Britney Spears has spoken about the joys of the “little things” she has been able to do since being freed from her 13-year conservatorship last week. On Friday, a judge ended the legal guardianship that had controlled many aspects of her life since 2008. In a heartfelt Instagram video, the pop star said she was grateful to have her car keys back and a bank card again. She also hinted that she will do an interview with Oprah Winfrey and thanked her fans who “saved my life”. She said: “I’ve been in the conservatorship for 13 years. It’s a really long time to be in a situation you don’t want to be in. “I’m just grateful honestly for each day, and being able to have the keys to my car and being able to be independent and feel like a woman and owning an ATM card, seeing cash for the first time, being able to buy candles. “It’s the little things for us women, but it makes a huge difference.“(BBC)…[+]

At least two sets of human remains have been pictured deep inside a New Zealand coal mine, more than a decade after a series of explosions killed 29 men there. Cameras also picked up what may be a third body in a tunnel, police said. But they added that the hard-to-reach location meant there was no chance of recovering the remains. The Pike River mining disaster happened in November 2010 when two blasts ripped through the mine.

Only two of the 31 miners on shift were able to escape. None of the miners’ bodies have ever been recovered.In 2012, a Royal Commission found that the miners and contractors had been exposed to “unacceptable risk” in the South Island mine. It said there were “numerous warnings of a potential catastrophe at Pike River” but there have been no prosecutions since.(BBC)…[+]

Authorities in the Indian capital, Delhi, have shut all schools and colleges indefinitely amid the worsening levels of air pollution. Construction work has also been banned until 21 November but an exception has been made for transport and defence-related projects. Only five of the 11 coal-based power plants in the city have been allowed to operate. A toxic haze has smothered Delhi since the festival of Diwali. The levels of PM2.5 – tiny particles that can clog people’s lungs – in Delhi are far higher than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) safety guidelines. Several parts of the city recorded figures close to or higher than 400 on Tuesday, which is categorised as “severe”.(BBC)…[+]

France has dismantled a large migrant camp on its northern coast where increasing numbers of people hoping to reach the UK had settled. French officers pulled down tents and evacuated up to 1,500 migrants from the site, near Dunkirk, early on Tuesday. Authorities also say they have arrested 13 suspected people smugglers. France is in a row with the UK over its handling of rising numbers of migrants trying to cross the English Channel from camps in northern France. Last Thursday 1,185 people made the often dangerous crossing, a record number that the UK government said was “unacceptable”. The UK has accused French authorities of not doing enough to control the crossings, and called on them to clamp down on people smuggling. France meanwhile has accused the UK government of blowing the scale of migration out of proportion for political reasons, and failing to deter people from making the crossing. The issue has damaged UK-France relations, which were already strained over a number of issues, ranging from fishing rights in the Channel, to a deal with Australia on nuclear submarines.

A jury has been sent to deliberate in the case of a teen who shot three men amid civil unrest last year, in one of the most high-profile trials in the US. Wrapping up, prosecutors said Kyle Rittenhouse walked off like a “hero in a Western” after opening fire on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Mr Rittenhouse’s lawyer said his client feared his own gun would be used on him after a “crazy person” ambushed him. The 18-year-old killed two men and injured a third on 25 August 2020. The Rittenhouse case was instantly politically divisive and its result is being closely watched across the nation. The defendant is white, as are the three men he shot.(BBC)…[+]

Polish forces have used tear gas and water cannon against migrants trying to cross into the country from Belarus. Videos showed migrants throwing stones and other objects at the Polish forces guarding a fortified border crossing. For weeks, thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, have been gathering at the Belarus border in an attempt to reach the European Union. Belarus has been accused of pushing migrants to the border to try to destabilise the EU, a charge it denies. EU-Belarus relations have been severely strained since long-term leader Alexander Lukashenko declared victory in a discredited presidential election last year and tried to silence dissent by cracking down on mass protests and arresting political opponents. The EU imposed sanctions on Belarus in the wake of the poll and, along with the US, will step them up following the border crisis.(BBC)…[+]

A Maori tribe has told anti-vaccine protesters in New Zealand to stop the use of a famous haka “immediately”. The Ka Mate haka is hugely popular as it is performed by national rugby team the All Blacks before every match. The Ngati Toa tribe, which has legal guardianship of the haka, issued a strong notice after protestors performed the war dance during demonstrations last week. The notice comes as vaccination rates among the Maori people have been low. Just 61% of eligible Maori people are fully vaccinated and 77% have received their first dose. This is short of New Zealand’s targeted rate of 90% among its eligible population. “Ngati Toa condemns the use of the Ka Mate haka to push and promote anti-Covid-19 vaccination messages,” said its chief executive officer Helmut Modlik in a statement. “Many of our tupuna [ancestors] lost their lives in previous pandemics… we are absolutely clear that the COVID-19 vaccine is the best protection we have available to us, and we are committed to supporting our whānau [family] to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”(BBC)…[+]

Cuban state security agents have blocked the organiser of pro-democracy rallies planned for later on Monday from leaving his home. Security forces surrounded the home of Yunior García and those of other leading activists on Sunday. The ruling Communist party has banned the protests, which it says are a US-backed attempt at overthrowing the government. The authorities arrested hundreds of people following protests in July. Unauthorised public gatherings are illegal in Cuba and those who turn out to march risk being jailed. The fact that thousands of people joined July’s protests chanting “freedom” and “down with dictatorship” showed the level of discontent many in Cuba feel after more than six decades of communist rule.(BBC)…[+]

A nine-year-old boy placed in an induced coma after a crowd surge at the Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas, has died, a family lawyer says. Ezra Blount had been on life support in hospital due to severe brain and organ trauma since the show on 5 November. He is the youngest of 10 concertgoers to have been killed after panic broke out during rapper Travis Scott’s headline performance. Hundreds of others were hurt when the crowd began to press towards the stage. Attorneys representing more than 200 people claiming they were injured in the crush told reporters on Friday they were filing another 90 lawsuits against the promoters of the event.(BBC)…[+]

The UK has urged Iran to back a deal that would revive the international agreement curbing the country’s nuclear activities, at a meeting in London. Under the original 2015 deal, Iran said it would curb its nuclear ambitions in return for other countries lifting economic sanctions. The agreement collapsed when the US pulled out in 2018, but President Joe Biden has said it could rejoin. Talks are set to resume in Vienna on 29 November after a four-month hiatus. Ahead of those talks, Iran’s deputy foreign minister and lead negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, came to the UK Foreign Office to set out his country’s demands.(BBC)…[+]