The Guardian - November 30, 2024

In this issue

November 30, 2024

Historic vote paves the way for assisted dying

MPs have taken a historic step towards legalising assisted dying in England and Wales by backing a bill that would give some terminally ill people the right to end their lives.

4 mins

'A shock of hope': French leader praises painstaking restoration of Notre Dame

The restoration of Paris's Notre Dame after its partial destruction by fire five years ago will give the world a \"shock of hope\", Emmanuel Macron said yesterday, as he marked the medieval cathedral's imminent reopening.

2 mins

Crypto entrepreneur eats 'iconic' banana art he bought for $6.2m

The cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun has fulfilled a promise he made after spending $6.2m (£4.9m) on an artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall - by eating the fruit.

1 min

The origins of kissing Did it really develop from ancient primate grooming behaviour?

We do it sitting in a tree, under the mistletoe, at midnight to ring in the new year. In fairytales, the act transforms frogs into princes and awakens heroines from enchanted slumber. We make up with it, seal with it, and, in Romeo Montague's case at least, die with it.

3 mins

A rare survivor She made it through the Corbyn era, but her past derailed her

Louise Haigh was the youngest woman ever to be appointed to the cabinet when she was made transport secretary in July, but she was also a rare political survivor.

3 mins

Minister was advised to quit after not declaring her 2014 spent conviction for fraud

Louise Haigh, who resigned yesterday as transport minister, was advised to do so by No 10 for a possible breach of the ministerial code after she did not declare her spent conviction for fraud to the government when she became a cabinet minister.

2 mins

Security MI6 chief: abandoning Ukraine will cost us all

Abandoning Ukraine would jeopardise British, European and American security and lead to \"infinitely higher\" costs in the long term, the head of MI6 has said in a speech that amounted to a plea to Donald Trump to continue supporting Kyiv.

2 mins

Honeytrap case Alleged victims' details released in police email

The Met police revealed the names of alleged victims of the Westminster \"honeytrap\" scandal in an accidentally sent email, it has emerged.

1 min

Reaction Supporters hail landmark step but critics decry 'very black Friday'

Supporters of the legalisation of assisted dying welcomed MPs' decision to back Kim Leadbeater's bill yesterday, saying it would bring relief to terminally ill people facing terrible suffering, while opponents described the outcome as \"a very black Friday\" for vulnerable people.

4 mins

How the vote was won From pubs to libraries, MPs were swayed by the stories of constituents

It is hard to think of a better MP who could take on the cause of assisted dying than Kim Leadbeater.

4 mins

'Let death not be taboo' Expert view from a palliative care doctor

The succession of former prime ministers who lined up in recent days to assert their compassion for the dying was quite something.

2 mins

Legislation prompts a rare sight in the Commons: intelligent and polite debate

Who would have guessed? All too often debates in the Commons are partisan affairs, punctuated by jeers and braying. Where reason is superseded by dogma and ill-temper. This was a very different occasion.

2 mins

Irish rap trio win court case after Badenoch blocked arts grant over their political views

The Irish-language rap trio Kneecap have won their case against the Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, after she blocked an arts grant to the band in her previous role, citing their anti-British politics.

2 mins

Cher reveals Lucille Ball's advice pushed her to leave Sonny Bono

It was the showbiz breakup that set the stage for a decades-long music career and entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1 min

A knotty issue: why a new generation of women are taking to ties

Generational divides have been spelt out in everything from hair partings to jeans in recent years. A side parting or a pair of no-show trainer socks can brand you a millennial or gen X. And now, if bows are a favourite of thirty-somethings, women in their 20s have discovered the necktie.

2 mins

Police officer who rammed cow cleared of unlawful action

A Surrey police officer who rammed into a calf in the summer will return to frontline duties after the conclusion of an internal investigation, the force have said.

1 min

Woman says finding out son's father was undercover officer destroyed her life

A woman was \"absolutely ruined\" after discovering by chance that the father of her son was an undercover police officer, more than two decades after their child was born, a public inquiry has heard.

2 mins

Poet laureate finds rhyme and reason in Lost Gardens of Heligan

A new haiku by the poet laureate Simon Armitage has appeared on a garden wall in Cornwall, the first of a series of pieces celebrating the creatures that make their home among the woods, meadows and ferns.

1 min

Teenagers are feeling Vulnerable' Fears over use of online beauty filters

Just one click on the \"glossy babe\" filter and the teenager's face was subtly elongated, her nose made neater and a dusting of freckles sprinkled across her cheeks.

3 mins

'Retrograde' UK experts warn against Australia-style ban

Leading child-safety experts have warned the UK government against enacting an Australian-style social media ban for children under 16, which they called a \"retrograde step\" that would \"do more harm than good\".

