World news | The Guardian

Family doctors due to vote on radical proposals to try to save overstretched system from collapseA patient dies in a chair awaiting treatment. Other patients wait all night in ambulances. Hospitals are so understaffed they tell the public to stay away. One hospital suspends emergency general surgery.Another week, another slew of headlines about Northern Ireland’s healthcare crisis, by some measures the worst in the UK. Continue reading...

Pictures show dictator viewing an ICBM launch site with girl whose existence has never been confirmed beforeNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been pictured with his daughter for the first time in photographs showing the pair hand in hand inspecting the launch of the country’s largest ballistic missile.North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday, state news agency KCNA reported on Saturday. Continue reading...

Prime minister says he was upset by killing of Olivia Pratt-Korbel and is willing to increase prison numbers to make UK saferRishi Sunak has said he fears for his daughter’s safety when out alone, saying that men have often taken their own freedoms for granted.Sunak spoke candidly about his elder daughter Krishna’s desire for more independence but said he was disturbed by a number of crimes including the killing of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, the nine-year-old shot dead in Liverpool. Continue reading...

Singer said he didn’t ‘condone any abuses of human rights’ but it would be ‘hypocritical’ not to goRobbie Williams has defended his decision to perform in Qatar during the World Cup, arguing that it would be “hypocritical” not to go.The singer, 48, has been criticised on social media for agreeing to sing during the tournament, which begins on Sunday night, due to the country’s human rights record, stance on homosexuality and treatment of migrant workers. Continue reading...

Coronation Street actor will appear as companion to Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th incarnation of Doctor late in 2023Millie Gibson has been unveiled as the Time Lord’s new sidekick in Doctor Who, in an announcement made live on BBC Children in Need on Friday evening.The Coronation Street actor, 18, will play the role of Ruby Sunday, companion to the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, when the programme returns towards the end of 2023. Continue reading...

Christopher Wray called foreign police presence in US ‘outrageous’ but Chinese embassy says sites are volunteer-runChina has contested claims it was operating unauthorized “police stations” on US soil, calling the sites volunteer-run, after the FBI director said he was “very concerned” about unauthorized stations that have been linked to Beijing’s influence operations.Safeguard Defenders, a Europe-based human rights organization, published a report in September revealing the presence of dozens of Chinese police “service stations” in major cities around the world, including New York. Continue reading...

Caroline Nokes tells Gloria De Piero young men ‘absolutely terrified of coming forward’Gay men working in parliament are the “most vulnerable” to harassment and abuse but are “absolutely terrified of coming forward” because of the taboo which remains around homosexuality, a senior Conservative MP has said.Former immigration minister Caroline Nokes said women receive “all the column inches in the press” before “this ‘and also’ [approach] when it comes to the young gay men’.” Continue reading...

Wayne Hawkeswood and Graham Woodhouse guilty of four offences regarding incident at Birmingham metal recycling siteThe directors of two companies have been found guilty of health and safety offences that led to the deaths of five workers when a wall collapsed at a scrap metal recycling plant.Five workers were crushed to death at the Hawkeswood Metal Recycling site in Birmingham when a 4.6-metre high wall and 263 tonnes of metal fell on them in July 2016. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ex-PM said to have described China as ‘coercive autocracy’ in speech to Asian businesspeople and diplomatsThe billionaire financier Mike Bloomberg was forced to apologise to hundreds of guests at a major Asian business event in Singapore this week after complaints about a speech by Boris Johnson that robustly criticised China.The former UK prime minister, the after-dinner speaker at the flagship Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on Tuesday, was said to have described China as a “coercive autocracy” to about 500 Asian businesspeople, investors and diplomats. Continue reading...

A video has circulated on social media reportedly showing Ukrainian soldiers shooting at least 10 RussiansThe Kremlin has accused Ukrainian soldiers of executing more than 10 Russian prisoners of war following the circulation of a video on social media purporting to be from the frontline.The footage appears to show a group of Russian soldiers emerging from an outbuilding in the grounds of a house with their hands above their heads before they are told to lie facedown. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can find our latest political coverage hereChancellor Jeremy Hunt has conceded that Boris Johnson’s hard Brexit deal has caused damaging trade barriers with the European Union, as he said immigration will be “very important” for the economy.

