UK has second highest maternal death rate in eight-country European study

Women in UK three times more likely to die around the time of pregnancy than those in Norway

Mothers in the UK are three times more likely to die around the time of pregnancy compared with those in Norway, according to an international analysis of data.

Although maternal mortality is at historic lows in high-income countries, it remains an important indicator of quality of care, health system performance and, more specifically, maternal care. The comparison of maternal mortality rates in eight European countries was published in the BMJ.

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Millions of UK households to pay more for energy from April

Jeremy Hunt expected to use autumn statement to announce rise in household energy price cap to as much as £3,100

Millions of UK households will pay more for their energy from next April under plans to cut the generosity of the government’s gas and electricity support scheme expected to be announced by Jeremy Hunt on Thursday.

The chancellor is likely to use his autumn statement to say the need to save money and reduce state borrowing will require the household energy price cap to rise from £2,500 to an expected £3,000 to £3,100.

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British government blocks takeover of Welsh semiconductor producer

BEIS has ‘national security’ concerns over China-owned Nexperia which took control of Newport Wafer Fab

The British government has blocked the takeover of the UK’s largest producer of semiconductors by a Chinese-owned manufacturer, citing “a risk to national security”.

The business department’s decision on Wednesday comes more than a year after semiconductor company Nexperia first announced that it had taken control of Newport Wafer Fab in south Wales in July 2021, in a £63m deal.

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Rural areas will be asked to house more asylum seekers, minister suggests

Robert Jenrick says accommodation being sought in ‘much broader range of local authorities’

Rural areas will be asked to accept more people seeking asylum, a minister has suggested, as the government faced criticism from Conservative MPs for placing migrants in their constituencies.

Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said small towns and the countryside may be asked to house more people crossing the Channel in small boats “as long as numbers are so high”.

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Fashion firm Joules falls into administration putting 1,600 jobs at risk

Shops will stay open while administrators assess options for the company

The fashion firm Joules has formally fallen into administration, putting 1,600 jobs and the future of the retailer’s 132 shops at risk.

The company said on Monday it had filed a notice to appoint administrators after failing to secure emergency funding. It has now hired administrators from Interpath Advisory, who said shops would stay open while they “assess options for the business”.

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Lonely Planet selects Manchester as top travel destination for 2023

Publishers praised UK city’s arts scene and gastronomic diversity as it makes the list of 30 best places to go

Lonely Planet has chosen Manchester as one of its must-visit destinations for 2023, the only UK destination to make the guidebook’s annual Best in Travel list.

The city is described as “one of the best – if not the best – cities in the UK, with something for everyone” in a roll of honour that includes Sydney, Lima, Montevideo, Marseille and Dresden.

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Energy firms accused of profiteering with ‘horrendous rates’ for care homes

Exclusive: Care England calls for Ofgem investigation into suppliers’ practices in letter seen by the Guardian

Energy suppliers have been accused of profiteering by charging “horrendous and financially crippling rates” to care homes facing huge bills this winter.

The chief executive of Care England, the largest body representing independent providers of adult care, has accused gas suppliers of being “unduly onerous” in their practices.

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English councils warn of ‘existential crisis’ caused by funding shortfall

Local Government Association says any attempt to patch up budgets by raising council tax is doomed to fail

Local authorities have warned they face an “existential crisis” caused by massive funding shortfalls and any attempt by ministers to patch up budgets by allowing increased council tax is doomed to failure.

The multibillion “black hole” in England’s municipal finances – which has pushed a number of councils to the brink of bankruptcy – could not be fixed by local ratepayers alone, who would face unrealistic council tax increases of up to 20%, the Local Government Association (LGA) said.

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UK vulnerable to major animal disease outbreaks, report finds

Inadequate management and underinvestment in main Animal and Plant Health Agency facility has left country at risk, MPs warn

The UK’s main animal disease facility has been left to deteriorate to an “alarming extent” leaving the country vulnerable to major outbreaks on the scale of the devastating 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis, MPs have warned.

An inquiry by the Public Accounts Committee found that the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in Weybridge was “continually vulnerable to a major breakdown” because the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs had “comprehensively failed” in its management of the site.

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Neurodiverse women sought for jobs at GCHQ and BAE Systems

Organisations want to recruit more women with autism, dyslexia and ADHD to work in cybersecurity roles

The British spy agency GCHQ and weapons manufacturer BAE Systems have issued an appeal to attract more neurodiverse women to work for them in cybersecurity jobs.

The employers are actively seeking women with autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for cybersecurity roles to address gaps in their workforces.

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GPs in England to send suspected cancer patients directly for tests

Scheme starting this month is aimed at improving Britain’s poor record on early diagnosis

All GPs in England will be able to refer suspected cancer patients for tests without them first having to see a specialist under an NHS initiative designed to speed up diagnosis.

The scheme, which starts this month, will let family doctors send patients with potential symptoms straight to have a scan, X-ray or other diagnostic test.

