The omnibus bill, which included amendments to multiple pieces of legislation, was criticised by both progressives and conservatives

Four-year-old child among those killed in drone and missile assault targeting energy infrastructureA massive Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine has killed three people and cut power to several Ukrainian regions two days before Christmas and as the country enters a period of very cold weather.Russia sent more than 650 drones and more than 30 missiles into Ukraine in the attack, which began overnight and continued into Tuesday morning, local officials said. At least three people were killed, including a four-year-old child. Continue reading...

Demand for CD players rises 74% this year amid deluxe releases from artists such as Taylor Swift and Pink FloydForget the vinyl revival. CD players and compact discs are back on Christmas lists this year amid a wave of 90s nostalgia and coveted deluxe" releases from big acts such as Taylor Swift and Pink Floyd.Demand for compact discs peaked in the mid-00s and many households ditched their systems and libraries as digital music took off. But the distinctive whirr is returning to bedrooms around the country, with retailers and marketplaces experiencing an uptick in appetite for vintage tech and music to play on it. Continue reading...

Philip Young appears at Swindon magistrates court charged with 56 offences relating to 13-year periodA former Tory councillor has appeared in court charged with drugging and raping his former wife over a period of 13 years.Philip Young, 49, and five other men have been accused of more than 60 rapes and sexual offences against Joanne Young, 48. She can be named as the alleged victim because she has waived her right to anonymity, which would otherwise apply in such cases.Norman Macksoni, 47, a black British national of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, who has been charged with one count of rape and possession of extreme images.Dean Hamilton, 46, of no fixed abode, who is white British, has been charged with one count of rape and sexual assault by penetration and two counts of sexual touching.Conner Sanderson Doyle, 31, of Swindon, described as white British, has been charged with sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching.Richard Wilkins, 61, of Toothill, Swindon, who is white British, has been charged with one count of rape and sexual touching.Mohammed Hassan, 37, of Swindon, described by police as British Asian, has been charged with sexual touching. Continue reading...

Those under-25 to receive help while a pilot will trial paid internships in NHS and a guaranteed interview schemeYoung people leaving care in England will receive free prescriptions, and dental and eye services up to their 25th birthday, the government has said.A pilot to trial paid internships for care leavers in the NHS and a guaranteed interview scheme for NHS roles also forms part of a package of measures announced by the Department of Health and Social Care. Continue reading...

National Socialist Network member originally refused bail in November after accusation of menacing message' about Allegra Spender

Hugh Marks calls questions about media's role in wake of mass tragedy understandable' but says reviews must be factual and accurate'

The 82-year-old singer said the disease was in its early stages and he plans to be back on stage in FebruaryBarry Manilow has revealed that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer and will undergo surgery.The 82-year-old singer, whose parade of high-spirited hits from Copacabana to Mandy has made him one of pop music's most beloved showmen, will have surgery to remove part of his lung in an effort to fight off the disease, which is in its early stages. Continue reading...

Putin's top foreign policy aid says proposals could prolong conflict as talks with US negotiators are held in MiamiRussia has renewed its criticism of efforts by Europe and Ukraine to amend US proposals to end the war in Ukraine, saying they did not improve prospects for peace.Vladimir Putin's top foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters on Sunday that the proposed tweaks to Washington's plan could prolong the conflict. Continue reading...

Decision takes the total number of new settlements to 69 in past few years as construction binge continuesIsrael has approved a proposal for 19 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank as the government pushes ahead with a construction binge in the territory that poses a further threat to the possibility of a Palestinian state.It brings the total number of new settlements over the past few years to 69, a new record, according to the far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who has pushed a settlement expansion agenda in the West Bank. The latest include two that were previously evacuated during a 2005 disengagement plan. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Warning from Social Mobility Commission chair comes after UK report found entrenched disadvantages'Keir Starmer has no coherent strategy to tackle entrenched inequalities harming the life chances of millions of people, the government's social mobility commissioner has said.A report warned last week that young adults in Britain's former industrial heartlands were being left behind as a result of failed or abandoned promises by successive governments. Continue reading...

Jewish voices say an attack of this kind was entirely predictable given the surge in antisemitic attacks in Australia since 2023The sun rises early at this time of year, hitting the south of the beach first before chasing the shadows north, the gradual retreat of the darkness to the light.Hanukah, the Jewish festival of lights, was being celebrated here on Sunday evening, when the darkness came brutally roaring back. Continue reading...

