Assembly votes to keep special trading arrangements despite long-held division with unionist oppositionThe Northern Ireland assembly has voted to continue with the special Brexit trading arrangements for another four years.It means Northern Ireland will retain some EU trade laws as a means of maintaining an invisible border on the island of Ireland, despite continued opposition in some unionist quarters. Continue reading...

London fire brigade sends eight fire engines and about 60 firefighters to deal with blaze in Ley Street, IlfordTwo people have been taken to hospital after an explosion in a terrace house in Ilford, east London.London fire brigade sent eight fire engines and about 60 firefighters to deal with the blaze in Ley Street just after 4pm on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Records obtained via FoI request relate to critic of Saudi royal family living in UK under asylum protectionMohammed bin Salman personally lobbied David Cameron earlier this year to intervene in the legal case of a London-based dissident who is suing the Saudi government, amid threats by its officials that the issue could have implications" for 100bn of investment in the UK.UK government documents obtained by the Guardian show that Cameron asked senior Foreign Office (FCDO) officials to propose options after the extraordinary intervention by the Saudi crown prince over the case brought by Ghanem Al-Masarir, a prominent critic of the Saudi royal family who is living under asylum protection in the UK. Continue reading...

Post-Assad leadership must prove its social and political inclusivity to shed terror designation, says UN envoyThe UN would consider taking the Syrian rebel group that toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad off its designated terrorist list if it passes the key test of forming a truly inclusive transitional government, according to a senior official at the world body.Geir Pedersen, UN special envoy for Syria, held out the prospect of removing Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the organisation's list of proscribed terrorist groups. But he said the group could not seek to govern Syria in the way that it had governed Idlib, the northern province where it was based and from where it led the military breakout that resulted in the sudden collapse of the Assad regime. Continue reading...

Western intelligence has deemed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham not a direct terror threat to the UKHayat Tahrir al-Sham, the leading group that overthrew the Assad regime in Syria, is not a direct terror threat to the UK, according to western intelligence assessments.The judgment could mean that the UK, along with the US and EU, will soon remove HTS's designation as a terror organisation. In the British case, that would help justify direct contact with Syria's emerging leaders. Continue reading...

Counsel for Sun publisher accuses Duke of Sussex and co-claimant of calling irrelevant witnesses over generic issues'The Duke of Sussex is attempting to turn his case against the publishers of the Sun into a public inquiry" to seek accountability for others who have already settled claims, the high court has heard.Prince Harry faces up to four days of very extensive" questioning in the witness box in the legal action he and Tom Watson, a former Labour deputy prime minister, brought against News Group Newspapers (NGN) over allegations of unlawful information gathering. NGN denies the allegations. Continue reading...

Prosecutors argue that Trump's position as president-elect does not grant him legal protectionManhattan prosecutors on filed paperwork to fight Donald Trump's most recent push for dismissal of his criminal hush-money case, saying that his position as president-elect does not grant him legal protection.This Court should reject defendant's motion to immediately" dismiss the indictment and vacate the jury's guilty verdict based on the outcome of the recent presidential election," prosecutors wrote in papers filed Monday but made public this afternoon. Continue reading...

Phil Shiner found guilty of misconduct and dishonesty relating to untruthful allegations against UK combatantsAn award-winning former human rights lawyer was spared jail on Tuesday after admitting to fraud charges linked to false abuse claims made against war veterans.Phil Shiner, the principal solicitor of the law firm Public Interest Lawyers, was given a two-year suspended sentence after being found guilty of misconduct and dishonesty relating to untruthful claims against combatants in the Iraq war. Continue reading...

