Number of financial services professionals looking for work slumps 28 per cent

Auckland police appeal to public for help as they continue to piece together what happened to the British backpacker Police investigating the murder of British backpacker Grace Millane are looking for a shovel believed to be connected to the inquiry. Millane, 22, went missing from a hostel in Auckland on 1 December and a body was found in the Waitakere Ranges on Sunday.

Watch the latest UK weather forecast from the Independent for today.

If no deal made with state before election, Labor to backdate funds to start of 2019 Federal Labor has offered to backdate payments to Victorian schools if Daniel Andrews’s government fails to reach agreement with the Coalition before the next election and education funding is withheld. While federal Labor provided support to its Victorian counterpart in a battle that could break the Coalition’s school funding model, the premier, Daniel Andrews, hinted his government might still find “common ground” with the federal government while still rejecting “a multi-year deal that shortchanges Victorian kids”.

Lack of accountability in security programme fuels allegations that UK taxpayers are unknowingly complicit in rights abuses MPs have expressed concern over the government’s flagship £1.28bn global security programme, saying a lack of transparency and accountability lends weight to allegations from rights groups and watchdogs that taxpayers are unwittingly complicit in human rights abuses. Campaigners at Reprieve have accused the government of failing to release full details of a new “rule of law” initiative in Pakistan, granted £9.3m in foreign aid and an undisclosed amount in non-aid funding. The failure to release a human rights assessment of the initiative for 2018-19 raised “the appalling prospect that British taxpayers are unknowingly complicit in torture and death sentences”, it said.

Legislation comes ahead of a referendum on recreational marijuana use in next two years New Zealand’s government has passed a law that will make medical marijuana widely available for thousands of patients over time, after years of campaigning by chronically ill New Zealanders who say the drug is the only thing that eases their pain. The legislation will also allow terminally ill patients to begin smoking illegal pot immediately without facing the possibility of prosecution.

Worst quarter in Sydney since March 2005 and in Melbourne since September 2008 Property price declines in Sydney and Melbourne are no longer confined to expensive dwellings, with the price falls spreading to middle and lower segments of the market. Bureau of Statistics figures show property prices in Australia’s eight capital cities fell 1.5% on average in the September quarter, marking nine consecutive months of price declines.

Men declared dead almost a week after fighter jet and tanker plane collided over Pacific Japan has ended its search for five US marines who went missing after a suspected

Leaders of Labour, SNP, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Plaid Cymru join forces against PM as she makes last-ditch bid to rescue Brexit deal

Hugo Blick tore up the TV rulebook with a pulsating drama that forced us to reflect on Rwanda’s horrifying chapter in modern history

The opposition should get behind a second referendum – and vote to remainSometimes, in politics, you just have to fight for what you believe in. I believe that – amid the current geopolitical meltdown – staying in the European Union and reforming it is safer than casting ourselves adrift with a bunch of rightwing Tory xenophobes at the helm. But since the referendum, I’ve understood that a leftwing Labour government can only be achieved by building a coalition of voters across the Brexit divide. It’s a belief based on the experience of the 2017 general election, when I campaigned in solidly working-class areas where, to keep a doorstep conversation going for more than 30 seconds, the first sentence had to be: “We will deliver Brexit.”

If no deal made with state before election, Labor to backdate funds to start of 2019 Federal Labor has offered to backdate payments to Victorian schools if Daniel Andrews’s government fails to reach agreement with the Coalition before the next election and education funding is withheld. The recently re-elected Victorian government is demanding that the education minister, Dan Tehan, increase the federal share of funding under the Gonski 2.0 model from 20% of the school resource standard for public schools to 25%.

Smugglers increasingly take advantage of island’s partition and proximity to Middle East When Rubar and Bestoon Abass embarked on their journey to Europe they had no idea that Cyprus was the continent’s easternmost state. Like most Iraqi Kurds heading west, their destination was Germany, not an EU nation barely 100 miles from war-torn Syria. “I had never heard of Cyprus,” said Rubar, reaching for his pregnant wife’s hand as they sat gloomily in a migrant centre run by the Catholic charity Caritas in the heart of Nicosia. “The smugglers told us it was much cheaper to get to and was still in Europe. We paid $2,000 [£1,590] for the four of us to come.”

