Spending Review: What is it and what might Rachel Reeves announce? – BBC

  1. Spending Review: What is it and what might Rachel Reeves announce?  BBC
  2. Rachel Reeves must think big to fund Labour’s ‘battle-ready’ Britain. Tweaks and tinkering won’t do | Polly Toynbee  The Guardian
  3. Labour ‘at war’ over Reeves’ spending review amid fears manifesto pledges will be ditched  The Independent
  4. Mission impossible?  Resolution Foundation
  5. Rachel Reeves is about to make huge spending decisions - these could be the winners and losers  Sky News
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A hungry wild elephant raids a grocery store in Thailand for snacks – ABC News

  1. A hungry wild elephant raids a grocery store in Thailand for snacks  ABC News
  2. Watch: Hungry elephant wanders into Thai grocery store  BBC
  3. Wild Elephant Stomps into Grocery Store to Cause Chaos and Grabs Snacks, Leaves with Unpaid $25 Bill  People.com
  4. Video shows elephant eating sweets, getting stuck at Thailand grocery store  USA Today
  5. Elephant Busts Into Grocery Store and Helps Himself to Snacks Like It's a Buffet  AOL.com
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Who was Sana Yousaf, Pakistani TikTok star shot dead by a gunman? – Al Jazeera

  1. Who was Sana Yousaf, Pakistani TikTok star shot dead by a gunman?  Al Jazeera
  2. Sana Yousaf: TikTok star shot dead after rejecting man, police say  BBC
  3. A Pakistani man accused of killing a young TikTok influencer appears in court  Yahoo
  4. Teen TikTok star shot dead after "repeated rejections" of man, police say  CBS News
  5. Pakistani Influencer Sana Yousaf Shot Dead By Man She Rejected "Again And Again"  NDTV
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North Korea pulls capsized warship upright after botched launch, report says – NBC News

  1. North Korea pulls capsized warship upright after botched launch, report says  NBC News
  2. Quick Take: Chongjin Destroyer Returned Upright  38 North
  3. Partially Submerged North Korean Frigate Appears Upright Again In Satellite Image  Yahoo
  4. The Strategic Implications of North Korea’s Failed Naval Vessel Launch  RealClearDefense
  5. North Korea Races to Fix Capsized Warship by Kim’s Deadline  WSJ
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How will South Korea’s new president engage with Trump’s White House?

Lee Jae-myung must tackle US leader’s trade war as he attempts to revive Asia’s fourth biggest economy

Two years ago, the then South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, serenaded Joe Biden in the White House with a rendition of American Pie. The foundations of Washington’s ties with Seoul, one of its most important allies in the Asia-Pacific, appeared as firm as Yoon’s more-than-passable crooning.

As he prepares to replace the now-disgraced Yoon, South Korea’s new leader, Lee Jae-myung, will have to strike a very different note with Biden’s successor in the White House.

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White House calls South Korea election ‘fair,’ expresses concern about Chinese influence – Reuters

  1. White House calls South Korea election 'fair,' expresses concern about Chinese influence  Reuters
  2. Outspoken liberal leader Lee elected South Korea's president, closing period of political tumult  AP News
  3. How will South Korea’s new leader balance China against America?  The Economist
  4. South Korea's new President Lee begins moves to tackle economic 'crisis'  Reuters
  5. How a former factory worker rose to South Korea’s presidency  Los Angeles Times
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James Cleverly takes on Kemi Badenoch over decision to ditch net zero targets

Senior Tory to give speech in which he will criticise ‘neo-luddites’ on right for failing to embrace green technology

James Cleverly has taken direct aim at Kemi Badenoch’s decision to ditch net zero targets by criticising what he called “neo-luddites” on the right who seemed scared of using green technologies to protect the environment.

The senior Tory MP, who lost to Badenoch in last year’s Conservative leadership race, said it was a false choice to believe the UK had to choose between economic growth and protecting the environment. Badenoch has argued current net zero targets will harm the economy.

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Gaza aid points close for day as Israel warns against travel to distribution centres – Israel-Gaza war live

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation halts limited supply of food distribution after at least 27 killed by Israeli fire as they waited for food

The civil defence agency in Gaza said an Israeli strike on a tent housing displaced Palestinians near the southern city of Khan Younis on Wednesday killed at least 12 people. Earlier reports had put the death toll at 10 (see 7.47am BST).

“At least 12 people were killed, including several children and women, in a strike by an Israeli drone this morning on a tent for displaced persons” near Khan Younis, the agency’s spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told Agence France-Presse (AFP), adding that four more people had been killed in other strikes.

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Rachel Reeves to announce £15bn in transport spending amid questions over police cuts – UK politics live

Chancellor will give speech in Greater Manchester, while police leaders have written to the PM over potential cuts in next week’s spending review

Good morning. A week today Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, will unveil the outcome of the spending review, which will set spending budgets – day-to-day (“resource”) and capital – covering most of the rest of this parliament. Many departments will get resource budgets that feel like cuts, but the Treasury has a more positive story to tell on capital spending and today Reeves is giving a speech announcing a £15bn spending spree on transport projects, mostly in the north of England.

Pippa Crerar and Jessica Elgot have all the details in our splash story.

We are deeply concerned that the settlement for policing and the [NCA], without additional investment, risks a retrenchment to what we saw under austerity. This would have far-reaching consequences.

Policing and the NCA have seen a sustained period where income has not kept pace with demand. Often, this has been masked by attempts to defer costs in the hope of more income in future, but that now leaves policing with very limited room for manoeuvre.

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Chris Minns warns of $2bn budget hole if bill curtailing psychological injury claims fails

Opposition opposes premier’s bill to raise impairment threshold to 30% as Labor forced to woo crossbenchers for support

The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has warned a failure to pass his controversial workers compensation legislation would blow a $2bn hole in the state budget as Labor seeks to woo a coalition of conservative crossbenchers to pass the bill.

In parliament, the premier said if the changes to curtail psychological injury claims did not go through, an additional $2bn would be required from NSW taxpayers to fund the public service portion of the scheme.

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Cologne starts its biggest evacuation since 1945 to defuse WWII bombs – AP News

  1. Cologne starts its biggest evacuation since 1945 to defuse WWII bombs  AP News
  2. German city evacuates 20,000 after unexploded World War II bombs are found  The Washington Post
  3. Cologne evacuates 20,000 so WW2 bombs can be defused  BBC
  4. Discovery of wartime bombs prompts large-scale evacuation in Cologne, Germany  Reuters
  5. Major evacuation in Cologne after second world war bombs discovered  The Guardian
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Edmund White, novelist and great chronicler of gay life, dies aged 85

The American essayist, playwright and author of books including A Boy’s Own Story and The Married Man has died

Edmund White, the American writer, playwright and essayist who attracted acclaim for his semi-autobiographical novels such as A Boy’s Own Story – and literally wrote the book on gay sex, with the pioneering The Joy of Gay Sex – has died aged 85.

His death was confirmed to the Guardian by his agent, Bill Clegg, on Wednesday.

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