Ageing populations and falling birthrates have left ever fewer workers to support growing number of retireesIt has played a starring role in one of the worst periods of political turmoil in France since the 1960s. In Germany, it threatens the future of the coalition government. In Spain, thousands have taken to the streets to demand change.The right to a decent state pension has been a central plank of the European social contract for decades, but people are living longer, birthrates are falling, and the continent's pension systems are, increasingly, unsustainable. Continue reading...

YouGov survey finds many say payments are too low and oppose reforms such as raising retirement age or cutsMost Europeans believe their country's state pension system will soon become unaffordable - but they also think the current scheme is not generous enough, and do not support options for overhauling it such as raising the retirement age.As populations age and fertility rates decline, Europe's pay as you go" state pension systems, cornerstones of the welfare state that have always relied on people in work paying the retirees' pensions, are coming under increasingly heavy pressure. Continue reading...

Spring-like weather experienced by many Americans to end, while heavy snow in Japan brings deadly conditionsA week of extremes in the US as Arctic air plunges southwards across many states, sweeping away record-breaking warmth from last weekend. With low pressure in the west drawing up warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico, much of the south and midwest basked in spring-like weather this weekend with temperatures widely an extraordinary 15-20C above normal for late December.This week, however, most people will ditch their summer clothes for hats and scarves as a ridge pressure builds across the west, allowing for a polar air mass to dive southward, bringing freezing temperatures and the risk of snow. Continue reading...

US president said thorny' questions over territory have yet to be resolved and expressed sympathy with Russia not wanting a ceasefireDonald Trump has said a deal to end the war in Ukraine is closer than ever" but has admitted that thorny" questions over the future of the eastern Donbas region have yet to be resolved, after a two-hour meeting on Sunday with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida.Trump said a draft agreement to end the war was nearly 95% done". I really think we are closer than ever with both sides," he said, adding that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, also wants to see it happen". Continue reading...

Hinata Goto reportedly fell as he was trying to get off the 30-metre-long walkwayA five-year-old boy has died after becoming trapped in a moving travelator at a ski resort in northern Japan, local media have said.The victim, Hinata Goto, died on Sunday after his right arm became trapped in the walkway's winding mechanism during a family skiing trip to Otaru, a city on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido. Continue reading...

Emma Johnston AO became first woman to lead the 172-year-old institution in February 2025

Survivors urge government to stop using suppliers cited in public inquiry into fire in which 72 people diedSurvivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have called on the government to stop companies implicated in the disaster from receiving public contracts, after it was revealed several were still in receipt of multimillion-pound deals.New analysis found at least 87 contracts across the public sector in the government's own database involve companies criticised in the phase 2 report into the Grenfell fire, published in September 2024, though some contracts may have since expired. Continue reading...

Sadiq Khan's office blames delay on lack of government guidance on links between gambling ads and harmGambling companies have spent nearly 5m to advertise on the London transport network since Sadiq Khan pledged to stop them from doing so, amid a prolonged impasse between the mayor's office and the government.Khan said during his 2021 mayoral election campaign that he would order Transport for London (TfL) to extend a ban on junk food ads to cover online casinos and bookmakers as well, citing the devastating" impact of addiction. Continue reading...

Labor defends plan for faster, narrower review despite Jewish leaders and families of 11 victims demanding full national royal commission

This blog is closed. Read the full story hereThe Ukrainian military said on Sunday that it hit the Syzran oil refinery in Russia's Samara region in an overnight drone attack.The strike caused a fire and damages were still being assessed, Kyiv's General Staff said. Continue reading...

Emergency services say intense fire' spread throughout semi-detached property in Hamstreet near AshfordA child has died after a house fire in Kent, emergency services have said.Another child and an adult were taken to hospital after the blaze occurred in White Admiral Way in the village of Hamstreet, near Ashford, on Sunday. Continue reading...

Emmanuel Macron leads tributes to actor who became an international sex symbol and later embraced animal rights and far-right politics

David Darke sustained fatal injuries in incident outside the Crown Inn in Appleby Magna, police sayThe relatives of a 66-year-old man who died days after being punched outside a village pub have paid tribute to the devoted family man".David Darke, who died in hospital on Saturday, was injured outside the Crown Inn in Appleby Magna, Leicestershire, on 21 December. Continue reading...

