Sri Lanka closes offices and schools as death toll from landslides and floods rises to 56 – NBC News

  1. Sri Lanka closes offices and schools as death toll from landslides and floods rises to 56  NBC News
  2. Sri Lanka Battered by Cyclone as Death Toll Climbs to 69  The New York Times
  3. Death toll reaches 69 as Sri Lanka is hit by rising flood waters  The Guardian
  4. Sri Lanka braces for more flooding as Cyclone Ditwah claims 46 lives  Reuters
  5. Cyclone Ditwa: At least 40 dead in Sri Lanka after severe floods  BBC
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Pub chain Mitchells & Butlers faces £130m hit from rising wage and food costs

Group, which also owns restaurant brands including Toby Carvery, feels impact of increase in employer NICs

The All Bar One owner, Mitchells & Butlers, has warned that it is facing about £130m in extra costs over the next year because of a soaring wage bill and rising food prices.

The group, which also owns brands including Toby Carvery, Harvester and Miller & Carter, said the cost increases were largely being driven by April’s increases to the minimum wage and employers’ national insurance contributions.

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Ukraine corruption scandal threatens Zelenskyy’s special relationship with top aide

Police raid at the home of Kyiv’s main peace negotiator is causing shock waves across Ukraine’s political scene

The revelation that anti-corruption police are searching the property of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, could have huge repercussions for the Ukrainian political scene and possibly for peace negotiations as well.

It is hard to overstate the significance of Yermak in the Ukrainian political system. He combines multiple roles for Zelenskyy: most trusted sounding board, domestic political enforcer, controller of access to the president, main point of contact for foreign politicians, and chief peace negotiator. Yermak is such a powerful chief of staff that people who know how the president’s office operates describe his relationship with Zelenskyy as symbiotic.

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Alabama priest leaves clergy after woman alleges ‘private companionship’ beginning when she was 17

Robert Sullivan’s self-imposed removal comes after accusations he provided financial support in exchange for arrangement which included sex

A longtime Roman Catholic priest in Alabama has voluntarily left the clergy after a woman alleged to his superiors that he provided her financial support in exchange for “private companionship” including sex beginning when she was 17.

Robert Sullivan’s self-imposed removal from the priesthood – known as laicization – was announced Wednesday, the day before the US holiday of Thanksgiving, in a public statement from Birmingham, Alabama, by Bishop Steven Raica.

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Africa’s forests transformed from carbon sink to carbon source, study finds

Alarming shift since 2010 means planet’s three main rainforest regions now contribute to climate breakdown

Africa’s forests have turned from a carbon sink into a carbon source, according to research that underscores the need for urgent action to save the world’s great natural climate stabilisers.

The alarming shift, which has happened since 2010, means all of the planet’s three main rainforest regions – the South American Amazon, south-east Asia and Africa – have gone from being allies in the fight against climate breakdown to being part of the problem.

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US regulators ‘taking seriously’ allegations of bankers’ support for Epstein

Exclusive: It follows calls from US senator Elizabeth Warren to investigate bank executives including ex-Barclays boss Jes Staley

US regulators say they are taking allegations that top banks may have facilitated Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal activity “very seriously”, as they faced calls to investigate executives including the former Barclays boss Jes Staley.

In correspondence seen by the Guardian, bosses from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said they had reviewed a letter from the Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren, which raised concerns over bankers’ alleged support for the convicted child sex offender Epstein.

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Zelenskyy’s top aide quits after anti-corruption searches of his home

Ukrainian president announces departure of Andriy Yermak, who was leading peace talks with US

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s powerful chief of staff and closest ally, Andriy Yermak, has resigned after Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies conducted searches at his apartment earlier today.

The abrupt departure of the aide, who had been leading the latest round of the delicate peace negotiations with the US, was announced by the Ukrainian president in a late-afternoon social media video on Friday.

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