Twitter’s suspension of journalists sets ‘dangerous precedent’, UN warns

Pressure grows on Elon Musk as EU says social media platform could face sanctions over suspensions

The United Nations is “very disturbed” by Twitter’s abrupt suspension of a group of US journalists, a spokesperson has said, warning that the move sets a “dangerous precedent” – as the EU said the social media platform could fall foul of forthcoming digital regulations.

Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday the UN was “very disturbed” by the barring of prominent tech reporters at news organisations including CNN, the Washington Post and the New York Times who have written about Musk and the tech company he owns.

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MoD to revive Belfast shipbuilding with contract for three naval vessels

Rishi Sunak announces £1.6bn contract led by shipyard Harland and Wolff that will create 900 jobs in Belfast

Shipbuilding is to be revived in Belfast after 20 years as part of a £1.6bn Ministry of Defence contract for three new naval vessels, Rishi Sunak has announced.

A consortium led by the shipyard Harland and Wolff has secured the preferred bidder status which will create 1,200 jobs across three companies, 900 of which will be in Belfast.

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European parliament may ban Qatari officials from premises

President Roberta Metsola promises wide-ranging reforms aimed at tackling ‘cash for influence’ scandal

The European parliament will consider banning Qatari officials from its premises in response to a “cash for influence” investigation that has become the biggest scandal in the institution’s history.

The parliament’s president, Roberta Metsola, said the assembly’s senior leaders would discuss a possible ban and that a “wide-ranging reform” package would be implemented in response to a Belgian police investigation that has led to four people being charged with money laundering and corruption, including a serving MEP.

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‘Great migrant nation’: bid to protect Australian prosecco and feta from EU bans

Trade minister Don Farrell says many producers took their food and culture to Australia from Europe and have the right to use traditional terms

The trade minister, Don Farrell, has asked his European counterparts to recognise Australia as a “great migrant nation” and not force its producers to stop using terms like prosecco and feta.

In an interview from Berlin, Farrell said he was hopeful of clinching a free trade agreement with the European Union early in the new year because he had received an “extremely positive response in all of the countries we visited”.

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Greek MEP at centre of Qatar corruption inquiry has hearing postponed

Eva Kaili awaits bail decision as lawyer says prison strike stopped her attending court

The Greek MEP at the centre of a corruption scandal engulfing the European parliament will have to wait in prison until next week to find out whether she will be released on bail pending a trial.

The Greek Socialist MEP Eva Kaili is one of four suspects arrested last week in connection with a major police investigation into cash for influence involving Qatar’s government.

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Revealed: MEP in prisoner resolution row made undeclared Bahrain visit

European parliament due to vote on Thursday on resolution calling for release of Bahraini activist

A senior MEP is facing questions over trips to Bahrain and his support for a “one-sided” resolution on a political prisoner from that country that echoes the talking points of the authoritarian Gulf state.

Tomáš Zdechovský, a centre-right Czech MEP, who chairs the European parliament’s Bahrain friendship group, was found by the Guardian to have made an undeclared visit to the country in April 2022, where he met Bahrain’s chamber of commerce.

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Greek MEP stripped of EU vice-president role amid Qatar scandal

MEPs vote to remove role from Eva Kaili, one of four charged in corruption and bribery investigation

The European parliament has voted to strip a Greek MEP implicated in a bribery and corruption scandal of her role as one of the body’s vice-presidents.

MEPs voted by 625 votes to one, with two abstentions, to remove Eva Kaili as one of the parliament’s 14 vice-presidents, following a decision in favour of the move by the assembly’s senior leaders.

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Police search European parliament offices as bribery inquiry grows

Belgian prosecutors say 20 searches conducted since Friday, prompting warning that EU’s credibility at stake

Belgian police have searched European parliament offices as part of a growing investigation into alleged bribery and corruption, as senior EU leaders warned the credibility of the bloc was at stake.

Belgium’s federal prosecutor announced on Monday it had carried out 20 searches since Friday, including 19 at private homes and one at the European parliament offices.

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Watchdog reprimands Tories over £800bn post-Brexit trade deals claim

Figure includes agreements rolled over from before leaving EU, and description of ‘new trade’ is misleading says UKSA chief

The official statistics watchdog has reprimanded the Conservatives for claiming the UK had secured £800bn in “new free trade deals” since leaving the EU, saying the figure includes deals rolled over from before Brexit.

The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) said it had written to the Tories about the infographic, shared last month by Michael Gove among others, also warning that the party should provide sources for such figures in the future.

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Four people charged over Qatar’s alleged bribing of EU officials

Charges come after Belgian police made six arrests and seized phones, computers and €600,000 in cash

Belgian prosecutors investigating allegations that Qatar has sought to influence EU policy by bribing European parliament officials have charged four people with money laundering, corruption and participating in a criminal organisation.

The charges, which were announced on Sunday, came two days after police arrested four people and seized computers, mobile phones and €600,000 (£515,000) in cash during searches at 16 properties across Brussels.

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Croatia to join Schengen zone, but Romania and Bulgaria kept out

Two refused countries will try again after Austria raised concerns about unauthorised immigration

Croatia has been given the green light to join Europe’s open travel zone, but Bulgaria and Romania were kept out because of opposition led by Austria over concerns about unauthorised immigration.