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Sunak hints he will slow down progress on India trade deal

Prime minister says UK should not sacrifice quality for speed as he seeks to improve terms at G20 talks

Rishi Sunak has hinted he will slow down progress on the India trade deal to improve its terms, saying the UK should not “sacrifice quality for speed”.

The comments, which preceded talks with the UK prime minister’s Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, at the G20 on Wednesday, suggested a marked change of approach from Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, who prioritised speed and hard deadlines, having pledged a “deal for Diwali” that did not materialise.

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Rishi Sunak refuses to apologise for damage done to economy under Liz Truss and says much has now been reversed – UK politics live

Latest updates: PM claims damage done to national finances by mini-budget has now been mostly repaired

Rishi Sunak has also said he hopes to have a meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, at the G20 summit. Asked if he would have a bilateral with Xi, Sunak told Sky News:

I’m hopeful that I can. As I said, I think it’s important that we engage with people to try and tackle some of these shared challenges. And I’m here to talk to people, and that’s what I hope is possible.

I’m very clear that China poses a systemic challenge to both our values and our interests, and it represents the single biggest straight threat to our economic security. And that’s why it’s right that we take the steps that are necessary to protect ourselves against that.

I think our approach to China is one that is very similar to our allies, whether that’s America, Australia and Canada, all countries that I’m talking about exactly this issue with while we’re here at the G20 summit.

And I think it’s an indisputable fact of the global economy that China is a big part of it. And if we want to solve big global challenges like public health, like Russia and Ukraine, fixing the global economy or indeed climate change, it’s important to have a dialogue and to engage with China as part of solving those challenges.

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Fish passes give endangered twaite shad chance to swim up Severn River and spawn

Return of one of one of Britain’s rarest fish confirmed after DNA found in water samples above fish passes

For nearly two centuries, one of Britain’s rarest fish has been shut out of its spawning grounds by large weirs.

But the endangered twaite shad has now returned to its historic spawning habitat on the River Severn, thanks to four new fish passes that enable the migratory fish to negotiate weirs and swim up river to lay eggs.

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UK must act over poverty, housing and and equal rights, says UN body

Human rights council makes more than 300 recommendations, with many coming from less well-off countries

The UK must tackle rising poverty, the United Nations human rights council has said in a report that includes demands from less well-off countries for the British government to act.

Amid worsening financial prospects for millions, the member states of the UN body also demanded action on housing to prevent homelessness, better food security for young children, and equal rights for people with disabilities.

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Death of two-year-old from chronic mould in flat a ‘defining moment’, says coroner

Awaab Ishak died in 2020, eight days after his second birthday, following ‘chronic exposure’ in Rochdale

A coroner has said the death of an “engaging, lively, endearing” two-year-old from prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s flat should be a “defining moment” for the UK’s housing sector.

Awaab Ishak died in 2020, eight days after his second birthday, as a direct result of black mould in the flat he lived in.

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UK Treasury joins chat app Discord and is met with torrent of abuse

Users on gamer-focused platform manage to respond to posts despite government blocking all comments

The UK Treasury has opened an account on Discord to a torrent of abuse from users of the gamer-focused chat app – abuse they managed to send despite the government blocking all comments on the service.

As Twitter’s future looks increasingly uncertain, prominent users are preparing alternatives, directing followers to Facebook and Instagram accounts, handing out their Mastodon addresses, and setting up servers on chat apps such as Discord.

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Man admits killing parents after secretly leaving English psychiatric hospital

William Warrington slipped out of hospital in Gloucestershire and stabbed his mother before taking her car to kill father

A man with paranoid schizophrenia has admitted stabbing his parents to death on the same night in two attacks 15 miles apart, after slipping out of a psychiatric hospital in Gloucestershire.

William Warrington killed his mother, Valerie, 73, a hospital worker, at her home in the Cotswolds village of Bourton-on-the-Water in March. He then drove her car to his father, Clive’s, home in Cheltenham and killed him. Neighbours heard Warrington say “I’m going to enjoy this” as he attacked his father, 67.

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Crypto exchange FTX expects to have more than 1m creditors

Bankruptcy filing says ‘questions arose’ about founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s leadership

The collapsed crypto exchange FTX expects to have more than 1 million individual creditors, the company has said in its first bankruptcy filing, scattered across more than 100 companies in the wider group.

According to the filing at the bankruptcy court in the US state of Delaware, where FTX US is based, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and chief executive, stepped down at 4.30am on Friday, “after consultation with his own legal counsel”.

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Rishi Sunak calls China ‘systemic challenge’, in sign of softer UK stance

PM’s remarks at G20 summit suggest shift away from Liz Truss pledge to redesignate Beijing as a ‘threat’

Rishi Sunak has rowed back from officially recategorising China as a “threat”, saying he views the country as a “systemic challenge”, despite concerted pressure from Conservative MPs.

The prime minister’s remarks are likely to draw ire from the large group of China sceptics on the Conservative backbenches, including former leader Iain Duncan Smith and others such as Alicia Kearns, who chairs the foreign affairs select committee.

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