42+ min ago (321+ words) Sunday 30 November 2025 08:50, UK The chancellor has insisted to Sky News that she did not lie to the public about the state of the public finances ahead of the budget. Rachel Reeves is facing widespread accusations that in a speech from Downing Street on 4 November in which she laid the groundwork for tax rises, she lied about the state of the public finances. Asked directly by Sky's Trevor Phillips if she lied, she said: "Of course I didn't." Ms Reeves said the decision by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to review and downgrade productivity meant that the forecast for tax receipts was "16bn lower than expected, and said she needed tax rises to create more fiscal headroom to reassure the financial markets and create stability in the economy. But coupled with other changes in the fiscal forecast, the chancellor knew…...

1+ hour, 22+ min ago (428+ words) Sunday 30 November 2025 10:45, UK Prince William has visited severely ill Gazan children being treated by the NHS after they were evacuated to the UK. He was "moved by the courage" they showed after enduring experiencing things "no child should ever face", Kensington Palace said. In May, two children from Gaza became the first to travel to the UK for specialist medical care. Work to begin further evacuations for NHS specialist treatment started in the autumn. Fifty children and their immediate families had been brought to the UK as of 21 November, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed. "Recently His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales met a small number of children from Gaza who are currently receiving specialist care in the UK," a Kensington Palace spokesperson said. "The prince wished to offer a moment of comfort to these young…...

3+ hour, 45+ min ago (248+ words) The Israeli prime minister is facing a long-running corruption trial. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include bribery and fraud. Sunday 30 November 2025 10:48, UK Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing a long-running corruption trial, has submitted an official request to the country's president to pardon him. In a statement, President Isaac Herzog's office said it was "aware that this is an extraordinary request which carries with it significant implications". After receiving all "relevant opinions", the president will "responsibly and sincerely consider the request", the office said. Earlier this month, Donald Trump sent a letter to Mr Herzog urging him to "fully pardon" Mr Netanyahu in his long-running corruption trial. The US president told Mr Herzog his prime minister had "stood tall for Israel in the face of strong adversaries" and Mr Netanyahu's "attention cannot be unnecessarily…...

3+ hour, 52+ min ago (198+ words) Sunday 30 November 2025 05:42, UK Children are among the fatalities in a mass shooting at a child's birthday party in California. Police said four people had died and 10 were wounded in the incident in Stockton, about 60 miles east of San Francisco. Officers were called to a banquet hall just before 6pm local time (2am UK time) on Saturday and local district attorney Ron Freitas said children were among the dead. He said the attacker was still at large. "We can confirm at this time that approximately 14 individuals were struck by gunfire, and four victims have beenconfirmed deceased," San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office said on X. The post said early indications suggest it could be a "targeted incident" but that information remains limited. Police have so far not disclosed the attacker's identity and the motive is unclear. Girl, 13, arrested after teenager shot dead in Los Angeles…...

4+ hour, 42+ min ago (227+ words) Sunday 30 November 2025 09:51, UK The death toll from a fire that tore through a Hong Kong apartment complex has risen. Investigators are searching for bodies in the residential towers of Wang Fuk Court, where the blaze erupted on Wednesday. Authorities say 146 bodies have now been found, rising from a previous reported total of 128. Shuk-yin Tsang, the head of the Hong Kong police casualty unit, said another 100 people remained unaccounted for. Flames spread through seven of the eight towers of the complex, and the fire was not fully extinguished until Friday morning. Police said they had completed searches through four of the affected buildings. But a city official said they expected the search process to take three to four weeks. Almost 280 people missing as huge fire engulfs Hong Kong flats - dozens confirmed dead Taiwan to prepare for combat by 2027, president says - as…...

5+ hour, 32+ min ago (554+ words) Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick hits out at the expected changes, saying Britons shouldn't lose "ancient liberties", but Mr Lammy insists reforms are vital to deliver for victims and cut a huge crown court backlog. Sunday 30 November 2025 06:23, UK Victims will be put "front and centre" in reforms to be announced this week, the justice secretary has said, amid reports jury trials will be scrapped in some cases. Sky News understands ministers have already been briefed on the changes, which would see a judge decide most cases on their own except for murder, rape or manslaughter - or those in the "public interest". The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the reforms would speed up justice and save victims from "years of torment and delay". Nearly 80,000 cases are currently waiting to be heard in crown courts, but a bid to limit the right…...

5+ hour, 42+ min ago (321+ words) Sunday 30 November 2025 08:50, UK The chancellor has insisted to Sky News that she did not lie to the public about the state of the public finances ahead of the budget. Rachel Reeves is facing widespread accusations that in a speech from Downing Street on 4 November in which she laid the groundwork for tax rises, she lied about the state of the public finances. Asked directly by Sky's Trevor Phillips if she lied, she said: "Of course I didn't." Ms Reeves said the decision by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to review and downgrade productivity meant that the forecast for tax receipts was "16bn lower than expected, and said she needed tax rises to create more fiscal headroom to reassure the financial markets and create stability in the economy. But coupled with other changes in the fiscal forecast, the chancellor knew…...

9+ hour, 8+ min ago (1309+ words) It comes as Aston Villa's Europa League game against BSC Young Boys last Thursday was classified as "medium risk", despite disciplinary cases against the Swiss club. Sunday 30 November 2025 03:16, UK West Midlands Police is facing growing scrutiny over the information used to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from Aston Villa, with counterparts in Amsterdam disputing the evidence it provided on high-profile incidents involving the Israeli club's fan base. The ban was imposed after the force in Birmingham concluded that the visit of Maccabi was too "high risk" to allow visiting fans amid inflamed community tensions over the Gaza war. And the decision will be challenged by the Home Affairs Select Committee on Monday when leaders from the force are questioned by MPs. It comes as Sky News can reveal officers only classified Thursday's Europa League match between Aston Villa and BSC…...

9+ hour, 8+ min ago (846+ words) Former NHS Tayside neurosurgeon Sam Eljamel is originally from Libya, where he is believed to be working now. Sunday 30 November 2025 05:28, UK A disgraced surgeon accused of harming patients is unlikely to ever return from Libya to face justice, a lawyer familiar with the country's legal system has told Sky News. Former NHS Tayside neurosurgeon Sam Eljamel is originally from Libya and is believed to be operating there now. Suspended from his work at a hospital in Dundee in 2013, Eljamel is accused by dozens of former patients of carrying out life-changing "botched" brain and spinal operations. The claims include removing the wrong body parts. A public inquiry is under way and Police Scotland is examining up to 200 patient cases as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. 'Paralysed by my surgeon' Annemarie Pymm, a former tax worker, lives in Perth with her…...

9+ hour, 8+ min ago (846+ words) Former NHS Tayside neurosurgeon Sam Eljamel is originally from Libya, where he is believed to be working now. Sunday 30 November 2025 06:13, UK A disgraced surgeon accused of harming patients is unlikely to ever return from Libya to face justice, a lawyer familiar with the country's legal system has told Sky News. Former NHS Tayside neurosurgeon Sam Eljamel is originally from Libya and is believed to be operating there now. Suspended from his work at a hospital in Dundee in 2013, Eljamel is accused by dozens of former patients of carrying out life-changing "botched" brain and spinal operations. The claims include removing the wrong body parts. A public inquiry is under way and Police Scotland is examining up to 200 patient cases as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. 'Paralysed by my surgeon' Annemarie Pymm, a former tax worker, lives in Perth with her…...