Court found 51 men guilty including Dominique Pelicot, who was given a 20-year prison sentenceAt least 15 of the men found guilty of raping or sexually abusing Gisele Pelicot have appealed against their convictions and will be given a second trial.All 51 men, including her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, were convicted and given prison sentences of between three and 20 years before Christmas after a trial lasting three and a half months. Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years. Continue reading...

Biographer says government departments give contradictory refusals to requests and accuses them of cover up'Researchers have called for greater transparency from the Foreign Office over the files it holds on the Duke of York. Officials responding to freedom of information requests have given a variety of reasons why the files cannot be released.Andrew Lownie, an author who is researching a biography of Prince Andrew, was told that the files could not be made public until 2065, and implied there was a general rule that papers relating to members of the royal family must remain closed until 105 years after their birth. Continue reading...

Kirsty Carless, 33, charged after death of Louis Price, 31, on Christmas DayA 33-year-old woman has been charged with murder after the death of a man on Christmas Day in Staffordshire.Officers were called to a property in Norton Canes, near Cannock, at about 3.25am on Wednesday, where Louis Price, 31, was in cardiac arrest. Despite medical efforts, Price died a short time later. Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands gather in central Seoul to protest against president suspended over martial law declarationHundreds of thousands of South Koreans flooded central Seoul on Saturday in the latest wave of protests demanding the removal of the country's suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, a day after parliament voted to impeach his acting replacement.Organisers claimed that more than 500,000 people participated in the rally, which took place amid a large police presence. Continue reading...

People line New Delhi streets to pay tribute to man who steered India through some of its most turbulent economic timesIndia bade farewell to former prime minister Manmohan Singh, the architect of the country's economic transformation, with a state funeral in New Delhi, complete with full honours and a 21-gun salute.Sikh priests chanted hymns as Singh's flag-draped coffin, strewn with rose petals, was carried on a carriage through the capital, pulled by a ceremonially decorated army truck. Congress party supporters chanted: As long as the sun and moon remain, your name will remain," and Long live Manmohan Singh" as Singh's body was removed from the headquarters of the left-leaning party, where it had been lying in state. Continue reading...

Tool uses machine learning to analyse medical data for red flags relating to undiagnosed atrial fibrillationThousands of strokes could be averted in the UK each year after doctors developed an algorithm that spots patients at risk by scanning millions of GP records.The tool uses machine learning to scour medical data for red flags that could identify patients with undiagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF), a heart condition that significantly increases stroke risk. Continue reading...

Newly released documents show Irish officials sought return of cannon sold by gang of British treasure hunters'Rare cannon allegedly smuggled out of Irish waters by a gang of British treasure hunters and acquired for a knockdown price by a Tower of London official were at the centre of a decades-long dispute between British and Irish officials, according to newly released records.Irish officials made extensive efforts to convince UK authorities to return the bronze cannon after claiming they were illegally smuggled" from a Waterford shipwreck and sold to the Tower of London. Continue reading...

New opposition leader puts focus on crime crackdown - and not on all-male leadership team

Gavin and Stacey actor among celebrities including Ellen MacArthur and Damon Albarn who will join celebrationsWhat's occurring with the Shipping Forecast? The Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones is to read the seafarers' bulletin to celebrate a centenary of the shipping news on the BBC.It will be Jones's last performance in her Gavin and Stacey role as no-nonsense Nessa after the sitcom's triumphant Christmas finale. Gavin and Stacey won the festive TV ratings war with 12.3 million viewers, becoming the most watched programme on Christmas Day for 16 years. Continue reading...

Minister says request regarding welder arrested in 2005 on drugs charges will be discussed in January amid spate of transfer of high-profile detaineesIndonesia has received an official request from France to transfer a French death row inmate imprisoned on drugs charges since 2005, a senior Indonesian minister said on Saturday.We have received a formal letter requesting the transfer of Serge Atlaoui on 19 December 2024. The letter was sent on behalf of the French minister of justice," senior Indonesian law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra told Agence France-Presse. Continue reading...

21-year-old Taewoo Kim last seen going for a swim at Moonee beach, near Coffs Harbour, on Boxing Day; police say another man's body found in sea south of Wollongong

Fan Weiqiu, angry at his divorce settlement, caused great social harm' when he drove into people as they exercised in the city of Zhuhai, court saysA court in China has sentenced a man to death for killing 35 people last month by driving into a crowd, in an attack that raised national concern about mass killings.Fan Weiqiu was venting his anger because he was unhappy with his divorce settlement, the court in the southern city of Zhuhai said in handing down the sentence on Friday. The victims were exercising at a sports centre at the time of the attack. Fan pleaded guilty to endangering public safety by dangerous means, a court statement said. Continue reading...