President Nicolas Maduro orders Venezuelan navy to escort oil tankers after seizure by US forces

Neuroscientists, psychologists and have-a-go heroes' themselves explain why it is about more than just instinctAs a knife-wielding terrorist wearing a fake suicide belt caused panic on London Bridge in 2019, Darryn Frost remembers entering a state of intense focus.Having grabbed a decorative narwhal tusk from the wall of Fishmongers' Hall, the formerly shy civil servant zoned in on the danger and ran towards it, helping pin the attacker to the ground. Continue reading...

Group called Robins des Ruelles later said in statement stunt was intended to highlight cost of living crisisDressed in red suits and backed by masked elves, a group of Santas marched into a Montreal supermarket, loaded their bags with thousands of dollars worth of groceries and disappeared into the night.The bandit Santas later released a statement saying the food would be distributed to the needy, and saying the Robin Hood-style stunt was intended to highlight the spiralling cost of living crisis that has pushed basic necessities increasingly out of reach for ordinary Canadians. Continue reading...

Colombia's ELN guerrilla group used drones and explosives in Thursday night attack that also injured at least 30 soldiersColombia's ELN guerrilla group has attacked a military base near Venezuela with drones and explosives, killing seven soldiers and wounding 30.Founded in 1964 and inspired by the Cuban revolution, the ELN is the oldest surviving guerrilla group in the Americas, and controls key drug-producing regions of Colombia. Efforts to negotiate a peace settlement have repeatedly stalled. Continue reading...

Boy, 15, has appeared in court charged with murder after girl died from single stab wound in Weston-super-MareThe family of a nine-year-old girl who was stabbed to death have paid tribute to the most beautiful little soul" as a teenage boy appeared in court charged with her murder.Aria Thorpe died from a single stab wound at a property in Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset on Monday. Continue reading...

Cindy Butts says she's determined to stop victims being forced to investigate for themselves after state failingsVictims of disasters such as Hillsborough and Grenfell having to wait years for justice is shameful and a stain on our society", the new Independent Public Advocate (IPA) has said in her first interview in the role.The former police complaints commissioner Cindy Butts said she was determined to stop people from being forced to become investigators and de facto lawyers at the time of grief" in order to get justice after tragedies involving state failings in England and Wales. Continue reading...

The US Department of Justice is expected to release files relating to the disgraced late financier and sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, this evening. Jonathan Freedland joins Lucy Hough to discuss why it's such a big moment Continue reading...

People of Silverdale report rattling and shaking as 2.5 magnitude earthquake strikes in probable aftershockA village in Lancashire has been hit by a radiator rattling" earthquake for the second time in little over two weeks.Residents of Silverdale, a small coastal village located five miles south of the Cumbria border, reported the now strangely familiar feeling of rattling and shaking in their homes at 5.03am as a 2.5-magnitude earthquake hit the area with its epicentre 1.6 miles (2.6km) off the coast. Continue reading...

Extraordinary' high court ruling covers Jacob Corlett's attempt to seize back control of parcel delivery firm

Chris Bryant confirms October cyber-attack as the Sun names Storm 1849, a Chinese hacker group, as being responsibleThe BBC's editing guidelines do not need to be altered in the wake of controversy surrounding the edit of a Donald Trump speech, a review has found.The US president is seeking up to $10bn (7.5bn) in damages in response to the BBC's editing of a speech he made before the 2021 attack on the Capitol.I was asked to look at the editorial guidelines on use of editing. I do not believe any changes are required, but we will ensure these lessons are reinforced.More actions had been taken than acknowledged in Michael Prescott's document and since this was made public we have also dealt with some remaining issues. Continue reading...

Michelle Mills and Geraint Berry sentenced to 19 years each for conspiring to murder Christopher MillsA woman who plotted with her secret lover to murder her husband so they could start a new life together has been jailed for 19 years.Michelle Mills, 46, and Geraint Berry, 47, planned to kill Christopher Mills so they could continue their affair, and Berry recruited Steven Thomas, also 47, to help carry out their attack on 20 September last year. Continue reading...

Sociologist who surveyed effect of 2024 UK ban says denial of gender-affirming care has left trans and non-binary children in abject misery and severe distress'A sociologist who surveyed more than 100 young transgender people and their parents following a puberty blocker ban in the UK has warned similar bans in Australia and New Zealand will lead to youth suicides.Dr Natacha Kennedy from Goldsmiths, University of London, analysed the impact of the UK ban that was first implemented in March 2024, and extended indefinitely last December. Continue reading...

