Hegseth’s views on women in combat ‘flat-out wrong’, Senator Duckworth says

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Democratic combat veteran says Trump’s pick for defense secretary is ‘inordinately unqualified’ for the job

Democratic US Senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both her legs after the army Black Hawk attack helicopter she was piloting was shot down during the US war in Iraq, on Sunday ramped up criticism of Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary who argues women shouldn’t be on the front line.

Pete Hegseth is the former Fox News host and soldier tapped by the president-elect to lead the Pentagon and oversee the largest military force in the world, but he is steeped in controversy.

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China unnerved by Russia’s growing ties with North Korea, claims US official

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Comments part of debate over whether Beijing backs Kim Jong-un’s decision to send troops to fight in Ukraine

China is increasingly uncomfortable about North Korea’s engagement with Russia and finds the growing cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow unnerving, Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state has said.

He was leaning into a growing debate among the US’s security partners in Asia on whether China supports the decision of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to send 10,000 troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine. It is said the North Korean troops are now inside Russia.

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NHS bosses who silence whistleblowers face sack under government plans

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Ministers to launch public consultation on regulating managers in effort to end ‘culture of cover-up’ in NHS

NHS managers who silence whistleblowers or endanger patients through misconduct face being sacked and barred from working in the health service for life under radical government plans to regulate thousands of bosses for the first time.

Ministers will begin a public consultation on Tuesday seeking views on the proposals, which they say are designed to eradicate a “culture of cover-up” in the NHS. It follows a series of scandals over the last decade at trusts including Morecambe Bay, East Kent and Shrewsbury and Telford.

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Several people killed amid ‘unprecedented’ flooding as Storm Bert batters Britain

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Rhondda Cynon Taf declares emergency as at least four deaths reported across England and Wales

Several people have been killed as Storm Bert battered the UK, with a major incident declared in south Wales.

At least four deaths have been reported in England and Wales since the storm hit amid flooding brought by heavy rain and thawing snow. Thousands of homes have been left without power.

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A year since hostage deal, Herzog says not freeing remaining captives a daily failure – The Times of Israel

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  1. A year since hostage deal, Herzog says not freeing remaining captives a daily failure  The Times of Israel
  2. Former Israeli hostages released in truce 1 year ago call for action to release those still held  CBS News
  3. Israelis again demonstrate for hostage deal  Yahoo! Voices
  4. Time to Stop Lying: Here Is How Israel's Hostages Can Be Saved  Haaretz
  5. Herzog: We're at critical moment, 'everyday hostages are not with us is a failure'  The Jerusalem Post
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Hezbollah fires hundreds of rockets, projectiles into Israel in retaliation for Beirut strikes – PBS NewsHour

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  1. Hezbollah fires hundreds of rockets, projectiles into Israel in retaliation for Beirut strikes  PBS NewsHour
  2. Hezbollah Fires Waves of Projectiles Into Israel After Deadly Strike in Lebanon  The New York Times
  3. Hezbollah fires barrage of rockets into Israel after IDF targets Hezbollah command centers in Beirut  Fox News
  4. Casualties, severe damage in Israel as Hezbollah fires 340 rockets, drones  Al Jazeera English
  5. Hezbollah rockets land near Tel Aviv after large Israeli strike on Beirut  Reuters
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Hundreds flee north Gaza as IDF orders more evacuations amid intense airstrikes

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Senior Israeli minister says the war is far from over and Israel will stay ‘for years’ in the territory

The Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of new areas of northern Gaza, setting off a fresh wave of civilian displacements on Sunday as intense airstrikes continued across much of the territory.

In Jerusalem, a senior minister said the war in Gaza was far from over and that Israel would stay “for years” in the territory.

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Rabbi in UAE killed in ‘antisemitic terror incident’, says Israel

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UAE says it has arrested three people over the killing of Zvi Kogan, who worked for an Orthodox Jewish group

Israel has said that an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates was killed in what it described as a “heinous antisemitic terror incident”.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement about the death of Zvi Kogan, who worked in the UAE for an Orthodox Jewish group called Chabad and had not been seen since Thursday.

