Freedom of information figures reported by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Guardian show that UK immigration enforcement carried out 23,538 visits in 2025, and 66.1% ended with no arrests. The Home Office rejected claims that officers conduct “fishing expeditions,” saying it examines intelligence before raids. A restaurant owner in Cornwall said a warrantless visit led to an employee’s mistaken arrest and hurt the business, though the employee was released after showing identification.
Key Facts
Immigration enforcement recorded 23,538 workplace visits, home visits and spot checks in 2025, an average of about 60 a day.
No arrests followed 15,578 visits, or 66.1% of the total.
A warrant was used in 25.81% of visits where officers accessed premises.
Nearly 89% of leads alleging immigration crime came from the public or Crimestoppers; about 2% came from police.
The Home Office said it thoroughly examines intelligence before launching raids and disputed the accusation that it conducts fishing expeditions.
At Sultanz, an Indian restaurant in Camborne, officers entered without a warrant and arrested employee Nanu Mia, who was released after his sister brought identification showing he could work.
Restaurant owner Samsu Ali said customer numbers fell after the raid, despite the business being cleared of immigration breaches.
The article says officers may enter some licensed premises without a warrant or seek consent from a tenant, manager or owner.
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Sunderland councillor Glenn Gibbins received a 12-month community order and 150 hours of unpaid work for a grossly offensive Facebook post about Nigerians. A district judge ruled that the post breached the Malicious Communications Act; Gibbins’s lawyer said he would appeal to the Crown Court.
Key Facts
Gibbins, 66, was elected to Sunderland council in May.
In March 2024, he posted on Facebook that Nigerians in the city should be melted down and used to fill potholes.
Gibbins said at trial that the post was meant as a joke and was not intended literally.
District Judge Zoe Passfield ruled that Gibbins intended to be grossly offensive to Nigerians because he was displeased by their numbers in the city.
The sentence is a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work.
Godwin Ejeh, leader of Sunderland’s Nigerian community, testified that the post caused distress and prompted an emergency community meeting.
Gibbins’s lawyer said the post was not politically motivated and confirmed plans to appeal.
Gibbins has been suspended by Reform UK, reinstated, and suspended again, according to the article.
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Heavy rain caused a sand embankment to collapse onto a displacement camp in Gaza, killing five Palestinians, including three children. Gadi Eisenkot warned that Israel faces one of its “most vulnerable moments” as he seeks to form a new government.
Key Facts
Five Palestinians were killed in Gaza.
Three of those killed were children.
Heavy rain preceded the collapse.
A sand embankment collapsed onto a displacement camp.
Gadi Eisenkot said Israel faces one of its “most vulnerable moments.”
Eisenkot is seeking to form a new government.
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Still, foggy weather trapped emissions after a weekend of fireworks and bonfires, pushing particulate pollution to “very high” levels at monitoring sites across urban England on Monday. Authorities and clean-air groups warned that the pollution can harm health and called for alerts and action to reduce emissions.
Key Facts
Government monitoring recorded “very high” particulate levels at 11 sites in the 24 hours to 10am Monday, mainly in London and Greater Manchester.
Another 27 sites recorded “high” particulate levels across several regions of England.
Hillingdon in west London had the highest reported PM2.5 reading: a 24-hour average of 129 micrograms per cubic metre, more than eight times the World Health Organization’s daily guideline.
Manchester Piccadilly, Wigan, Blackburn, Preston and Rochdale also reached the “very high” band.
Particulate matter includes tiny airborne particles and droplets; exposure is linked to heart and lung disease and cancer.
Clean-air groups said fireworks, bonfires, domestic wood burning and transport add pollution, while fog and light winds prevent it from dispersing.
London issued a high air pollution alert for Tuesday 10 November, based on forecasts from Imperial College London.
Clean-air groups called for public health alerts and measures to reduce emissions, including limiting non-essential wood burning in towns and cities.
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UN climate talks opened in Antalya, Turkey, with negotiators urging faster emissions cuts, renewable energy use and support for countries vulnerable to climate impacts. UN climate negotiator Simon Stiell said disruption to oil supplies had driven up fuel prices, adding to inflation and economic pressure worldwide.
