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Brexit: minister backs Johnson’s seemingly contradictory Northern Ireland remarks Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng says PM’s comments were ‘absolutely on the money’ Latest election news - live updatesOne of Boris Johnson’s business ministers has insisted the prime minister was correct in arguing that businesses in Northern Ireland will not have to fill in forms to export goods to the rest of the UK after Brexit, despite this being an apparent part of the departure deal.Kwasi Kwarteng said Johnson was “absolutely on the money” when he told Northern Irish exporters last week that they would not need to fill in extra paperwork, prompting accusations the prime minister was misleading the public. Continue reading... Go to Source

‘Labour is our only hope’: Jess Phillips calls on party to stay united In a week of party strife, the Yardley candidate defends ‘this brilliant vehicle for social change’Latest election news - live updatesJess Phillips today pleads with fellow Labour MPs, activists and supporters to stick with the party and not follow Tom Watson out of politics, arguing that it is “the greatest vehicle for positive, hopeful change” that this country has ever created.After a week in which both the Tories and Labour have suffered campaign setbacks and controversies ahead of the 12 December general election, Phillips writes in the Observer that quitting Labour now would mean abandoning the best and only vehicle for fighting division and injustice at a crucial moment. Continue reading... Go to Source...

Remembrance Sunday: thousands gather to honour the fallen Royal family and politicians join veterans at Cenotaph, while services held across UKThousands of veterans and service personnel marched past the Cenotaph in London as Remembrance Sunday services were held at churches, cemeteries and war memorials across Britain in tribute to those killed in past and recent conflicts.The prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, joined other party leaders at the memorial to “The Glorious Dead” on Whitehall. Continue reading... Go to Source

Asda could face consumer backlash as it enforces new contracts Staff have been pressed to accept changes to working conditionsAlmost all Asda’s 120,000 workers who are paid by the hour have signed new contracts with the supermarket chain ahead of a deadline it extended to midnight on Saturday.The retailer, owned by US giant Walmart, has been at the centre of a lengthy and high-profile row over the imposition of the new contracts, which it says help it remain competitive in a “challenging market”. Continue reading... Go to Source

NSW and Queensland fires: Sydney to face catastrophic fire danger for first time More than 130 bushfires continue to burn, with three people dead and 150 properties destroyed, and conditions set to worsenThe greater Sydney region will face catastrophic fire danger on Tuesday for the first time since the rating was introduced and fire authorities say conditions in other parts of New South Wales could also be set to worsen.The warning was issued as more than 80 fires continued to burn in the north of the state late on Sunday. Continue reading... Go to Source

Fury as decision on police inquiry into PM shelved until after election Labour ‘shocked’ as police watchdog freezes investigation into Jennifer Arcuri scandalThe scandal over Boris Johnson’s friendship with technology entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri was reignited on Saturday after the Observer revealed that the independent police watchdog has delayed its announcement on whether the PM should face an investigation into possible criminal misconduct until after the election.The decision prompted fury from Westminster politicians and London assembly members who said it appeared that a ruling had been “suppressed” in order to protect Johnson from potentially damaging headlines at a crucial stage of the election campaign. Continue reading... Go to Source

Bolivian police in La Paz join 'mutiny' against Evo Morales Officers in country’s main city join colleagues across Bolivia in declaring support for protests Police in Bolivia’s main city, La Paz, have declared themselves in mutiny, joining anti-government protests and fellow officers in at least six other cities. The move puts in serious doubt the president Evo Morales’ ability to hang on to power after weeks of unrest over disputed election results.Local news reports on Saturday indicated that groups of police in the cities of Tarija, Oruro and Beni had joined their colleagues in Santa Cruz, Sucre and Cochabamba in rebelling against Morales’ government. Continue reading... Go to Source

Freed Brazilian ex-president Lula speaks to jubilant supporters Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told a crowd of thousands that he did not have a ‘thirst for revenge’Former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has addressed thousands of jubilant supporters outside a union headquarters a day after being released from prison.Dressed in a black blazer and T-shirt, Lula spoke from a stage outside the union near São Paulo that he once led and that served as the base for his political career. “During 580 days, I prepared myself spiritually, prepared myself to not have hatred, to not have thirst for revenge,” he said on Saturday. Continue reading... Go to Source

Climate change deniers’ new battle front attacked ‘Pernicious’ campaign is unfair on well-meaning people who want to help – expertThe battle between climate change deniers and the environment movement has entered a new, pernicious phase. That is the stark warning of one of the world’s leading climate experts, Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University.Mann told the Observer that although flat rejection of global warming was becoming increasingly hard to maintain in the face of mounting evidence, this did not mean climate change deniers were giving up the fight. Continue reading... Go to Source

The flood waters may be receding, but anger rises in weary Doncaster Torrential rain has cost one life and blighted communities that feel they are being left to fend for themselvesDriving north on a foggy Saturday morning on the M1, the signs say “Derbyshire flooding”. It sounds like the present continuous tense, ominous and ongoing. Twenty-four hours earlier, the body of Annie Hall, a former high sheriff of the county, had been found. She had been swept away by the River Derwent at Darley Dale, not far from Matlock.If that fatality lends a tragic note to the floods that hit the east Midlands and northern England on Friday, the streets are awash with many more mundane stories of hardship. Though the flooding has now subsided in most areas, in Doncaster people are still struggling ...

Woman who died in Derbyshire floods is named Annie Hall, a former county high sheriff, was swept away in Darley Dale early on FridayA woman who died after being swept away by floodwater was the former high sheriff of Derbyshire. Annie Hall’s body was found in the early hours of Friday after she was carried away in Darley Dale near Matlock.Hall served as the county’s high sheriff in 2017. “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the untimely and tragic death of my friend,” Derbyshire’s chief constable, Peter Goodman, said. “Annie was a great leader in Derbyshire in both industry and on the civic front. She will be hugely missed.” Continue reading... Go to Source