World news | The Guardian

Defence industry minister says purchase of rockets ‘largest expansion of army strike capability in living memory’ with range extended from 50km to 300km

The Victorian capital is still on track to outpace Sydney as the biggest city in Australia but Covid lockdowns slowed that growth

Umbrella body for country’s 32 councils says plans would be too costly and disruptive at time of financial crisisScottish council leaders have called for Nicola Sturgeon’s government to suspend its plans for a new national care service, in a growing battle over funding.The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the umbrella body for the country’s 32 councils, said setting up the service would be unjustifiably costly and disruptive during a time of financial crisis. Continue reading...

Crisis affects all country’s hospitals, while 838 patients wait on trolleys in wards or emergency departmentsIreland’s hospitals are reeling from record overcrowding amid what the government has called a “perfect storm” of respiratory infections.The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said on Wednesday no hospital was unaffected by the crisis and called for an “extraordinary response” from the state. Continue reading...

Michelle Donelan has reportedly written to PM saying ‘pursuing a sale at this point is not the right decision’

Former prime minister wanted to scrap mandatory staff-child ratios in nurseriesLiz Truss has urged Rishi Sunak not to ditch her childcare changes aimed at helping parents struggling with rising costs.The former prime minister was aiming to scrap mandatory staff-child ratios in nurseries while increasing free childcare support by 20 hours a week, to help tackle the labour crisis. Continue reading...

UK company makes decision because of growing tensions between Beijing and the islandBrompton, the UK’s largest bicycle maker, has said it is planning to reduce its dependence on China and Taiwan for parts, amid fears of a growing military threat to the island from Beijing.The company known for its folding bikes is among a range of western firms looking to ensure they can source supplies from other countries, as concerns mount over an increase in geopolitical tensions, and even a possible future invasion of Taiwan by China, which considers it to be a breakaway province. Continue reading...

Mark Drakeford and economy minister Vaughan Gething were guests of host nation at five-star Ritz-Carlton

Paul Nowak warns action could be stepped up as he urges Rishi Sunak to facilitate pay negotiations

Exclusive: Centrica expresses ‘profound concern’ over financial resilience of some competitorsBritish Gas owner Centrica has expressed “profound concern” over the financial resilience of some of its competitors in the domestic energy market and has written to Citizens Advice to ask for support in its efforts to protect consumers.Centrica’s group general counsel, Raj Roy, has written to the charity’s chief, Dame Clare Moriarty, to voice concerns over the regulator Ofgem’s recent consultation on the financial health of energy suppliers. Continue reading...

Amount of water surging down river in one day equivalent to what Perth uses in 20 years, Bureau of Meteorology says

Sean Patterson, 33, reportedly killed by gunman while he was standing by pool at guest house in Bogue HillA British man has been shot dead at a villa in the St James parish of Jamaica.Sean Patterson, 33, a personal trainer from west London, was found with gunshot wounds to his upper body and head at around midday on Monday in Bogue Hill, police said. Continue reading...

Record flooding in Western Australian region forces evacuations. This blog is now closed

Fifty retail outlets to close by April but owner says ‘online business will continue to operate and will service many loyal customers’

Plans by the government to review up to 4,000 pieces of EU legislation could be delayed by the LordsMembers of the House of Lords are preparing to slow down attempts to axe thousands of pieces of European Union legislation, with some warning there is no chance of the bill passing by the end of the year as promised.Ministers have promised to review about 4,000 pieces of EU law that derive from Britain’s membership of the bloc, and have set a deadline of the end of the year to decide which ones to keep. Continue reading...

Neil Hansford says operators around Australia face pressures after a fall in patronage during pandemic

Federal police warn ‘smuggling drugs internally is idiotic’ after man, 28, charged with importing 120g of cocaine into Melbourne airportAn Irish man is behind bars after he was stopped at Melbourne airport and taken to hospital for a CT scan which allegedly revealed six Kinder Surprise capsules packed with cocaine.The passenger’s bags were searched at the international airport in late December with Australian Border Force alleging there was a positive result for the presence of cocaine. Continue reading...

Commission opens ‘regulatory compliance case’ after complaints that the charity is politically partisanThe Charity Commission has said it is “assessing concerns” about the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was at the forefront of antisemitism allegations against Labour under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.The commission has opened a regulatory compliance case against the CAA, after complaints including that the charity is politically partisan. Continue reading...

Lost animal was moved to a nearby paddock where it got stuck up to its stomach in mud overnight and had to be lassoed with firefighters’ hose

Passengers advised to travel only if necessary on Wednesday, although No 10 and Network Rail optimistic about reaching deal• UK strike calendar: service stoppages in JanuaryMore disruption awaits commuters returning to work after the Christmas break on Wednesday, the second of five consecutive days of rail strikes.Once again, much of Britain’s rail network will not be operating, with only about a fifth of trains expected to run, leaving only a skeleton service for commuters on some urban and intercity lines. Continue reading...