Dissident was freed by Egypt after campaign by successive UK governments but offensive posts have surfacedThe decision by successive UK governments to campaign for the release and return of British-Egyptian democracy activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been called into question after past violent and offensive social media posts came to light.The dissident's historical remarks - in which he appeared to call for violence towards Zionists" and the police - have prompted a widespread backlash since his return from detention in Egypt on Friday. Continue reading...

UKHSA warns vulnerable and elderly people may be at risk with temperatures to drop severely overnightAmber cold health alerts have been issued for northern England, with low temperatures predicted to cause a rise in deaths" among vulnerable and elderly people.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued two amber warnings for north-east and north-west England, which will be in place between 8pm on Sunday until midday on Monday 5 January. Continue reading...

Model turned actor never lost the poise from her dancing days - but she also made gingham and leopard print her own

Latest suit claims the billionaire film-maker subjected actor Mario Rodriguez to repeated unwanted sexual advancesTyler Perry has been hit with a $77m sexual assault lawsuit by a man claiming the US entertainment mogul used his Hollywood power to make sexual advances after he dangled a part in the 2016 comedy Boo! A Madea Halloween.The lawsuit claims Perry subjected Mario Rodriguez to repeated unwanted sexual advances. That allegedly included sexual battery and assault at Perry's Los Angeles home, according to the lawsuit, which claims film studio Lionsgate ignored the misconduct. Continue reading...

Turnout appears low for vote in which most candidates seen as allies of junta and large areas excluded by warPolls have closed in conflict-racked Myanmar, ending the first phase of an election that has been widely condemned as a sham designed to legitimise the military junta's rule.The military has touted the vote as a return to democracy almost five years after it seized power in a coup, ousting the country's then de-facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, detaining her and sparking a spiralling civil war. Continue reading...

Big names can attract audiences as venues struggle with fallout from pandemic, austerity and high costs, Rebecca Dawson saysCasting big stars in stage productions is sometimes needed because theatre is in an undeniably challenging" moment and must compete with streaming services for people's time and money, the incoming director of the Bristol Old Vic has said.Rebecca Dawson will start as executive director and joint chief executive on 6 January, leading the oldest continually operating theatre in the English-speaking world into its 260th anniversary year. Continue reading...

In towns such as Northampton, in-person help with finances is a promise many customers still depend upon

Russia's barbaric" attack on capital draws condemnation as Ukrainian leader readies for Florida meetingPower supplies to Ukraine's capital remained patchy on Sunday after a Russian drone and missile barrage that left hundreds of thousands of people facing freezing temperatures.Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is preparing to hold face-to-face talks on Sunday with Donald Trump, said Moscow had used nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles, including ballistic missiles, in the attack early on Saturday. Continue reading...

PM Albin Kurti's Self-Determination party may struggle to win majority after rival parties refused allianceVoters in Kosovo are casting ballots in an early parliamentary election in the hope of breaking a political deadlock that has gripped the small Balkan nation for much of this year.The snap vote was scheduled after the prime minister Albin Kurti's governing Vetevendosje, or Self-Determination, party failed to form a government despite winning the most votes in a 9 February election. Continue reading...

Kathmandu mayor Balendra Balen' Shah will run for prime minister with presenter Rabi Lamichhane's party after deadly protests that ousted governmentTwo of Nepal's most popular political leaders have formed an alliance ahead of next year's election in the wake of deadly youth-led protests earlier in the year that ousted the government.Television host Rabi Lamichhane, the 51-year-old chairperson of the Rastriya Swatantra party (RSP), and the 35-year-old rapper turned Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah pledged to address the demands of the younger generation following September's deadly anti-corruption protests. Continue reading...

Charities and MP Bob Blackman urge government to implement law to tackle scandal of exempt' accommodationPeople are dying in unsafe accommodation and communities are being irreversibly damaged due to delays to a new law to clamp down on unregulated supported housing in England.It has been more than two years since the Supported Housing Act, a private member's bill brought by the Conservative MP Bob Blackman, that applies to England and Wales, was given royal assent but it has yet to be implemented due to delays in creating the regulations. Continue reading...

