World news | The Guardian

Jim O'Callaghan says he will closely monitor changes proposed by British governmentAttempts to toughen up asylum rules in the UK could have significant implications for relations with Ireland, Dublin's justice minister has said, amid concerns that this could increase migration flows to Ireland.More than 80% of people who use irregular routes to Ireland originate from Great Britain, travelling to Belfast by plane or boat and then by road to Dublin to make asylum claims, the justice department has said. Continue reading...

Michelle Sparman, 48, died after staff at Queen Mary's hospital in Roehampton failed to search her possessions adequately, inquest findsA woman killed herself after a south London psychiatric unit failed to search her possessions adequately, a coroner has concluded.Michelle Sparman, a personal trainer and call dispatcher for the Metropolitan police from Battersea, south-west London, died on 28 August 2021 at Kingston hospital, four days after trying to take her own life. Continue reading...

One Day author leading writing team bringing one of the best-known literary creations of the 1980s to lifeA writing team led by the One Day author, David Nicholls, and that includes Caitlin Moran is bringing Sue Townsend's The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 133/4 to the small screen in a 10-part BBC One adaptation of the classic tale of teenage life in British suburbia.Nicholls, who described the book as a classic piece of comic writing and an incredible piece of ventriloquism on Sue Townsend's part", will adapt the book that produced one of the best-known literary creations of the 1980s. Continue reading...

Archive director in Germany says missing piece of puzzle' now in place to verify authorship after decades of researchTwo long-lost organ pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach have been performed in Germany, roughly 320 years after the composer wrote them as a teenage music teacher.Entitled Chaconne in D minor BWV 1178 and Chaconne in G minor BWV 1179, the pieces were added to the official catalogue of Bach's works on Monday and played in public for the first time in three centuries inside Leipzig's St Thomas Church, where Bach is buried. Continue reading...

Campana Gallery is temporarily shut due to weaknesses in beams supporting floor aboveThe Louvre has temporarily closed one of its galleries as a precaution after an audit revealed structural weaknesses in some of the beams in the building.The Campana Gallery, which houses nine rooms dedicated to ancient Greek ceramics, will be shut while investigations are conducted into certain beams supporting the floors of the second floor" above it, a statement issued on Monday said. Continue reading...

Touts, and ordinary consumers, will no longer be able to charge anything more than price at which they bought ticketReselling tickets for profit is to be outlawed under plans due to be announced this week, the Guardian has learned, as the government goes ahead with a long-awaited crackdown on touts and resale platforms such as Viagogo and StubHub.Ministers had been considering allowing touts - and ordinary consumers - to sell on a ticket for up to 130% of face value, as part of a consultation process that ended earlier this year. Continue reading...

Trump administration struck largely secretive deals with at least five African countries to accept migrantsEswatini has confirmed for the first time that it had received more than $5m from the United States to accept dozens of people expelled under Washington's aggressive mass deportation drive.The tiny southern African kingdom has taken in 15 men since Donald Trump's administration struck largely secretive deals with at least five African countries to accept migrants under a third-country deportation programme fiercely criticised by rights groups. Continue reading...

Security services minister Tomasz Siemoniak says explosion was not the work of a gang of metal thieves'Back to Poland, the country's interior minister is hosting an emergency meeting on the train incidents, with transport, justice ministers, police and representatives of security services all attending.Poland is facing acts of sabotage unprecedented in its most recent history," Marcin Kierwiski said in a social media post. Continue reading...

Home secretary will also consult on ending financial support for those with children if refused asylum, document shows

Bishop of Edmonton says people coming to UK are being scapegoated' for years of policy failures

Hasina sentenced in absentia by court in Dhaka over deadly crackdown on student-led uprising last yearBangladesh's deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Dhaka for crimes against humanity over a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.A three-judge bench of the country's international crimes tribunal convicted Hasina of crimes including incitement, orders to kill and inaction to prevent atrocities as she oversaw a crackdown on anti-government protesters last year. Continue reading...