Sale of chain which operates sites across UK and Ireland means closure of 18 outlets but 25 will remain openThe AMT Coffee chain has been sold out of administration with the rescue of 25 outlets, though 18 will close leaving 100 employees facing redundancy.The coffee chain, which has sites in airports, rail hubs, hospitals and other locations throughout the UK and Ireland, saw revenues plummet as the pandemic cut footfall. Continue reading...

Esther McVey, John Redwood and Richard Drax among backbench critics of chancellor’s tax rises

Migrant workers in Qatar working as guards at Al-Bidda Park appear to get one day off a month and are housed in dirty camps on the edge of the desertMigrant workers employed as security guards in a huge park that will be at the heart of Qatar’s World Cup festivities appear to be being paid as little as 35 pence an hour.The men are stationed across Al Bidda Park, a pristine green space adjoining the Fifa Fan Festival. Throughout the tournament Al Bidda Park will be packed with football fans enjoying the sweeping lawns, shaded picnic spots and views over Doha. The guards interviewed are not contracted to Fifa or deployed in the Festival. Continue reading...

Mathieu Godard and Jeremiah Mathias-Polson accused of breaking into Parc Omega in Quebec and killing three wild boar and an elkTwo Canadian men have been charged with entering a safari park in Quebec and shooting three wild boar and an elk, brazen killings that have left staff at the family-themed park in shock.Police say Mathieu Godard and Jeremiah Mathias-Polson broke through a barrier at Parc Omega on the evening of 10 November. Continue reading...

Labour’s Imran Hussain says he has been pressing council and police to improve road safetyAn MP has said he is “absolutely horrified” to see footage of drivers ploughing into pedestrians at a zebra crossing where there have been a series of accidents in recent years.The Labour MP Imran Hussain said he was concerned about “accident blackspots” in his Bradford East constituency after clips of the collisions were shared by the television presenter Jeremy Vine. Continue reading...

Stark took legal action against newspaper after it wrongly referred to her as a ‘porn star’Prince Andrew’s former girlfriend Koo Stark has received substantial damages from the Daily Mail after the newspaper wrongly referred to her as a “porn star”.Stark, who now works as a photographer, brought the legal action over a November 2019 piece that referred to Andrew as a “Duke of Hazard” with “very shady friends” and included a photo of Stark from the film The Awakening of Emily captioned “The prince and the porn star”. Continue reading...

Seventh edition dictionary includes terms popularised in slang, current affairs, such as vax, and food itemsBoard game stans rejoice, for the adorbs Scrabble dictionary has embiggened the number of playable terms.This week, the Merriam-Webster dictionary released the seventh edition of its Scrabble Players Dictionary, the official referee on what words are eligible in the popular game, with 500 new words. Continue reading...

Bodies of three sex workers found stabbed to death in two apartments in upmarket district of PratiPolice in Rome are hunting for a possible serial killer after the bodies of three women were found in two apartments in the upmarket district of Prati.Two of the women, both sex workers of Chinese nationality believed to be aged between 40 and 50, were found stabbed to death in an apartment on Via Augusto Riboty. Continue reading...

Resolution Foundation says real wages not expected to return to 2008 levels until 2027

Saturday’s poll is first since voting age was lowered to 18, meaning there are 6m more voters than in 2018Malaysians will vote in a tightly contested general election on Saturday, after two weeks of fierce campaigning in which politicians have sought to woo millions of young voters by embracing Instagram and TikTok trends.Saturday’s election is the first since constitutional changes lowered the voting age to 18 and automatically registered voters, meaning there are 6 million more voters than at the previous election in 2018. It is believed to be the first time people under 40 make up the majority of the electorate. Continue reading...