Burial place has fallen into severe disrepair, to dismay of families of those laid to rest thereWild vegetation smothers the crumbling tombs, most of them dating back to the 1800s, that line the square beneath the imposing Chiesa Madre, or Mother Church, at Poggioreale monumental cemetery in the southern Italian city of Naples.In the middle of the square, a makeshift storage area has been installed for coffins containing retrieved skeletal remains of the dead that were flung out of burial niches after a series of collapses at multistorey marble columbariums last year. Continue reading...

The woman’s body was found after the man, 66, walked into a police station on the NSW north coast and reported concern for her welfare

Prabodh Malhotra, 71, set a course from the MCG to Sydney via Canberra which took 52 days and saw him go through four pairs of shoes

Problem appears to be limited to users in Australia and New Zealand and follows significant global outage in December

Avengers actor posts photo from hospital bed as authorities reveal more details of ‘tragic accident’ that saw star ‘run over’ by 6,500kg snow plowJeremy Renner has issued his first statement since he was hit by his own snow plow, with authorities revealing that the 6,500kg vehicle had “run over” the star of The Avengers when it began to unexpectedly roll.On Tuesday afternoon Renner, who remains in a critical condition and is being kept in intensive care, shared a photo of himself in a hospital bed to his Instagram. “Thank you all for your kind words,” the caption read. “Im too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all.” Continue reading...

A clean sweep led by Harry Styles was an ‘astonishing’ high note for the music industry – but the domination of older songs reflected the impact of streamingFor the first time since year-end charts were introduced more than 50 years ago, British artists have made up the entirety of the year’s 10 most popular songs in the UK.Topping the biggest songs of 2022 in the UK was Harry Styles’ omnipresent As It Was; Ed Sheeran had two songs on the list, while new artists such as south London songwriter Cat Burns and Scottish dance duo LF System rubbed shoulders with Kate Bush, whose 1985 single Running Up That Hill topped the UK singles chart for the first time last year after being featured in the latest series of Netflix drama Stranger Things, having originally peaked at No 3. Continue reading...

Protracted campaign of Iranian drones to ‘exhaust’ Ukraine, says president. This live blog is now closed

Tehran parliament told plan was for national football team to defect on pitch in Qatar but plot was foiledThe UK was plotting for the Iranian national football team to defect on the pitch at the World Cup in Qatar, the minister of sport and youth has told the Iranian parliament, without providing any evidence.The sports minister, Hamid Sajjadi, told MPs the country’s enemies had attempted “the height of sedition”. He said the “Old Fox”, by which he meant the UK, had planned for Iran’s players to walk off the pitch at specified moments and seek to defect. Continue reading...

Some firms cut capacity by 20% to match supply and demand as custom fades, bills rise and government support dwindlesPubs and restaurants face a “perfect storm” of challenges this year as cash-strapped consumers slash spending and the government reduces its energy bills support – forcing many to cut their opening hours.The industry faced a plethora of challenges in 2022, including soaring energy bills, staffing shortages, rampant food inflation and fragile consumer confidence. Continue reading...

Neighbours furious after firefighters had to be called to Redemption Song, owned by Empire State building magnate Tony MalkinResidents of a New Zealand town are calling for a ban on private fireworks after a display by a New York billionaire set off a blaze on New Year’s Eve.Ten minutes into the new year, firefighters were called to fight multiple grass fires at the property of Tony Malkin – chief executive of the entity that owns the Empire State building – after an extravagant private fireworks display went awry near Queenstown in Central Otago. Continue reading...

Woman, 54, is in hospital in a serious condition after her throat was allegedly cut at Fairfield home

Victorian premier says state-run hospitals should not be acting as safety nets because people ‘cannot find a bulk-billing doctor’

Fatalities include 40-year-old pilot, a 57-year-old woman and 65-year-old man from the UK and a 36-year-old woman from NSW

Police say Nicholas Aaron Scott, who was found dead about 1.30am on Tuesday, had escaped custody from Royal Hobart hospital

Daniel Duggan, a naturalised Australian accused of providing military training to Chinese, is fighting extradition and maintains his innocence

The Avengers star suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries in an accident while plowing snow and remains in intensive careJeremy Renner has undergone surgery after suffering blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries sustained in an accident on Sunday, and remains in a critical but stable condition, the actor’s publicist has confirmed.The 51-year-old actor was seriously injured while driving a snow plow near his home in Reno, Nevada, on New Year’s Day, and was airlifted to hospital. Continue reading...

