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Three guest panellists give their verdict on how the parties performed in the second week of the 2022 state election campaign

Gatto had vowed to fight ‘tooth and nail all the way’ after losing defamation battle over report he says falsely implied he was a hitman and murderer

The AirDrop function was being used to anonymously share digital leaflets with strangers, but has now been restricted on iPhones in ChinaApple has limited filesharing features on iPhones in China, a month after reports that anti-government protesters were using the function to share digital leaflets with strangers.Under the update to the AirDrop function released on Thursday, iPhone users in China can only opt in to receive files from non contacts during a 10-minute window before it automatically shuts off. The feature did not previously have a time limit. Continue reading...

Former chancellor says he warned Truss she would be out in two months if she ‘carried on like this’Kwasi Kwarteng has revealed he told Liz Truss to “slow down” and warned her she would “have two months” if she continued at the same rate with her radical mini-budget measures.Kwarteng, who was sacked as chancellor last month by the then-prime minister after less than six weeks in the job, also criticised the “mad” decision to dismiss him for implementing her tax-cutting agenda. Continue reading...

Dive team discovered space vehicle ‘artifact’ from 1986 explosion that killed all seven astronauts onboard, including civilian teacherNasa has confirmed the recovery of debris from the Challenger spaceship that exploded less than two minutes after its launch and killed all seven members onboard in 1986.In Thursday’s announcement, the space agency said the “artifact” was discovered by a film crew that was in search of aircraft from the second world war off the east coast of Florida. Continue reading...

Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose party helped prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu back to power, praises Meir Kahane at memorialA far-right Israeli lawmaker, whose surging popularity helped propel former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu back to power in last week’s general election, has delivered a glowing tribute at a memorial event for an extremist rabbi assassinated in 1990.Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose ultra-nationalist Jewish Power party emerged as the second biggest group in Netanyahu’s bloc and the third largest in the country, praised the late racist rabbi Meir Kahane in a speech at the memorial in Jerusalem on Thursday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Business secretary acts after Elon Musk announces sudden job cuts including staff at British operationsThe business secretary, Grant Shapps, has written to Twitter to ensure it is complying with UK law after the US company’s new owner, Elon Musk, announced that hundreds of its British staff would be fired.Musk took control of the social media platform at the end of October, and within days launched deep job cuts, with as many as 3,700 redundancies expected worldwide. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Call for FSM income cap to be raised as children in England come to school with mouldy bread or even nothing​​• How families on the breadline are ineligible for FSMs

New analysis of weather data suggests potential for severe flash flooding has increased far beyond predictions

Firm messaged German customers to suggest they ‘commemorate’ Nazi atrocity by eating its foodKFC has apologised for a push notification sent out via its app inviting German customers to celebrate the anniversary of the Nazi Kristallnacht pogrom against Jews by ordering fried chicken and cheese.It sent the message to its customers on Wednesday, the 84thanniversary of the Night of Broken Glass in which Nazis led gangs in the torching, vandalising and ransacking of Jewish shops, businesses and synagogues across Germany. The event is seen as the beginning of the Nazis’ systematic attempt to annihilate Europe’s Jewish population. Continue reading...

Norbord Europe employee was asked to clear out hot ash from a gas duct over a wood dryerA chipboard firm has been fined more than £2m after a worker at its Scottish plant died from catastrophic burns sustained while cleaning hot ash from machinery.Norbord Europe, one of the world’s largest chipboard makers, was found guilty of two health and safety breaches at its plant in Cowie, Stirlingshire, in a unanimous verdict by a jury at Perth sheriff court in early November. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story hereAccording to Pat Leahy, political editor of the Irish Times, the Irish government is doubtful about the prospect of a breakthrough in the coming weeks in the talks on the Northern Ireland protocol.In his Sky News interview Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, also suggested that large number of politicians in parliament are voting for Matt Hancock to perform “grim” tasks on I’m A Celebrity. My colleague Aubrey Allegretti has the story here. Continue reading...