Area that has been home to foreign embassies and key ministries has been inaccessible to most Iraqis since 2003 US-led invasion Iraq has begun removing cement walls from areas surrounding its capital’s most fortified enclave, opening parts of the so-called Green Zone to traffic in a symbolic move coinciding with nationwide celebrations to mark

Now 18-year-old has admitted sympathy with Isis but denies knives bought for terrorism A Sydney teenager has been jailed for at least 12 years for preparing a terrorist act, with a judge finding an attack was imminent when the boy was arrested near a Bankstown courthouse and police station in 2016. The now 18-year-old, who was found guilty by a jury in September, has admitted he sympathised with Islamic State when he bought fixed-blade knives from a gun shop in October 2016.

Opposition leader Michael Daley condemns haste, citing risk of asbestos exposure New South Wales Labor has ramped up its attack on the state government over its plan to knock down Allianz Stadium, citing environmental concerns including the risk of asbestos exposure. The opposition leader, Michael Daley, says the government is rushing to demolish the Sydney stadium at Moore Park before the March election, despite warnings from the Environment Protection Authority and other public agencies.

Auckland police appeal to public for help as they continue to piece together what happened to British backpacker Police investigating the murder of British backpacker Grace Millane are looking for a shovel believed to be connected to the inquiry. Millane, 22, went missing from a hostel in Auckland on 1 December and a body was found in the Waitakere Ranges on Sunday.

Google was represented by empty chair at earlier hearing

Tom Green and Daisy Maskell will replace Rickie, Melvin and Charlie, who are leaving to join Radio 1.

Christopher Kelaher and George Venardos replaced on interim basis as shares sold off The managing director and chairman of IOOF Holdings have stepped aside following

Service to be closed four months earlier than expected in light of lapse that exposed names, email addresses and other information Google is still having trouble protecting the personal information on its Google+ service, prodding the company to accelerate its plans to shut down a little-used social network created to compete against Facebook. A privacy flaw that inadvertently exposed the names, email addresses, ages and other personal information of 52.5 million Google+ users last month convinced Google to close the service in April instead of August, as previously announced. Google revealed the new closure date and its latest privacy lapse in a Monday blogpost.

The man reportedly reacted after seeing another woman kiss his victim on the cheek

'Young people are pessimistic about their future and it is vital we take urgent steps to address this'

New court filings detail Trump campaign members' 'crimes and lies' with potentially damaging impact on president

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen

The latest Brexit developments at Westminster

Student taped yelling he loves 'white men' and that white people 'built modern civilisation'

'Antisemitism remains pervasive across EU - and has in many ways become disturbingly normalised,' says director of agency for fundamental rights

The UN hopes to halt fighting around the Red City, which is a lifeline to Yemen, with a draft proposal which would pave the way for a more "detailed" round of negotiations next year

Police searching for three men release CCTV footage of incident

Many Americans appear to have remained up-to-speed with the UK's exit from the EU, despite the fast pace of developments

Notorious mobster was killed by inmates in unlocked cell at a West Virginia federal prison

Child was 'understandably scared' but not physically harmed, police say

Black people made up 61% of cases where police used force that resulted in death, Ontario human rights commission report said Black residents in

The French president says anger of "yellow vest" protesters is "deep and in many ways legitimate".

Mr Biden has said that he believes he is the most qualified person in the US to be president

Police have arrested three Sonic employees as part of their investigation

The rulings provides a first glimpse into the type of decisions Justice Kavanaugh may take

Fragility at home risks undermining French leader’s international agenda Not just France but Europe should hope the

The mother is seeking $60 million wrongful death lawsuit against the agency

New court filings detail Trump campaign members' 'crimes and lies' with potentially damaging impact on president

Emmanuel Macron has promised a minimum wage increase and tax concessions as he addressed the nation for the first time since anti-tax demonstrations around France turned into violent protests.