Key Facts
The two-week COP31 talks are hosted by Turkey, with Australia leading the negotiations.
Turkey said it expected 100,000 visitors, including at least 95 heads of state.
Stiell described the effects of high fossil fuel prices as a global shock that was raising inflation and hurting households.
The article attributes a 50% rise in petrol prices around the world to the U.S. war with Iran and disruption to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged leaders to cut emissions faster, speed a fair transition away from fossil fuels, and provide financing and protection for vulnerable countries.
The article says climate scientists confirmed this year that global heating would reach at least 1.8C, above the Paris agreement's 1.5C goal.
Australia's climate change minister, Chris Bowen, said countries could return to the 1.5C target after overshooting it if they acted together and urgently.
A coalition of 20 countries at the talks said that exceeding the 1.5C limit should not be used to justify inaction.
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France will raise its minimum wage by 1.6% starting December 1, 2026, one month earlier than planned. The government announced the change amid weeks of protests over living costs and other issues, while unions said the increase does not meet their demands.
Key Facts
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced the earlier increase on Monday.
The minimum wage will rise from 1,477.93 euros per month to about 1,502 euros, an increase of 24 euros.
The increase was originally scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027.
The government said it planned the increase to avoid causing job losses.
The protests began with student calls for greater investment in schools and broadened into demonstrations over living costs.
The CFDT union called for a 100-euro increase, while the CGT union demanded a 10% rise.
CFDT leader Marylise Leon called the increase insufficient, and CGT leader Sophie Binet described it as crumbs.
The government faces mounting social tensions five months before France's presidential election.
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Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators are scheduled to meet for two days in Abu Dhabi, with security guarantees for both sides at the center of talks on ending the war. The sides remain divided over territory, Ukraine’s military and NATO ambitions, and whether to agree to a ceasefire before negotiating a wider settlement.
Key Facts
The Abu Dhabi meeting is the first trilateral session since February, according to the article.
Russia and Ukraine have said security guarantees will be a main focus of the talks.
Vladimir Putin demands that Ukraine withdraw from four regions Russia annexed in 2022, abandon its NATO bid and accept limits on its military.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejects ceding territory or accepting military limits, and says Ukraine needs guarantees against another Russian invasion.
Ukraine says an immediate ceasefire should come before talks on a broader settlement; Russia opposes a general halt in hostilities.
Zelenskyy has discussed guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5, which treats an attack on one member as an attack on all.
Russia rejects the possible deployment of European troops in Ukraine after a peace deal, saying it would consider them legitimate targets.
Fighting and long-range drone and missile attacks have continued, while Russia has intensified strikes on Ukraine’s power system.
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A World Meteorological Organization report says 2026 is likely to be among the four hottest years on record, with elevated temperatures expected to continue into 2027. The report says a strong El Niño is adding to human-caused warming and could increase risks from heat, drought, heavy rain and storms.
Key Facts
Global average surface temperature from January through September 2026 was about 1.47°C above the 1850–1900 average, according to the WMO report.
The WMO said each of the past 12 years ranked among the hottest on record.
The report said 2023 through 2026 are expected to occupy the four hottest spots in the record.
The current El Niño has intensified since August and is expected to continue into early 2027.
The WMO said El Niño releases heat stored in the ocean rather than adding new heat to the planet.
The report said freshwater stored in groundwater, rivers, reservoirs, glaciers and snow has continued a decade-long decline.
The article says the World Health Organization classified the expected health impacts of extreme heat and El Niño as a health emergency.
Researchers estimate the 2015–16 El Niño cost the global economy nearly $4 trillion in lost output over the following three years.
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Russell Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison after a jury convicted him of rape and three counts of sexual assault involving four women between 2004 and 2009. He is expected to serve two-thirds of the term in prison, then remain on licence under conditions.
Key Facts
The judge imposed nine years for rape and concurrent terms of 18 months, nine months and eight months for the sexual assaults, making the total sentence 10 years and six months.
The convictions concern four women and incidents in London between 2004 and 2009.
The judge said Brand would serve two-thirds of his sentence in prison, about seven years, with time already spent in custody counted toward the term.
