Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q, downgraded its full-year guidance and said it anticipated a £31 million hit from higher employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs), prompting a 13 per cent fall in its shares. The DIY retailer narrowed its annual pre-tax profit expectations to between £510 and £540 million after worse than expected quarterly sales and warned of an “uncertain” outlook. Kingfisher had previously expected profits of between £510 and £550 million, below the £568 million in the 12 months to January 31. The group, which also owns Screwfix in the UK and Castorama and Brico Dépôt in France, said the increase in employers’ NICs announced in last month’s budget would cost an additional £31 million. Changes to tax laws announced in France are also due

Thousands of Amazon workers are expected to protest or strike in more than 20 countries during Black Friday and Cyber Monday to agitate for better workers’ rights and climate action. Action is planned in big cities across the US, Germany, the UK, Turkey, Canada, India, Japan, Brazil and other countries. It is coordinated by the Make Amazon Pay campaign, which calls on Amazon – founded by the billionaire Jeff Bezos – to pay its workers fairly and respect their right to join unions, pay its fair share of taxes, and commit to environmental sustainability. Spearheaded by the Swiss-based UNI Global Union for service industries and the activist umbrella group Progressive International, Make Amazon Pay is made up of more than 80 trade unions, anti-poverty and garment worker rights groups, and others. Get in touchIf you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com

California State University is only partially meeting its bold plan to graduate 40% of its students who started as freshmen by the end of four years. In newly released data this week, the system saw its four-year graduation rate inch to an all-time high of 36.2% this year — more than double the graduation rate it posted in 2013. The system has one year left to make good on its Graduation Initiative 2025 goals, which it debuted in 2015. The splashy effort was buttressed by a combination of system and state funding increases that, over time, reached $400 million annually. The growth in graduation rates overlapped with a 31% spike in freshmen enrollment between 2009 and 2019, meaning the system’s graduation rate increased even as it was absorbing an additional 15,000 students.

The reality is that Trump’s margin over Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris will likely end up around 1.5 points. Exit polls showed that Trump’s favorability rating was just 48% and that more voters chose someone other than Trump. And, as Lindsay points out, Trump fell 4 million votes short of President Joe Biden in 2020. Trump ran away from Project 2025 during the campaign because it was so unpopular. Trump’s team deployed Vice President–elect J.D.

After several months during which engineering and construction work had to be carried out under the constant threat of Russian air strikes, this missile test, which was reported by sources to The Sunday Times, became the culminating test. And all this happened against the background of accusations of corruption by the Ukrainian government, which slowed down the work. Ukraine will face severe winter frosts in the absence of proper protection. His agency has requested 1.4 billion euros for the construction of protective structures (the so-called "third level of protection") for substations. Representatives of the company also stated that the government had not allocated them the funds necessary for the construction of protective structures.

Mental health groups and experts are asked whether the good outweighs the bad when it comes to banning social media for under-16s during a short hearing on the federal government’s bill. ‘I do not see any benefits for mental health from social media,’ says Dr Danielle Einstein, while Headspace’s head of clinical leadership, Nicola Palfrey, says ‘what research does indicate is that there’s help-seeking that goes on online’► Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTube

The independent member for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, asks the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, what the government is doing to bring home the bodies of Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, two Melbourne teenagers who died in a mass methanol poisoning incident in Laos. Albanese says government ‘officials are working closely with Bianca and Holly's families to bring them home’► Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTube

Pete Hegseth’s views on how the US military should fit into our society should be setting off loud alarm bells, but is anyone paying attention? This man has openly said that he will end efforts to weed out rightwing extremists, that there will be a civil war in the US, and “The military and police … will be forced to make a choice”. In his 2020 book Hegseth vows to “mock, humiliate, intimidate, and crush our leftist opponents”, to “attack first”. Instead they are openly vowing to use OUR military to wage violent war on us. Every American should be screaming from the rooftops and demanding Hegseth be rejected in favor of a nominee who will protect our traditions of a nonpolitical military.

A metal detectorist, who stumbled on a gold Victorian pocket watch in a field near Diss, is hoping to find the family it came from. The gold Victorian pocket watch. The inscription on the gold Victorian pocket watch. Detectorist Rob Webster is hoping to reunite the Victorian watch with the descendants of Mr Lucas. The gold Victorian pocket watch.

Weather Disruptions Challenge Thanksgiving Travel Plans Nearly 80 million Americans set to travel face potential delays from winter storms across the countryA stormy forecast looms over Thanksgiving week travel plans as millions of Americans prepare to hit the roads and skies, anticipating delays due to varied weather conditions. Estimated to see nearly 80 million travelers this year, the Thanksgiving holiday already includes logistical hurdles converging with winter weather patterns across many regions. Weather forecasters are already warning about lower visibility and challenging travel conditions impacting air travel and driving routes. If you’re planning to travel on Wednesday, the rush day before Thanksgiving, expect significant weather disruptions. Overall, it’s shaping up to be one for the books, with dozens of travel plans likely impacted by the whims of winter.

Finland has one of the most ambitious carbon-neutral goals in the world: to reach net zero by 2035. If this feels like a bold pledge, there’s good reason for it: two-thirds of the country is covered in forests, that have for decades absorbed more carbon dioxide than they have put out. In fact, in barely over a decade, its forests and peatlands have become a net emitter of carbon dioxide … with devastating consequences for the country’s climate goals. Biodiversity and environment reporter Patrick Greenfield travels to Finnish Lapland to discover what is happening to its primeval forests and peatlands, one of the last true wildernesses on the continent. He speaks to representatives of the Sami people and environmental activists, to discover how global heating is changing the forests, and how – in turn – changing forests might be affecting global heating too.

Wellington Farm Shop in Hook and West Lea Farm Shop in Alresford were featured alongside 33 others in an article from The Times. The full list of the best farm shops in the UK can be found on The Times website here. Wellington Farm ShopWellington Farm Shop, which is just inside the Hampshire border with Berkshire, was praised for its quality produce including its artisan cheeses, lamb and honey. West Lea Farm ShopWest Lea Farm Shop is commended as a place where you can "cram your basket" with loads of produce, from venison steaks to homemade pesto. The peppery bunches in this farm shop are handpicked and cut from the shop’s watercress beds, which date back to 1890.

Jannik Sinner clinched Italy’s second consecutive Davis Cup title and capped his breakthrough season at the top of tennis by beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (2), 6-2 to complete a 2-0 win over the Netherlands in the final of the team competition. Sinner said he was 'proud of the whole team' and spoke of the competition's importance to Italy.

"We are receiving presentations from Indian partner companies and also from the UK companies. We have got major engineering firms like Mott Macdonald and Arup, which have global companies with huge global experience in infra projects. The plan is, between now and March next year, we are going to identify three projects with Indian govt which are likely to be in the sectors of roads, rapid transit and renewables. "One of the challenges of this bridge is that British and other firms have had their fingers burnt. For this to succeed, the Indian govt has to make it as easy as possible for UK businesses to participate.

No historian will be able to write about World War III without mentioning this day – when the world came terribly close to ending. A ballistic missile is a type of missile that utilises projectile motion to deliver warheads to a target. The advanced qualities of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) make them commonly used for delivering thermonuclear weapons. It starts as a conflict, escalates into a regional war, and with enough countries participating, it can develop into a world war. “Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he was sure the tanks could ‘make a decisive contribution’ on the frontlines of the war.” (Ukraine war: Germany sends much-awaited Leopard tanks, bbc.com, 28 March 2023)A few months ago, Ukraine received F-16 Fighter Jets from the US.