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Gunmen in southeast Mexico open fire in a bar killing 6 and injuring 5 – CBS News

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  1. Gunmen in southeast Mexico open fire in a bar killing 6 and injuring 5  CBS News
  2. Mexico bar shooting: 6 killed, 10 others injured after gunmen opened fire in Tabasco province  The Times of India
  3. Gunmen in southeast Mexico open fire in a bar killing 6 and injuring 5 as violence spirals  ABC News
  4. Six Dead And 10 Wounded In Gun Attack In Southeast Mexico: Official  Barron's
  5. 6 Dead, 10 Injured In Mexico Bar Shooting  NDTV
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Millions of tourists in UK could be asked to pay local visitor levy

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Councils, politicians and campaigners hope a ‘tourist tax’ would raise money to fund services in areas affected by high visitor numbers

Millions of tourists to the UK could soon be asked to pay a local visitor levy as cash-strapped councils try to raise money to fund services.

Nearly half of Scotland’s local councils are considering a mandatory levy on overnight stays, known as a tourist tax, to help cope with a surge in visitors that has overwhelmed places such as Skye, the Callanish stones on Lewis and Orkney’s neolithic sites.

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COP29: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Baku – Carbon Brief

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  1. COP29: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Baku  Carbon Brief
  2. World agrees to climate deal on financial aid for developing countries after summit nearly implodes  CNN
  3. Here’s what to know about the new funding deal that countries agreed to at UN climate talks  The Associated Press
  4. Monday Briefing  The New York Times
  5. Developing nations leave UN climate conference with deal but say 'we're not satisfied'  PBS NewsHour
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Chuck Woolery, host of Love Connection, dies aged 83

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A musician, the original Wheel of Fortune host and later a rightwing podcaster, Woolery died at home in Texas

Chuck Woolery, the affable, smooth-talking game show host of Wheel of Fortune, Love Connection and Scrabble who later became a rightwing podcaster, skewering liberals and accusing the government of lying about Covid-19, has died. He was 83.

Mark Young, Woolery’s podcast co-host and friend, said in an email early on Sunday that Woolery died at his home in Texas with his wife, Kristen, present. “Chuck was a dear friend and brother and a tremendous man of faith, life will not be the same without him,” Young wrote.

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Ministers speaking out against assisted dying ‘are giving false impression’, says peer

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Labour’s Charlie Falconer says vocal opponents are leading voters to think government is against change

Senior ministers who have spoken out against assisted dying are giving voters a “false impression” about the government’s position, a leading proponent of changing the law has said.

Charlie Falconer, a Labour peer and former justice secretary, said opponents to the change were “getting more coverage” because ministers in favour of legalising assisted dying were “playing by the rules”.

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‘Slippery slope’ fears over assisted dying have echoes of abortion debate

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Since the 1967 Abortion Act, the law has been changed twice but the criteria have remained the same

“It is entirely possible that future generations will puzzle over how such a fundamental right could ever be denied to them.” These are the words of David Steel, the veteran former leader of the Liberal party and a Westminster MP for more than three decades, referring to this Friday’s historic vote in parliament on whether to legalise assisted dying.

But Steel could just as well have been referring to a private member’s bill he brought before parliament 57 years ago that was also about the right to bodily autonomy and was the subject of fierce debate and vocal opposition from church leaders.

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Bonhams auction house facing claims it is selling looted Roman antiquities

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Third-century Roman plate and bust of Emperor Hadrian alleged to have links to man convicted of illegal dealing

The auction house Bonhams is facing calls to withdraw a Roman antiquity from its forthcoming London auction amid claims that it was looted from Turkey.

A third-century Roman silver plate, decorated with a depiction of a river god, is lot 62 of the 5 December auction and is estimated to sell for between £20,000 and £30,000.

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Cop29 climate finance deal criticised as ‘travesty of justice’ and ‘stage-managed’ – The Guardian

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  1. Cop29 climate finance deal criticised as ‘travesty of justice’ and ‘stage-managed’  The Guardian
  2. World agrees to climate deal on financial aid for developing countries after summit nearly implodes  CNN
  3. Here’s what to know about the new funding deal that countries agreed to at UN climate talks  The Associated Press
  4. COP29 UN Climate Conference Agrees to Triple Finance to Developing Countries, Protecting Lives and Livelihoods  UNFCCC
  5. From a US$300 billion climate finance deal to global carbon trading, here’s what was – and wasn’t – achieved at the COP29 climate talks  The Conversation
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Romania votes in presidential poll with nationalist and leftist vying for runoff

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Sunday’s election could lead to a battle between far-right’s George Simion and Marcel Ciolacu of Social Democrats

Romanians are casting ballots on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election that could pit a far-right nationalist against the incumbent leftist prime minister in the runoff.

Thirteen candidates are vying for the presidency in the EU and Nato member country and the vote is expected to go to a second round on 8 December. Polls opened at 7am local time (05.00 GMT) and will close at 9pm. Romanians abroad have been able to vote since Friday.

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