Warnings in place until 8am Saturday, with sub-zero overnight temperatures also expected to disrupt transportAmber cold health alerts have been issued for northern England amid warnings of sub-zero overnight temperatures this week.The UK Health Security Agency issued amber warnings for north-east and north-west England, and Yorkshire and the Humber. The alerts indicate an increase in risk to health for individuals aged over 65 years or those with pre-existing health conditions, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases" as well as greater risk of disruptions to roads and public transport. Continue reading...

Johnson Wen, who jumped over a barricade at Universal Studios Singapore and rushed at the Wicked star, has been convicted of being a public nuisanceThe man who grabbed Ariana Grande at a red-carpet premiere for Wicked: For Good in Singapore has been jailed for nine days.According to BBC News, Australian national Johnson Wen was convicted of being a public nuisance. Wen, 26, has a history of disrupting public events and rushing concert stages. Continue reading...

Netanyahu faces pressure from far-right ministers after Saudi insistence on credible pathway' to statehoodThe UN security council is to vote on Monday on a US-drafted resolution to set up an international stabilisation force (ISF) in Gaza that includes a late and highly tentative addition on a future Palestinian state, added under pressure from Arab states.A rival motion has meanwhile been tabled by Russia and China, setting up the possibility that both motions could be vetoed by one or more of the five permanent members of the security council. Continue reading...

Daniel Ketinsky to become a major shareholder in French oil company as part of deal creating 50/50 joint ventureThe Czech billionaire Daniel Ketinsky is to become one of the largest shareholders in TotalEnergies after selling a stake in his electricity generation business, which includes several UK power plants, to the French oil company.Ketinsky, whose companies own stakes in Royal Mail and West Ham United football club, agreed to sell a 50% stake in his stable of European power plants to TotalEnergies for about 5.1bn ($5.9bn) in exchange for about 4.1% of Total's share capital. Continue reading...

Huge rally organised by megachurch whose members vote in a bloc could spell trouble for Philippine presidentFrom a skyscraper in downtown Manila, a sea of white spreads out below, covering the vast green lawns of Rizal Park and expanding down arterial roads and sidestreets. It is formed of more than half a million people, clad in matching white T-shirts, the slogan transparency for a better democracy" emblazoned on their chests.An estimated 650,000 of them have flooded the centre of Manila to protest, amid fury over a spiralling corruption scandal in which billions of dollars in flood mitigation funds have evaporated. Organised by the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), a powerful sect in the Philippines, the three-day rally has shut down schools, roads and offices. Many of those protesting have camped out all night on the park's lawns, sleeping in tents or beneath tarpaulins and umbrellas. Families have journeyed from across the country to set up camp, some equipped with portable stoves and rice cookers, others pushing elderly family members in wheelchairs, many of them bearing placards saying expose the deeds". Continue reading...

Experts say Observations Group's connections to the Base and Rinaldo Nazzaro present urgent danger'In the underworld of accelerationist neo-Nazis, where talk of attacks against western governments are commonplace, the spread of illegal weapons manuals and tradecraft on drone warfare are proliferating. Experts say, in some cases, that classes are being taught online with the input of leadership from proscribed terrorist groups with links to Russian intelligence.Authorities have been warning, on both sides of the Atlantic, about the accessibility of drone technologies and military veterans on the far right with the know-how to use them, presenting a grave national security threat. Continue reading...

Move to give mayors powers to raise funds through levies, but industry says it will ramp up prices and inflation

Sources say shadow treasurer Jess Wilson has received enough support to test leadership of the party a year out from state poll

Abdalmonim Alrabea has appeared in hundreds of videos in which he expresses support for paramilitary group accused of committing genocideA British citizen based in Sheffield appeared in a TikTok live broadcast laughing along while a notorious fighter from Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces group boasted about participating in mass killings in the city of El Fasher.The video, broadcast on 27 October, is just one of hundreds posted to social media in which 44-year-old Abdalmonim Alrabea expresses support for the RSF and the ethnically targeted atrocities it has committed in Sudan's western Darfur region. Continue reading...

