Joy Crookes says UK and Ireland in ‘dark time’ amid rise of far-right politics 20. November 2025 (14:49) Musician says seeing national flags on recent visits to London and Dublin ‘doesn’t make me feel safe’The UK and Ireland are entering a “dark time”, according to the singer Joy Crookes, who said the influence of far-right ideology on mainstream politics was comparable to the 1970s when the National Front was at its peak.Crookes, who has just played two sold-out shows at the O2 Academy in Brixton, said the recent wave of nationalism and the far-right march through central London in September made her feel unsafe in the UK. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Do you expect me to talk?’: Dick Van Dyke says he turned down playing James Bond 20. November 2025 (14:45) As the veteran actor turns 100 he reveals that he was approached to play the British spy in the early 60s, but realised his accent wouldn’t have been up to scratchFor more than six decades, the actor Dick Van Dyke has been pilloried for his attempts at a British accent in Mary Poppins (1964). Now, the actor who has since apologised for the “most atrocious cockney accent in the history of cinema” as chimney sweep Bert in the Disney classic has revealed he was in the running to play another UK icon on screen: James Bond.Speaking on the Today TV programme in the US, Van Dyke, who turns 100 next month, said that Bond producer Albert Broccoli approached him to ask if he fancied the role of the British spy in his first big screen outing. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US added 119,000 jobs in September in report delayed by federal shutdown 20. November 2025 (14:44) Job growth is stronger than analysts’ predictions as unemployment rate holds steady at 4.4%The US jobs market added 119,000 jobs in September, according to the latest monthly jobs report, which was delayed by six weeks due to the shutdown of the federal government.Amid heightened uncertainty surrounding the strength of the US economy, the much-anticipated reading was stronger than the 51,000 jobs expected by analysts to be added in September. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, remained steady at 4.4%. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Spanish PM calls for nation to heed past lessons on anniversary of Franco’s death 20. November 2025 (14:34) Pedro Sánchez says his country must defend the democratic freedom ‘wrenched from us for so many years’Spain has marked the 50th anniversary of Francisco Franco’s death with an absence of official events but with a call from the prime minister to heed the lessons of the dictatorship and defend the democratic freedom “wrenched from us for so many years”.Franco, whose military coup against the elected republican government in 1936 triggered a civil war and brought about four decades of dictatorship, died in Madrid on 20 November 1975. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cop30 live: ‘We need to think about how to live without fossil fuels’ Brazilian president Lula tells summit 20. November 2025 (14:34) Brazilian president underlines need to reduce emissions as Turkey set to host next year’s summitTwo key pieces of climate jargon – adaptation and mitigation – are sometimes seen as alternative ways to survive a hotter planet. In reality, people’s worlds are already being torn apart by weather that has been made more violent by fossil fuel pollution and more deadly by human mismanagement.A few weeks ago I spoke with Toñi García, who saw this first-hand. Here is her story. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK government insists it is ‘taking time to get this right’ on single-sex spaces 20. November 2025 (14:25) Labour accused of delaying new rules to avoid backlash, after leak of EHRC guidance saying trans people could be questioned based on looksThe UK government has insisted it will take as much time as necessary to “get right” new rules on access to single-sex spaces after a leak of guidance submitted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) raised concerns that its publication was being deliberately delayed.The equalities watchdog submitted its formal guidance on how public bodies, businesses and other service providers should respond to April’s landmark supreme court ruling on biological sex to the UK government in September. Since then, its outgoing chair, Kishwer Falkner, has urged the equalities minister, Bridget Phillipson, to approve it “as soon as possible”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Israeli airstrikes kill 33 people in Gaza in escalation of post-ceasefire attacks 20. November 2025 (14:25) Medical officials say 17 people killed in Khan Younis area and 16 in strikes on Gaza CityIsraeli attacks in Gaza have killed 33 people and injured many more, according to medical officials, in one of the most serious escalations of violence since the US-backed ceasefire came into effect last month.Officials at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said they received the bodies of 17 people, including five women and five children, after four Israeli airstrikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people. In Gaza City, medical officials said two airstrikes killed 16 people, including seven children and three women. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