Like our Nige, Nick Candy doesn't appear to have any solutions to anything ... but he does have very deep pocketsSeveral Range Rovers with blacked out windows pulled up outside the TV studios in Westminster. Out stepped Theresa May. Awkward. If she'd known her arrival was going to coincide with a Reform party photo call, she'd have probably asked the driver to go round the block again. Just in case people jumped to conclusions. Not that there was much chance of anyone imagining that the Maybot was about to leave the Tory party and defect to Reform. But better safe than sorry.These are happy days for Nigel Farage. OK, so Donald Trump might have gone a little cold on him. The Donald's apparatchiks have been letting it be known that the president-elect regards Nige as an eccentric fanboy, basking in the reflected glory. But back in the UK things are hunky dory. The Tories are barely alive and Labour haven't got off to the best of starts. To put it kindly.Taking the Lead by John Crace is published by Little, Brown (18.99). To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply. Continue reading...

Disciplinary hearing opens against Charlotte Proudman for saying a judge had shown a boys' club attitude'A barrister has accused her professional regulator of failing to protect her from online gender violence, at the start of a disciplinary hearing against her for saying a judge had shown a boys' club attitude".Charlotte Proudman is alleged by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) to have breached its professional standards but has been permitted to argue that the decision to bring proceedings against her constitutes discrimination because she is a woman and a feminist. Continue reading...

Franchise operators pursuing 120m legal claim say they feared losing their livelihoods or homes, with some having suicidal thoughts

Three days of action include Boxing Day sales but union says no option as management refuses to engage'Harrods workers from cleaners to shop floor and restaurant staff are set to strike in Christmas week, including during the upmarket department store's key Boxing Day sales, in a dispute over pay and perks.The United Voice of the World (UVW) independent union said 95% of its members at the Knightsbridge store had voted in favour of the strikes on 21, 22 and 26 December. Continue reading...

Senegal also requests departure of French troops, saying they are not compatible' with country's sovereigntyFrance has begun recalling its military assets from its former ally Chad, the latest blow to its dwindling influence across its former colonies in Africa.Two Mirage fighter jets returned to a base in eastern France on Tuesday, said the army spokesperson Col Guillaume Vernet. It marks the beginning of the return of French equipment stationed in [Chadian capital] N'Djamena," Vernet said. Continue reading...

David John Andrews used sextortion to target 47 victims as young as eight years old via social mediaA man described by police as a heinous child predator" has been sentenced to 27 years in prison after pleading guilty to 130 charges of sexual abuse in a court in Northern Ireland.David John Andrews, 55, was told he could serve a minimum of 13 and a half years after which the Parole Board would decide whether he could be released, but was described as a danger to the community by the police. Continue reading...

Former Beatle speaks out amid fears the rise of AI threatens income streams for music, news and book publishersPaul McCartney has backed calls for laws to stop mass copyright theft by companies building generative artificial intelligence, warning AI could just take over".The former Beatle said it would be a very sad thing indeed" if young composers and writers could not protect their intellectual property from the rise of algorithmic models, which so far have learned by digesting mountains of copyrighted material. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Health ministry releases 10-year LGBTQ+ health plan informed by largest national consultation undertaken by any Australian government

As rebel leader promises torturers will be held accountable, legal experts consider whether war crimes trials can be conducted

Britain's biggest water supplier reports 40% increase in pollution incidents, blaming a wet spring and summer

Anthony Albanese to portray Labor as the party of equitable early education while attacking Liberals for being stuck in the past'

Refunds offered for event at Great Hall in Winchester after visitors say Santa is not jovial and beard is blatantly fake'Finding the right candidate to play the part of Santa (when the real one is too busy preparing for the festive season) can be a tricky task.But a popular festive event at one of the finest medieval halls in the UK has had to offer refunds because its new Father Christmas was not considered up to scratch. Continue reading...

Unions hail historic outcome' after agreement reached on claims that left council with estimated 760m liabilitiesBirmingham city council has reached an agreement to settle historical equal pay claims that left the authority with liabilities estimated at 760m and pushed it into effective bankruptcy.Union leaders called it a historic outcome" for women at the council that brought pay justice within touching distance", after the announcement on Tuesday morning, Continue reading...

