World news | The Guardian

Ukrainian military says its has forced Russia to reduce tempo of offensive; Russian president thanks Xi Jinping for trying to solve Ukraine crisis'

Ministers say it is too early to say outlook is positive and describe suspect as a lone wolf' as officials appeal for calm

Sisters of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges started enterprise to cover soaring electricity costsThe sisters of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in south-east France are prepared to move more than heaven and earth to save their mountain abbey and pay soaring electricity bills.A dozen Cistercian order nuns are making ends meet by selling cleaning products made from their own spring water and essential oils on the internet and in local shops. Continue reading...

Russian leader praises comradely' talks with Chinese president ahead of concert to mark 75 years of friendship' Russia, China and Ukraine - latest updatesRussia and China have announced they will deepen their already close military ties, as Vladimir Putin met Xi Jinping in Beijing on his first foreign trip since being inaugurated for a new term as Russia's president.It is the latest in a string of statements and signals that the warm relationship between the two countries is as strong as it has ever been. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our coverage of the war hereLebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group says it has launched more than 60" rockets at Israeli military positions in retaliation for overnight air strikes on the country's east, AFP reportsIsrael and Hamas ally Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily fire following the Palestinian group's October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, now in its eighth month. Continue reading...

CEO will be replaced by chief financial officer Kenton Jarvis, who like Lundgren joined from TuiEasyJet's chief executive, Johan Lundgren, will step down at the beginning of next year after seven years at the helm of the budget airline.The carrier is promoting its chief financial officer, Kenton Jarvis, to take his place, with Lundgren set to hand over the reins on 1 January 2025. The outgoing boss will then stay with the business until mid-May as part of the airline's orderly succession plan". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Report says members are strongly against admitting women on an equal basis, but are open to having more lady guests'

Police allege that after murdering nine-year-old, Justin Stein drove to buy methamphetamine with her mother

Procedural moves outrage Coalition, independent MPs and senator David Pocock, who says government selling us out'

Billionaire wants painting of her removed from National Gallery of Australia but Archibald-winning artist says he hopes people think about what he is trying to say

During the Russian leader's two-day visit, the war in Ukraine, energy and trade will be on the agenda

Prosecutors successfully apply to withdraw the charge related to alleged stabbing at FootscrayA 12-year-old girl accused of killing a woman in Melbourne's inner west will no longer face a charge of murder.Prosecutors on Thursday applied to withdraw the charge against the girl but did not give a reason why. Continue reading...

Suspect in custody after shooting attack on populist prime minister that has raised fears across Europe of rising political violence

Researchers also find lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in schools and say portion sizes sometimes not enoughFree school meal allowances are not enough for students from lower-income backgrounds to buy healthy school lunches, research suggests.The study, presented at the European Congress of Obesity (ECO), involved 42 pupils aged between 11 and 15 at seven schools across the UK. Continue reading...

Lib Dems says Conservatives have serious questions to answer' about what appears to be clear conflict of interestA UK government trade summit in Saudi Arabia has been criticised for helping to promote businesses linked to a string of senior Conservatives, including peers and the former chair of the party, Ben Elliot.Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, has been in Riyadh this week launching the government-backed Great Futures campaign to promote British trade with Saudi Arabia, despite the Gulf country's controversial record on the repression of women and LGBT people. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer doesn't even prep for PMQs any more. Rish! is sunk but can't see he's in self-destruct modeThe end can't come too soon. Not just for the Tory backbenchers, but for cabinet ministers too. They sit in the Commons with resigned expressions, checking their phones for potentially lucrative job offers. No one can remember the last time Penny Mordaunt was seen with a smile on her face. Jeremy Hunt had his head down, letting his tenants know he was doubling their rent. Every penny counts.Relax everyone. There will be plenty of sinecures to go round. But you can't blame them for worrying. They know the game is up. Most are no longer even going through the motions of looking interested. Like a man on death row, they are just waiting for the date of their execution. Continue reading...

Emergency measures mean some suspects will be released on bail and not sent to a cell as trials postponedHundreds of court hearings have been postponed at the last minute after ministers introduced emergency measures to deal with overcrowded prisons.Operation Early Dawn, triggered on Wednesday, means some suspects will be released on bail, rather than sent to a cell, because their trial will be put off. Suspects' first appearances before magistrates after they have been charged with a crime are also likely to be affected. Continue reading...

