Human Rights Watch says it has evidence that suggests ‘the war crime of forcible transfer’ of civilians

Israel is using evacuation orders to pursue the “deliberate and massive forced displacement” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, according to a report by Human Rights Watch, which says the policy amounts to crimes against humanity.

The US-based group added it had collected evidence that suggested “the war crime of forcible transfer [of the civilian population]”, describing it as “a grave breach of the Geneva conventions and a crime under the Rome statute of the international criminal court”.

Party has won 218 seats in lower chamber after Democrats unsuccessfully campaigned on need to curtail ‘dysfunction’

Republicans have secured a majority in the US House of Representatives, extending their hold on the lower chamber and delivering a governing trifecta in Washington that could give Donald Trump sweeping power to enact his legislative agenda.

The Associated Press determined on Wednesday evening that Republicans had won at least 218 seats in the 435-member House after a victory in Arizona, a call that came more than a week after polls closed across the US and as Trump made cabinet announcements that sent shockwaves through Washington.

Chancellor to tell City leaders of Canada-style plan to pool assets for benefit of long-term investment

Rachel Reeves will announce plans to merge local government retirement schemes into “megafunds” as she tries to revive long-running efforts to overhaul the UK’s public pension system.

The chancellor will tell an audience of City leaders and chief executives on Thursday that she will introduce a new pensions bill next year that will aim to pool assets from the 86 separate local government pension schemes (LGPS), which together represent one of the world’s largest defined-benefit schemes, with 6.5 million members and £360bn in assets.

Dutch appeal court ruled in favour of oil and gas company over judgment telling it to limit emissions

A court ruling in favour of Shell does not spell the end of climate litigation against companies, legal experts have said.

The oil and gas company celebrated on Tuesday when it won an appeal against a landmark climate judgment by a Dutch court.

Day 4 of the climate summit in Azerbaijan

Here is more on the story about how much poorer nations will need in to cope with the escalating impact of the climate crisis, by my colleague Fiona Harvey. She reports that the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, a group of leading economists, say $1tn will be needed by 2030 – five years earlier than previously suggested. The huge challenge now will be getting richer nations to pay up.

Day 4 of Cop promises to be quieter, with world leaders flying home after their Tuesday and Wednesday speeches. Events today will focus on climate finance — the key issue for the negotiations.

Request from Paris prosecutor threatens to undermine the National Rally leader’s efforts to polish image ahead of 2027 elections

The Paris prosecutor on has requested a five-year prison sentence and a five-year ban from public office for far-right leader Marine Le Pen, at a trial in which she and 24 others are accused of embezzling European Union funds.

The trial, which comes almost a decade after initial investigations started, threatens to undermine her National Rally (RN) party’s efforts to polish its image ahead of the 2027 presidential election which many believe she could win.

This year’s ad is actually about going shopping and features Oxford Street store plus song by Richard Ashcroft

Over the years its Christmas adverts have featured a menagerie of lovable creatures but this year John Lewis is tugging on heartstrings with a Narnia-inspired tale of two sisters that for the first time gives its struggling department stores a starring role.

After last year’s lighthearted outing featuring a cheeky Venus flytrap, the ad is a distinct gear-change. It was filmed in John Lewis’s high-profile store on Oxford Street in London and, at a time when the high street is facing severe headwinds, for once it is actually about going Christmas shopping – without a lovable penguin or snowman in sight.

Voting temporarily suspended amid disruptions including a Maori party MP ripping up a copy of the bill

New Zealand’s parliament erupted into fiery debate, personal attacks and a haka over a controversial bill that proposes to radically alter the way New Zealand’s treaty between Māori and the Crown is interpreted.

The treaty principles bill was tabled by the libertarian Act party – a minor partner in New Zealand’s coalition government – and passed its first reading on Thursday, amid scathing speeches and disruptions.

Antony Blinken briefs Ukraine’s foreign minister in Brussels; US secretary of state calls for Nato allies to step up as Trump era looms. What we know on day 995

Officials said the man had killed himself with a bomb after trying to enter the Supreme Court, prompting security concerns ahead of the global leaders meeting

A man killed himself with a bomb outside Brazil’s supreme court after trying to enter the building on Wednesday, officials have said, stirring security concerns before the country hosts global leaders from the Group of 20 major economies.

The blasts come five days before the G20 heads of state meet in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a state visit to the capital Brasília by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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