2 mins

Age, controls and consent What are the social media rules around the world?

The law approved by parliament on Thursday forces tech firms from Instagram and Facebook's owner Meta to TikTok to stop minors logging in or face fines of up to AU$50m (£25m).

2 mins

Canine powers of detection harnessed to save UK forests

Sniffer dogs are usually found looking for contraband at airports and railway stations, but the government is now dispatching trained hounds to find forest-harming pests.

1 min

Crowning glory Experts sink their teeth into solving England's NHS dentistry crisis

Amid renewed concern over the millions of people in England who cannot get NHS dental care, and a warning that the current \"dental recovery plan\" will not work, ministers are drawing up their own proposals to tackle what is widely agreed to be a crisis.

4 mins

Wallace accused of behaving 'highly inappropriately' while filming

Gregg Wallace has been accused of \"highly inappropriate\" behaviour including making \"lesbian jokes constantly\", regularly discussing spanking and threesomes, and making sexually explicit comments while filming programmes, several sources have said.

3 mins

Space mission to create artificial solar eclipses prepares for lift-off

Final preparations are under way for a landmark space mission that will use satellites flying in close formation to create artificial solar eclipses high above the Earth.

2 mins

Obsession with stars is block to making films, says Eyre

The veteran director Sir Richard Eyre has said it is \"very hard\" to get small-budget, independent dramas made any more because studio bosses are so obsessed with \"bankable\" celebrity names.

3 mins

Girl, 2, who drowned in bin was failed by council, coroner finds

A two-year-old girl who drowned in a bin containing 9cm of water in a garden in east London was a victim of \"gross failures\" largely by social workers, a coroner has concluded.

2 mins

Sumptuous Dutch golden age still lifes are reunited in Cambridge

A quartet of influential still-life paintings by the Dutch artist Jan Davidsz de Heem will go on display together for the first time since the 17th century at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

1 min

Alder Hey children's hospital 'attacked by ransomware gang'

A ransomware gang claims to have stolen data from the Alder Hey children's hospital in Liverpool, allegedly including patient records.

2 mins

Most wanted Ex-activist says FBI offered deal to catch fugitive found in UK

A former animal rights activist who was on the run from the FBI for more than seven years claims that he was offered a deal to inform on one of the organisation's most wanted fugitives, who was arrested this week in Wales.

3 mins

Wicked or wonderful? Cynthia Erivo backs cinema singalongs

The Wicked star Cynthia Erivo has joined the debate over whether it is acceptable to sing along to the blockbusting musical in cinemas - and she is fine with it.

1 min

Boozy Christmas parties being replaced by crazy golf and scavenger hunts

From telling your boss what you really think of them, to an ill-advised hook-up with a colleague, the traditional British office Christmas party usually supplies enough drama to provide ammunition for workplace gossip well into January.

2 mins

TV review 'It's Wolf Hall in a fever dream and polyester. But it's real'

This show is King Lear if Lear was on sugar-daddy dating sites and had a loudly professed interest in \"natural breasts\".

2 mins

Lookalike contests How many Zendayas, Chalamets and Whites does it take to cheer a city up?

When Miles Mitchell's friends saw flyers scattered across New York City last month advertising a Timothée Chalamet lookalike competition, they urged the 21-year-old college senior from Staten Island to enter.

4 mins

Stage review A punchy revival of rags-to-riches morality tale

A punchy revival of rags-to-riches morality tale

1 min

Early nights? A mere 30 years too late, the World is being remade to suit me

Today I begin three days of being locked in a tiny soundproofed windowless room, alone except for a book.

4 mins

'I'm embarrassed driving it': Tesla owners turn on Musk

Embarrassed Tesla owners have started to publicly display their dismay at Elon Musk as he has moved ever closer to the US president-elect, Donald Trump, and various far-right conspiracy theories.

4 mins

Taking the hotel with you' Climate pays price as younger cruisers drive boom in sea holidays

This summer was the first time 31-year-old Daisie Morrison had been on a cruise when she set sail on a two-week holiday with two friends, also in their early 30s.

4 mins

All at sea Is it ever possible to take an environmentally friendly cruise?

Toxic, filthy and cheap, the sludge-like substance known as heavy fuel oil has powered the shipping industry since the 1960s.

4 mins

Israeli forces will remain in Gaza for years, says food minister

The Israeli military will remain in Gaza for many years fighting against fresh Hamas recruits in the territory, and could be responsible for delivery of humanitarian aid there, a senior Israeli minister has said.

3 mins

Syrian rebels enter Aleppo three days into shock offensive

Islamist insurgents have entered Syria's second city of Aleppo in a shock assault eight years after forces loyal to Damascus seized control of the city.

