Senior Labour MPs frustrated at lack of Black officials in No 10

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Exclusive: one frontbencher said the absence was a ‘serious embarrassment and a blind spot’ as Tories elect first Black leader

Senior Labour MPs have expressed their frustration at the lack of Black representation in No 10 as the Conservatives elected Kemi Badenoch as their new leader.

Labour sources said the WhatsApp group for Labour MPs of colour contained some furious messages from those who believe the party is not doing enough to represent Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups at the top of government.

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RFK Jr says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water

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Kennedy, who Trump promised to let lead health programs, makes claims against fluoride, which strengthens teeth

Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that the former president would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected.

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear-and-tear, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

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What the world thinks of Trump, Ukraine and Chinese supremacy – The Economist

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  1. What the world thinks of Trump, Ukraine and Chinese supremacy  The Economist
  2. At stake on Election Day: The reality of the presidency  CBS News
  3. How the Harris-Trump showdown looks from abroad  ABC News
  4. Breaking down Harris and Trump's different approaches to international conflicts  NBC News
  5. How the U.S. Election Matters for the Rest of the World  The New York Times
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Netanyahu: With or without deal, we’ll push Hezbollah back to Litani – The Jerusalem Post

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  1. Netanyahu: With or without deal, we’ll push Hezbollah back to Litani  The Jerusalem Post
  2. Israel’s Peace Talks in Gaza and Lebanon: What to Know  The New York Times
  3. Israel’s military leaders signal their work in Gaza and Lebanon is done. Will Netanyahu listen?  CNN
  4. Lebanon’s PM denies US asked him to declare unilateral ceasefire with Israel  The Guardian
  5. Israel said seeking US commitment for freedom of action if Hezbollah breaches truce  The Times of Israel
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Greggs scoffs at reports of snub by its Christmas ad star Nigella Lawson

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TV chef, who has signed up for bakery chain’s first ever festive advert, says she is a fan of its sausage rolls

Nigella Lawson has issued an impassioned paean to the Greggs sausage roll, amid reports of a banger-based dust-up that threatened to cast a shadow over her appearance in the bakery chain’s first ever Christmas advert.

Greggs confirmed on Sunday that the celebrity chef and cookbook author had agreed to star in its inaugural Christmas promotion, in which Lawson will purr over such delicacies as vegan festive bakes.

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Trump and Harris agree on a bleak view of the US – if the other one wins

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The ex-president and vice-president converge on a unifying message: if I lose, the country will not be the same

In a speech filled with promises, falsehoods, insults and jokes delivered by Donald Trump to a packed Wisconsin arena six days before the presidential election, one line stood out: “November 5 will be the most important day in the history of our country.”

Hyperbole? Undoubtedly, and exactly the sort that the former president has used repeatedly in the past months, as he plots a return to the White House that Joe Biden ousted him from four years ago. Did it ring true to his supporters? For many, the answer was yes.

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Trump refutes Iowa poll showing Harris ahead in red state: ‘It’s not even close!’

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Selzer poll, widely respected organization with good record in Iowa, shows vice-president leading Trump 47% to 44%

Donald Trump has passionately disputed a shock Iowa poll that found Kamala Harris leading the former president in the typically red state 47% to 44%.

“No President has done more for FARMERS, and the Great State of Iowa, than Donald J. Trump,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network on Sunday morning. “In fact, it’s not even close! All polls, except for one heavily skewed toward the Democrats by a Trump hater who called it totally wrong the last time, have me up, BY A LOT.”

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Rachel Reeves ‘missed opportunity’ to raise £900m from online casinos

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Labour’s links to gambling industry questioned again after decision not to raise tax rate for online gaming

Rachel Reeves has been criticised over a “missed opportunity” to raise £900m from online casinos in her first budget as chancellor, amid concerns about the Labour party’s ties to the £11bn-a-year gambling sector.

Both the Liberal Democrats and Derek Webb – one of Labour’s largest donors – questioned the chancellor’s rejection of proposals to double remote gaming duty (RGD), levied on online games of chance, from 21% to 42%.

