Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskyy urges ‘firm and decisive’ international response to ‘latest act of Russian madness’ – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, read our full report:

Russia’s use of an experimental hypersonic missile to hit Ukraine was a “terrible escalation” in the war, German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said on Friday.

The deployment of the new weapon showed “how dangerous this war is”, Scholz said in a speech, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). He added:

That (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has now also used a medium-range missile to strike Ukrainian territory is a terrible escalation.”

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Trump campaign declares ‘decisive win’ in hush-money case after judge’s latest ruling – live

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Trump’s campaign says the criminal case, which it viewed as an attack against the president-elect, is ‘now destroyed’

In a new interview on Friday, Matt Gaetz revealed that he will not be returning to Congress next year.

Speaking to conservative talk show host Charlie Kirk, Gaetz, who withdrew his attorney general nomination yesterday, said:

“I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” CNN reports.

“There are a number of fantastic Floridians who’ve stepped up to run for my seat, people who have inspired with their heroism, with their public service. And I’m actually excited to see northwest Florida go to new heights and have great representation… I’m going to be fighting for President Trump. I’m going to be doing whatever he asks of me, as I always have. But I think that eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress.”

“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”

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Jury convicts two for smuggling Indian family who froze to death crossing US-Canada border

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Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel and Steve Shand were part of operation bringing increasing numbers of Indians into US

A jury has convicted two men of human smuggling charges after an Indian family froze to death attempting to cross the Canada-US border.

After a brief deliberation on Friday, a jury in Fergus Falls, Minnesota delivered the verdict in the case against Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, an Indian national who used the alias “Dirty Harry”, and Steve Shand, 50, an American from Florida. Prosecutors say the pair were part of a broader criminal enterprise that helped migrants cross from Canada into the United States.

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Trump hush-money case sentencing postponed indefinitely

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President-elect spokesperson hails ‘decisive win’ as Judge Juan Merchan declines to provide new sentencing date

The sentencing in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal hush-money case has been postponed indefinitely while attorneys on both sides argue over its future given his recent election victory.

Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing Trump’s case, did not provide a new sentencing date in his one-page scheduling order on Friday.

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Putin says Russia will use experimental missile again after Ukraine strike

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Ukrainian president calls testing of nuclear-capable weapon on his country’s territory an ‘international crime’

Vladimir Putin has vowed to launch more strikes using an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile as Ukraine decried the testing of the nuclear-capable weapon on its territory as an “international crime”.

Speaking at a defence conference on Friday, Putin contested US claims that Russia possessed only a “handful” of the high-speed ballistic missiles, saying that the military had enough to continue to test them in “combat conditions”.

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Ice could add 600 beds to New Jersey detention center, documents show

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ACLU obtains documents showing agency’s effort to expand state’s detention capacity for undocumented immigrants

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officials could add 600 beds to detain unauthorized immigrants in New Jersey, according to new documents obtained by the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on Friday.

An additional 600 detainees could mark a significant increase in the number of people held in New Jersey. The Elizabeth detention center – the only facility in the state that holds detainees – can currently accommodate up to 300 detainees, the Bergen Record reported in April. There were 285 detainees in the facility as of the end of October, according to data analyzed by the Guardian from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

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MMA fighter Conor McGregor raped woman at Dublin hotel, jury finds in civil trial

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McGregor ordered to pay nearly €250,000 in damages to Nikita Hand after he was accused of 2018 assault

A jury at a civil trial at Ireland’s high court has found that the Irish martial arts fighter Conor McGregor assaulted a woman who had accused him of raping her at a hotel in Dublin in December 2018.

McGregor was ordered pay nearly €250,000 (£210,000) in damages to Nikita Hand, who is also known as Nikita Ní Laimhín.

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Too many buildings remain unsafe after Grenfell disaster, housing minister warns

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Wajid Khan tells House of Lords remediation work is yet to start on half of properties with unsafe cladding

Far too many high and medium-rise buildings are still unsafe after the Grenfell disaster, with dangerous cladding remaining on at least 2,400 blocks, a housing minister has warned.

Wajid Khan, a Labour peer and housing minister, said on Friday that remediation work had not started at approximately 50% of properties being monitored for their unsafe cladding.

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New York City plan to charge $9 fee for driving in Manhattan approved

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US Department of Transportation has greenlit congestion fee for raising funds for mass transit and cutting traffic

The US Department of Transportation has approved New York’s plan to impose a $9 congestion charge for driving in Manhattan starting on 5 January, a move aimed at raising billions for funding better mass transit and cutting traffic jams.

The congestion charge, the first of its kind in the US, was revived last week by the governor, Kathy Hochul, after she had put it on indefinite hold in June.