David Davis says block on accessing New Yorker's 13,000-word article seems in defiance of open justice'The Tory MP David Davis has used parliamentary privilege to ask why UK readers were barred from viewing an article in a prominent US magazine about the case of the former nurse Lucy Letby.He told fellow MPs that the block on the story published in the New Yorker seemed in defiance of open justice". Continue reading...

Study finds 57% of Black women of reproductive age live in the 26 states with abortion bans or restrictionsMore than half of Black women in the US who are of reproductive age live in states with abortion bans or restrictions, according to a new report.The study, by the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF) and the non-profit In Our Own Voice, shows the stark impact of overturning Roe v Wade on Black women, NBC News reported. Continue reading...

Announcements are good steps' to reduce harms caused by employment services system but fall short of the overhaul required, advocates say

Treasurer says migration important' but needs to be well managed'

Exclusive: Bureaucratic process of clearing' book has dragged on for almost three years with historians arguing obstruction amounts to censorship'Australia's foreign affairs department (Dfat) is refusing to approve the publication of an official history of military operations in Timor-Leste until references are removed that could embarrass officials and diplomats, leading to accusations of censorship".The finished manuscript was presented for vetting 30 months ago and Dfat is the only agency of nine in the declassification process not yet largely or wholly satisfied it does not pose a risk to national security, defence or international relations.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Fabrice Moello, 52, and Arnaud Garcia, 34, died in brazen attack on prison convoy during which a dangerous inmate escaped

Shadow foreign and defence ministers go to Kyiv to ensure we take politics out of the UK's support for Ukraine'

One group called for book to be returned to Cumberland council library shelves while rivals argued it amounted to a moral sin

WA senator says from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' - a phrase Anthony Albanese argues is counter to two-state solution

Ure played role in ITV children's series of character who had superhuman strength and agilityGudrun Ure, the actor who played Super Gran in the popular 1980s ITV children's series, has died at the age of 98.According to her niece, Kate McNeill, she died at her home in London. Continue reading...

Budget forecasts $14.4bn in savings from national disability insurance scheme, which minister says will come from changes to plan rules

British fashion retailer hit by drop in sales in Asia and Americas, and expects challenging first half of 2025

Robert Malayta, 18, was found dead by police divers in the Ross River near the Townsville suburb of Kirwan in 2022

NGA rebuffs efforts by billionaire to take down painting by award-winning artist Vincent Namatjira

This blog is now closed.

Five AFP officers say complaints in a November 2022 letter brought them into public disrepute, odium, ridicule and contempt'Five federal police officers are suing the Australian Capital Territory government and Shane Drumgold for $1.42m over the former director of public prosecutions' complaint about the handling of Bruce Lehrmann's prosecution.In December 2022 Guardian Australia revealed that Drumgold had written to the ACT detective superintendent Scott Moller shortly after the trial's collapse, saying he held concerns that police were politically influenced and had aligned themselves with the defence.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Ban comes after Greens MPs wore the scarf that's long been a symbol for the struggle for a Palestinian stateVictoria's parliament has become one of few in the world to ban MPs from wearing the keffiyeh, the scarf that has been linked to the struggle for a Palestinian state for decades.The president of the upper house, Shaun Leane, and the lower house speaker, Maree Edwards, both ruled on Wednesday that the scarf was political, meaning it could not be worn in either chamber.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Researchers say that a critical mass of female anaesthesiologists and surgeons in operative teams can reduce postoperative complicationsHospital surgical teams that include more female doctors improve patient outcomes, lower the risk of serious complications and could in turn reduce healthcare costs, according to the world's largest study of its kind.Studies show diversity is important in business, finance, tech, education and the law not only for equity but for output. However, evidence supporting the value of sex diversity in healthcare teams has been limited. Continue reading...

Lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers held up by new checks, with retailers rejecting some ordersLorries carrying perishable food and plants from the EU are being held for up to 20 hours at the UK's busiest Brexit border post as failures with the government's IT systems delay imports entering Britain.Businesses have described the government's new border control checks as a disaster" after IT outages led to lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers being held for long periods, reducing the shelf life of their goods and prompting retailers to reject some orders. Continue reading...