Critical incident team from Bankstown Police Area Command to investigate circumstances surrounding 33-year-old's death

UN humanitarian body warns that dramatic increase in harm to children should not become the new normal'Nearly one in five of the world's children live in areas affected by conflicts, with more than 473 million children suffering from the worst levels of violence since the second world war, according to figures published by the UN.The UN humanitarian aid organisation for children, Unicef, said on Saturday that the percentage of children living in conflict zones around the world has doubled from about 10% in the 1990s to almost 19%, and warned that this dramatic increase in harm to children should not become the new normal". Continue reading...

First of Kim Jong-un's soldiers to be taken was detained in Kursk region of Russia, according to Ukrainian reports

Il Foglio war correspondent Cecilia Sala taken in by police while reporting in Tehran, says Italy's foreign ministryAn Italian journalist has been arrested while reporting in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and held in solitary confinement for a week, according to Italy's foreign ministry.Cecilia Sala, 29, a war correspondent and reporter who works for the newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained on 19 December, the ministry said, but her arrest was only made public on Friday. Continue reading...

IDF says missile was intercepted before it reached Israeli airspace, as Netanyahu says strikes on Yemen will continueHouthi rebels in Yemen claim to have retaliated against Israeli airstrikes on Sana'a's airport early on Friday with a missile aimed at Israel's Ben Gurion airport and a drone attack on Tel Aviv.The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said their defences intercepted the ballistic missile before it reached Israeli airspace, though residents in the centre of the country were ordered into shelters for fear of falling debris. There were no reports in Israel of hostile drones over Tel Aviv. Continue reading...

Labour blames appalling legacy' left by Tories after milestone for number of arrivals was reached on Boxing DayLabour has blamed the Tories for leaving an appalling legacy of border security" after figures showed more than 150,000 people have arrived in the UK in small boats since 2018.The milestone was reached after Home Office figures confirmed that at least 850 people landed in small boats on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Continue reading...

Carrier suspends flights to five Russian airports after early findings of investigation into crash on Christmas DayThe aircraft that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, killing 38 people, experienced external physical and technical interference", according to preliminary results of an investigation, Azerbaijan Airlines said on Friday.The early findings led the carrier to suspend flights to five Russian airports, citing potential risks to flight safety", adding to the two routes that were suspended immediately after the crash. Continue reading...

Jane Doe alleges Shaun Carter and Sean Diddy' Combs sexually assaulted her at a 2000 MTV awards afterpartyJay-Z's legal efforts to dismiss a case accusing him of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 have been denied by a judge in New York, with the judge in the case condemning a lawyer for the hip-hop mogul for aggressive tactics.Jay-Z, whose given name is Shawn Carter, has denied the allegations, but the judge in the case used strong language in attacking his legal team's actions. Continue reading...

Coroner calls for improvements after Chloe Every was wrongly prescribed morphine shortly before she diedA coroner who ruled that gross failure" in the hospital care of a disabled woman possibly contributed to her death" has called for improvements to protect patients.Graeme Irvine, the senior coroner for east London, said the inquest into the death of Chloe Every had revealed matters giving rise to concern" while she was in the care of Barking, Havering and Redbridge university hospitals NHS trust. Continue reading...

Protests have erupted nationwide after disappearance of boys not seen since they were approached by soldiersThe disappearance of four boys in Ecuador after they came into contact with the armed forces is posing a severe challenge to President Daniel Noboa's war on drugs".The four - all black, aged between 11 and 15, and residents of Las Malvinas, a poor area in the country's largest city, Guayaquil - were returning from a football game near their homes on 8 December when 16 air force soldiers approached them. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Middle East coverage hereAn estimated 730,000 people living in tents in camps for the displaced in northwest Syria are experiencing dire conditions this winter including from flooding, the UN humanitarian office has said.

Removal of acting president Han Duck-soo is part of a rancorous battle for the country's constitutional futureFor the fourth time this month, South Korea's parliament has become the arena for a rancorous battle for the country's political future.Safeguarding the hard-won rights and freedoms South Koreans have enjoyed for almost four decades is a lofty aim - and supported by the vast majority of voters - but the scenes inside the national assembly have been a reminder of how thin the line can be between democracy and rule by force. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereEvents since Yoon's martial law declaration on December 3 had ignited South Korea's worst political crisis since 1987 when nationwide public demonstrations forced the ruling party of former military generals to accept the democratic election of the president.On Friday, prosecutors indicted former Defence Minister Kim Yong-Hyun in the first move to put an official accused of insurrection on trial, Yonhap News said. Continue reading...