After the euphoria of the Ukrainian city’s recapture, many of its people are living at rock bottom, lacking the basics to survive

Pair say they ‘could not resist’ revamping track before Qatar World Cup, after Lionesses’ victory in summerFrank Skinner and David Baddiel have released a reworked, festive version of their 1996 football anthem Three Lions, ahead of the 2022 men’s World Cup beginning on Sunday.Discussing the release of the track, the pair said that although their famous refrain “football’s coming home” had become redundant after victory for the England women’s team earlier this year, they would give it “one more go for the blokes”. Continue reading...

Australia’s prime minister joined forces with Kamala Harris, Fumio Kishida, Jacinda Ardern, Han Duck-soo, and Justin Trudeau, on issue at Apec summit

‘It’s what we came to hear, the missile downing mum and dad’s plane is true,’ son says

This blog is now closed

The singer’s five-month-long residency is set to kick off with sold-out dates after it was cancelled with one day’s notice in JanuaryAfter cancelling her Las Vegas residency with just one day’s notice in January, Adele is finally starting her much-anticipated set of concerts this weekend.Weekends with Adele will stretch over five months at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, a venue that has previously hosted residencies from Celine Dion, Cher, Madonna and Elton John. It boasts a capacity of over 4,000. Continue reading...

Chancellor relaxes cap on raising rates to part-finance planned cash injection for adult social careIncreasing council tax bills next April will hit struggling residents, fail to lift the pressure on cash-strapped local authorities and will not prevent more cuts to key services, from social care to waste collection and libraries, local government leaders have said.Average council tax bills could rise by as much as £100, to more than £2,000 for households in band D, from April, after the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, confirmed in the autumn statement that the cap on how much local authorities could raise rates would be relaxed. Continue reading...

In South West Surrey, which polls suggest could turn Lib Dem, anger towards the government is palpableThe immediate outlook for the country appeared bleak as Jeremy Hunt returned to his seat in the House of Commons after delivering his autumn statement on Thursday afternoon.And Hunt’s prospects in his constituency look similarly fragile, if opinion polls are to be believed. The South West Surrey seat, comfortably held by Hunt at the last election, is now a target for the Liberal Democrats. Continue reading...

Carnival Cruise Lines’ makes vaccinations and mask wearing compulsory as cases rise and after Majestic Princess reported 800 positive test results

NSW court of appeal had ruled case could not be heard because priest accused of abusing applicant when she was 14 had since died

Police review of five incidents found Zachary Rolfe disregarded his training and used a ‘higher level of force than would reasonably be considered necessary’

PM says French president is entitled to express his views in a ‘very forthright manner’ and confirms Australia won’t support Taiwan’s entry into key trade pact

State-based anti-corruption commissions have power to intercept phone calls, which could undermine parliamentary privilege, Richard Pye says

Deaths and hospitalisations also rise, prompting NSW to upgrade its risk rating to amber and mandate a limited return to mask-wearing

Latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch comes day after North resumed weapons testing and threatened ‘fiercer’ military response to US moves in regionJapan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has condemned North Korea for firing a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday that landed within his country’s exclusive economic zone.The missile, which a Japanese minister said had the potential range to reach the US, landed about 200 km (124 miles) west of Oshima-Oshima island in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. There were no reports of damage to ships or aircraft. Continue reading...

Economic adviser to deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi was described as being in ‘amazingly good spirits’ by Anthony Albanese

The UK newspaper front pages are united in their strong – and negative – response to the chancellor’s long-awaited budgetReactions to Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement dominate UK front pages on Friday, with the Guardian’s headline reading “From bad to worse”. The paper reports that the chancellor’s £30bn of delayed spending cuts and £25bn of backdated tax increases “laid bare the country’s dire economic predicament”.The i splashes with “UK’s lost decade”, and what the paper calls the “biggest drop in living standards on record … sending British earnings back to 2013”. Continue reading...

Ahead of first meeting with China’s president in three years, New Zealand PM calls for environment where differences can be discussedJacinda Ardern has said she must be able to raise concerns with Beijing without prompting “retaliatory acts”, on the eve of her planned meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.The pair’s first in-person bilateral meeting since 2019 is due to take place on Friday evening on the sidelines of the Apec forum. It comes during a strained time in New Zealand-China relations, where ideological differences – and New Zealand’s economic reliance on China as an export market – have continued to grow. Continue reading...