Croatia was cleared to become the Schengen zone’s 27th member after talks between the bloc’s interior ministers in Brussels. From 2023, people will not have to stop for border checks as they pass between Croatia and the rest of the zone.

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Keir Starmer says Labour’s decentralisation plans will address concerns that led to people backing Brexit – UK politics live

Labour leader says, though he argued for remain, he could not argue against leave voters calling for more control over their lives

Starmer is now taking questions.

Q: [Beth Rigby from Sky] When people are struggling with the cost of living, you are talking about constitutional issues. This might look to people as if you are out of touch. Are you talking to Westminster about stuff that won’t happen. What in this will improve people’s lives from day one of a Labour government?

When you come to the next election, it may be that the Scottish National party will have a one-line manifesto and want a one-issue general election.

But we have done a huge amount of research on Scottish public opinion and people want a better health service immediately, people want living standards improved immediately, people want jobs for young people immediately, people want better housing immediately and people of course want change in the way that we are suggesting immediately.

People up and down this country are crying out for a new approach. During the Brexit referendum I argued for remain. But I couldn’t disagree with the basic case that many leave voters made to me.

They wanted democratic control over their lives so they could provide opportunities for the next generation, build communities they felt proud of, and public services they could rely on.

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New HMRC data raises UK hopes of end to Northern Ireland Brexit trade checks

Analysis of database tailored to EU needs shows 85% of GB exports stay in the region’s factories and shops

UK hopes that controversial Brexit checks on goods crossing the Irish sea can be eliminated have risen after early analysis of government data showed that at least 85% of goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain stay in factories or shops in the region.

The research comes from a new HM Revenue and Customs database, the EU Access system, that tracked the movement of 1m goods crossing the Irish Sea in 2021.

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EU states agree $60 a barrel cap on Russian oil after Polish green light

Poland, which was pushing for low cap, says deal will keep it at least 5% below market rate

European Union member states have agreed to put a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian oil after Poland, which was holding out, gave the green light to the deal.

In an effort to reduce the Kremlin’s income from fossil fuels, the EU has agreed to limit the amount that can be paid for seaborne oil to curtail Moscow’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine.

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EU raises prospect of big fine or ban if Twitter fails to follow new legislation

Elon Musk has been warned he has ‘huge work ahead’ to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act

The European Union has raised the prospect of a substantial fine or ban for Twitter after warning that it must “significantly increase” efforts to comply with new online legislation.

Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, was told he had “huge work ahead” to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires tech firms to tackle problems including abusive posts and disinformation.

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Up to 3,000 ‘peak polluters’ given last chance to close by Dutch government

State attempts to push through plans to shut hundreds of farms to cut nitrogen oxide emissions

The Dutch government is offering to buy out up to 3,000 “peak polluter” farms and major industrial polluters in an attempt to reduce ammonia and nitrogen oxide emissions that are illegal under EU law.

The nitrogen minister, Christianne van der Wal, said farmers would be offered more than 100% of the value of their farms to quit. For the first time, the government has said that forced buyouts will follow next year if the voluntary measures fail.

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EU unveils plans to cut Europe’s plastic and packaging waste

Draft regulations would ban mini-shampoo bottles and throwaway cups, with push towards reuse over recycling

The EU executive wants to ban mini-shampoo bottles in hotels and the use of throwaway cups in cafes and restaurants, as part of sweeping legal proposals to curb Europe’s mountains of waste.

A draft EU regulation published on Wednesday also proposes mandatory deposit and return schemes for single-use plastic drinks bottles and metal cans, as well as an end to e-commerce firms wrapping small items in huge boxes.

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‘Not decided yet’: David Miliband hints at political comeback

Former Labour foreign secretary does not rule out return to UK politics before next election and urges greater EU cooperation

The former foreign secretary David Miliband has fuelled speculation that he is preparing a political comeback in Britain after he said nothing had yet been decided on his return and delivered a set piece foreign policy speech urging the UK to make greater cooperation with the EU.

Miliband lost the Labour leadership to his brother Ed in 2010 and resigned from the shadow cabinet. He stood down as an MP and moved to New York in late 2013 with his family to act as the chief executive of the International Rescue Committee.

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Most UK businesses think ‘Brexit freedoms’ not a priority, survey finds

Study by British Chambers of Commerce reveals flagship bill to purge EU laws is low priority for firms

Most UK businesses have no interest in or understanding of the government’s flagship “Brexit freedoms” plan to scrap EU regulations, according to a survey of bosses.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said almost three-quarters of company directors were either unaware of the government plans or did not know the details. Across all business areas, about half in the survey of almost 1,000 firms said deregulation was either a low priority or not a priority at all.

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Owen Paterson’s lawyers admit irony of his seeking ECHR’s help

Representatives of Eurosceptic insist he had been left with no option but to appeal to European court of human rights

Lawyers for Owen Paterson have admitted the irony of the former MP bringing a case against the UK government at the European court of human rights, despite having previously called on Britain to “break free” of the court entirely.

Representatives for Paterson, a prominent Eurosceptic Conservative who resigned last year in the midst of a lobbying scandal, issued a statement on Monday insisting he had been left with no option but to appeal to a court whose authority he had previously questioned.

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