Woman, 33, arrested after incident in early hours of Christmas Day at house in Norton Canes, near CannockA man who was found dead at home in Staffordshire in the early hours of Christmas Day has been named as Louis Price.A 33-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of murder after officers from Staffordshire police were called to an address in Norton Canes, near Cannock, at about 3.25am, to a man in his 30s suffering a cardiac arrest. Despite the efforts of medics, he died shortly afterwards. Continue reading...

Roy Quaden, 55, and Nick Smith, 65, dead after incidents on yachts Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline

Yacht race claims two crew members' lives on separate boats, while survivor recounts getting thrown down waves'

About 34,000 Ukrainian children have fled to UK since Russian invasion - yet are unable to study their mother tongueUkraine is lobbying the UK government to give teenage refugees who fled the war-torn country the chance to study a GCSE in Ukrainian, amid reports they are instead being pressed to study Russian.Ukraine's education ministry has written to the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to say it is crucial" to reintroduce a GCSE in Ukrainian. Continue reading...

As leadership spill speculation grew, Battin was widely touted as the top candidate for the embattled opposition leader's job

Mutations are rare but have been reported in some cases in other countries and most often in extreme infectionsThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday its analysis of samples from the first severe case of bird flu in the country last week showed mutations not seen in samples from an infected backyard flock on the patient's property.The CDC said the patient's sample showed mutations in the hemagglutinin (HA) gene, the part of the virus that plays a key role in it attaching to host cells. Continue reading...

Head of the World Health Organization and other UN staff reportedly safe after strikes on Sana'a airport in YemenFive Palestinian journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their vehicle in central Gaza, their employer has said, while Israel has also struck several areas in Houthi rebel-controlled Yemen in air raids.Faisal Abu al-Qumsan, Ayman al-Jadi, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Khalil, Fadi Hassouna and Mohammed al-Lada'a were sleeping in their broadcasting truck, marked as press, when it was targeted in a direct strike by the Israeli military, witnesses told Palestinian media. Another 32 people were killed in other Israeli pre-dawn strikes across the territory, the local health ministry said. Continue reading...

Police chief says 33 prisoners dead and 15 others injured after confrontation with security forcesAt least 6,000 inmates escaped from a high-security prison in Mozambique's capital Maputo on Christmas Day after a rebellion, the chief of police has said, as widespread post-election riots and violence continue to engulf the country.The police general commander, Bernardino Rafael, said 33 prisoners had died and 15 others were injured during a confrontation with the security forces. Continue reading...

The ex-politician was admitted to hospital on Thursday after his health deterioratedIndia's former prime minister, Manmohan Singh, widely regarded as the architect of India's economic reform program and a landmark nuclear deal with the US, has died aged 92.Singh was admitted to New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences late Thursday after his health deteriorated due to sudden loss of consciousness at home", the hospital said in a statement, adding that he was being treated for age-related medical conditions". Continue reading...

Cook Islands-registered Eagle S was carrying Russian oil in the Baltic SeaFinnish authorities have seized a ship carrying Russian oil in the Baltic Sea on suspicion it caused the outage of an undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia a day earlier, and that it also damaged or broke four internet lines.A Finnish coastguard crew boarded the Cook Islands-registered ship, named by authorities as the Eagle S, on Thursday. The crew took command and sailed the vessel to Finnish waters, a coastguard official told a press conference. Continue reading...

Data may reflect shift in behaviour influenced by cost of living crisis or front-loading of spendingFewer consumers made the journey to high streets and shopping centres in search of Boxing Day discounts this year.Footfall across UK retailers was down 8.9% as of 3pm on Thursday, compared with Boxing Day in 2023, according to data from MRI Software. Continue reading...

Teenage actor died two days after getting hurt in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, as family plans live stream memorial serviceThe teenage actor Hudson Meek has died after he fell out of a moving vehicle in Alabama, authorities said.Meek, 16, was hurt on December 19 while on a street in Vestavia Hills, a suburb of Birmingham. He died two days later, according to the Jefferson county coroner's office. Continue reading...

IT technician Joe Mezgebe arrived at unfair dismissal hearing to find no judge available - for the second timeA disabled man with prostate cancer has had his employment tribunal for unfair dismissal postponed the day before it was due to take place because a judge was not available - 13 months after exactly the same thing happened.Joe Mezgebe, an IT technician, who first presented his claim against Christ's College, Finchley academy in June 2021, has lost 15,300 in fees to his barrister as a result of the cancellations, and fears he may not live to see justice done. Continue reading...