Lee Hsien Loong will stand down and hand power to his deputy Lawrence Wong at a challenging time for the city stateSingapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, will stand down on Wednesday and hand power to his deputy Lawrence Wong, the first change of power in the city state in two decades.Wong, 51, a US-trained economist credited with managing the country's response to the pandemic, will be the fourth prime minister to lead Singapore, and is the first leader to have been born after the country's independence in 1965. He is also only the second leader who is not a member of the founding Lee family. He will be inaugurated in a ceremony on Wednesday night. Continue reading...

Meanwhile, peak farming groups stage walkout during agriculture minister's post-budget speech. Follow the day's news live

Report from public spending watchdog comes soon after similar data from parliamentary committeeAverage call waiting times at HM Revenue and Customs have soared by more than 350% in five years, with increasing numbers of people not getting through in the first place or having their calls terminated, according to an official report that says the public is being let down".The National Audit Office (NAO) said the quality of customer service provided by HMRC had been far below" the levels expected in recent years, and that its phone lines in particular were not delivering". Continue reading...

Education secretary Gillian Keegan to announce guidelines for phased discussion of topics depending on pupils' ageSex education in England's primary schools is to be limited to those aged nine and over, with explicit" discussions on topics such as contraception to be delayed until the age of 13, according to new guidance to be proposed by the government.The revised guidance on relationships, sex and health education is expected to be published this week by the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, and is likely to contain further restrictions on teaching about gender and identity, with teachers told to instead explain biological" facts, according to reports. Continue reading...

IPS report says replacement fuels well off track to replace kerosene within timeframe needed to avert climate disasterHopes that replacement fuels for airplanes will slash carbon pollution are misguided and support for these alternatives could even worsen the climate crisis, a new report has warned.There is currently no realistic or scalable alternative" to standard kerosene-based jet fuels, and touted sustainable aviation fuels" are well off track to replace them in a timeframe needed to avert dangerous climate change, despite public subsidies, the report by the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive thinktank, found. Continue reading...

UK mining company reveals break-up plan in bid to avoid takeover by Australia-based BHP

Major shortfalls predicted over next two years as Jim Chalmers downplays potential for inflationary pressures

Plea comes as US secretary of state makes first visit to Ukraine since new aid package was passed by Congress

A surplus matters less than what choices the government makes in its budget - here's what Jim Chalmers' statement tells us

Defence says approved spending for Australia's acquisition of subs so far totals $13.6bn

With many NHS maternity services struggling and a shortage of midwives, MPs' plan for overhaul is ambitiousThat the findings of the UK's first inquiry into birth trauma are far from surprising does not diminish the fact that they are shocking, devastating and difficult - indeed distressing - to read. The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for birth trauma's 80-page report should give ministers, NHS bosses and the midwives and obstetricians who deliver care serious pause for thought.It highlights how mistakes and failures" by maternity staff lead to stillbirths, premature births, babies being born with cerebral palsy because they were starved of oxygen at birth, and life-changing injuries to women as the result of severe tearing". How some mothers were mocked, shouted at, denied pain relief, not told what was going on during their labour, left alone in blood-stained sheets, with desperate bell calls for help going unanswered - all examples of care that lacked compassion". And how, in some cases, these errors were covered up by hospitals who frustrated parents' efforts to find answers". It amounts to a shameful catalogue of negligence in the only area of NHS care where two lives - one still unborn - are on the line. Continue reading...

Dubliners urged to give Irish welcome' via interactive sculpture but bad behaviour is also on displayRain sluiced down on a grey Dublin afternoon but the crowd clustering around the portal ignored the downpour and waved at a man cycling towards the screen on a sunny morning in Manhattan.He gazed back, waved and wobbled before recovering his balance and vanishing down Fifth Avenue, eliciting a cheer from the sodden observers on North Earl Street. Continue reading...

So-called minister for common sense says she wants to ban wearing of rainbow lanyards among other measures

UK birth trauma inquiry finds women variously mocked, ignored, fobbed off with paracetamol and left permanently damagedWomen in labour have been mocked, ignored, fobbed off with paracetamol and left with permanent damage by midwives and doctors, and hospitals have covered up their staff's failures, a damning report by MPs has found.Mothers have been left with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), unable to bond with their baby and too incapacitated to go back to work because of horrendous experiences while having a child, the UK's first inquiry into birth trauma found. Continue reading...