St Vincent opposition party celebrates historic election win

New Democratic party victory is crushing defeat for Unity Labour, which has held power since 2001

The New Democratic party (NDP) in the Caribbean country of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is celebrating a historic landslide victory, taking 14 of 15 seats, according to preliminary results.

The decisive vote was a crushing defeat for the Unity Labour party (ULP), which has been in power since 2001.

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ICC judges reject request to release former Philippine President Duterte – NBC News

  1. ICC judges reject request to release former Philippine President Duterte  NBC News
  2. Rodrigo Duterte loses appeal for release from ICC custody  DW
  3. Philippine's detained ex-leader Duterte loses appeal  Reuters
  4. Duterte case: ICC Appeals Chamber confirms the decision rejecting the request for interim release  | International Criminal Court
  5. ICC rejects ex-Philippine leader Duterte’s appeal for provisional release  Al Jazeera
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‘Delays inevitable’: Starmer leadership safe until May elections, say Labour MPs

While some call budget ‘tactical victory’, few MPs believe it is enough for Labour to beat Reform

Labour MPs have said they believe Keir Starmer’s leadership is safe until at least the May elections, after a budget that avoided any major damaging measures but which few MPs believe will revive the party’s fortunes.

More than a dozen previously loyal MPs told the Guardian they did not believe the budget would shift the fundamentals required for the party to beat Reform. “It only delays what is inevitable,” one minister said.

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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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