Report recommends monks not be allowed to give pastoral advise or pose for selfiesAn abbey on a Welsh island where dozens of children were sexually abused by a monk over decades has promised to implement a string of safeguarding recommendations including strict limits on contact the members of the monastic community can have with visitors.Monks on Caldey Island will not be allowed to give religious or pastoral advice to visitors even if asked or pose for a selfie with them and under a no touch" policy will be obliged to report any accidental physical contact. Continue reading...

Individuals arrested last month are accused of belonging to Kurdistan Workers' party, Met police saySix people have been charged with being part of the banned Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) after an investigation by counter-terrorism police.Turkan Ozcan, 59, Mazlum Sayak, 27, Berfin Kerban, 31, Ali Boyraz, 62, Ercan Akbal, 56, and Agit Karatas, 23, have been accused of being members of the proscribed group, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...

Jubilation at the prospect of going home to a new Syria mixed with trepidation about what the future holdsBefore she fled Syria and came to the UK in 2016, Raya Homsi was told her fiance had been tortured to death in the Sednaya prison run by Bashar al-Assad's regime. All she had to go on was the word of one person who said he had witnessed it.Now, after Assad's fall, the human rights campaigner wonders if he might still be alive, among the thousands of people liberated in the last 24 hours from the facility near Damascus that Amnesty International called a human slaughterhouse". Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: The Guardian's William Christou was the first western journalist to gain access to Sednaya prison. He reflects on what he sawGood morning. Of all the horrific symbols of the deposed Assad regime, few carry the notoriety of Sednaya, the most feared node in the Syrian government's repressive prison system. About 30,000 people were killed there between 2011 and 2020, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated, more than in any other single location; for years, groups of 50 at a time were hanged in secret, once or twice a week.Many were still locked up there a couple of days ago, including women and children, in conditions so disorienting and dehumanising that some were unable to say their names. But early on Sunday, as the rebels swept into Damascus, the doors were opened, and they were freed.Syria | Bombing raids have hit sites across Syria as regional actors in the Middle East scrambled to defend their interests in the country after the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad. The US has struck targets associated with Islamic State (IS) in central Syria, while Turkey has attacked US-backed Kurdish forces, and Israel sent troops into the buffer zone beyond the Golan Heights.US news | A 26-year-old man has been charged with murder over the shooting death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, in New York. Luigi Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania after a customer recognised him.Media | Rupert Murdoch's adult children will retain equal control over their father's media empire upon his death, a Nevada court has ruled. Murdoch had wanted to wrest away power from James, Elisabeth and Prudence and give it all to his oldest son Lachlan.Courts in crisis | Ministers should consider abandoning jury trials for some crown court cases unless they properly fund a justice system in serious crisis", the former lord chief justice has said. Lord Thomas said there had been a political failure" by successive governments to invest in justice.Culture | Jacques Audiard's daring crime musical Emilia Perez has dominated the Golden Globe nominations, taking 10. Conclave, the papal thriller directed by Edward Berger, got six, including for its script, direction and leading actor Ralph Fiennes, while daring body horror The Substance and Cannes Palme d'Or winner Anora both took five. Continue reading...

Four days after Adass Israel was attacked, the prime minister visited the site and called for unity, but among the surging crowd the mood was one of frustration and blame

The mother of baby identified only as KP' claimed a man she had met years earlier told her he would look after the three-month-old in the days before the baby was found deadNew South Wales police found no evidence proving the existence of a man who a mother claimed was with her baby before it was found dead inside a freezer, an inquest has heard.The deputy state coroner, Kasey Pearce, has been investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a three-month-old baby, identified only as KP", who was found by police in a home in Corowa, on the NSW-Victoria border, on 19 January 2022. Continue reading...