Mother of teenager murdered in 1993 racist attack talks of rawness, guilt and resolve to fightDoreen Lawrence, who has campaigned tirelessly for justice and equality since her son was killed in an unprovoked racist attack in 1993, has spoken candidly for the first time about finding her inner strength after the brutal murder that seized Britain.In a BBC Maestro course released on Thursday, Lady Lawrence reflects on being thrust into the spotlight and having to publicly mourn her son Stephen, then 18, who was stabbed while waiting for a bus in Eltham, south London, nearly 30 years ago. Continue reading...

Criminal trials may not start before 2025 and government pledges have not yet been delivered

While the government apologised, the counsel attacked companies for a ‘merry-go-round of buck-passing’

Huw Merriman appears supportive of city’s re-inclusion in NPR plans but says decision remains with TreasuryHopes that a planned northern high-speed railway line may include Bradford after all have been raised after the new rail minister said he was still “working on options” to link in the city.Huw Merriman said he was “committed to local consultation” and “passionate about delivering better services” to Bradford, whose removal from the future high-speed rail map last year provoked uproar in the north. Continue reading...

Editor of Harden restaurant guides says prices of more than £200 a head at top eateries are ‘becoming the norm’The price of a meal at the UK’s best restaurants has more than doubled since Brexit from £100 a head to more than £200, according to two new guide books.Peter Harden, the editor of his eponymous restaurant guides, said: “We’ve gone very quickly from a time five years ago when charging over £100 a head was the outlier, to now, when for the very top restaurants £200 pounds a head is becoming the norm.” Continue reading...

Sharp rise in people leaving labour market in past three years could be related to home working since CovidBack and neck injuries caused by working from home during the Covid pandemic has been identified by the UK’s official number crunchers as a possible factor contributing to a sharp rise in people leaving the labour market over the past three years.The Office for National Statistics said there had been a marked increase in disabilities often associated by medical experts with excessive screen use, after the increase in the number of people home working while offices were shut during the pandemic. Continue reading...

Firm reports £63m profit in year to August and prepares for strong Christmas sales at travel hubsWH Smith will pay a dividend for the first time in three years as it expects a strong Christmas after a return to foreign holidays helped the books-to-stationery retailer return to the black.The company reported a £63m profit in the year to August, after a loss of £116m a year earlier, as sales soared 58% to £1.4bn. Continue reading...

Steven Craig served jail time for 1998 petrol attack and was re-arrested after her death in 2019A man has been jailed for life and told he will serve at least 15 years for the “sadistic” and “monstrous” murder of his partner, who died 21 years after he doused her with petrol and set her on fire.In what is believed to be a legal first, Steven Craig, 58, was convicted of murdering Jacqueline Kirk more than two decades after the attack, having already served almost 19 years in prison for it. Continue reading...

One hundred thousand PCS members across public sector will join nurses in wave of stoppages

Gemma White KC, appointed by BBC to look into concerns about DJ’s conduct, thanks those who have already contacted herThe barrister leading an independent review of concerns regarding Tim Westwood’s conduct during his two decades at the BBC has extended the deadline for evidence.Gemma White KC was appointed by the BBC in August after an internal review of allegations against the DJ found that the corporation may have missed chances to explore concerns raised over the behaviour of the former Radio 1 and Capital Xtra DJ.Anyone with information is being asked to contact the review on GWKCBBCReview@blackstonechambers.com, or by post, marked for the attention of Gemma White KC BBC Review, to Linklaters LLP, One Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8HQ. Respondents can request a meeting with Gemma White and ask for Jahnine Davis to be present. Continue reading...

Chris Heaton-Harris refuses to say if nurses should be paid same as politicians, amid RCN warning NHS services are unsafe

US general’s remarks come as experts say potential winter lull in fighting could offer chance for negotiations• Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesAmerica’s top general has estimated that 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Ukraine, and that Kyiv’s armed forces have “probably” suffered a similar level of casualties in the war.Gen Mark Milley also suggested that as many as 40,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed after being caught up in the conflict. Continue reading...

Leave backer Lord Wolfson says UK must let in much-needed overseas workers to plug chronic labour shortagesSimon Wolfson, the chief executive of clothing and homeware retail Next has urged the government to make it easier to allow foreign workers into the UK and said this is “not the Brexit I wanted”.The Conservative peer and Brexit supporter said the government was blocking much-needed workers from entering the UK, even though firms were desperate for labour. Continue reading...