New court filings detail Trump campaign members' 'crimes and lies' with potentially damaging impact on president

Gloomy government sources admit a quick breakthrough is unlikely - refusing to say the vote will even be held in January

Danish photographer’s stunt on top of landmark a ‘violation of public morality’, says minister Egyptian authorities are reportedly investigating after a Danish photographer posted a

Uber driver Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 27, denies preparing an act of terrorism

Exclusive

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Backstop must not be changed, Donald Tusk says

Follow live updates from Westminster

New court filings detail Trump campaign members' 'crimes and lies' with potentially damaging impact on president

Proposal suggests Yemeni government and Houthis run flashpoint port with UN supervision The United Nations has proposed what would be a major breakthrough in the

Public inquiry hears London fire brigade failed to plan for foreseeable event of a fire Survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster have said the commissioner of the London fire brigade (LFB), Dany Cotton, is not fit for office, claiming that her response to “dreadful failings” that have emerged since the fire claimed 72 lives “defies belief”. In closing submissions at the end of the first phase of the public inquiry, counsel for the bereaved, survivors and residents (BSRs) said the fire brigade needed a “shake-up from the top down”. Their demand comes in the wake of mounting evidence about the brigade’s unreadiness for major fires, including radio systems that do not work properly and a lack of training in high rise cladding fires.

Typhoons take off from RAF Lossiemouth with Meteor air-to-air missiles for first time

New court filings detail Trump campaign members' 'crimes and lies' with potentially damaging impact on president

The president has apparently reversed his proposed budget cuts to military spending after meeting with Defence Secretary James Mattis

Pair aged 70 and 72 held on arrival at Lisbon after Caribbean voyage

Police operation dubbed 'Lethal Cheese' uncovered the plot

26-year-old man heckled as he appeared in Auckland court

'We will listen to him to see if we have been heard,' union boss says

Women are 'at the forefront of the battle of human rights', report says

Follow live updates from Westminster

'This will have a devastating impact on both the environment and many, many species'

Labour said it was 'a completely inappropriate use of public money'

Biases affect setting, teacher assessment outcomes, and disciplinary measures in schools, report concludes

Turkey consumes 440 plastic bags annually per person, far higher than European countries

New court filings detail Trump campaign members' 'crimes and lies' with potentially damaging impact on president

'It's ludicrous for Trump officials to claim that they want to clean up fossil fuels, while dismantling standards that would do just that'

We’re putting commerce before victims, argue Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad The Nobel laureates Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad have called on the world to protect victims of wartime sexual violence as they angrily criticised indifference to the plight of women and children in conflict in their peace prize acceptance speeches. The gold medals were presented to Mukwege, a Congolese gynaecologist who has spent his career treating tens of thousands of rape survivors, and Murad, a Yazidi woman from Iraq who was kidnapped and kept as a slave by an Isis judge, raped and beaten every day, before she escaped and became a

European Parliament Brexit chief says he can't follow talks anymore

First international pact on mass migration reached between 164 nations, despite US-led objections The first ever international deal on the refugee crisis was signed on Monday by a majority of UN states, despite vociferous objections led by the United States. The historic, non-binding global pact seeking to better manage mass migration was approved by delegates from 164 nations following 18 months of debate and negotiation. German chancellor Angela Merkel hailed it as an “important day”.

