PM urged to ‘come clean’ amid suggestions he is out of touch with millions who face long NHS waitsRishi Sunak has refused to say whether he uses private healthcare amid suggestions he is out of touch with millions of ordinary people who face long waiting times to receive treatment on the NHS.The prime minister said his own healthcare was “not really relevant” and was a “distraction” from his focus on making sure people across England receive high-quality NHS provision. Continue reading...

Political disagreement about the role of the state, the expense of reform and our unwillingness to confront ageing are at the root of the problemA confidential No 10 memo on (not) reforming social care reads: “The prime minister agreed that this seemed the right course, but noted that careful thought needed to be given to the presentation in order to avoid charges that the government had pulled back from its original commitments on long-term care.”That’s not a recent leak: it was from 1996, and shows how far back political failure on social care stretches. Politicians have not incurred any penalties for shirking this responsibility. In fact, the only leader who has really been burned by it is Theresa May – and that’s because she tried to do the right thing and be honest with the public about the cost in the 2017 election.

Firms such as Animals at Home offer range of care services and can step in when pets are in troubleThe day did not begin as expected for Verity Hope. She had been due to spend a wet November morning making a trip to a vet with a reactive dog, but the client phoned in sick. Then another job cropped up: taking a dead rabbit to a pet crematorium.It may seem an eclectic set of requests, but for Verity and her animal ambulance it is the norm. Since the start of the pandemic, 4.7m households have acquired a new pet. Changes in work patterns and everyday pressures mean many need support. Continue reading...

Woman recounts suffering on perilous journeys taken to escape oppression in Myanmar and squalid Bangladesh campsHatemon Nesa recalled hugging her young daughter tightly as the cramped, broken-down boat they were sitting on drifted aimlessly. They had set off on 25 November from the squalid Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh, where they had lived since 2017, when a brutal crackdown by Myanmar’s military forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee over the border.The 27-year-old, like many other Rohingya refugees, was hoping for a better life in Malaysia. But about 10 days into the journey the boat’s engine stopped working and food and water supplies began to run out. Continue reading...

Tirailleurs, featuring Lupin star Omar Sy, tells story of father and son during first world warA new film featuring the Lupin star Omar Sy has highlighted the forgotten heroism of African riflemen from France’s former colonies who fought in the frontline trenches of the first world war.Tirailleurs was released on Wednesday shortly after a row sparked by an interview the actor had given to Le Parisien in which he contrasted attitudes to conflicts in Europe and Africa. Continue reading...

Catherine Mayer says anger over racism, misogyny and wealth in the royal family can undermine public consent for a monarchyThe “absolutely catastrophic” implications of attacks on the behaviour of the royal family in the new memoir from the Duke of Sussex are being ignored, according to Catherine Mayer, the royal analyst and biographer of King Charles.Early publication of the Spanish edition of Spare has put the focus on personality clashes, some of it fed by the royal publicity machine, and this could threaten the constitutional monarchy, whether or not the British public is calling for such a change, Mayer believes. Continue reading...

While the decisions cannot undo abortion bans in the 13 states they exist, it could make a huge difference where the right is protectedThis week, the federal government announced two decisions designed to improve abortion access in the US. The first, a rule change made by the Food and Drug Administration, allows pharmacies to dispense mifepristone, one of the two drugs needed for a medication abortion. The second, an opinion drafted by the justice department, gives the US Postal Service the all clear to continue mailing abortion pills, even to states where abortion is severely restricted.How big an impact the moves will have, however, remains to be seen. Continue reading...

Local media report the accident took place when a truck hit a funeral procession in China’s eastern Jiangxi provinceNineteen people were killed and 20 injured in a road traffic accident in eastern China’s Jiangxi province on Sunday, state media reported.The injured had been sent to the hospital, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing local authorities. Continue reading...

Pressure grows on Putin as politicians and lawyers point to principles that led to Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals

Federal opposition leader wants Labor to legislate its preferred model before referendum is held this year. This blog is now closed‘I’m genuinely interested in advancing the cause of reconciliation’Peter Dutton is asked about whether the prime minister has been given a copy of his letter – Anthony Albanese has said he has not received it – and Dutton says a copy has been provided to the prime minister’s office and he expects “he will respond in due course”.I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Certainly not racist. It’s not being opposed to reconciliation. It’s all about, frankly, just being informed about what it is they’re being asked to vote on. I don’t think that is unreasonable to ask the prime minister to provide that.I’ve met with the prime minister and I’m grateful for the meetings that we’ve had and he knows that I’m genuinely interested in advancing the cause of reconciliation.I’m speaking of millions of Australians, we’re asking you the reasonable questions. Continue reading...