Airforce hits military industrial facility in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, in Russia's Rostov region, says Ukrainian militaryRussia and Kazakhstan have sought to temper speculation about the cause of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, with the Kremlin urging people to wait for the results of the investigation, writes the Guardian's European community affairs correspondent Ashifa Kassam and Pjotr Sauer, the Russia affairs correspondent.A Ukrainian national security official has claimed that the crash, which killed 38 people on Christmas Day, was caused by Russian air defence fire. Continue reading...

Former prisoners endured hearing fellow inmates being executed - but they are the lucky ones, with 100,000 people still missingOf all the horrors Mohammed Ammar Hamami remembers from his time in the Assad regime's notorious Sednaya prison, the most vivid is the clanging of metal execution tables being moved around on the floor below.About once every 40 days, prison guards would drag the tables away from under the feet of condemned men. Nooses around their necks and hands tied behind their backs, they would die by hanging. Most of the bodies were burned in Sednaya's crematorium. Continue reading...

Government urged to ban trail hunting as data suggests illegal foxhunting is still widespread in England and WalesAnimal welfare campaigners are calling on ministers to keep to a pledge to toughen anti-hunt laws, as figures suggest illegal foxhunting remains widespread in England and Wales.Almost 20 years since the Hunting Act 2004 was brought in by Tony Blair's government, the League Against Cruel Sports (Lacs) - the animal welfare charity that was the driving force behind the original ban - says its data evidences how stronger legislation is required to close loopholes and prohibit trail hunting, which campaigners say has been used as a smokescreen for illegal foxhunting. Trail hunting is where dogs follow an animal-based scent. Continue reading...

The pontiff opened the door at the Rebibbia jail to show hope does not disappoint'Pope Francis has visited one of the largest prisons in Italy, opening a special holy door" for the Catholic church's 2025 jubilee, in what the Vatican described it as a historic move" as it is the first time a sacred portal has been opened at a jail.Speaking to hundreds of inmates on Thursday at the Rebibbia prison on the outskirts of Rome, in a gesture of hope to show his closeness to detainees, Francis said he wanted to open the door, part of the prison chapel, and one of only five that will be open during the holy year", to show that hope does not disappoint". Continue reading...

If motion is successful, it would be country's second impeachment of a head of state in less than two weeksSouth Korea's opposition said on Thursday it had filed an impeachment motion against the acting president, Han Duck-soo, in an escalating row over the composition of the constitutional court which will decide whether to remove his predecessor from office.South Korea became mired in a political crisis when President Yoon Suk Yeol, currently suspended, declared martial law on 3 December. Continue reading...

Potential IPCC rule changes could award planned carbon savings from burning US wood pellets to the exporter, not the importerThe UK government is gambling with its own climate targets on claims that the Drax power plant will create negative emissions" because new rules could hand the carbon savings to the US, campaigners say.The owners of the North Yorkshire power plant have promised ministers that a key project to capture the carbon emissions created from burning biomass wood pellets imported from US forests will count as negative emissions in Britain's carbon accounts. Continue reading...

Christopher Barlow to appear in court after Mariann Borocz's body was discovered on Christmas EveA man has been charged with the murder of Mariann Borocz, a Hungarian woman who went missing in Greater Manchester this month.Christopher Barlow, 61, will appear at Manchester and Salford magistrates court on Boxing Day charged with murdering Borocz, whose body was found at a house in Bolton on Christmas Eve. Continue reading...

Shoppers expected to splurge on homewares and beauty products, with retail spending projected to top $1.3bn on Boxing Day

Homicide squad detectives investigating after 59-year-old found dead at Wood Duck Court in Langwarrin

Search operation for 15-year-old moves into recovery phase' after he went missing at North Avoca Beach on the Central Coast

Bengal tiger, cougars, a lynx and bobcats dead as disease spreads rapidly among US poultry flocks and dairy herdsTwenty big cats, including a Bengal tiger, four cougars, a lynx and four bobcats, have died after contracting bird flu at an animal sanctuary in Shelton, Washington.The big cat deaths come as bird flu, a highly pathogenic avian influenza, has spread rapidly through poultry flocks and dairy herds in the US, infected and killed domestic cats, and caused a severe illness in a person in Louisiana. Continue reading...

New president of the Royal Society for Blind Children calls for better design of AI-driven technologyBlind and partially sighted people are being excluded from the benefits of artificial intelligence tools and facing a new level of discrimination", the new president of the Royal Society for Blind Children has claimed as he called for better design of everything from video games to AI agents.Tom Pey said existing difficulties for blind children were now compounded because they're excluded [and] distanced from their non-disabled peers, because those people can experience games, alternative realities and the AI-driven visual types of technology". Continue reading...