Agency staff to join Birmingham bin strike over bullying and harassment claims 17. November 2025 (20:21) Workers hired to cover long-running dispute will take part in industrial action after alleging unsafe workloadsAgency staff brought in as cover during the long-running bin strikes in Birmingham will join the picket line for the first time over claims of bullying and harassment.Hundreds of refuse workers have taken part in an all-out strike in the city since March in a dispute over pay and jobs, prompting the council to declare a “major incident”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Protests in Charlotte as aggressive immigration arrests continue 17. November 2025 (20:19) North Carolina governor says immigration crackdown ‘stoking fear’ as officials say at least 130 people detainedAggressive arrests by federal immigration agents continued in Charlotte on Monday after a weekend sweep in which authorities said they detained a total of at least 130 people in North Carolina’s largest city, as protests picked up.North Carolina’s governor, Josh Stein, on Monday warned that the crackdown was simply “stoking fear” and resulting in severe disruption. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
David Nicholls to adapt The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ for BBC 17. November 2025 (19:20) One Day author leading writing team bringing one of the best-known literary creations of the 1980s to lifeA writing team led by the One Day author, David Nicholls, and that includes Caitlin Moran is bringing Sue Townsend’s The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ to the small screen in a 10-part BBC One adaptation of the classic tale of teenage life in British suburbia.Nicholls, who described the book as “a classic piece of comic writing and an incredible piece of ventriloquism on Sue Townsend’s part”, will adapt the book that produced one of the best-known literary creations of the 1980s. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
New international student enrollments in US plunge this year, data shows 17. November 2025 (19:12) Enrollment fell 17%, the largest drop in a decade aside from the pandemic, amid Trump’s immigration crackdownThe number of international students enrolling in US colleges and universities plunged this year as the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown on higher education began to bite, data released on Monday reveals.New international student enrollment fell 17% in the current academic year, the largest drop in more than a decade aside from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a fall snapshot published by the Institute of International Education (IIE). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Two long-lost organ pieces by JS Bach performed for first time in 300 years 17. November 2025 (19:03) Archive director in Germany says ‘missing piece of puzzle’ now in place to verify authorship after decades of researchTwo long-lost organ pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach have been performed in Germany, roughly 320 years after the composer wrote them as a teenage music teacher.Entitled Chaconne in D minor BWV 1178 and Chaconne in G minor BWV 1179, the pieces were added to the official catalogue of Bach’s works on Monday and played in public for the first time in three centuries inside Leipzig’s St Thomas Church, where Bach is buried. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
New blow for Louvre as structural problem forces gallery closure 17. November 2025 (18:58) Campana Gallery is temporarily shut due to weaknesses in beams supporting floor above The Louvre has temporarily closed one of its galleries as a precaution after an audit revealed structural weaknesses in some of the beams in the building.The Campana Gallery, which houses nine rooms dedicated to ancient Greek ceramics, will be shut while investigations are conducted into “certain beams supporting the floors of the second floor” above it, a statement issued on Monday said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Eswatini confirms receiving over $5m from US to accept deportees 17. November 2025 (18:47) Trump administration struck largely secretive deals with at least five African countries to accept migrantsEswatini has confirmed for the first time that it had received more than $5m from the United States to accept dozens of people expelled under Washington’s aggressive mass deportation drive.The tiny southern African kingdom has taken in 15 men since Donald Trump’s administration struck largely secretive deals with at least five African countries to accept migrants under a third-country deportation programme fiercely criticised by rights groups. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump’s reversal with call to release Epstein files reveals inability to control Maga allies 17. November 2025 (17:29) President attempts to save face politically after pressuring Republicans to back off their pushes to release filesUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump’s call for Republicans to back the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, an abrupt reversal, is a rare instance of the president being unable to tame his Maga base and being instead forced to accede to it.Many Republicans are expected to support a vote in the US House this week to force the justice department to release the files. Once the measure passes, it would still need approval in the US Senate, where 13 Republican senators would need to join with all 47 Democrats to approve it. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Shabana Mahmood plans to remove more families from UK in asylum shake-up 17. November 2025 (17:26) Home secretary will also consult on ending financial support for those with children if refused asylum, document showsUK politics live – latest updatesThe government has failed to show the “necessary toughness” to enforce the removal of families whose asylum claims have been refused, Shabana Mahmood has claimed.In a policy document published on Monday as the government sets out plans for the biggest shake-up of asylum laws in 40 years, the home secretary also set out plans to consult on measures to allow the removal of financial support for families with children under the age of 18 if they have been refused asylum. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Anglican bishop shaken ‘to the core’ by home secretary’s asylum seeker comments 17. November 2025 (17:02) Bishop of Edmonton says people coming to UK are being ‘scapegoated’ for years of policy failuresUK politics live – latest updatesA Church of England bishop has said Shabana Mahmood’s comments on asylum seekers have shaken him “to the core” and argued people coming to the UK are being “scapegoated” for years of government policy failures.Mahmood is expected to announce measures under which people’s refugee status would be reviewed every two and a half years and their wait for permanent settlement could be extended to 20 years. It also understood that people granted asylum could be returned if their country is deemed safe. It follows comments in which Mahmood said illegal migration was “tearing the country apart”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