2 mins

“There is no state help’ Shop owners in Lebanon start to clear and rebuild

For two months, the only sounds in Nabatieh were the buzzing of an Israeli drone overhead and the dull thump of distant airstrikes.

2 mins

Greece opens subway built under layers of history and antiquities

It has caused untold commotion, decades of disruption, and among historians and archaeologists controversy and despair.

1 min

Romanian court defers decision on annulling presidential vote

Romania's constitutional court has deferred a decision on whether to annul the first-round vote in the country's presidential race until Monday, a day after parliamentary elections in which far-right parties are forecast to make significant gains.

2 mins

Spain approves 'paid climate leave' to keep workers safe in emergencies

The Spanish government has approved \"paid climate leave\" of up to four days to allow workers to avoid travelling during weather emergencies, a month after floods killed at least 224 people.

1 min

'I will never take a free shot again' Backpackers fearful after deaths in Laos

The music is still playing and the alcohol is still flowing at the bars along one of the party streets in Vang Vieng. Inside a popular venue, a voice over the speaker announces a special offer on beers, as disco lights flicker on the floor.

4 mins

Ireland's Social Democrats leader has baby on polling day

The leader of Ireland's Social Democrats party announced the birth of a baby daughter on the day of the country's general election yesterday.

1 min

Protests erupt as Georgia puts EU accession on hold

Protesters have clashed with police in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, after the ruling Georgian Dream party said the government would suspend talks on EU accession until 2028.

3 mins

Talks over Iran nuclear impasse continue as Trump return looms

Iran and the so-called E3 grouping of the UK, France and Germany have agreed to continue holding talks in the near future in an attempt to find a way out of an impasse over Tehran's nuclear programme.

1 min

More than a dessert How sweet potato pie became a tool of US Black resistance

The American pastry chef David Benton grew up in a pumpkin pie family; they always bought the dessert for Thanksgiving dinner.

3 mins

Mass die-off of elephants in Botswana 'was climate induced'

More than 350 elephants that died in mysterious circumstances probably drank toxic water, according to a new paper that warns of an \"alarming trend\" in climate-induced poisoning.

1 min

Trump's cabinet A team of talents or a hodgepodge held together by fealty?

A team of talents or a hodgepodge held together by fealty?

4 mins

Air of despair New Zealand city plagued by wastewater site stench

New Zealand city plagued by wastewater site stench

2 mins

Bolivia's former anti-drugs chief to be extradited on drug charges

Bolivia's highest court has approved the extradition of the country's former top anti-narcotics official to the US to face charges of trafficking narcotics.

1 min

Shoppers bag Black Friday gifts online but in-store sales lag

UK shoppers visited websites in droves to snap up Black Friday bargains, raising hopes the US-inspired promotional day would finally kick-start a festive spending spree.

2 mins

Half of homeowners face higher mortgage payments within three years, says Bank

The mortgage payments of half of UK homeowners will rise over the next three years, leaving 4.4m households facing extra financial pressure, the Bank of England has said.

2 mins

Work Minister's plan to transform the job market

\"This is why I love jobcentres: because they're intensely hopeful places.\" The employment minister, Alison McGovern, has spent half an hour perched on a desk in an office block in Hoxton, east London, hearing from a group of job coaches.

2 mins

'Dirty money' Why people of all ages are investing in crypto

Miles, a 37-year-old NHS doctor from London, has been trying for years to persuade friends to buy cryptocurrencies.

2 mins

Royal Mail falling further behind with delivery targets

Royal Mail has failed to deliver about a quarter of first-class post on time in recent months as its delivery performance continues to decline amid an investigation for missing its targets.

1 min

Hybrid car sales could be permitted until 2035 to ease all-electric transition

Car manufacturers may be allowed to sell Toyota Prius-style hybrid models in the UK until 2035, as the government looks at ways to loosen electric vehicle sales rules.

2 mins

End of road Vauxhall workers in shock over plant closure

\"I don't have anything good to say about this place right now,\" someone shouts, as workers flood out of the front gates of the Vauxhall van plant on Luton's Kimpton Road.

3 mins

Checkatrade How do rogue traders get past its checks?

The site says its tradespeople are 'guaranteed', but some customers say they have lost thousands after using it. Anna Tims reports

3 mins

The Filter Best robot vacuums to keep your home clean and dust free

Stuart Andrews trialled the most powerful robot vacuums - some of which even mop your floors - and these are the ones he rates

3 mins

Money hacks How to buy preloved items to give as Christmas gifts

Buying preloved often requires more thought and preparation than buying new, so make time to find the perfect gift.

4 mins

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