Bots and third parties to be banned from booking driving tests in DfT shake-up

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In effort to tackle severe backlog and end resale market, only learner drivers will be able to make bookings

Bots and third parties will be banned from booking driving tests as part of a government shake-up to tackle a severe backlog of almost 670,000 learners booked in for a practical assessment.

The Department for Transport (DfT), which recently consulted on how to crack down on touts reselling test slots at inflated prices, said that only learner drivers themselves and not their instructors would be able to make bookings.

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Russia Rushes Troops to Pokrovsk as Reserves Run Out, Say Partisans – Kyiv Post

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  1. Russia Rushes Troops to Pokrovsk as Reserves Run Out, Say Partisans  Kyiv Post
  2. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 11, 2025  Institute for the Study of War
  3. What the Looming Fall of a Ukrainian City Says About Putin’s War  The Wall Street Journal
  4. Pokrovsk: Russian forces use fog cover to push further into key Ukraine town  BBC
  5. Russian forces roll 'Mad Max'-style into battered Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, video shows  Reuters
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Ferry company apologises after children left ‘screaming’ by pornographic film

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DFDS says film was broadcast mistakenly to passengers who had been watching F1 race on France-UK service

A ferry company has apologised after children were left “screaming” when a pornographic film was played on one of its ships from France to Sussex.

DFDS said it was “very sorry” over the incident, which happened onboard the ferry from Dieppe in France to Newhaven.

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Cop30 live: ‘literally insane’ that we are letting global heating happen, says Al Gore – The Guardian

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  1. Cop30 live: ‘literally insane’ that we are letting global heating happen, says Al Gore  The Guardian
  2. Powering Equity: Energy Transitions at Scale  orfonline.org
  3. Procurement's Role in Reaching 1.5°C Climate Target  Procurement Magazine
  4. Oil Change International COP30 Media Advisory – 12 November  Oil Change International
  5. Business should focus on positive tipping points at COP30  Sustainable Views
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Report: IDF destroyed over 1,500 buildings in Israeli-controlled Gaza since cease-fire – Haaretz

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  1. Report: IDF destroyed over 1,500 buildings in Israeli-controlled Gaza since cease-fire  Haaretz
  2. Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in Gaza since ceasefire  BBC
  3. The Post’s visit to Gaza reveals miles of devastation, fragile Israel-Hamas cease-fire  New York Post
  4. What Gaza looks like today, after two years of war  Reuters
  5. An NPR reporter's journey into Gaza, for the first time since the war began  NPR
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The sharks are circling UK PM Keir Starmer as crunch points loom – CNBC

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  1. The sharks are circling UK PM Keir Starmer as crunch points loom  CNBC
  2. PMQs live: Keir Starmer says he 'never authorised' attacks on ministers  BBC
  3. Labour Party’s Internal Fight Goes Public, as Starmer’s Trouble Grows  The New York Times
  4. How No 10 plunged itself into crisis ahead of a perilous budget  Sky News
  5. Pressure grows on Starmer to sack chief of staff over briefing row  The Guardian
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Taiwan evacuates 8,300 and shuts schools before tropical storm brushes island – AP News

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  1. Taiwan evacuates 8,300 and shuts schools before tropical storm brushes island  AP News
  2. Typhoon Fung-wong brings floods to Taiwan, thousands evacuated  Reuters
  3. Thousands evacuated in Taiwan as Tropical Storm Fung-wong closes in  Al Jazeera
  4. Taiwan evacuates 3,000 ahead of arrival of Typhoon Fung-wong  KSL.com
  5. Tropical storm Fung-wong causes 88 injuries in Taiwan, 27 deaths in Philippines  nhk.or.jp
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Ukraine’s first ‘drone wall’ is about to see action combating menacing Russian threats, its Western maker says – Business Insider

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  1. Ukraine's first 'drone wall' is about to see action combating menacing Russian threats, its Western maker says  Business Insider
  2. Machines In The Kill Zone: Ukraine's Ground Drones On The Front Line  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
  3. Ukrainian Drone Industry’s Next Target Is NATO Markets  Bloomberg.com
  4. One Operator, 100 Drones: Ukraine First to Deploy AI-Controlled Drone Wall in Combat  UNITED24 Media
  5. A Harrowing Escape From the Drone-Infested Hellscape of Ukraine’s Front Lines  The New York Times
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Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy eligible for new help dealing with migration, EU says – Reuters

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  1. Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy eligible for new help dealing with migration, EU says  Reuters
  2. EU to relocate asylum seekers from Spain, Italy, Greece and Cyprus to other member states  Euronews.com
  3. Poland hails Commission’s migration plan while claiming exemption  politico.eu
  4. 🇪🇺 EU LETS 6 COUNTRIES DUCK OUT OF MIGRATION DEAL The EU’s shiny new migration pact isn’t even live yet - and 6 countries already want a refund. Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Croatia, Austria, and Poland say they’re too swamped to keep up, and Br  x.com
  5. European Commission puts Belgium among high-risk countries for migration pressure  The Brussels Times
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U.S. and Saudi Arabia working to finalize defense pact before MBS meets Trump – Axios

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  1. U.S. and Saudi Arabia working to finalize defense pact before MBS meets Trump  Axios
  2. Saudis to host investment summit in DC’s Kennedy Center during crown prince’s visit, sources say  WTOP
  3. Before talks with Trump, Saudi Arabia doubles down on terms for Israel ties  Reuters
  4. Trump doesn't need to buy Saudi loyalty with a security pact  Responsible Statecraft
  5. Israel Could Be Left Out as the Americans and Saudis Get Closer  Haaretz
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Venezuelans sent by Trump to El Salvador endured systematic torture, report finds

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Human rights groups accuse Trump officials of complicity and draw comparison with scandal at Abu Ghraib prison

More than 252 Venezuelans expelled to El Salvador under Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy suffered systematic and prolonged torture and abuse, including sexual assault, during their detention, according to a report published on Wednesday.

The report, compiled jointly by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Cristosal – a group investigating violations in Central America – says conditions at El Salvador’s sprawling “terrorist continent center” (Cecot) breached the UN’s standard minimal rules for the treatment of prisoners. It cites “inhumane prison conditions, including prolonged incommunicado detention, inadequate food” and other shortcomings.

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Actor Allison Mack reveals role in Nxivm sex cult in new podcast: ‘I was abusive’

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Smallville actor, released from prison two years ago, tells how she helped coerce women for cult leader Keith Raniere

The Smallville actor Allison Mack says she was once riveted by the influence she wielded through her role in the Nxivm sex cult – though it eventually sent her to federal prison, and she now realizes it was “abusive”.

“I was excited by the power that I felt having these young, beautiful women look to me and listen to me,” Mack, 43, maintains in a new podcast series titled Allison After Nxivm, which contains her first public remarks since her release from prison about two years ago. “And – yes – the sexuality of it was exciting.”

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US House to vote on bill that could end longest-ever government shutdown

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Democrats have vowed to vote against the proposal after a faction of Senators broke with party to pass a compromise

The House on Wednesday was poised to vote on legislation that would end the longest government shutdown in US history, as Democrats voice fury that the Senate-brokered compromise fails to extend expiring healthcare subsidies.

The House speaker, Mike Johnson, has instructed lawmakers to return to Washington after keeping the chamber out of session for more than 50 days.

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