‘I did not kill the woman,’ suspect says outside Delhi hearing, adding that he wants to reveal all to a court in Australia

Opposition leader has demanded more detail, saying lack of clear information will condemn referendum to failure and damage reconciliation efforts

Virus outbreaks tipped to worsen as mainland China opens to Hong Kong, ends quarantine for visitors and millions begin holiday-period travelChina has lifted quarantine requirements for inbound travellers, ending almost three years of self-imposed isolation even as the country battles a surge in Covid cases.On Sunday, mainland China also opened its border to Hong Kong, dismantling the last pillars of a zero-Covid policy that had shielded people from the virus but also cut them off from the rest of the world. Continue reading...

At least three killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine despite Moscow’s self-declared ceasefire; UK says fighting continued at ‘routine level’ into Orthodox Christmas

Vehicle leaves track at Queensland raceway, killing driver, 55, and injuring a camera operator

Death of young woman follows other accidents on the network, including one in 2021 that killed 26Two subway trains collided between stations in Mexico City on Saturday, killing at least one person and injuring 57, authorities said.Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said on her Twitter account that the accident happened on Line 3 of the capital’s Metro system, without specifying the cause of the crash, which occurred between the Potrero and La Raza stations. Continue reading...

Marcela Ríos stands down before expected congressional complaint over pardons of those involved in 2019 political violenceChile’s justice minister, Marcela Ríos, has resigned her post, the country’s president, Gabriel Boric, said on Saturday, amid accusations of wrongdoing over pardons given to people connected to violent 2019 protests.Lawyer Luis Cordero Vega will take up the job in the coming days, leftist Boric added in a video statement, thanking Ríos for her work during her 10 months in the role. Continue reading...

Duke recalls feeling hands wet with tears when he shook hands with people outside Kensington PalaceThe Duke of Sussex has described the guilt he felt while walking outside Kensington Palace following the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.In a clip from Harry: The Interview, which will be broadcast at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday, Prince Harry speaks about his memories of meeting mourners following the death of his mother in 1997. Continue reading...

New York Times suggests Spare could be one of most divisive celebrity memoirs as comedians and talkshow hosts weigh inConcern, comedy, and confusion – Prince Harry’s upcoming book has generated different reactions across the US, his adopted home country.Excerpts from the autobiography Spare were leaked last week with bombshell revelations, including an alleged physical assault by his brother William; the brothers requesting that their father, now King Charles, not marry Camilla; and Harry’s apparent killing of 25 Taliban soldiers while serving in the British army in Afghanistan. Continue reading...

Ian Wright and MPs David Lammy, Yvette Cooper and Caroline Lucas criticise U-turn by Suella Braverman before 75th anniversaryThe government has been criticised by several public figures after the news of the home secretary’s plans to abandon several key commitments made after the Windrush scandal in the run-up to the 75th anniversary of the ship’s arrival in the UK.On Friday, the Guardian reported that Suella Braverman was planning to abandon several of the key commitments made since the Windrush scandal, including dropping the pledge to create a migrants’ commissioner and a U-turn on the promise to increase the powers of the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration. Continue reading...

With songs and movies readily available on streaming services, illegal downloads have moved to less-available media

Bipartisan recommendation that would bring Australia in line with UN standards and is backed by advocates ‘noted’, but not supported

Reports of strikes on Ukraine’s frontline after Vladimir Putin ordered a truce to observe Russian Orthodox Christmas

JR Moehringer, biographer to stars such as Andre Agassi and a doyen of the grenre, was an obvious choice for the Duke of SussexWhen Prince Harry chose to work with ghostwriter JR Moehringer on his institution-shaking memoir, Spare, he was not taking half measures. The American writer and Pulitzer prize-winning journalist does not have a huge output, but he is known for his immersive approach to subjects, his preoccupation with the father-son relationship, and his capacity to “go deep”.When he worked with Andre Agassi on ghostwriting his celebrated 2009 memoir Open, the tennis star said Moehringer moved to Las Vegas and bought a house a mile away, where he lived for two years. They would meet in the mornings over Whole Foods breakfast burritos, Agassi said. Continue reading...

February and March closures will mean biggest shutdown for years if union ballots for action this weekMost state schools across England and Wales will have to close completely on several days in February and March if the country’s biggest teaching union votes for industrial action this week, the Observer has been told.In what would represent a dramatic escalation of the chaos sweeping the public sector, and affect millions of working parents, the National Education Union (NEU) expects a ballot of its members, which ends on Friday, to approve action that would trigger the biggest shutdown of schools for many years. Continue reading...