Factional powerbrokers issue statement contradicting media reports that moderates could swing behind conservative Andrew Hastie

Idea borrowed from Denmark is latest attempt to reduce number of people seeking asylum in UKAsylum seekers could have jewellery or other valuables taken to pay for the costs of processing their cases, a Home Office minister has said, in another detail of changes to migration policy likely to cause concern among Labour MPs.Speaking to broadcasters before the formal announcement of sweeping changes to asylum policy on Monday, the Home Office minister Alex Norris said while this would not involve seizing wedding rings, jewellery without sentimental value could be taken. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Real toll likely substantially higher as hundreds of detainees from Gaza are missing, says NGO Physicians for Human Rights - IsraelIsraeli data shows at least 98 Palestinians have died in custody since October 2023, and the real toll is likely substantially higher because hundreds of people detained in Gaza are missing, an Israel-based human rights group has said.Physicians for Human Rights - Israel (PHRI) tracked deaths from causes including physical violence, medical neglect and malnutrition for a new report, using freedom of information requests, forensic reports and interviews with lawyers, activists, relatives and witnesses. Continue reading...

Four NSW officers who failed to report former constable's confessions also found to have engaged in serious misconduct, independent commission says

In today's newsletter: Having once demanded full disclosure, senior Maga figures have attempted to block efforts to publish the recordsGood morning. Leading Republicans were once full-throated in their calls for the release of every single scrap of information the US government might hold on the sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his ties to the establishment.Years of Maga supporters entertaining the QAnon-fuelled frenzy of pizzagate conspiracies seemed to have pushed senior GOP figures in a direction where they believed publication of more information on the Epstein case would expose the Democratic party elite and the wokerati" of Hollywood as vile sex fiends.Immigration | Refugees who have established lives with homes and families in the UK - including Ukrainians - will face having to return if their home countries become safe, Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, has said.BBC | The BBC should not pay any money to Donald Trump, the former BBC director general Tony Hall has said. The US president has said he plans to sue the BBC for up to $5bn (3.8bn) despite receiving the apology he demanded over a misleading Panorama edit of his 6 January speech.Roman Abramovich | The former Chelsea owner is making a claim of conspiracy" against the government of Jersey after the crown dependency launched a criminal investigation into allegations of corruption and money laundering in connection with the original source of the oligarch's wealth.Cop30 | Brazil's environment minister, Marina Silva, has urged all countries to have the courage to address the need for a fossil fuel phase-out, calling the drawing up of a roadmap for it an ethical" response to the climate crisis.Labour | Allies of Angela Rayner say the former deputy prime minister would be likely to run in any future leadership contest and will seek to renew her public profile in the coming months. Continue reading...

Home affairs minister says if you are on a visa you are a guest' as Matthew Gruter has visa cancelled

Danish journalist Nilas Heinskou and Syrian refugee Agob Yacoub discuss Denmark's harsh immigration and asylum policies - reportedly the inspiration for changes to be announced by the UK government this weekThe home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is expected to announce a radical overhaul of the UK's asylum and immigration system, modelled in part on what Denmark has done over the past decade.Since 2019 Denmark's centre-left government has been trying something new: its normal social democratic manifesto, alongside a series of harsh policies around immigration and asylum - even bulldozing estates deemed to contain too many residents of non-western" origin. Continue reading...

Saunders says it is the right time for me to take a step back and focus on my family and myself', week after state Nationals dump net zero commitment

Six coloured sand products recalled in New Zealand after testing in Australia found asbestos in similar itemsMultiple schools have temporarily closed in New Zealand and hundreds of education facilities are seeking advice from officials after asbestos was detected in several brands of widely used coloured play sand.Last week, the ministry for business, innovation and employment confirmed a voluntary recall was under way for two brands of coloured sand sold in New Zealand, after testing in Australia found asbestos in similar products. Continue reading...

The ultraconservative lawyer is in pole position going into the second round election, after running a campaign with a distinctly Trumpian feelThe ultraconservative lawyer, Jose Antonio Kast, is in pole position to become Chile's next leader after advancing to the second round of the South American country's presidential election where he will face the Communist party candidate Jeannette Jara.With more than 70% of votes counted, Kast had secured about 24% of the vote in Sunday's first round vote, having campaigned on hard-line promises to crack down on crime and immigration, while making a Donald Trump-style pledge to put Chileans first". Continue reading...