Hourly night-time welfare checks left detainees so sleep deprived that it risked their right to a fair trial, supreme court judge found

Inquiry into recent Avanti West Coast train derailment in Cumbria finds sensors may not work if landslips happen quicklyAccident investigators have issued an urgent safety warning that the railway's landslide monitoring equipment may not work when the earth moves suddenly, after discovering sensors did not transmit when a landslip derailed an intercity train.The front wheels of an Avanti West Coast train from Glasgow to London came off the tracks on 3 November when it hit debris washed on to the track by heavy rain near Shap, Cumbria, while travelling at 83 mph. Fortunately, the train stayed upright and only four passengers were injured. Continue reading...

After criticism for his response to the atrocity, the prime minister shows support for Jewish community in this time of grief'Anthony Albanese has attended a service at the Great Synagogue in Sydney to honour the memory of those lost" in the Bondi terror attack.After conceding that his government could have done more to curb the rise of antisemitism in Australia before the attack on a Hanukah celebration, the prime minister attended the service on Friday evening - the first Shabbat since the attack. Continue reading...

Medical professionals and some in conservative circles feel argument of Lee Jae Myung may be a bit thinSouth Korean president Lee Jae Myung has instructed his government to consider extending public health insurance to cover hair-loss treatments, arguing that baldness has become a matter of survival" rather than a cosmetic concern for young people.The proposal, which has since faced a backlash from medical professionals and conservative figures, was announced during a policy briefing on Tuesday and would expand coverage beyond the limited medical treatments currently available for certain types of hair loss. Continue reading...

Manar al-Houbi's family had been denied entry despite a scholarship covering their living costs, but other students remain strandedThe UK government has finally evacuated Manar al-Houbi, the Gaza student who won a fully funded scholarship to pursue her PhD at the University of Glasgow, along with her family from the war-ravaged territory this week.In October, the Guardian highlighted Houbi's desperate battle to get her family evacuated after they were denied entry to the UK, despite her scholarship and visa permitting her to bring them. Continue reading...

Two-year deal will cover most of Ukraine's needs, but will be secured against EU borrowing rather than Russian assetsEU leaders have pledged a 90bn loan for Ukraine to meet urgent financial needs, but failed to agree on the preferred option for many of securing that loan against Russia's frozen assets in the bloc.After talks ended in the early hours of Friday, the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, told reporters: We committed and we delivered." He said EU leaders had approved a decision to make a 90bn loan to Ukraine for the next two years backed by the EU budget, which Kyiv would repay only once Russia pays reparations. Continue reading...

Investigation centres on pair's movements outside the GV hotel, where they stayed throughout their time in the countryOne of the alleged Bondi beach shooters visited a firearms shop during his visit to the Philippines, local police have revealed as they investigate what the pair did in the weeks before the mass shooting.Sajid Akram and his son Naveed stayed in a hotel in Davao City for four weeks before returning to Australia on 28 November, only two weeks before they allegedly killed 15 people and wounded dozens of others at a Hanukah celebration in Sydney on Sunday. Continue reading...

Shoppers held back on Black Friday spending in November and budget uncertainty hit consumer confidence

Bestselling author says focus on masterpieces' puts children off as he promotes prison literacy schemeToo much of the literature taught in UK schools is putting children off reading and thrillers should become part of the curriculum, one of the world's biggest selling authors has argued.Lee Child, the British writer of Jack Reacher novels, which have sold more than 100m copies worldwide, said: I can totally understand why, if you're an English teacher and you've read all your life and you love this stuff and you've been to university, then you want to introduce the big, major masterpieces. But that's too much for kids." Continue reading...

Rabbi Yehoram Ulman told mourners that because of their courage there would be a seperate place in heaven' reserved for the coupleBoris and Sofia Gurman, a local couple who were killed in the Bondi terrorist attack after trying to stop one of the gunmen, have been remembered as hardworking, loving and brave at their funeral service in Sydney's east.Dozens of people, including politicians and senior members of the Jewish community, gathered at the Chevra Kadisha in Woollahra on Friday morning to farewell Boris, 69, and Sofia, 61, who died in each other's arms on Sunday. Continue reading...