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Prison blueprints leak sparks security alert in jails in England and Wales

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Plans are understood to show where cameras and sensors are, triggering fears of weapon smuggling and escapes

Detailed prison blueprints have been leaked, triggering a security alert at jails in England and Wales, it has emerged.

The leak, first reported by the Times, involves prison layouts being shared on the dark web in the last fortnight, prompting an investigation by the National Crime Agency.

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Leading Republican strategist rebukes Trump for bringing ‘chaos’ back

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Karl Rove says in Wall Street Journal that Trump has ‘created chaos and controversy’ before he’s even in office

As Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s first nominee for attorney general, withdrew after eight days amid allegations of sexual misconduct and more, and as Trump’s new pick, Pam Bondi, faced scrutiny of her own, a leading Republican strategist rebuked the president-elect for bringing “chaos” back to Washington.

“Inadequate vetting, impatience, disregard for qualifications and a thirst for revenge have created chaos and controversy for Mr Trump before he’s even in office,” said Karl Rove, once known as George W Bush’s “Brain”, in the Wall Street Journal.

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UK weather: Met Office warnings as ‘multi-hazard’ Storm Bert approaches

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Several weather warnings in place for weekend, with snow, wind, rain and ice predicted

Storm Bert is expected to bring wind, rain, ice and snow to much of the UK over the weekend in what forecasters have called a “multi-hazard event”.

The Met Office has issued several weather warnings – mostly yellow, but also including the more severe amber in Scotland – for Saturday and Sunday.

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Angela Merkel expresses ‘huge concern’ at Elon Musk’s US government role

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Former German chancellor says politics should govern the social balance between powerful and ordinary citizens

Angela Merkel, who in her new memoir raises fears for the western democratic order with Donald Trump as US president, has also expressed deep concerns about the outsized role to be played in Trump’s administration by Elon Musk.

The former German chancellor, who during Trump’s first term was given by some observers the designation of “leader of the free world” usually reserved for US presidents, said 16 years in power had taught her that business and political interests must be kept in fine balance.

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Gatwick airport reopens terminal after bomb scare evacuation

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Security cordon lifted and train services resume as travel plans are disrupted for thousands of people

Gatwick’s south terminal has reopened for passengers after a security alert caused disruption for thousands of people.

Sussex police said they had released two people after concluding their investigation into reports of a suspect package at the airport. A bomb disposal team made the package safe, the force added in a statement on X.

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Removing Toronto bike lanes will make traffic worse, official document shows

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In preparation for plan, Ontario has indemnified itself from liability if cyclists are killed on streets that once had bike lanes

Removing bike lanes from busy city streets will increase traffic congestion, according to a Canadian government document leaked amid a furious row over urban infrastructure.

The findings, which come as the province of Ontario goes to war over cycling infrastructure in Toronto, undercut claims that the dedicated routes contribute to urban gridlock.

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Seoul says Russia sent air-defence missiles to North Korea in return for troops

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Kremlin dispatched weapons as payment for 10,000 troops deployed to support war in Ukraine, says South Korean official

Russia has sent air defence missiles and other military technology to North Korea in return for the deployment of troops from the North to support the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, intelligence officials in South Korea have said.

The shipments were the latest expression of a deepening alliance that allies and enemies fear could fuel the escalation of the war in Ukraine, geopolitical tensions in Asia, and potentially even global nuclear arms proliferation.

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Gordon Brown says daughter’s death showed value of ‘good’ dying over assisted dying

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Former PM, whose daughter died when she was 11 days old, says debate is moving too fast and calls for commission on palliative care

• Gordon Brown: We need better end-of-life care, not assisted dying

The former prime minister Gordon Brown has declared his opposition to the legalisation of assisted dying, saying the death of his newborn daughter in January 2002 convinced him of the “value and imperative of good end-of-life care”.

In a rare and poignant glimpse into the tragedy, he says the time he and his wife, Sarah, spent at their baby Jennifer’s bedside “as her life ebbed away” were “among the most precious days of [our] lives”.

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Tributes paid to ‘kind and loving’ British tourist who died in Laos

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Simone White was one of six people to die in suspected methanol poisoning incident in Vang Vieng

Tributes have been paid to the “beautiful, kind and loving” British tourist Simone White, one of six people to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos.

The six died after allegedly being served drinks laced with methanol in Vang Vieng, a town popular with backpackers. These include the Australian teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, an American man and two Danish women aged 19 and 20.

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Rachel Reeves standing firm against U-turn on inheritance tax for farmers

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Chancellor understood to be determined to keep policy despite Treasury analysing ways to soften impact

Rachel Reeves is holding firm against a U-turn on inheritance tax for farmers, despite the Treasury analysing ways of softening the impact.

The chancellor is understood to be determined not to drop the policy even though some Labour MPs – and even ministers – are worrying about the political fallout that has led to farmers protesting in Westminster this week.

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