Trussell Trust research shows profile of food bank users changing as cost of living bites• Nurses among rising numbers of workers using food banks, research showsJenny estimates she eats four days a week, if she’s lucky. She’s clearly underweight and worryingly thin but she’s not the priority, she said. “I will go without to let my kids have.”She lives in a house with her children and grandchildren, including a young baby who, at the moment, is always cold. They wrap themselves in quilts to keep warm. “I daren’t put the heating on. I get a little heater out for the bairn. He’s absolutely gorgeous but I am panicking … his little hands are cold. The house is absolutely freezing.” Continue reading...

Criticism of state-wide rollout of extraordinary knife-search powers comes as report says metal detector trial didn’t reduce violence

Critics say everyday UK consumer spending has funnelled billions to controversial World Cup host since 2010Some of the UK’s largest listed companies including water and energy giants have handed almost £500m to Qatari state-owned investors this year, raising concerns that blue-chip company profits are supporting the controversial World Cup host.The dividend payouts are the result of the Gulf nation’s investments in a raft of FTSE 100 firms, including Barclays, Shell and utility firm Severn Trent, which have reported strong profits amid a cost of living crisis and the worst UK drought in centuries. Continue reading...

Call over protecting most vulnerable citizens comes before UN review of Britain’s human rights recordAngola has urged the UK to adopt an emergency poverty strategy to protect its most vulnerable citizens from the cost-of-living crisis.The call – from a country where more than half of its population of 34 million people live on less than $2 (£1.75) a day, on behalf of citizens of one of the world’s richest – was among several concerns raised before a UN review of the UK’s human rights record today. Continue reading...

Anxiety Nation report finds clear links between financial insecurity and poor mental healthPrivate renters are twice as likely as homeowners to suffer symptoms of anxiety, according to research that finds clear evidence of the links between financial insecurity and poor mental health.In a report called Anxiety Nation, researchers from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) thinktank found that people with money problems were significantly more likely to report suffering sleepless nights, feeling depressed, and lacking in energy. Continue reading...

Foreign minister says decisions on recognising the state of Palestine are a ‘matter for government’ despite prior resolution from Labor national conferences

Royal commission also shown key 2015 document confirming Scott Morrison’s request for welfare ‘compliance’ measures

Dawson’s daughter Shanelle tells sentencing hearing ‘the night you removed our mother from our lives was the night you destroyed our sense of safety’

Comprehensive database of Benin bronzes held by museums raises questions about where they belong by charting provenanceCheerfully gnashing their magnificent fangs as they stand side by side, the two bronze leopards look back on a journey that was as adventurous as it was cruelly absurd.Looted by British soldiers on a punitive expedition to the west African kingdom of Benin in 1897, the bronzes were shipped to the UK, where they spent some time guarding the fireplace of army captain George William Neville’s Weybridge home. They were later put in display at Moma in New York and bought by a French art collector – who eventually sold them back to the colonial administration in Lagos in 1952 with a considerable mark-up. Continue reading...

The energy giant would be divided into electricity generation and gas firms in order to hit Australia’s climate targets

Police say 51-year-old was arrested and taken to Kowanyama watch house where he was later found 'unresponsive in his cell’

Isaac Herzog said the views of Itamar Ben-Gvir will cause problems, as Religious Zionists party gets set to join the governing coalitionIsraeli president Isaac Herzog has said “the whole world is worried” about the far-right views of Itamar Ben-Gvir, who appears set to become a minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s new coalition government.Herzog’s statement was caught by a microphone that he apparently thought was off as he held consultations with an ultra-Orthodox political party about the next government, expected to be led by former premier Benjamin Netanyahu following the victory of his right-wing alliance in last week’s election. Continue reading...

Source claims PM was given ‘general description’ of alleged incident but gave Williamson a job anywayRishi Sunak is facing scrutiny over whether he knew about Gavin Williamson’s alleged bullying of a senior civil servant whom he told to “cut your throat” before reappointing him to government.Two sources claimed the prime minister had been alerted to Williamson’s “credible and substantiated bad behaviour” while defence secretary when he drew up his cabinet. Continue reading...