Prof Paul Kelly told Albanese government there was not ‘sufficient public health rationale’ for additional requirements targeting China

The Hawkeye actor was plowing snow when the accident occurred on SundayJeremy Renner has been seriously injured in an accident while plowing snow and is in a “critical but stable condition”, a spokesperson for the actor said on Sunday.“We can confirm Jeremy is in critical but stable condition with injuries suffered after experiencing a weather-related accident while plowing snow earlier today,” a spokesperson for the Hawkeye star told the Hollywood Reporter late on Sunday night. Continue reading...

White, who joined the soul-funk group in 1974, playing on hits including September and Shining StarThe Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Fred White has died at the age of 67.The news was shared by his brother and bandmate Verdine White on Sunday in an Instagram post. He paid tribute to the “amazing and talented” musician, “now drumming with the angels!” Continue reading...

Ministers urged to recall parliament amid warnings patients are dying needlessly due to inactionThe crisis engulfing the NHS will continue until Easter, health leaders have warned, as senior doctors accused ministers of letting patients die needlessly through inaction.More than a dozen trusts and ambulance services have declared critical incidents in recent days, with soaring demand, rising flu and Covid cases and an overstretched workforce piling pressure on the health service. Continue reading...

At least eight countries experience record high temperatures of ‘almost unheard of’ heat, say meteorologistsWeather records have been falling across Europe at a disconcerting rate in the last few days, say meteorologists.The warmest January day ever was recorded in at least eight European countries including Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia, according to data collated by Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist who tracks extreme temperatures. Continue reading...

Spanish foreign minister says he does not want ‘no deal’ relationship, but EU is prepared for hard Brexit for territorySpain and the EU are prepared for all possibilities – including a hard Brexit – when it comes to the bloc’s relationship with Gibraltar, Spain’s foreign minister has said, adding that the ball was now in London’s court after 11 rounds of negotiations.“Spain doesn’t want a ‘no deal’ scenario,” the Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, told Europa Press. “The government of Spain and the EU, which is ultimately the signatory on the agreement with the UK, are ready for any scenario.” Continue reading...

Thor, seen in Hampshire and Scarborough – where fireworks were cancelled to spare him distress – has now been spotted in BlythA wandering walrus who delighted thousands in Scarborough on New Year’s Eve has continued his English tour and turned up 100 miles further up the coast.A large crowd quickly gathered in the Northumberland town of Blyth on Monday lunchtime after a walrus was spotted resting on a wooden pontoon at the yacht club. Continue reading...

Ly Hao Nam, 10, fell down a narrow shaft on New Year’s Eve but there was no response from him on Monday

PM has reinstated ‘boring government’ but smooth relations with backbenchers are unlikely to lastAt the end of one of the most tumultuous years of politics in decades, Rishi Sunak is confident he has successfully managed to calm Tory MPs and – in the words of one senior aide – “bring back boring government”.He has sought to kick some controversial pieces of legislation into the long grass, performed quick U-turns and managed to satiate a parliamentary party with a seemingly unquenchable thirst for regicide. Continue reading...

Lobby group says future being decided ‘without the involvement of the actual community itself’Descendants of the people of the Chagos Islands have claimed their views are being ignored as the prime minister of Mauritius announced the start of talks with Britain over the territory’s sovereignty.Pravind Jugnauth, who has led the Mauritian government since 2017, used a new year’s address to reveal that talks with London were under way over the disputed Indian Ocean archipelago. Continue reading...

Number of shoppers out between Christmas and new year only 7.2% higher than in 2021, amid Omicron fearFootfall on Britain’s high streets and shopping centres plunged by more than a quarter in the week after Christmas compared with the week before, figures show.Shoppers opted to stay at home, as last week footfall was 27.7% lower than the week before and 19.7% down on the same week in 2019, retail data analysts Springboard said. Continue reading...

Moscow says 63 of its soldiers died in attack on school building used as barracks amid claims death toll could be higher

Exclusive: Widow says she has struggled to grieve for her husband properly after mortuary failed to follow proceduresA widow received damages from an NHS trust after a mortuary allowed the body of her late husband to decompose to the point he was “unviewable”, the Guardian can reveal.Caroline Murray said she had struggled to grieve properly and suffered from intrusive mental images of what the body of her husband, Paul, would have looked like in an advanced state of decomposition. Continue reading...

Concerns reignited about parliament’s culture after Labour’s Charlotte Nichols privately shared a list of dozens of politicians to avoidCalls are growing for third parties to be allowed to make complaints to Westminster’s sexual misconduct watchdog, after concerns were reignited about parliament’s culture by a Labour MP who privately shared a list of 20 MPs to avoid.After a number of sexual misconduct and bullying scandals have led to suspensions and resignations of sitting MPs, some parliamentarians and unions say they remain concerned that witnesses cannot make complaints. Continue reading...