The 23-year-old footballer was fatally stabbed at the Crane nightclub in Birmingham on Boxing DaySchoolchildren have paid tribute to a man who was stabbed to death on a nightclub dancefloor on Boxing Day, by forming a guard of honour.Cody Fisher, a 23-year-old footballer, was fatally stabbed at the Crane nightclub in Digbeth, Birmingham, just before midnight on 26 December. Continue reading...

At least two civilians killed in attacks across country after Russia declared ceasefire for Orthodox Christmas

Campaigners call for greater global action after deaths of Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad HosseiniIran drew international condemnation on Saturday after it executed two men for killing a paramilitary force member in November during protests sparked by the death in custody of a young woman.The latest killings double the number executed so far in connection with the nationwide protests. Two men were put to death in December, sparking global outrage. Continue reading...

HMS Medway was conducting routine operations in the area when it came to rescue of stranded crewThe crew of a Royal Navy warship have rescued five people after their ocean-going tug sank in choppy seas in the Caribbean.HMS Medway – the Royal Navy’s permanent vessel in the region – saved the crew members who had taken refuge on a large sand barge their tug was towing when it began to flood. Continue reading...

Northern Ireland make house-to-house inquiries and plan to revisit scene of stabbing to jog people’s memoriesDetectives investigating the murder of Natalie McNally in Northern Ireland have seized a car.The vehicle was taken from an address in the Lisburn and Castlereagh area for further examination. Continue reading...

Second world war document revealing a stash of coins and jewels hidden by German soldiers is put online by Dutch archivistsAs the Nazis fled occupied Europe in the final days of the second world war, four German soldiers buried a hoard of gold coins and jewels in the middle of nowhere in the Dutch countryside. Nearly 80 years later, hopes of finding the buried loot have been raised after the National Archives of the Netherlands released a trove of documents – and a map to the treasure where X marks the spot.The treasure – four ammunition cases laden with coins, watches, jewellery, diamonds and other gemstones – is thought to have been worth at least 2m or 3m Dutch guilder in 1945, the equivalent of around £15.85m in today’s money. Continue reading...

Matthew Corry to appear before Gloucestershire magistrates accused of killing Beatrice CorryA man has been charged with murdering his elderly mother in the Cotswolds.Matthew Corry, 45, will appear before Gloucestershire magistrates court in Cheltenham on Monday accused of murdering Beatrice Corry. Continue reading...

Michael Corry to appear before Gloucestershire magistrates accused of killing Beatrice CorryA man has been charged with murdering his elderly mother in the Cotswolds.Michael Corry will appear before Gloucestershire magistrates court in Cheltenham on Monday accused of murdering Beatrice Corry. Continue reading...

Former royal biographer Jonathan Dimbleby says Duke of Sussex ‘is clearly a very troubled man’

His parents, his uncle and the Duke of Windsor all came out worse after baring their souls

Six flood alerts issued in Scotland as downpours hit UK and more unsettled weather expected this weekendThirty-five flood warnings have been issued across England and Wales after heavy downpours hit parts of the country.As a band of rain pushed eastwards across the UK on Saturday morning, there were 27 flood warnings in England and eight in Wales. Continue reading...

The census suggested people in the Essex district were six times less likely to be gay than those in the East Sussex cityBrighton and Hove, for decades England’s unofficial gay capital, can now wear the official crown. One in 10 people aged over 16 in the city identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or “other sexual orientation” in the 2021 census. It was exactly in line with the decades-old estimates based on the works of the 1940s US professor Alfred Kinsey who contended homosexuality was far more widespread than officialdom admitted.By contrast, the district of Rochford in Essex was shown as the straightest place in England. Only 1.6% of the population there said they were LGB+, suggesting that those living in the largely rural, somewhat conservative area near Southend-on-Sea are six times less likely to be gay than those in Brighton and Hove. People in Rochford were also four times less likely to say they were transgender or non-binary than those in the East Sussex city. Continue reading...

Planned overhaul for GP surgeries puts party on collision course with British Medical AssociationWes Streeting has said a Labour government would “tear up the contract” with GPs, and could make family doctors salaried NHS employees.The shadow health secretary said the way GP surgeries operate financially is a “murky, opaque business”. The proposed changes would put Streeting on course for a confrontation with the British Medical Association (BMA). Continue reading...

Body of fashion designer and model Edwin Chiloba, 25, found in metal trunk left by roadsidePolice investigating the death of an LGBTQ+ rights campaigner whose body was discovered stuffed in a metal trunk have arrested a suspect, they said.Edwin Chiloba, a 25-year-old fashion designer and model, was found dead by the roadside earlier this week about 40km (25 miles) outside the Rift Valley town of Eldoret, media reports said. Continue reading...

