Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he expects to discuss the plan – which was reportedly drafted by Russian and US officials – with Trump

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas leads reaction as reports circulate about a secret plan between Moscow and Washington to end the war Around 5o people were hurt after two trains have collided in southern Czech Republic this morning, with two people seriously injured, according to local emergency services. The crash took place near the city of České Budějovice after 6am, with authorities investigating the cause of the crash. Continue reading...

Tucker Carlson’s interview with the activist revealed the mainstream right is being flooded by extremism – and it’s now impossible to contain

Convicted serial offender given further life sentence for crimes against 12-year-old girl in 1980s and former partner Former police officer and convicted sex offender David Carrick has been sentenced at the Old Bailey to life with a minimum of 30 years for molesting a 12-year-old girl and raping a former partner. Carrick, 50, who served as an armed officer in the Metropolitan police, sexually assaulted the child in the late 1980s, his trial heard. More than 20 years later, he repeatedly raped a woman and subjected her to “degrading and humiliating” abuse during the course of a toxic relationship. Mrs Justice McGowan sentenced Carrick for the fresh convictions on Thursday after he was found guilty of two charges of rape, one of sexual assault and coercive and controlling behaviour towards the woman between 2014 and 2019, and five counts of indecent assault relating to the girl in the late 1980s. Carrick’s offences came to light after he pleaded guilty in 2022 and 2023 to 71 sexual offences, including 48 rapes, against 12 other women over 17 years. He was handed 36 life sentences in 2023 for these crimes with a minimum term of 32 years. Continue reading...

Who knows where this government’s credibility will be after next week’s exceptionally difficult budget, says Guardian columnist Martin Kettle

CCRC says new evidence undermines narrative Durrell Goodall, Reano Walters and Trey Wilson were in a gang The convictions of three young black men for murder after a controversial 2017 prosecution under the “joint enterprise” legal doctrine have been referred back to the court of appeal. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said on Wednesday that new evidence submitted on behalf of Durrell Goodall, Reano Walters and Trey Wilson, who were 20, 19 and 19 respectively when they were convicted, undermines a core of the prosecution’s case that they were members of a gang. Continue reading...

Former Met officer convicted of offences in pattern of ‘horrific’ offending dating back 35 years Ex-police officer David Carrick has been found guilty of molesting a 12-year-old girl and raping a former partner in a pattern of “horrific” offending dating back 35 years. Carrick, 50, who served as an armed officer in the Metropolitan police, sexually assaulted the child in the late 1980s. More than 20 years later, he repeatedly raped a woman and subjected her to “degrading and humiliating” abuse during the course of a toxic relationship. Continue reading...

Officers accused of using violence and threats to make Peter Sullivan confess to 1987 murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall A man wrongly jailed for 38 years has spoken of being beaten by police and bullied into making a false murder confession. Peter Sullivan, 68, the subject of one of the longest miscarriages of justice in British history, said he had lost everything and wanted an apology from Merseyside police. Continue reading...

My social media feed is now a hellish stream of puerile AI slop. Am I stubborn to want to hang on to reality?

Study from University of Oxford looks into evolutionary origins of kissing and its role in relations between species From Galápagos albatrosses to polar bears, chimpanzees to orangutans, certain species appear to kiss. Now researchers suggest Neanderthals did it too – and might even have locked lips with modern humans. It is not the first time scientists have suggested Neanderthals and early modern humans were intimately acquainted. Among previous studies, researchers have found humans and their thick-browed cousins shared the same mouth microbe for hundreds of thousands of years after the two species split, suggesting they swapped saliva. Continue reading...

President drops opposition to vote that would compel files’ release and says he would sign measure if it reaches his desk * US politics live: House to vote on release of Epstein files The US House of Representatives is expected to vote on Tuesday to force the release of investigative files related to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the latest move in a scandal that has dogged Donald Trump since he returned to the White House. In a sharp reversal this weekend, Trump dropped his opposition to the bill that releases documents from the justice department’s criminal investigation into Epstein and said he would sign the measure if it reached his desk. Continue reading...

You may have thought Qatar and Russia were tournament lows. You didn’t account for the US president and his Fifa soulmate, Gianni Infantino, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

Donald Tusk tells parliament that C-4 explosives were used also used in the attacks at the weekend Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has just told lawmakers that the authorities investigating the rail sabotage incidents over the weekend identified two main suspects. He says the suspects are both Ukrainian men, who crossed into Poland from Belarus this autumn, and are believed to had been working with Russian intelligence services. Continue reading...