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Police ask public not to share images of man in fatal bus collision in Edinburgh

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‘Distressing’ images and videos were circulating after 74-year-old was struck by a single-decker in Cowgate area

Police have asked the public to stop sharing “distressing” images and videos after a man died in Edinburgh on Saturday evening.

The 74-year-old man was struck by a single-decker bus in the Cowgate area of the city, when the streets were busy with weekend revellers.

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Can you ‘undo’ political polarization? Left and right might be closer than we think, study finds

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University of California, Berkeley, research shows people are committed to protecting democratic institutions despite differences

You know that uncle whose political takes threaten to turn family gatherings into food fights? Don’t decline his Thanksgiving invitation just yet. When it comes to support for democracy, left and right in America are much closer than you might think.

As a historic US election approaches, both sides see each other as working to upend democracy. But it’s our assumptions about our political opponents – rather than their actual views – that drive polarization, according to new research. And if Democrats want to prove to voters on the fence that they’re acting in good faith, they might want to consider a surprising “grand gesture”.

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Covid bereaved angered by Badenoch’s ‘insulting’ Partygate remarks

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Families group calls Tory leader ‘deeply misguided’ after telling BBC that Boris Johnson-era scandal was ‘overblown’

Families bereaved by the Covid pandemic say they feel insulted by Kemi Badenoch’s claim that the Partygate scandal was “overblown”.

The new Conservative party leader also told the BBC that Boris Johnson had fallen into a “trap” of breaking lockdown rules that should never have been introduced.

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Vaccination centre and aid official’s car bombarded in Gaza, says UN

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Unicef director says three children injured after polio clinic came under fire despite promised humanitarian pause

A polio vaccination centre and the car of a UN aid official involved in this weekend’s vaccination campaign came under fire despite a promised “humanitarian pause” in Israeli bombardment, the UN has said.

Catherine Russell, the executive director of the UN child support and protection agency, Unicef, said: “At least three children were reportedly injured by another attack in the proximity of a vaccination clinic in Sheikh Radwan while a polio vaccination campaign was under way.”

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Remains of beloved Grizzly No 399 killed by car returned to Wyoming park

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Ashes of 28-year-old female grizzly bear returned to Grand Teton national park where she spent much of her life

The remains of a beloved grizzly bear who died last month after being hit by a car in Wyoming have been returned to Grand Teton national park.

In a statement released on Friday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it returned the ashes of Grizzly No 399, a 28-year old female grizzly bear, to the Pilgrim Creek area of the national park where she spent much of her life.

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Kemi Badenoch says Partygate scandal was ‘overblown’

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New Tory leader calls Boris Johnson a ‘great prime minister’ who fell into a ‘trap’ over Covid rules

The new Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has said the Partygate scandal was “overblown” as she rejected the need to “churn over” everything that went wrong with previous Tory prime ministers.

Badenoch won the party leadership on Saturday and said she was going to be “honest” about what went wrong in the party under her predecessors.

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London protesters demand water companies clean up sewage-tainted rivers – The Associated Press

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  1. London protesters demand water companies clean up sewage-tainted rivers  The Associated Press
  2. Protesters call on government to tackle water pollution  BBC.com
  3. Thousands of blue-clad protesters join London march for clean water  The Guardian
  4. Chris Packham condemns omission of nature in the Budget at clean water march  Ipswich Star
  5. Thames Water wants waterways to 'thrive' following protests in London  Oxford Mail
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Netanyahu in fresh storm over Gaza hostages after arrests linked to alleged leak

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Court says arrests followed investigation into suspected breach of national security that had ‘harmed Israeli war aims’

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is at the centre of a new political storm related to a hostage deal in the Gaza war after the arrest of several people in connection with an alleged leak of classified documents from his office.

An Israeli court announced the arrests on Friday afternoon, before the beginning of Shabbat, saying that a joint investigation by the police, internal security services and the army suspected a “breach of national security caused by the unlawful provision of classified information”, which had also “harmed the achievement of Israel’s war aims”.

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