Specialisms such as dentistry have shortages and EU exit still causes issues with medicines in Northern Ireland, thinktank findsNHS trusts in England have increased recruitment from low-income “red list” countries to make up for the post-Brexit loss of EU staff, despite a code of practice to safeguard health services in those developing countries.A report by the Nuffield Trust thinktank also identified shortages in vital specialist areas since Brexit, including dentistry, cardiothoracic surgery and anaesthesiology. Continue reading...

Female workers tell of exploitation and sexual assault at frankincense warehouse supplying US essential oils company“I’m not speaking metaphorically – a bottle of doTERRA essential oil can change the world,” says David Stirling, a mild, clean-cut, middle-aged man. His largely female audience cheers and whistles, as if for a celebrity. Stirling, then CEO and co-founder of doTERRA, a Utah-based multi-level marketing company that sells essential oils, is making his opening remarks in September 2021 to the packed Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.In a setting reminiscent of a megachurch, Stirling’s soft-spoken voice echoes. He reminds the audience that the world needs healers more than ever – “and that’s you”, he says, to raucous applause. He quotes CS Lewis, speaks of miracles and says he’s seen people turn to doTERRA in their lowest moments. People cry. Continue reading...

Women’s group in Barrow was one of two charities to receive money raised for Eleanor WilliamsA second charity has decided to “politely decline” £10,000 originally raised for Eleanor Williams, who was convicted this week of perverting the course of justice by lying about being raped and trafficked.Women’s Community Matters (WCM) in Barrow in Furness, Williams’ home town, was one of two charities that were to split £20,000 crowdfunded for Williams if she did not use it to bring her alleged abusers to justice. Continue reading...

Footage posted to social media showed passengers disembarking via emergency slides and walking across tarmacA Jetstar flight has been forced to make an emergency landing in central Japan after receiving a bomb threat, according to local media.The aircraft was reportedly travelling from Narita airport near Tokyo to Fukuoka on Saturday, when it was forced to divert to Aichi prefecture, public broadcaster NHK said.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Ultranationalist religious rulers sworn in last week have made explicit what was previously obscured: annexationGlancing up and staring directly into the camera, the suspect who broke into the centuries-old Jerusalem cemetery appears to spot the CCTV equipment recording his hate crime. Seemingly unfazed, he looks down again, focusing on the task at hand – pushing over a stone cross and smashing it to pieces.The two young males who vandalised more than 30 Christian graves last weekend showed little concern about hiding their identities while carrying out a religiously motivated attack. They did not cover their faces as they systematically destroyed headstones on a bright Sunday afternoon in the heart of the holy city. Such is the confidence with which the suspects, believed to be teenage Israeli extremists arrested on Friday, now operate. Continue reading...

Council steps in after videos on social media turn Nottinghamshire river crossing into viral tourist attractionDeep in the English countryside is an ancient river crossing that has been used, in various forms, for at least 1,000 years. It featured in the Domesday Book, attracted Cistercian monks who built an abbey nearby, and more recently served as a handy shortcut for Nottinghamshire commuters. But Rufford ford has now been closed, after clips of cars driving through it attracted hundreds of millions of views on TikTok.“That ford has been there since Adam was a lad,” said Neil Clarke, a local councillor. He decided to close the crossing this month after requests from the fire and police services, who were unable to cope with a small rural lane becoming one of the most famous roads in the world. Continue reading...

Charges against Rhianan Rudd, then 15, were dropped after evidence proved she had been groomed online by rightwing extremistsCharities say the case of a UK teenager who became the youngest girl to be charged with terror offences after online grooming by rightwing extremists should be a “wake-up call” about the online vulnerability of children.Rhianan Rudd, who was 15 when charged, took her own life at a Nottinghamshire children’s home in May last year, when she was 16.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines are listed at befrienders.org. Continue reading...

Australian Defence Force planes now able to use the airstrip at Fitzroy Crossing as weather improves. This blog is now closed

Organisers plough on with plans after Brexit meant Leeds missed chance to be European capital of cultureWhen Leeds was denied its chance to become European capital of culture in 2023 due to Brexit, it should have been the killing blow to what it had been hoped would be a massive year-long cultural celebration.But, refusing to be beaten, cultural leaders ploughed ahead regardless, and now almost a decade of planning and ideating will culminate on Saturday in the launch of Leeds 2023, the city-wide cultural festival. Continue reading...

A man who was trapped in a lift during drone strikes is helping stock emergency boxes for people in the same situation

Industrial action over pay and working conditions has caused almost four weeks of disruptionThe last day in the latest stretch of railway strikes has begun, ending a run of almost four weeks of continuous disruption caused by industrial action over pay and working conditions.Only about one in five trains across Great Britain will run on Saturday as a 48-hour walkout by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union concludes, with no early morning or evening services and a pared-back schedule on main intercity and urban lines. Continue reading...