Metro Bank fined nearly £17m for failure to monitor potential money laundering

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Problems were raised by junior staff three years before they were completely resolved, says FCA

Metro Bank has been fined nearly £17m by the UK’s financial watchdog for failings in its money-laundering controls over four years, in a fresh blow to the lender a year on from its near-collapse.

In a surprise announcement that also triggered the early release of Metro’s third-quarter results on Tuesday morning, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it had found shortfalls in the bank’s financial crime checks between 2016 and 2020.

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Girl, 17, who died after being hit by car on M5 had fled police vehicle

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Avon and Somerset police referred themselves to watchdog, who said girl was being transported to custody

A teenage girl who was killed by a car while on foot on the M5 had fled a police vehicle before she was struck, it has emerged.

Avon and Somerset police said the motorway was closed between Bridgwater and Taunton in Somerset after the fatal collision involving a pedestrian and a car at 11pm on Monday.

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Starmer warns against climate ‘inaction’ as Trump looms over COP29 – POLITICO Europe

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  1. Starmer warns against climate ‘inaction’ as Trump looms over COP29  POLITICO Europe
  2. UK commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions must be ‘starting point, not finish line’, climate advisers say – Cop29 day two, as it happened  The Guardian
  3. Starmer: New UK target for 81% emissions cut by 2035  BBC.com
  4. Sir Keir Starmer tells private sector to 'start paying their fair share' on global climate change  Sky News
  5. Starmer and Trump on collision course over climate change ambitions as PM unveils bold target  The Independent
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Trump eyeing hawks and neocons for top foreign policy/NatSec roles – Responsible Statecraft

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  1. Trump eyeing hawks and neocons for top foreign policy/NatSec roles  Responsible Statecraft
  2. China Is Enemy No. 1 for Trump’s New Team  Bloomberg
  3. Trump’s First 3 Foreign-Policy Moves  Foreign Policy
  4. Moderate Dems breathe early sigh of relief over several Trump picks — including Elise Stefanik  New York Post
  5. Trump continues appointments with key foreign policy picks  DW (English)
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Dozens killed in China after car driven into sports centre

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Man detained after incident on Monday night in Zhuhai, in which 35 people were killed and 43 injured

A driver killed 35 people and severely injured another 43 when he rammed his car into people exercising at a sports centre in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, police said on Tuesday.

Police had detained a 62-year-old man at the sports centre in Zhuhai after the ramming late on Monday, on the eve of an airshow by the People’s Liberation Army that is hosted annually in the city.

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Trump reportedly picks Kristi Noem to run homeland security department

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South Dakota governor, whose VP chances evaporated after admitting shooting her dog, tipped as DHS secretary

President-elect Donald Trump has picked the South Dakota governor, Kristi Noem, to serve as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing two sources.

Noem, once seen as a possible running mate for Trump, is currently serving her second four-year term as South Dakota’s governor after a landslide re-election victory in 2022. She rose to national prominence after refusing to impose a statewide mask mandate during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Subsea cables to help Britain meet green energy goal get green light

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Ofgem gives green light to five interconnectors capable of powering millions of homes

Projects to lay five subsea power cables capable of powering millions of homes have been given the green light as Great Britain prepares to use its giant offshore windfarms to become a net exporter of green electricity in the 2030s.

The energy regulator, Ofgem, has approved three subsea cable projects linking Great Britain to power grids in Germany, Ireland and Northern Ireland to help share renewable electricity across borders.

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Head of New Orleans’ embattled Catholic archdiocese offers to resign

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Gregory Aymond’s offer, required because he turns 75, says he wants to stay for resolution of institution’s bankruptcy but adds it is up to Pope Francis

New Orleans’ Roman Catholic archbishop Gregory Aymond is submitting his resignation Tuesday, on his 75th birthday, fulfilling a church requirement – though it is unclear if Vatican officials would immediately accept it with his scandal-plagued organization’s expensive, highly contentious bankruptcy case still unresolved.

In a letter issued on Friday to priests and deacons under his command, Aymond cited canon – or church – law that required him to offer to retire because of his age. But he said he also offered to remain in office until the resolution of the bankruptcy.

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German backpacker was probably killed by her boyfriend, NSW inquest hears

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Investigator of 2005 cold case says it was ‘probable’ Tobias Moran killed Simone Strobel, despite charges being dropped

The lead investigator in the cold case of backpacker Simone Strobel has told an inquest he still believes she was probably killed by her boyfriend.

Strobel’s naked body was found hidden under palm fronds at a sports ground in Lismore in the New South Wales northern rivers region in February 2005, six days after she was reported missing.