After release, Brand is expected to serve the rest of his sentence on licence and follow conditions that may include wearing a tag.
The judge praised the women who gave evidence and commended the Metropolitan Police for gathering evidence and supporting witnesses.
The judge said news reports in 2023 prompted women to make complaints to police and that Brand's fame had protected him until then.
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Russia and Ukraine continued striking energy infrastructure despite President Donald Trump’s call for an energy ceasefire, which neither side confirmed accepting. The attacks caused power outages in parts of Ukraine ahead of U.S.-mediated peace talks scheduled for Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.
Key Facts
A drone struck the Kirishi oil refinery near Saint Petersburg and caused a fire, according to the Leningrad regional governor.
Ukraine’s military said it hit a fuel plant linked to Russia’s Iskander ballistic missiles.
Russia said it struck electrical substations in several Ukrainian regions and near Kyiv.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said households in about half of the country’s regions lost electricity on Monday morning.
Ukraine’s first deputy energy minister said Russia attacked Ukrainian oil, gas and other energy sites 128 times from November 2 to November 8.
Trump announced an energy ceasefire on October 11, but neither Russia nor Ukraine confirmed agreeing to it.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators were scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for U.S.-brokered talks on a possible peace deal.
Trump said he believed the two countries were close to a deal; he also said Ukraine would look a “little bit different” after one took effect.
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Shaina Low, a communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council, told France 24 that conditions for Palestinians in Gaza have worsened amid winter flooding, repeated displacement and deteriorating shelters. She said restrictions on humanitarian aid persist and called on Israel to open crossings and allow more aid into Gaza.
Key Facts
Shaina Low works as a communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Low described the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as continuing 13 months into a ceasefire.
Winter flooding is affecting people in Gaza.
Residents have faced repeated displacement.
Shelter conditions have deteriorated.
Restrictions on humanitarian assistance persist, according to Low.
Low urged Israel to open all crossings, lift restrictions and allow aid into Gaza.
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Russia struck Ukraine’s power grid, while Ukrainian forces hit a major Russian oil refinery, officials said Monday. The attacks came ahead of two days of U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi, where U.S., Russian and Ukrainian envoys are expected to discuss ending the war and security guarantees.
Key Facts
The talks are scheduled to begin Tuesday in Abu Dhabi and last two days.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to take part in the mediation.
The previous round of three-way talks took place in February.
Ukrainian officials said Russian strikes targeted electrical substations.
Ukrainian forces struck another of Russia’s largest oil refineries, officials said.
Russia says European representatives will not take part directly in the trilateral talks.
Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said European officials would coordinate separately with Kyiv’s delegation.
Donald Trump said in a Sunday interview that Russia and Ukraine were very close to a deal, but did not explain what changes to Ukraine he had in mind.
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A video shows an Israeli tourist pushing a Sri Lankan tour guide off a boat and into the sea. The incident has sparked outrage, but the article provides no further details about when or where it happened.
Key Facts
The video shows an Israeli tourist pushing a tour guide off a boat.
The tour guide is Sri Lankan.
The guide falls into the sea.
The video has sparked outrage.
The article does not provide the incident’s date or location.
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French prosecutors say an Iranian cyber unit carried out an October attack on refrigeration systems at about 700 grocery locations in France. The attack spoiled food and was linked to roughly 20 fires, while investigators examine the alleged perpetrators and their methods.
Key Facts
The attack struck French supermarket chains on Oct. 11.
French prosecutors say attackers remotely changed refrigeration settings and disabled temperature alerts.
The Paris prosecutor’s office alleges the attacks served Iran and targeted a unit affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Investigators are targeting the alleged leader of the group known as Shahid Kaveh, his deputies and other possible participants.
Similar refrigeration hacks later affected supermarkets in Belgium, Luxembourg and Sweden, but officials have not said the incidents were connected.
A separate cyberattack targeted French blood banks, but products and samples were not damaged.
The FBI warned that exposed or unpatched refrigeration controllers can let attackers alter settings and damage inventory or equipment.
Refrigeration outages at six U.S. military bases in August are under investigation by the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
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France accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of carrying out cyber-attacks on supermarket refrigerators on 11 and 12 October. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France would pursue European sanctions against those responsible; Iran’s UN mission did not respond to a request for comment.