Number of trials in England and Wales declared ineffective' because of delays has almost trebled under contracts Serco and GeoAmeyHundreds of trials are being derailed because prison vans fail to transport the defendant to court on time, figures show.A Guardian analysis found 207 crown court trials in England and Wales were declared ineffective" in 2023 - meaning they were postponed on the day - because the prison escort and custody service (Pecs) failed to produce the accused. That figure was up 44% on the year before and a near trebling of the number from five years ago. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Lord Thomas says there has been political failure to either properly invest in justice or make hard decisionsMinisters should consider abandoning jury trials for some crown court cases unless they properly fund a justice system in serious crisis", the former lord chief justice has said.Lord Thomas said there had been a political failure" by successive governments to invest in justice or make the difficult decisions needed to protect it. Continue reading...

Labor's choices are either allow Dutton to continue angry monologues, or elevate the Coalition's issues further by clapping backEarly on in Peter Dutton's stint as opposition leader, he made two interesting appointments: Julian Leeser, for shadow Indigenous affairs minister, and Ted O'Brien, for shadow climate change.The appointments seemed to speak to two possible paths for the Coalition under Dutton. Continue reading...

The award-winning US poet and author of works like Black Feeling, Black Talk and Those Who Ride the Night Winds has died after a third cancer diagnosisNikki Giovanni, the award-winning US poet who emerged as one of the leading voices of the 1960s Black Arts movement, has died aged 81.Giovanni died on Monday following her third cancer diagnosis, her friend, the author Renee Watson, told NPR in a statement. Continue reading...

Whether he goes by Ahmed al-Sharaa or his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, is a key indicator in the direction Syria's future may takeOn Sunday morning, a bearded 42-year-old man wearing a plain green military uniform walked into the Umayyad mosque in Damascus and addressed a small crowd, the Syrian nation, the region and the world.With the mosque's glittering decorations providing a backdrop, Ahmed al-Sharaa described the fall of the house of Assad as a victory for the Islamic nation" and called for reflection and prayer. Continue reading...

CDU leader once sidelined by Merkel loves private planes, hates tax bureaucracy, and backs UkraineIn July 2022, the prevailing political mood in Germany was grim. The economic powerhouse was on the brink of a recession, with Russia threatening to cut off its gas supplies. There were widespread fears of a decline in prosperity. The gloss was beginning to wear off Olaf Scholz's coalition government.Amid the gloom, the finance minister, Christian Lindner, got married on the North Sea island of Sylt. And one of the guests, Friedrich Merz, decided to make his entrance at the opulent, three-day celebration in his private plane: a twin-engine Diamond DA62, complete with personalised number plate. Continue reading...

Greyhound industry group says government hasn't recognised its work to address welfare issues that have plagued racing for yearsNew Zealand will ban greyhound racing from 2026 due to unacceptably high" rates of injuries and deaths among the dogs, the government has announced.Greyhound racing has existed in New Zealand since the late 19th century, but the industry has faced growing public criticism over its treatment of racing dogs in recent years. Multiple independent reports have found a high number of healthy dogs had been euthanised by their trainers or suffered serious injuries on the track, and in 2021, the then Labour government put the industry on notice to either make improvements or face closure. Continue reading...

Moderate faction to rally behind Gisele Kapterian, a Salesforce executive and former Liberal staffer, in the North Sydney seat to run against independent Nicolette Boele

Sydney magistrate says co-owner of Nomad paid very high price' for holding sign mimicking Israeli flag with Star of David replaced with banned symbol

Exclusive: Critics say exemption deeply concerning' and risks creating separate assessment systems

Despite fears of barfing' on traffic and the city's reputation taking a hit, experts don't think the proposal is actually unsafe

Court ruling could mean that more liberal Murdochs may have say in content from world's most powerful conservative media empireA Nevada court dealt nonagenarian media mogul Rupert Murdoch a major blow on Monday. And one that could - potentially - shatter his plans to secure his rightwing legacy.Behind closed doors, Murdoch has been involved in a legal battle for control of the family's media assets, pitching the mogul and Lachlan Murdoch, his political protege and heir apparent, against the patriarch's three other oldest children. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Letter to ABC board claims decision to remove well-liked presenters shows lack of understanding' of public broadcasting