Scottish mountaineer shares emotions after friends' remains found on Nepal-Tibet border

Michael Gove was on the radio this morning describing those who want a second referendum as 'trying to thwart democracy'. It shouldn't have to be repeated that one vote does not thwart another. Democracy does not thwart democracy

'Cruel and desperate' predatory paedophile tried to accuse victim's father of murder, but was trapped by some of the most modern DNA techniques known to science

States of emergency declared across southern US as record snow yields dangerous conditions

'Qualcomm's effort to ban our products is another desperate move'

Dame Laura Cox's report revealed more than 200 parliamentary staffers claimed to have been groped and propositioned by male MPs

'I say this to Donald Trump and the French president says it too: leave our nation be'

It comes amid chaotic scenes as news the meaningful vote was being shelved broke moments after a Downing Street told reporters it would go ahead

President set to host top Democrats to convince them to support his plan for border funding

The opening of London's crisis-hit Crossrail is to be delayed indefinitely and an additional £1.7bn may be needed to complete the project, transport bosses have said.

Leo Varadkar says he would be open to statement clarifying contents of withdrawal agreement

Pupils flee classroom after 52-year-old chemistry teacher demands volunteers for 'haircut day'

Prime minister to make statement to MPs as pound falls to lowest level in 18 months

'We're still seeing things that no one has seen before'

'The fact that a group of four countries were trying to diminish the value and importance of a scientific report they themselves, with all other countries, requested three years ago in Paris is pretty remarkable'

What is a yield curve? Does it mean a recession is likely? How concerned should we really be?

Schoolgirl went missing a few days into three-week family holiday

'Do they know you touched me and I'm pregnant? I want these people to know that I'm pregnant and he just bashed me', wife says in footage

The shares crashed in the wake of the company - that does everything from providing school dinners to hospital cleaning - saying it needs new money and is in talks with lenders over its £600m plus debt pile

TripAdvisor and Trivago led travellers to book with Asian agency

It has thousands of contracts across many parts of the public sector, providing everything from prisons and probation, to window-cleaning and cooking

Pupils aged 16 and 17 had been on volunteering trip with school

'We are guilty of nothing more than intervening to prevent harm,' say convicted activists

Russian companies have experienced 'significant growth' in weapon sales, study finds

The leaves fell from the economic trees in the autumn just as they did from the real ones

The prime minister will make a statement to MPs this afternoon on what happens next

Sterling falls to lowest levels in 18 months as chances of no-deal Brexit rise

'Look at you', interviewer says as entrepreneur struggles to retain composure

Stylist Alize Demange has put together a pop-up shop in London which rents designer streetwear.

Trump addresses Cohen filing, claims any wrongdoing is 'civil' rather than criminal

'Some victims had 145, or even 170, knife wounds,' says prosecutor

A member of the Windrush generation who was refused cancer treatment after living in the UK for more than 40 years has lost a legal challenge against the government.

South Asian country's new leader rebuilding links after surprise victory over autocratic predecessor

'You can't do that', journalist says before being attacked

Ramsey Bearse, now a teacher at Andrew Jackson Middle School in Cross Lanes, accused of sending boy at least four topless photos

Growth slowed to 0.4 per cent in the three months to October and confirms the impression of a weakening economy ahead of Brexit next year

From Russia in 1880 to Bobby Sands in 1980 and Guantanamo in 2013, hunger strikes have been used by prisoners with no other method of protest available to them. David Barnett delves into the history of this method of civil disobedience

Britain can stop Brexit process without approval of member states, court of justice says

Company expresses 'deepest regret' after new allegations emerge

Michael Gove has confirmed that a vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal is going ahead tomorrow amid speculation the prime minister was preparing to delay the crucial showdown.

Former FBI director says Democrats 'must' win next presidential election

Executive accused of under-reporting his his income by tens of millions of pounds Prosecutors in

Analysis: If the European court follows this opinion, it would mean a referendum decision to remain in the EU – under existing terms – could be implemented straight away, as John Rentoul explains

Company's growing debt pile had already knocked 75 per cent off stock this year

Britain can stop the Brexit process without approval from member states, rules ECJ The European court of justice has ruled the UK can unilaterally stop the Brexit process, in a decision that will boost demands for a second EU referendum. The court concluded that any EU member state can revoke the article 50 process without needing approval from every other member state, in an emergency judgment timed to coincide with Tuesday’s critical Commons vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

The UK has the legal power to stop Brexit by unilaterally revoking Article 50, the EU's top court has ruled.

