Ex-Countdown champion detained in hospital after attacking rival player with knife 26. November 2025 (14:29) John Cowen, who has schizophrenia, to remain in hospital for ‘indefinite duration’ after attack on player at tournamentA former Countdown champion has been detained in a hospital for treatment after attacking a rival player with a knife during a tournament.Preston crown court heard that John Cowen, 31, ran across a room in Blackpool to attack a fellow player, Thomas Carey, before being restrained by attenders. The space had been hosting a Focal Countdown Group event, where former Countdown champions and contestants faced fans in spelling and number challenges. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
How does freezing tax thresholds affect your own tax bill? 26. November 2025 (14:29) Rachel Reeves is freezing tax thresholds in an attempt to plug the hole in the public accounts. Find out how it affects your tax billBudget 2025 – live updatesThe chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has announced that income tax thresholds will be frozen until the 2030-31 tax year.Freezing tax thresholds results in “fiscal drag” – a phenomenon where people are dragged into higher tax bands when they get pay rises. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Nicolas Sarkozy convicted of illegal campaign financing in failed 2012 re-election bid 26. November 2025 (14:18) Former French president released from prison only this month in connection with separate convictionThe former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been convicted of illegal campaign financing in his failed 2012 re-election bid, after the country’s highest court rejected his final appeal.Sarkozy, who was the country’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, was convicted of hiding illegal overspending for his unsuccessful re-election campaign that was shaped by vast American-style rallies. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
At least 13 dead after fire engulfs residential tower blocks in Hong Kong 26. November 2025 (14:16) Several people reportedly trapped inside burning towers as firefighters tackle huge blaze in Tai Po districtAt least 13 people have died after fire engulfed several high-rise towers of a residential complex in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po district, with thick grey smoke billowing out as emergency services tackled the blaze.Police said several people remained trapped inside the burning towers, while two people were in a critical condition with severe burns. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Starmer calls on Farage to apologise to his alleged victims of racial abuse at school 26. November 2025 (14:02) Prime minister says Reform leader’s explanations about alleged comments are ‘unconvincing to say the least’Keir Starmer has called on Nigel Farage to apologise to his school contemporaries who claim the Reform leader racially abused them while at Dulwich College.The Guardian reported last week the testimony of Peter Ettedgui, who said a 13-year-old Farage “would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rightwing influencers spin anti-Muslim rage in Michigan for social media reach 26. November 2025 (14:00) In Dearborn, provocateurs have held anti-Islam rallies, attempted to burn the Qur’an and rile residents for clickbaitWhite nationalist and rightwing agitators recently descended on Dearborn, Michigan, to hold an anti-Islam rally at which they attempted to burn a Qur’an and manufacture controversy over the city’s large Arab-American population. But the protest has been dismissed by local leaders as a cheap publicity stunt aimed at generating money and clicks for far-right influencers.But there is little doubt the Michigan city has become a repeated target for the publicity-hungry far-right because it holds the US’s highest percentage of Arab-American residents. Similar provocateurs have marched with a pig’s head on a pole at an Arab-American fair. Meanwhile, Christian evangelists regularly attempt to convert Muslim children at parks or outside schools. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Junta hails end to US protected status for Myanmar nationals 26. November 2025 (13:11) Human rights monitors say it is not safe to return, citing reports of ‘serious crimes in the run-up to elections’Myanmar’s junta applauded the Trump administration on Wednesday for halting a scheme that protected its citizens from deportation from the US back to their war-racked homeland.About 4,000 Myanmar citizens are living in the US with temporary protected status (TPS), which shields foreign nationals from deportation to disaster zones and allows them the right to work. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Americans helping Ukrainian war effort decry US peace plan as a ‘betrayal by Trump’ 26. November 2025 (13:00) US volunteers who have poured into Ukraine to help amid war are dismayed by Trump’s continuing pressures on KyivAmericans involved in the Ukrainian war effort are embarrassed and dismayed by Donald Trump’s continuing pressures on Kyiv and think his administration’s latest peace plan is tantamount to backstabbing and another catastrophic failure of US foreign policy.“Complete bullshit and a betrayal by Trump,” said an American special forces veteran who has helped train and advise the Ukrainian military since the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022. “But are you even surprised?” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump push for new congressional maps meets resistance – from both parties 26. November 2025 (13:00) White House pressure campaign has not found willing participants in all states – including Republican-led onesThe unprecedented push to create new congressional districts mid-decade is hitting roadblocks in the form of local elected officials from both parties.Republicans face headwinds in the 2026 midterms: the party in power often loses ground in the election after a presidential win, and Trump’s agenda isn’t going over well. The 2025 off-year elections showed voters favoring Democrats at higher-than-expected margins. Trump wants to keep the House in Republican control by redrawing congressional maps to create more Republican-friendly districts. He first pressured Texas, which responded by drawing five additional red districts, which led California to advance a now-approved ballot measure to create five more Democrat-friendly districts to offset Texas’s maps. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Von der Leyen warns against ‘carving up’ of Ukraine amid crunch US-led talks 26. November 2025 (12:50) Commission president says undermining of sovereign European nation would ‘open the doors for more wars’Europe live – latest updatesThe European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has warned against “the unilateral carving up of a sovereign European nation”, as Europe scrambles to assert influence over a US effort to end the war in Ukraine.Speaking to European lawmakers in Strasbourg on Wednesday, von der Leyen said Russia showed “no signs of true willingness to end the conflict” and continued to operate in a mindset unchanged since the days of Yalta – the much-criticised and misunderstood 1945 summit to settle the post-war order. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