Coral Adventurer says passengers and crew are safe while team tries to refloat ship and inspects the hull

NSW premier also announces police will carry long-arm rifles at major New Year's Eve event in Sydney

Opposition hopes to tap into frustrations of people living in country where conflict remains a daily realityCentral African Republic goes to the polls on Sunday with the president, Faustin-Archange Touadera, seeking a third term.As many as 2.3 million registered voters will cast ballots for what observers are calling a quadruple election: votes for the presidency and parliament as well as local and municipal offices. Continue reading...

Livestock at risk as some areas expected to receive up to 500mm in the coming week, according to the Bureau of Meteorology

Man spotted at beach in Newcastle on Wednesday with tattoos linked to white supremacist ideology

As the military pushes ahead with a widely condemned election, Beijing's priorities are proving decisive

Deputy defence minister says new air defence systems will be completed in 24 monthsPoland plans to complete a new set of anti-drone fortifications along its eastern borders within two years, a top defence official has said, after a massive incursion of unmanned Russian aerial combat vehicles into Polish airspace earlier this year.We expect to have the first capabilities of the system in roughly six months, perhaps even sooner. And the full system will take 24 months to complete," the deputy defence minister, Cezary Tomczyk, told the Guardian in an interview in Warsaw. Continue reading...

Iain Peters waited more than 50 years before going to the police but hopes he can be a beacon for other survivorsA man who was sexually assaulted by a children's television presenter has spoken of how climbing and mountaineering saved his life and sanity" during the 50 years in which he kept the abuse secret.Iain Peters, 77, who has waived his right to anonymity, was between nine and 13 years old when he was abused weekly by John Earle, when he was a geography teacher and deputy head at a now-closed boarding school in Okehampton, Devon. Continue reading...

Mysterious donors gave a fleet of 10 of the vehicles - which have had a number of recalls - to the police earlier this yearThe Las Vegas police department rolled out a new fleet of tactical vehicles to city streets last month: all Tesla Cybertrucks. The steel cars, wrapped in black-and-white vinyl, come decked out with warning lights and flashing sirens on the roof. They seem to be heftier, more angular versions of a traditional police car. Las Vegas is the first city in the US to grant its officers access to a battalion of the futuristic trucks, which have become synonymous with the Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, the richest person in the world.They represent something far bigger than just a police car," Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a recent press conference showcasing the vehicles. They represent innovation." Continue reading...

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde apologises after error meant one family had no remains at a funeralAn investigation has been launched by a Glasgow hospital after an error led to the wrong body being cremated.The mistaken release of the body by the hospital to the undertakers was only discovered after the funeral service and the cremation had taken place. Continue reading...

Pilot programme for under-25s will offer paid placements aimed at introducing participants to military lifeYoung people in Britain will be offered a gap year-style scheme by the Ministry of Defence, in an effort to introduce citizens to military life early as part of a new whole of society" approach to defence.After initially announcing plans to implement the scheme earlier this year, the government has now confirmed that about 150 under-25s will be recruited for the pilot programme, which is due to start in March 2026. Continue reading...

Mamady Doumbouya accused of betraying his promise to be the restorer of democracy after leading 2021 coupIn September 2021, a tall, young colonel in the Guinean army announced that he and his comrades had forcibly seized power and toppled the longtime leader Alpha Conde.The will of the strongest has always supplanted the law," Mamady Doumbouya said in a speech, stressing that the soldiers were acting to restore the will of the people. Continue reading...

Conditions ease south-west of Perth as residents evacuated from Boddington fire on Christmas Day allowed to return

Research suggests fewer than one in 60 public sector workers share leave with partners when they have a baby

Exhibition of design flops should suit British sense of humour, says its founder, but also shows failure is a part of learningBritain has been mismanaging inventions and ideas with impeccable style for centuries. Next spring, we will finally get a museum to celebrate the results: the Museum of Failure is coming to the UK.Its founder, Dr Samuel West, is anticipating a warm welcome: Britain, he said, was the museum's spiritual home. I've travelled all over the world with the museum but I've always wanted to bring it back home because of our black humour and our support of the underdog," he said. The Brits totally get it." Continue reading...