Move threatens to throw open parts of secretive legal battle on Channel island about ex-Chelsea owner's wealthThe former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is making a claim of conspiracy" against the government of Jersey after the crown dependency launched a criminal investigation into allegations of corruption and money laundering in connection with the original source of the oligarch's wealth.The latest move threatens to throw open parts of a secretive legal battle on the Channel island about the tycoon's rise to become one of the world's richest people, which emerged in September after a Switzerland federal criminal court ordered the release of a cache of Swiss banking records requested by the Jersey attorney general. Continue reading...

Survivors group had called on firm Felzmann to show some basic decency' and halt cynical and shameless' eventPoland's foreign minister said on Sunday that an offensive" auction of Holocaust artefacts in Germany has been cancelled, relaying information from his German counterpart, after complaints from Holocaust survivors.Radosaw Sikorski made the comments on X, saying he and German foreign minister Johann Wadephul agreed that such a scandal must be prevented". Continue reading...

Shabana Mahmood to unveil new proposals modelled on Denmark's controversial system What changes to the UK asylum system are being proposed?Refugees who have established lives with homes and families in the UK - including Ukrainians - will face having to return if their home countries become safe, the home secretary has said.Shabana Mahmood said the asylum system was out of control and putting huge pressure on communities" as she announced plans to end the permanent status of refugees, who would need to reapply to remain in Britain every two and a half years. Continue reading...

Flood warnings still in place in England and Wales, with plunging temperatures leading to possible snow and iceCold Arctic air has begun to sweep across the UK, bringing freezing temperatures as emergency services continue to deal with severe flooding caused by Storm Claudia.On Saturday, a major incident was declared in Monmouth, south-east Wales, where people were rescued or evacuated from homes that were flooded during torrential rain on Friday. It was rescinded on Sunday afternoon, the fire service said. Continue reading...

President to overhaul state energy firms after $100m kickback scheme alleged by anti-corruption investigatorsVolodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a plan to clean up Ukraine's energy sector after an $100m (76bn) kickback scheme was alleged by anti-corruption investigators, in the worst scandal of his presidency.Over the weekend, the Ukrainian president announced an overhaul of key state energy companies including a complete change of management at Energoatom, the nuclear power operator at the centre of the alleged criminal scheme. Continue reading...

Former deputy PM hits out at arrogant tittle-tattle' over the past week and says she has not gone away'Allies of Angela Rayner say the former deputy prime minister will seek to renew her public profile in the coming months and would be likely to run in a future leadership contest.In her first major interview this weekend, Rayner condemned the arrogant tittle-tattle" and Labour infighting dominating the past week. Rayner, often considered as a potential successor to Keir Starmer, declined to rule out running for the job or returning to frontline politics, saying she had not gone away". Continue reading...

Former student says she experienced financial problems and mental health issues after being cyberbulliedA former student is suing a London university for 98,000 in damages as a result of her expulsion after she was impersonated on a social media account that posted hate speech about the Israel-Gaza conflict.Sarah Mbabazi* was expelled from her undergraduate degree at Richmond American University London for misconduct in 2024 after the university received a complaint relating to posts on X that she had allegedly written. She argued that she had been impersonated; however, the university determined that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate this. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Councils prosecuted just 64 landlords despite receiving 300,000 complaints from tenants in unfit homesTwo-thirds of councils in England have not prosecuted a single landlord in the past three years, despite receiving 300,000 complaints from desperate tenants living in unfit homes.From 2022 to 2024, nearly half of local authorities responsible for housing did not fine a landlord, while more than a third did not issue any formal action against people letting out homes unlawfully in the private rental sector. Continue reading...

More than 330 workers, mainly cleaners, caterers and porters, at St George's, Epsom and St Helier hospital group voted to strikeHundreds of low-paid NHS hospital workers are celebrating victory after bosses agreed to improve their terms and conditions following the threat of strike action.More than 330 workers, mainly cleaners, caterers and porters, known as facilities staff, at St George's, Epsom and St Helier hospital group (GESH) - 98% of those balloted - voted for strike action. Continue reading...