Lib Dem MP says way figures were compiled on ‘non-British-sounding’ surnames in court was ‘frankly racist’ GB News has been accused of risking inflaming tensions over crime committed by migrants after presenting unscientific research that counted the number of defendants with “foreign-sounding names”. Ofcom, the UK’s media regulator, has received complaints about a segment on the rightwing news channel last week that drew a link between “non-British” names and those in court charged with sex offences. Continue reading...

Former treasury secretary steps away to ‘rebuild trust’ after severe backlash but will continue teaching Harvard classes The Harvard professor and economist Larry Summers said he would be stepping back from public life after documents released by the House oversight committee revealed email exchanges between Summers and the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who called himself Summers’ “wing man”. Politico reported on Monday that Summers, a former treasury secretary, expressed deep regret for past messages with Epstein. Continue reading...

The 74th Ashes series begins this week. How can cricket lovers follow all the action? Will England be competitive this time? Your questions answered The first ball will be bowled in Perth on Friday at 10:20am local time, or 1.20pm AEDT in Sydney and Melbourne. In Brisbane, tune in just after midday. Perth, starting 21 November Brisbane (day nighter), 4 December Adelaide, 17 December Melbourne, 26 December Sydney, 4 January Continue reading...

Move threatens to throw open parts of secretive legal battle on Channel island about ex-Chelsea owner’s wealth The former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is making a claim of “conspiracy” against the government of Jersey after the crown dependency launched a criminal investigation into allegations of corruption and money laundering in connection with the original source of the oligarch’s wealth. The latest move threatens to throw open parts of a secretive legal battle on the Channel island about the tycoon’s rise to become one of the world’s richest people, which emerged in September after a Switzerland federal criminal court ordered the release of a cache of Swiss banking records requested by the Jersey attorney general. Continue reading...

Tony Hall says it’s not ‘appropriate’ to pay US president with licence fee payer’s money after he threatened to sue broadcaster for up to $5bn The BBC should not pay any money to Donald Trump, the former BBC director general Tony Hall has said. The US president has said he plans to sue the BBC for up to $5bn (£3.8bn) despite receiving the apology he demanded over a misleading Panorama edit of his 6 January speech. Continue reading...

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

Marketing or celebrity-led treatments for toddlers and upwards described as ‘ridiculous’ and lacking in skin benefit Dermatologists have criticised an actor’s new skincare brand, calling it “dystopian” for creating face masks for four-year-olds, warning that the beauty industry is now expanding its reach from teenagers to toddlers. It comes as a growing number of brands are moving into the children’s, teenage and young adult skincare market. In October, the first skincare brand developed for under-14s, Ever-eden, launched in the US. Superdrug has just created a range for those aged between 13 and 28. Continue reading...

The actor moved to LA 22 years ago. Now she’s back in the UK to star alongside Bryan Cranston in All My Sons. She talks about the frightening rehearsal schedule, how she’d work again with Mike Leigh in a heartbeat, and why she’s taking up boot-making

In a culture of therapy-approved ‘forgiveness’, the author’s new memoir shows how hilarious long-delayed vengeance can be, says Guardian columnist Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

A jeans ad made her notorious. Then she got cosy with Taylor Swift’s arch-nemesis. Time to get up to speed before the actor/model next hits the headlines …

As the climate conference goes into its fifth day, with huge amounts still unresolved, there were reports that activists had blockaded the entrance to the centre Norway and the United Arab Emirates - both significant fossil fuel producers - are among the ministerial pairings announced by the Brazilian Cop30 Presidency. The task of the pairings is to consult with countries on specific issues and report their views back to the presidency, to help the negotiations progress. The ministers from Norway and the UAE will work on the “global stocktake”, the strand of the talks about the big gap between the carbon emissions cuts needed and the real world. At its heart is cutting fossil fuel emissions, which makes it a target for obstruction by petrostates. The UAE hosted Cop28 in 2023, which delivered the first ever mention of fossil fuels in a Cop outcome. Gambia and Germany, working on adaptation Egypt and Spain, working on mitigation, i.e. cutting emissions Mexico and Poland, working on just transition, i.e. making the switch to a clean economy fair Australia and India, working on clean technology transfer from rich to poor countries Chile and Sweden, working on gender, i.e. ensuring climate action addresses gender inequality and empowers women Continue reading...

A chance viewing of the comic’s World Tour of Scotland made me swap Australia for the Highlands, although things didn’t quite go to plan …