Fears for transparency and governance after closure of public log meant to curb abuses and excess' in boardroomsUK-listed companies will be able to bury controversies over executive pay for the first time in eight years, a thinktank has warned, after the Labour government shut down a public tracker meant to curb abuses and excess in the boardroom".The public register was launched under the Tory prime minister Theresa May in 2017 to name and shame companies hit by shareholder revolts at their annual general meetings (AGMs). That included rebellions over issues such as excessive bonuses or salary increases for top earning bosses. Continue reading...

Marina Lacerda urges him to answer questions as Virginia Giuffre's lawyer says anyone who accepted former royal's denials should be ashamed'One of the victims of the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has called for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to answer questions in the US, while a lawyer for the former royal's accuser said those who had previously believed his denials should be ashamed of themselves".Speaking to the Guardian after the release of some of the Epstein files, the tranche of documents related to the disgraced financier, Marina Lacerda, an Epstein survivor, said Mountbatten-Windsor should be brought to justice". Continue reading...

The rules-based global order, its institutions and value system face a crisis of legitimacy and credibility as the US turns awayThe old world is dying," Antonio Gramsci once wrote. And the new world struggles to be born." In such interregnums, the Italian Marxist philosopher suggested, every act, even the smallest, may acquire decisive weight".In 2025, western leaders appeared convinced they - and we - were living through one such transitional period, as the world of international relations established after the second world war crashed to a halt. Continue reading...

No snow confirmed by 8am on Thursday but yellow weather warning for wind issued for south-west England and much of WalesWarnings for cold and windy weather have been issued for parts of the UK but a white Christmas was highly unlikely", according to the Met Office.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a yellow cold health alert from 6pm on Thursday to noon on 27 December for south-west England. The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for wind affecting a similar area and much of Wales, which lasts until 11.59pm on Christmas Day. Continue reading...

Sarah Mullally says national conversations ... continue to divide us, when our common humanity should unite us'The incoming archbishop of Canterbury has warned in her Christmas Day sermon that our national conversations about immigration continue to divide us, when our common humanity should unite us".Acting in her current role as the bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally told St Paul's Cathedral: Joy is born exactly where despair expects to triumph. As joy breaks through in our lives it gives us the opportunity to become people who make room. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine, which has no affiliation to direct action group, informed by deputy mayorA grassroots pro-Palestinian organisation in the UK has been told its bank account was frozen because of an investigation into Palestine Action", despite it having no affiliation to the direct action group.Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine (GMFP), which organises peaceful protests and vigils, had access to its funds cut off indefinitely by Virgin Money after Palestine Action was banned under the Terrorism Act and the account remains blocked. Continue reading...

Kateryna Endeberia says teachers made the hurtful' request when she had difficulty with other subjectsA Ukrainian refugee has been forced to drop out of sixth-form college after she said she was put under pressure to study Russian.Kateryna Endeberia moved to Stoke-on-Trent after fleeing Ukraine in 2022, after the start of Russia's invasion. Continue reading...

Rising numbers of people flee jihadists, as violence against civilians increases and foreign aid dwindlesMore than 300,000 people have been displaced by an Islamic State insurgency in Mozambique since July, amid growing fears that authorities lack a workable plan to end the fighting.With wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan attracting more attention and foreign aid falling, the grinding conflict in Mozambique has been largely ignored or forgotten. More than 1 million people have been displaced, many of them two, three or even four times. Continue reading...

Figures from FoI request show increase in ministerial use of social media personalities to present campaignsMore than half a million pounds has been spent since 2024 on using social media influencers to promote UK government campaigns on subjects ranging from the environment to welfare.The spending has included hiring 215 influencers since 2024, of which there were 126 in 2025 - an increase on the 89 hired in 2024 - and is seen as an attempt to use platforms such as TikTok to reach younger people. Continue reading...

Winning margin of 28,000 votes announced a month late but before review of all inconsistent' ballots was completedDonald Trump-backed candidate Nasry Tito" Asfura has been declared the winner of Honduras's presidential election after a vote count that dragged on for almost a month and was marred by fraud allegations and criticism of interference by the US president.The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the centre-right Salvador Nasralla, a margin of just 28,000 votes. Continue reading...