basij force and wounding four others. The Basij, affiliated with the country’s feared Revolutionary Guards, has been at the forefront of the state crackdown. Continue reading...

Belgian prosecutors say 20 searches conducted since Friday, prompting warning that EU’s credibility at stakeBelgian police have searched European parliament offices as part of a growing investigation into alleged bribery and corruption, as senior EU leaders warned the credibility of the European Union was at stake.Belgium’s federal prosecutor announced on Monday it had carried out 20 searches since Friday, including 19 at private homes and one at the offices at the European parliament. Continue reading...

Barry and Honey Sherman found dead in Toronto home five years ago but family frustration mounts as crime remains unsolvedThe son of a billionaire couple murdered five years ago has tripled a cash reward for information about the unsolved crime amid frustration over a lack of progress in the investigation and deep rifts within the family.Barry Sherman, the founder of drug giant Apotex, and his wife Honey, are believed to have been killed in their Toronto home on 13 December 2017. A realtor found the couple in the basement pool area of their home two days later, with belts looped around their necks and attached to a pool railing. Continue reading...

Russell Causley claims at hearing in Lewes that his lover was responsible for 1985 murder of Carole PackmanA man convicted of his wife’s 1985 murder has claimed his lover was responsible for the crime at the first ever public Parole Board hearing in England and Wales.Russell Causley’s hearing was the first that the public have been granted access to since new rules, brought in after the ultimately quashed decision to release the “black-cab rapist” John Worboys, came into effect in July. Continue reading...

Beira’s Place will add to Edinburgh’s existing rape crisis centre, which is run by a trans womanJK Rowling is funding a new support and counselling service for survivors of sexual violence in Edinburgh.The author, who has written about her own experience as a survivor of sexual assault, is setting up the new centre, called Beira’s Place, because she believes there is an “unmet need for women” in the Lothians area. Continue reading...

Landowner Alexander Darwall is seeking to overturn legally enshrined right to camp wild in national parkOn a freezing afternoon underneath the ice-encrusted turrets of the Royal Courts of Justice, about 100 ramblers gathered on Monday to protest for their right to wild camp on Dartmoor.In a case being heard this week, a wealthy landowner is trying to overturn the legally enshrined right to camp wild in the national park. Continue reading...

Children aged eight, 10 and 11 have died after being pulled from lake; emergency services waded into lake without cold weather gearDaniel Duffield, a 22-year-old off-duty paramedic, was stuck on the M25 for more than two-and-a-half hours this morning, while attempting to travel home to Birmingham from London.He told PA Media that vehicles have been “stationary with very small movement”.I expected some traffic due to weather but nothing this bad. Traffic appeared to be at a standstill for miles and miles. Other drivers were turning their engines off presumably to save fuel due to the uncertainty. A few people were stretching their legs due to delays too. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary suggests UK will seek long partnerships with fewer countries, some of whom will not share its values

More than 60% also say they support the Indigenous voice to parliament, with the Liberal party at risk of alienating younger voters if it backs the Nationals’ position

Former corporate lawyer is backed by same group that supported Kylea Tink’s successful federal campaign

Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell expected to enter upper house, where Labor needs six crossbench votes to pass legislation

Government receiving big jump in revenue as number of Australians paying for faster processing doubles from pre-pandemic

Woman receives payout and secures protections against charity sharing certain data with Home OfficeA victim of county lines trafficking has won a landmark victory in the high court securing new protections against the Salvation Army handing over confidential information to the Home Office.The 25-year-old British woman, who cannot be identified, has received compensation from the Home Office and secured a change in policy relating to the way the Salvation Army, which has a victim care contract with the Home Office to look after and support trafficking victims, shares confidential information about these victims with the Home Office. Continue reading...

About 900 civil servants on fast stream being balloted, with 81% backing industrial action at consultative stage

Bout, who was released in prisoner exchange, says he has no immediate plans to take part in electionsThe Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who returned home last week in a prisoner exchange for the American basketball star Brittney Griner, has joined the pro-Kremlin far-right Liberal Democratic party (LDPR), in a move that could see him seek a seat in the Russian parliament.In a video posted on telegram, LDPR’s leader, Leonid Slutsky, who was standing next to Bout, said: “I want to thank Viktor Anatolievich [Bout] for the decision he has made and welcome him into the ranks of the best political party in today’s Russia.” Continue reading...

Health authorities sound warning on infection rate, with hundreds of thousands of doctors redeployed across the countryChina announced plans to scrap its primary Covid tracking app in the latest rollback of pandemic control measures, just days after abruptly abandoning its long-running zero-Covid policy.It came as health authorities warned of widespread infections on the horizon, and redeployed hundreds of thousands of doctors and nurses to intensive care units in preparation for an Omicron surge through the population of 1.4 billion people. Continue reading...

Authorities want Glory to Hong Kong axed from top results and replaced with China’s national anthemGoogle has refused to change its search results to display China’s national anthem, rather than a protest song, when users search for Hong Kong’s national anthem, the city’s security chief has said, expressing “great regret” at the decision.Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Continue reading...

AMA concerned by ‘significant disincentives’ to virus testing and psychologist body ‘bitterly disappointed’

Under regulations coming into effect on Saturday, agents are barred from asking tenants to offer higher rents

Figure includes agreements rolled over from before leaving EU, and description of ‘new trade’ is misleading says UKSA chiefThe official statistics watchdog has reprimanded the Conservatives for claiming the UK had secured £800bn in “new free trade deals” since leaving the EU, saying the figure includes deals rolled over from before Brexit.The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) said it had written to the Tories about the infographic, shared last month by Michael Gove among others, also warning that the party should provide sources for such figures in the future. Continue reading...

Conflict has displaced at least 400,000 people since March in a growing humanitarian crisisIn the camps on the flanks of the Nyiragongo volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they listen carefully. Not for warning of an eruption but to the dull thuds of distant mortar and artillery fire. Some days there are none, and hopes are raised. On other days, the sounds of war make clear to every one of the thousands of villagers huddled in their makeshift shelters that they will not be going anywhere very soon.“We want to return home to cultivate our fields and keep our cows, sheep and goats because we are here and we are hungry. We are suffering a lot,” said Nsambimana Ashiwe, 64, at a displacement camp in Kanyaruchinya, a few miles south of the frontlines. Continue reading...

Forecast high temperatures unlikely to top 10C in parts of Melbourne as south-east Australia is subject to whims of La Niña weather pattern

Court heard James Morton Mason joked about roasting marshmallows after blaze at Alexis Parkes’ home

Joseph Wu says that communication with China has become more difficult after a purge of some factions within the Communist partyTaiwan’s government believes China is preparing to find another “pretext for practising their future attack” on the island, its foreign minister has said, after a record-breaking year of military threats and incursions.Joseph Wu also suggested cross-strait communications may diminish even further now that Xi Jinping has secured his third term, with last month’s extraordinary political purges of rival Communist party members severing the few unofficial ties remaining. Continue reading...