Complaint, which prosecutor has yet to accept, raises risk of Sanaa Seif’s detention during Cop27The sister of the jailed hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been informed that a pro-government lawyer has filed a case against her with the Egyptian public prosecutor accusing her of espionage and “spreading false news”.The news comes a day after Sanaa Seif spoke at an event at the Cop27 climate summitbeing held in Egypt, which was widely reported on. The case accuses her of “conspiring with foreign agencies against the Egyptian state, foreign agitation, and incitement against the Egyptian state and its institutions, and deliberately spreading false news.” Continue reading...

Mélanie Joly hints at new Indo-Pacific strategy and asks firms to be clear-eyed in business with ChinaCanada’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, has said China has become “increasingly disruptive” on the world stage as she hinted in a speech at a new Indo-Pacific strategy expected to be released this month.Her comments come ahead of several summits that Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, is to attend, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cambodia, the G20 in Indonesia, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Thailand. Continue reading...

With Russia still in control of a large swathe of occupied territory, Ukraine may encounter unexpected resistance as it tries to push southRussia’s sheepish yet televised announcement that it will abandon Kherson city and points west of the Dnipro represents, on the face of it, a remarkable victory for Ukraine and a sophisticated military strategy. If the withdrawal does indeed lead to the swift recapture of the city, the Ukrainians will have done so with relatively little loss of life and without what could have been costly urban warfare.

NHS braces for prolonged period of industrial action by health workers over the winter and into next yearNurses have voted to stage strikes across the UK for the first time in their history in pursuit of a better pay deal, in a move that will seriously disrupt NHS care.The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced on Wednesday that nurses at many, but not all, hospitals and other places of NHS care would take industrial action before Christmas and could continue striking until next May. Continue reading...

Judicial review begins over definition of ‘woman’ in 2018 law to improve gender balance on public boardsThe Scottish government is facing a judicial review over plans to include transgender women in legislation aimed at improving gender balance on public boards.Aidan O’Neill KC, for the campaign group For Women Scotland, said the court of session’s ruling would have significant implications for the protection of single-sex spaces across the UK, as well as proposals to simplify how transgender people can alter their birth certificate currently being debated by the Scottish parliament. Continue reading...

Loss of only regional capital captured by Moscow since invasion began will come as significant blow to Vladimir Putin

Colleagues come to defence of pair subjected to ‘coordinated attack’ over meeting last monthHungary’s leading judges have launched a defence of two colleagues who say they have faced a “full-scale smear campaign” by state-supporting media after the pair met the US ambassador.The US embassy in Budapest has also spoken out against a “coordinated media attack” on the judges that it said was “an effort to instil fear” in anyone wishing to engage with the US government. Continue reading...

Home secretary believe police definition of ‘serious disruption’ is too narrow; Keir Starmer tells PM Williamson was ‘pathetic bully’This live blog is now closedAs promised, here is more on the death of Sir David Butler, the father of modern election science.Here is our story about his death. Continue reading...

Most senior Chinese Communist party official jailed over Tiananmen pro-democracy movement became one of party’s most vociferous criticsBao Tong, the most senior Chinese Communist party official jailed over the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement, has died, four days after his 90th birthday.

Lewis Moody says men like him who have difficulty controlling their bladder or bowel face indignity in public bathroomsThe World Cup-winning England rugby player Lewis Moody has issued a taboo-breaking demand for sanitary disposal bins to become compulsory in male public bathrooms to cater for men with incontinence.Moody, 44, is one of about 10% of men who have had problems controlling their bladder or bowel, many of whom regularly wear absorbent pads. But unlike women who can normally access special bins for period and incontinence pads, men often have nowhere to dispose of them, worsening an already uncomfortable experience. Continue reading...

The singer, who was a main part of the Tropicália movement, had recently canceled an appearance at a music festival after surgeryGal Costa, the influential Brazilian singer who was one of the principal figures in the Tropicália movement of the 1960s, died on Wednesday, her public relations agency confirmed. She was 77.No cause of death was immediately provided. The singer, who lived in São Paulo, had recently canceled a concert at a local music festival on advice from her doctor, after surgery in September to remove a nodule from her right nasal cavity. She had been expected to return to the stage in São Paulo in December, according to tour dates listed on her website. Continue reading...

Mood on frontline buoyant in face of increasingly ‘panicking’ Russian forces