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Middle East: UN aid chief condemns ‘daily cruelty’ in Gaza – DW (English)

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  1. Middle East: UN aid chief condemns 'daily cruelty' in Gaza  DW (English)
  2. UN aid chief warns of ‘gravest crimes’ committed in Israel’s war on Gaza  Al Jazeera English
  3. Famine is likely imminent in northern Gaza, hunger experts say  The Associated Press
  4. Video. Watch: Scale of Gaza's destruction before and after Israeli bombardments  Le Monde
  5. Gaza mother struggling to feed children says only death can end their suffering  Reuters
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Israel broadens airstrikes, killing displaced families without warning – Arab News

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  1. Israel broadens airstrikes, killing displaced families without warning  Arab News
  2. Israel Intensifies Strikes in Lebanon Amid Push for Cease-Fire  The New York Times
  3. Lebanon, Gaza and Syria hit by deadly Israeli strikes, reports say  CNN
  4. IDF troops kill terrorists, seize weapons in coordinated Gaza and Lebanon operations  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Israeli strikes kill dozens in Lebanon and isolated northern Gaza while Netanyahu and Trump speak  The Associated Press
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The White Stripes drop lawsuit against Trump campaign for unauthorised Seven Nation Army use

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The move follows a bitter Instagram post by Jack White condemning what the US can expect from choosing ‘a known, obvious fascist’

The White Stripes have dropped their federal lawsuit against Donald Trump for unauthorised use of their song Seven Nation Army in a video posted by campaign deputy director of communications Margo Martin in August.

Jack and Meg White are dismissing the case without prejudice and therefore could refile, Pitchfork reports. A lawyer for the band offered the website no comment.

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Ukraine hoped to force Russia to pick between 2 fronts. Putin chose both. – Business Insider

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  1. Ukraine hoped to force Russia to pick between 2 fronts. Putin chose both.  Business Insider
  2. 50,000 Russian and North Korean Troops Mass Ahead of Attack, U.S. Says  The New York Times
  3. US Says North Korean Troops Are Engaged in Fight Against Ukraine  Bloomberg
  4. North Korean soldiers joining Russia in combat, US State Dept says  Reuters
  5. Inside Ukraine's First Battle With North Korean Troops  Business Insider
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Trump expected to appoint China critics Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz | First Thing

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Rubio is reportedly in line for secretary of state, with Waltz expected to be made national security adviser. Plus, what’s behind all the celebrity lookalike contests?

Good morning.

Donald Trump has reportedly picked China critics Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz for the respective roles of secretary of state and national security adviser.

Who has been confirmed for Trump’s cabinet? The immigration hardliner Stephen Miller (as deputy chief of staff for policy); Susie Wiles (chief of staff); Lee Zeldin (Environmental Protection Agency administrator); and Tom Homan (“border tsar”).

What does his EPA pick mean for the environment? Trump said Zeldin’s appointment would “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions”. Zeldin said in 2018 that he did not support the Paris climate agreement.

How much did Gallego win by? He took 50% of the vote to Lake’s 48%.

Was it a surprise? Gallego polled consistently ahead of Lake by several points, despite Trump easily beating Harris in the state.

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China Displays New Stealth Fighter in Race to Match U.S. – The Wall Street Journal

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  1. China Displays New Stealth Fighter in Race to Match U.S.  The Wall Street Journal
  2. China just showed off its answer to America's F-35 stealth fighter — the new J-35A  Business Insider
  3. China’s 6th-Gen Fighter? Beijing Unveils “Supersonic Aircraft” Capable Of Dropping “Munitions From Space”  EurAsian Times
  4. With new stealth fighter, China displays ambitions to challenge U.S.  The Washington Post
  5. China Unveils Its Second 5th-Gen Fighter, Looks Exactly Like This US Jet  NDTV
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Iran cites 19th century British maps in row over ownership of islands

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Tehran cites 1888 charts in effort to prove ownership of islands near strait of Hormuz that are also claimed by UAE

Maps drawn up more than 130 years ago on the instruction of the Marquess of Salisbury, the then British foreign secretary, have been cited by Iran in its deepening dispute with the Gulf states over the ownership of three strategic islands at the entrance to the critical strait of Hormuz waterway.

The dispute is threatening to damage Iran’s current efforts to form closer relations with its Gulf partners, and has also turned into an additional roadblock to improving Iran’s relations with the European Union.

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Woman from Wales died after gastric sleeve surgery in Turkey, inquest hears

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Janet Savage went into cardiac arrest after injury to abdominal aorta during operation in August last year

A woman died during an operation after travelling to Turkey for slimming surgery, an inquest heard.

Janet Savage, 54, was undergoing a gastric “stomach sleeve” operation but never came around from the procedure.

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