Key Facts
France described the October attacks as unprecedented in scale and aggression.
Barrot attributed the attacks to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
France said it would seek sanctions at the European level against those responsible.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not return a request for comment.
A second wave of hacking this month affected more than 100 establishments across Europe.
The second wave also affected refrigerators used by French blood banks.
Employees moved some blood to other cold-storage units.
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Chris Ward, a Labour MP and co-author of the party’s 2024 Brexit red lines, says Labour should drop them by the next general election and debate a closer relationship with the EU. He argues that security and cyber threats, and uncertainty about U.S. support, make reassessing the UK’s ties with Europe urgent.
Key Facts
Labour’s red lines rule out rejoining the EU, the single market and the customs union, and restoring freedom of movement.
Ward helped develop the red lines while serving as Keir Starmer’s chief adviser on Brexit.
Ward says the red lines helped Labour narrow the Brexit debate but have outlived their purpose.
He says a planned UK-EU reset could deliver benefits including lower costs for businesses, a youth mobility scheme and the return of Erasmus+.
Ward argues that security and cyber threats should drive debate about the UK’s future relationship with Europe.
He says the UK can no longer rely on the United States as it once did, and cites responses to Ukraine and the Strait of Hormuz as examples of Starmer assembling alliances.
Ward called for public debate on whether the UK should rejoin the EU or seek some form of associate membership.
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Israeli opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot has been tapped to form a government, according to a CBS News report. The report describes the move as a blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Key Facts
Gadi Eisenkot is an Israeli opposition candidate.
Eisenkot has been tapped to form a government.
Benjamin Netanyahu is identified as prime minister.
The report characterizes Eisenkot's appointment as a blow to Netanyahu.
CBS News correspondent Dov Lieber reported on the appointment.
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A BBC investigation found that the DZ Mafia, a powerful drug gang in France, is recruiting teenagers from across the country to carry out kidnappings and killings. A member in his twenties, jailed while awaiting trial and implicated in several murders, told the BBC he had been part of a hit squad and described joining the drug trade as a trap.
Key Facts
The DZ Mafia recruited teenagers from across France to commit kidnappings and murders, the BBC investigation found.
The gang won a bloody turf war against a rival group in Marseille in 2023.
The gang is now recruiting beyond Marseille, according to the investigation.
A gang member in his twenties is in prison awaiting trial and has been implicated in several murders.
The man told the BBC he was part of a DZ Mafia hit squad.
He said he felt partly guilty about the killings but had no regrets.
He said he had entered drug trafficking because it offered the chance to make large sums of money quickly.
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France accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of a cyber-attack that raised temperatures in supermarket fridges and freezers last month. France said it would pursue European-level sanctions against those responsible, while Iran had not responded to the allegation as of 9 November 2026.
Key Facts
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the IRGC carried out the attack.
The attack affected hundreds of supermarkets in France and spoiled fresh and frozen food worth an estimated millions of euros.
Hackers gained control of refrigeration temperature software on 11 October.
More than 100 Coopérative U supermarkets and 180 Intermarché and Netto stores were hit.
Temperatures in some stores’ fridges reportedly rose to 50°C overnight.
A separate attack affected supermarkets in seven other European countries the following week; it is not known whether the incidents were linked.
The Paris prosecutor opened an investigation into the head of the IRGC-associated Shahid Kaveh cyber unit and two deputies.
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France’s 1.6% minimum-wage increase may ease unrest temporarily, but it does not address the country’s wider political and institutional crisis, according to economist Renaud Foucart. He said many protesters have lost faith that politics can bring meaningful change, as demonstrations continue ahead of the presidential election.
Key Facts
France raised the minimum wage by 1.6%.
The wage increase came in response to nationwide protests.
Renaud Foucart is a senior lecturer in economics at Lancaster University’s ECARES department.
Foucart said the crisis involves more than purchasing power, fiscal limits and the constraints of a minority government.
Foucart said protesters do not believe politics can achieve anything.
Mass demonstrations are continuing ahead of France’s presidential election.
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