Watch the latest UK weather forecast from the Independent for today.

The Ambani-Piramal wedding seeks to top India's wedding season with even more glitz and glamour.

Jacinda Ardern calls British backpacker's death a source of 'overwhelming sense of hurt and shame' in emotional address

Populism preys on rose-tinted memories of past glories and distorts it into something ugly“The Russians blame everything on their government, the Americans on their parents, and the Poles on history.” So said the Russian-born American poet Joseph Brodsky. If he were alive today, he might have added: “And the leading Brexiters blame everything on the loss of an imaginary past.” The seeds of this nostalgia were, of course, present in Britain long before the referendum, but years of

Recent rise in pensioner poverty has been primarily driven by a fall in home ownership

Sorrow and shame sweeps nation, with many using social media to express sadness over murder of British backpacker New Zealanders are mourning the death of British backpacker Grace Millane by posting images of the sky to Twitter along with the hashtag #HerLightOurLove. A body believed to be Millane’s was found in dense bushland in western Auckland on Sunday and a 26-year-old man

Roger came to fame when a photo of him crushing a metal bucket like a paper cup went viral Roger, the beefcake boxing kangaroo who came to fame when a photo of him crushing a metal bucket like a paper cup went viral in 2015, has died at the age of 12. The death of the male kangaroo, who weighed 89kg (14 stone) and stood more than 182cm (6 feet) tall, has sparked an outpouring of grief from his 1.3 million Facebook and Instagram fans.

‘Salvini decree’ threatens to make thousands not eligible for refugee status homeless Italian priests have declared their willingness to “open the church doors of every single parish” to people expelled from reception centres as an anti-immigration law from Italy’s rightwing government threatens to make thousands homeless. The so-called

Report queries arrangements at Stellar, Serco and Outsourcing Inc, which provide labour or help run ATO call centres Multinational corporations providing labour and call centre staff to the Australian Taxation Office either share links with tax havens or engage in questionable tax practices, a new report has found. Texas-based firm Stellar, the UK-based multinational Serco and Japanese giant Outsourcing Inc have repeatedly won lucrative contracts with the tax office, typically to provide outsourced labour or help run the agency’s call centres.

President to break silence as Paris counts cost of ‘social and economic catastrophe’ Emmanuel Macron is set to address the French people on Monday night after a fourth weekend of violence on the streets of major cities left the president under intense pressure to prove to protesters his government, accused of being arrogant and out of touch, is listening and to stop further destruction. The president will speak to the French people at 8:00 pm, his Elysee office announced. It will be his first public comments after four weeks of nationwide anti-government demonstrations.

Days of lavish celebrations are taking place to mark the marriage of the daughter of India’s richest man Celebrities including Beyoncé, Arianna Huffington, Sachin Tendulkar and Hillary Clinton have arrived in the Indian state of Rajasthan for the wedding of the daughter of country’s richest man. Dozens of chartered planes flew into Udaipur for celebrations to mark the wedding of Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal, which has been dubbed locally “the big, fat Indian wedding”.

Kingdom rejects demands to arrest former Saudi intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri and former royal adviser Saud al-Qahtani Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has rejected demands to extradite suspects connected to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as sought by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “We do not extradite our citizens,” Adel al-Jubeir told a news conference in Riyadh at the end of a summit of Gulf Cooperation Council states.

Households paid an extra £75 a year in wake of vote which experts warn has been 'principal factor' driving up bills over past two years

'Incredibly distressing' cries of newborn children can be heard in four out of 10 maternity unit bereavement rooms

Reform campaigners call for re-think in sentencing as Britain falls 'out of kilter' with rest of the world

The newly Democrat-controlled House of Representatives "will not shield" Mr Trump, opposition figures warn

Passengers who fail to check in on time for a flight may see their whole itinerary cancelled, sometimes costing thousands of pounds to replace