PM's words follow Israeli takeover of previously demilitarised zone in Syrian-controlled territory

Thaddeus Kotik groomed, raped and sexually assaulted boys and girls on Caldey Island despite repeated complaintsA monk was able to abuse children for four decades on an island off the Welsh coast despite operating in plain sight" and despite his victims' repeated complaints, an independent review has concluded.Father Thaddeus Kotik groomed, raped and sexually assaulted boys and girls on Caldey Island, which is home to a community of Cistercian monks and a popular destination for day trippers.To protect all parties, contact between the monastic community and the visiting public be formalised and informal contact should cease - including selfies.The current safeguarding arrangements should be strengthened by the addition of a survivor or survivors of child sexual abuse to sit on the board of the island.The appointment of an independent visiting designated safeguarding professional. Continue reading...

Exclusive: CfMM report over two-year period says channel's negative' focus on Islam borders on an obsession'GB News accounted for half of all news broadcast coverage of Muslims over a two-year period, much of it negative, according to new analysis.The findings demonstrate an excessive" focus on Muslims bordering on an obsession", according to a new report by the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM). Continue reading...

The premier US dictionary's pick, based on search traffic, reflects a year of political and celebrity divisionCollins dictionary went with brat". Oxford chose brain rot". But in a brutally divided country, the US's premier dictionary skipped the slang: Merriam-Webster's word of the year is polarization".The announcement comes in an election year that put the concept on display, as Kamala Harris warned of fascism under Donald Trump, while Trump resorted to name-calling and claimed his opponent was running on destruction". As the dictionary put it, polarization happens to be one idea that both sides of the political spectrum agree on". Continue reading...

Item bears a portrait of Julius Caesar's assassin surrounded by a laurel wreath with war symbols on the reverseA rare Roman coin featuring the portrait of Brutus, the assassin of Julius Caesar, has sold at a Geneva auction for 1.98m (1.64m), according to the organiser Numismatica Genevensis.The item was purchased by a European collector following intense bidding among eight online bidders", the dealer said in a statement. Continue reading...

Disciplinary tribunal upholds three charges of professional misconduct against Navjot Jo' Sidhu, who was once a contender to be director of public prosecutionsA former chair of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) inappropriately initiated sexual contact with an aspiring lawyer, a disciplinary tribunal has found.A five-person panel found three charges of professional misconduct to be proven against Navjot Jo" Sidhu, who was once a contender to be the director of public prosecutions. Continue reading...

While the US election topped our Googling this year, the Olympics, Julian Assange and that demure' meme was also high on the list

Amnesty International UK says prime minister needs to challenge repression of human rights defenders' as he meets crown princeQ: [From Christopher Hope from GB News] Do you want to cut the number of civil service jobs? Do you favour ID cards? And would you give Dominic Cummings a job?McFadden says, in the past, when people have cut civil service numbers, they have ended up hiring more consultants, at greater expense. Continue reading...

Haenel says Christophe Ruggia subjected her to permanent sexual harassment' during making of film when she was between 12 and 15In one of the first French #MeToo cases to come to court, a film director has denied charges of sexual aggression against and harassment of the award-winning French actor Adele Haenel.A group of feminists gathered outside the Paris court on Monday to support Haenel who claims she was groomed and abused from the age of 12 to 15 by Christophe Ruggia. Continue reading...

Singer says he plans to install thunder and lightning features on lavish toy train setup he built over decadesHe may have had an international hit single called Sailing, but Rod Stewart's heart is in an altogether different mode of transport.Such is the 70s pop legend's love of model railways he has relocated his world-class" collection from his Los Angeles home to his country estate in England, and plans are afoot to upgrade the setup. Continue reading...