Decision comes despite independent review finding that treatment decisions must be informed by each individual's presentation and circumstances'

Britt, whose marriage to Davis in 1960 provoked threats due to racism and anti-miscegenation laws in the US, has died of natural causes in Los AngelesMay Britt, the Swedish actor whose marriage to Sammy Davis Jr in 1960 was the subject of controversy due to US attitudes towards interracial marriage, has died at 91.Her son Mark Davis confirmed the news to the Hollywood Reporter, saying his mother died on 11 December of natural causes at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana medical center in Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Prime minister announces first firearm buyback since Port Arthur massacre, and designates Sunday a national day of reflection in honour of Hanukah shooting victims

Essex force says report is outside time limit for prosecution, while Electoral Commission says it has not found any undeclared spendingNigel Farage has avoided investigation over claims his general election campaign breached electoral law last year - in part because too much time has passed since the alleged offences.The Reform UK leader was told on Thursday that Essex police could not open an investigation because it was now time-barred, more than a year having passed since any alleged offence. The Electoral Commission, which had been asked to open a separate inquiry into other elements, said it had not identified any undeclared spending that should have been reported. Continue reading...

Commons leader denies allegation and says government not trying to break bodies' after doctor said prisoners were dyingThe government is not trying to break the bodies" of Palestine Action protesters on hunger strike, a minister has said, after a doctor said eight of the activists were dying.The prisoners on hunger strike are facing charges related to alleged break-ins or criminal damage on behalf of Palestine Action before the group was banned under terrorism legislation in July, charges which they deny and have called to be dropped. Continue reading...

Napier barracks in Folkestone faced multiple problems, from far-right protests to damning high court ruling over safeguarding issuesThe UK's first and most longstanding military barracks used to accommodate asylum seekers is closing its doors on Thursday after almost six years.The closure of the controversial Napier barracks in Folkestone comes at a time when the government has pledged to expand its use of this form of accommodation as an alternative to expensive hotels, which anti-migrant and far-right protesters have criticised for being luxurious", but which asylum seekers and those who work with them say are often rundown and unsuitable. Continue reading...

Intelligence service says attacks were work of groups connected to Russian state in clear evidence' of hybrid warThe Danish government has accused Russia of being behind two destructive and disruptive" cyber-attacks in what it describes as very clear evidence" of a hybrid war.The Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS) announced on Thursday that Moscow was behind a cyber-attack on a Danish water utility in 2024and a series of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on Danish websites in the lead up to the municipal and regional council elections in November. Continue reading...

Impossible to judge safety or effectiveness as adult clinics not systematically recording outcomes, Dr David Levy findsDoctors treating vulnerable patients with gender dysphoria have no way of assessing whether the NHS treatment provided has worked because outcomes are not systematically recorded, a damning official inquiry into the clinics has found.Waiting times for a first appointment at NHS adult gender dysphoria clinics (GDCs) in England are projected to reach 15 years unless there are improvements, the review found. The number of people seeking treatment is rising significantly and on average patients are already waiting five years and seven months for a first assessment. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Book to detail life from child poverty and teenage pregnancy to unions and Labour deputy leadership before fall from grace

Tory leader dismisses the government's newly published strategy as a complete distraction'Richard Adams is the Guardian's education editor.The British public supports the government's decision to rejoin the Erasmus youth education and work experience programme, according to snap polling released by YouGov. Continue reading...

NHS England on high alert as admissions reach all-time high for this time of yearPeople should stay home over the Christmas period if they have symptoms of flu or Covid, experts have warned amid fears flu cases could see a second surge in the New Year.Flu levels appear to be plateauing, but it is too soon to say whether they have peaked, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). As a result, experts are urging people to wash their hands regularly, make sure indoor spaces are well ventilated, get a free vaccination if eligible, and stay home where possible if symptoms develop. Continue reading...

Summit divided on idea of loan secured against Russian assets, as Belgium seeks guarantees if scheme goes wrong

ECJ ruling brings hope to area of city targeted over high percentage of residents with non-western' backgroundsResidents of a Copenhagen neighbourhood that became an international symbol of a law in Denmark known as the ghetto law" have said they are confident they can overturn the legislation in the Danish courts after the top EU court ruled that it may be unlawful.The controversial law, dating from 2018, allows the state to demolish apartment blocks in areas labelled parallel societies" by the government, where at least half of residents have a non-western" background. Formerly, the government referred to these neighbourhoods as ghettoes". Continue reading...

Move-on period extended from 28 days to 56 days if person recently granted refugee status is at risk of sleeping roughThe UK high court has halted evictions of thousands of new refugees who were at risk of spending Christmas on the streets.Concern had been mounting among lawyers and human rights campaigners that within days of celebrating being granted refugee status the group could find themselves rough sleeping. Continue reading...

Package includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, and has drawn an angry response from China

Giridharan Sivaraman warns of a surge of racially motivated violence in wake of Bondi shooting, saying it's going to get worse before it gets better'