Australian foreign minister says Dutch court that found two Russians and one Ukrainian guilty of downing flight delivered ‘the truth’

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, run by Gareth Swarbrick, received multiple complaints about fungi from Awaab Ishak’s parentsA housing boss responsible for the flat where two-year-old Awaab Ishak died due to mould has refused to resign, claiming that conversations about his position have “begun to overshadow” the tragedy.Under chief executive Gareth Swarbrick, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) received multiple complaints about fungi from Awaab’s parents before he died from a respiratory condition in December 2020. Continue reading...

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall aided appeal for Fisher, whose Nissan Navara was last seen in Dorchester, say policeTributes have been paid to the missing journalist and award-winning scriptwriter Nick Fisher after a body was found in Dorchester.Fisher, whose books included Sea Fishing: River Cottage Handbook, with an introduction by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, had last been seen in his home village of Hooke in west Dorset on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Company halts ticket sales ‘due to extraordinarily high demands’ while Tennessee investigates Ticketmaster over presale chaosThe US entertainment ticketing company Ticketmaster has canceled plans to sell tickets to the public on Friday for Taylor Swift’s 2023 Eras tour after supply was far outstripped by demand and the sales system descended into chaos.A clamor for tickets this week led to part of Ticketmaster’s online sales system crashing and long delays for fans who accessed the site but were left waiting for hours for the chance to snap up dates to see the pop star’s stadium tour. Continue reading...

Bereaved families of workers and rights groups want World Cup organisers to make £372m payoutQatar is facing renewed calls from migrant workers, their families, and rights groups to compensate for human rights abuses including wage theft, injuries and uninvestigated deaths, days before the World Cup kicks off.As fans and footballers descend on the Persian Gulf country for the month-long tournament, workers and their families, who have spent 12 years sounding the alarm on exploitative conditions endured while building the tournament’s infrastructure, are seeking an amount equivalent to the $440m (£372m) World Cup prize money for a remediation programme. Continue reading...

Police say drugs and gun also found at Johannesburg property where they detained wanted Abergil gang member and seven othersA man reputed to be one of Israel’s most wanted gang leaders has been arrested during a raid on a home in an affluent Johannesburg suburb where South African authorities said they also found guns, drugs and a van equipped for torture.South African police said on Thursday that the 46-year-old Israeli was a member of the Abergil gang, which deals in drug trafficking and extortion, and that he was wanted in Israel for several attempted murders. Continue reading...

Analysis: with half of all British households set to be worse off next year, many Tory MPs fear voters will turn against them

Hollywood actor criticised by South Africans after saying controversial apartheid-era language ‘not very helpful’Charlize Theron has prompted anger in her native South Africa after suggesting that Afrikaans, a language descended from Dutch colonial settlers, was heading for oblivion.“There’s about 44 people still speaking it … it’s definitely a dying language, it’s not a very helpful language,” the 47-year-old Oscar-winning actor said this week on a US podcast “Smartless.” Continue reading...

Victims’ advocates say report, which identified 68 alleged abusers between 2020-21, excludes key data and figuresItaly’s Catholic church has identified 68 alleged abusers in an investigation into the sexual abuse of children and vulnerable individuals spanning a period of just two years – a timeframe criticised by victims’ advocates as a “joke”.The figure is astonishingly high given the inquiry only targeted the 2020-2021 period and only referred to data provided by “listening centres” that were established by dioceses across Italy in 2019 specifically to receive complaints of abuse. Continue reading...

Authorities claim to have found ‘torture chambers’ in liberated southern Ukrainian city

Thinktanks warn new £3.3bn in each of next two years won’t account for the £2.5bn inflation and other unexpected cost pressuresThe NHS will receive an extra £3.3bn in each of the next two years, the chancellor has announced, but experts warned the cash is likely only half of what is needed to keep the health service afloat.Jeremy Hunt told the Commons during his autumn statement he had been assured the funding would mean the NHS can hit its “key priorities”. Its chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, later issued a statement welcoming the funding, saying it showed that “the government has been serious about its commitment to prioritise the NHS”. Continue reading...