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UK hiring chills pre-Budget (-14% ads); Ashford missing alert; M25 delays; Sir Cliff reveals cancer, blasts screening; Albanese faces antisemitism heat; VW bets €3bn on China-only models
UK hiring chills ahead of Budget, job ads down 14 percent
Businesses hit pause amid tax-rise chatter and tinkering with the Employment Rights Bill. New postings fell to 622,156 in November, down 14 percent from October, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, though total vacancies stayed above 1.4 million. REC's Neil Carberry called it a unique month as speculation spooked firms. With a milder-than-feared Budget and a more pragmatic tone on employment rights, hiring could thaw. Demand rose for leisure and theme-park attendants, stock control clerks, and PR and communications directors, while rail construction, stonemasons, and plasterers slipped. When you are not building much, the PR shop tends to get busy.
Missing person in Ashford
Catherine has not been seen since the morning of Thursday, December 11. Authorities urge anyone who sees her or has information to call 999 immediately.
M25 crash near Swanley Interchange triggers heavy delays
A crash has closed one lane near the Swanley Interchange, causing long delays and heavy congestion. Drivers should allow extra time and consider alternative routes.
Sir Cliff Richard discloses prostate cancer treatment, criticizes screening policy
Sir Cliff Richard revealed he spent the past year being treated for prostate cancer and condemned the government's screening approach as ridiculous in an interview with Good Morning Britain's Dermot Murnaghan. A serious reminder that early detection is not a luxury item and health policy is not a PR exercise.
Australia's antisemitism reckoning puts Albanese under scrutiny
After laying flowers at Bondi, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces mounting criticism over whether more could have been done to prevent a massacre allegedly carried out by a father and son not formally linked to a terror group. With more than 1,650 antisemitic incidents recorded in a year and victims as young as 10 and as old as 87, critics at home and abroad, including Benjamin Netanyahu, accuse the government of weakness and delay. Albanese points to stronger laws and an antisemitism envoy, but the Jillian Segal report remains unanswered and his leadership is widely judged less decisive than NSW Premier Chris Minns. Recognition of a Palestinian state, sharp criticism of Israel, and responses to marches and university encampments have fueled claims that Jewish community safety was underweighted amid wider tensions. ASIO warnings about lone-actor threats, questions about gun licensing, and broader debates over immigration and Australian values will drive inquiries and policy shifts. Albanese's vow to do whatever is necessary reads as aspiration, and turning it into a plan will require sustained, coordinated action across government and civil society.
Volkswagen bets €3 billion on China-only models
Volkswagen will develop cars tailored specifically for Chinese drivers in a bid to claw back market share, models Europe will not see, though they could surface in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. When you chase growth in the world's biggest car market, you do not bring a global template to a local fight, you bring a bespoke lineup and a very large checkbook.
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This podcast is a fully automated experiment in AI-generated content. Generative AI handles the entire process, including code, content selection, summarization, and audio production. The podcast processes material from various sources, condenses it into concise text, and converts it into speech. No human intervention is involved in the production process.
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