Thousands of people affected by actions of Panthera Finance, before it was acquired by new owners Francom Group

Clashes erupt between protesters and riot police in the capital as rallies take place in cities across the countryAt least 120 people were injured as thousands of gen Z protesters took to the streets of Mexico City and across the country to voice their anger at corruption and the drug violence that claims tens of thousands of Mexican lives each year.Saturday's rallies, which took place in dozens of cities from Tijuana in the north to Oaxaca in the south drew large crowds, with some demonstrators carrying the One Piece pirate flag that has become a global symbol of the youth movement. Continue reading...

Zelenskyy says Nataliia Khodemchuk is victim of new tragedy caused by Kremlin', four decades after disasterThe widow of the first Soviet engineer to die in the Chornobyl nuclear power plant explosion was killed on Friday in Russia's massive drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Nataliia Khodemchuk as the victim of a new tragedy caused by the Kremlin", nearly four decades after her husband, Valerii, was killed inside Chornobyl's nuclear reactor number four. Continue reading...

Nick Dametto says he is proud to build the capital of northern Australia' after byelection triggered by resignation of controversial former mayor

Activity around Japanese-held islands, also claimed by China, comes after PM Sanae Takaichi said Japan might respond militarily to an invasion of TaiwanChina has sent its coast guard through the waters of the Senkaku islands and military drones past outlying Japanese territory as Beijing ramps up tensions over the Japanese prime minister's remarks on Taiwan.On Sunday the Chinese coast guard said its ships made a rights enforcement patrol" through the waters of the Senkaku, which are administered by Japan but also claimed by China as the Diaoyu islands. Continue reading...

Botched briefing operation was proof to many that PM is leading an ineffectual No 10. How did it go so wrong?If there's one thing the Labour party can agree on this week, it is that efforts by Keir Starmer's allies to shore up his position backfired spectacularly.By briefing journalists that he would face down any challenge and accusing Wes Streeting of leading an advanced plot to overthrow him, figures around the prime minister managed only to expose the weakness of his position. Continue reading...

Jon Ruben, 76, was arrested in July after eight children and one adult fell ill at Stathern Lodge in LeicestershireA 76-year-old man has pleaded guilty to drugging and sexually assaulting two boys, aged nine and 10, at a summer camp in Leicestershire.Jon Ruben, 76, was arrested in July 2025 after eight children and one adult fell ill at Stathern Lodge. Continue reading...

Footage shows the man jumping the red carpet barricade of the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good, then rushing towards and embracing the starA court in Singapore has charged a man who grabbed Ariana Grande at a premiere of Wicked: For Good on Thursday night with being a public nuisance.Video footage shows Johnson Wen jumping over a barricade at Universal Studios Singapore and rushing at Grande on the red carpet. Grande's co-star Cynthia Erivo immediately jumped in to help protect her and Wen was moved away. Continue reading...

Malak A Tantesh, 20, showed immense talent and bravery', said judges at Media Freedom awards in LondonThe UK's Society of Editors has named Malak A Tantesh, the Guardian's former Gaza correspondent, as young journalist of the year in the national press category at this year's Media Freedom awards.The judges said Tantesh showed immense talent and bravery in some of the hardest conditions ever faced by a journalist, she continued to report while having to forage for food and facing the constant risk of bombing and the threat of targeted killing". Continue reading...

The $C56bn plan focused on investing in a resource economy falls short of changing Canadians' day-to-day livesCanada's prime minister Mark Carney likes to say that when he was young, we used to build big things in this country, and we used to build them quickly."That idea - of sprawling projects that transform nations, has influenced both his narrative as an economist-turned politician and his government's multibillion dollar investment spree. It's time to get back at it, and get on with it," he said in September. Continue reading...

Making volunteering compulsory for asylum-seekers slammed as exploitative, bureaucratic and un-BritishHundreds of charities have said they will refuse to cooperate with immoral" government plans to force migrants and refugees to undertake mandatory volunteering as a condition of being allowed to settle in the UK.The charities said that compelling refugees and asylum seekers to volunteer would be exploitative, bureaucratic and un-British - and would undermine a fundamental principle that volunteers give their time and skills freely. Continue reading...