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When she was six, Sara complained that her mother hit her, but that her father and stepmother, who were convicted of her murder, didn'tSara Sharif told a social worker she felt safe living with her father and stepmother because they don't hit me", four years before she died from their brutal campaign of torture.The schoolgirl's haunting words are buried in hundreds of pages of private family court papers that were disclosed after an application by media organisations, including the Guardian. Continue reading...

On Mad Friday', many festive revellers are choosing low- or no-alcohol drinks on pub crawl touring Hull's city centreIt has become known as Mad Friday": the Friday before Christmas when all hell breaks loose on the streets of the UK as festive revellers spill out of packed bars and, in some cases, into A&E.Emergency services were warning the public to stay safe on what is, for many, the last working day before a Christmas break - also known as Frantic Friday" or Black Eye Friday", and one of the busiest nights of the year for the NHS and police. Continue reading...

Chair hails resounding vote of confidence' as investors reject seats on the board for Sports Direct founder and associateBoohoo shareholders have blocked Mike Ashley and an associate from joining its board in a blow to the Sports Direct founder's effort to control the struggling online fashion retailer.Investors representing almost two-thirds of Bohoo's stock - 64% - voted against appointing Ashley and Mike Lennon at a special meeting on Friday morning called by Ashley's Frasers Group. Continue reading...

The Booksellers Association spoke to staff who also highlighted James by Percival Everett, and everything from Chris Hoy's autobiography to a book about fishing by a dogThis year's Booker prize winner will be the Christmas No 1 bestseller, predict UK booksellers.The Booksellers Association (BA) asked bookshop staff which book they think could reach the festive top spot, and Orbital by Samantha Harvey was the most popular response. Continue reading...

Chinese president calls for city to focus on cultivating new industries' as he attends inauguration of new leaderChina's president, Xi Jinping, has urged the gambling hub of Macau to diversify away from casinos, as he addressed the Chinese territory at the inauguration of its new leader.Xi was in Macau to mark the 25th anniversary of its return from Portuguese to Chinese rule on 20 December 1999. In the quarter-century since then, Macau has been run as a special administrative region of China, a semi-autonomous territory with a similar legal status to Hong Kong, but it has traditionally been much more pliant to Beijing's rule than the former British territory. More than half of its 700,000 population immigrated from China in recent decades. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Fundraising body backing candidates in suburbs and regions, particularly in Victoria and south-east Queensland

Human rights groups say endorsements by members of the House of Lords hosting events and acting as election observers risk legitimising regimeIn years gone by, the two members of the House of Lords had been political enemies, running the headquarters of rival parties during hotly contested general election battles. In October, however, they stood side by side to pay their respects to the former president of Azerbaijan.A wreath laid at Heydar Aliyev's grave in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, bore three names: Iain McNicol, Labour's former general secretary, Darren Mott, the former chief executive of the Conservatives, and Tahir Gozel, a prominent local businessman who had paid for the peers' visit. Continue reading...

Brian Whitelock, 57, tortured and killed Wendy Buckney, 71, who had given him odd jobs to help his rehabilitationA double killer freed from prison after being deemed low risk by the Parole Board has been sentenced to a whole-life term for murdering a neighbour who gave him odd jobs to help his rehabilitation.Brian Whitelock, 57, who had been released after serving 18 years for the double killing, tortured and murdered Wendy Buckney, 71, at her home in the village of Clydach, near Swansea, in south Wales. Continue reading...

Deo Kato says journey from Cape Town gave him hope in humanity, despite facing racism from police and passersby on a daily basisA Ugandan athlete who arrives in London this weekend after running 7,730 miles (12,440km) from South Africa to raise awareness about racism has revealed he suffered repeated abuse on reaching Europe.Deo Kato set off from Cape Town in July 2023, running steadily north on a 516-day odyssey that has seen him jailed for weeks, laid low with serious illness and having to pass through war zones. Continue reading...

Palace source reportedly says there is optimism about treatment as king maintains busy public scheduleKing Charles's cancer treatment will reportedly continue in 2025, almost a year after it was announced he had been diagnosed with the disease.A Buckingham Palace source told Sky News the king's treatment has been moving in a positive direction and as a managed condition the treatment cycle will continue into next year". Continue reading...

Husband of Gisele Pelicot suspected of raping and murdering a Paris estate agent and attempting to rape anotherDominique Pelicot, who has been jailed for 20 years for drugging his then wife, Gisele Pelicot, and inviting men to rape her, faces a further investigation for the rape and murder of an estate agent in Paris in 1991, and an attempted rape in 1999, amid questions over whether he could have been a serial offender for decades.Investigators in Nanterre outside Paris have reopened two cold cases and placed Pelicot under formal investigation, as police consider potential links to other cases involving young estate agents. Pelicot could face another trial at a later date. Continue reading...

Financial Conduct Authority sets 4 December 2025 deadline for handling rising number of customer queries

Advocates say the landmark ABS findings show LGBTI+ people are a substantial part of Australian society

New policy will divide visa applications into high' and standard' priority categories instead of capping numbers

Dinush Kurera, 47, receives 37-year jail sentence for murdering Nelomie Perera at a Melbourne home in 2022

Released in mid-October the cookbook sold more than 77,000 copies in its first week

Cancer Research UK concerned over dwindling participation in breast and cervical cancer screeningA health charity has sounded the alarm over a dip in the proportion of people taking up the offer for cancer screening as figures show how effective the tests are at catching cancers early.Breast, bowel and cervical cancer screening programmes have jointly spotted nearly 90,000 cancers between 2019 and 2023, according to analysis by Cancer Research UK (CRUK). Continue reading...

Pio Tikoduadua tells the Guardian the Pacific is not a space for missile testing' after China's launch earlier this year raised concern in the regionFiji's defence minister has stressed the need for stability in the Pacific and welcomed moves to strengthen security ties with the US, while adding to criticism over China's recent missile test for posing a threat to peace in the region.Fiji, a country of about 1 million people strategically located in the Pacific, maintains ties and receives support from Washington and Beijing amid a wider struggle for influence by the two powers in the region. Continue reading...

Lt Gen Igor Kirillov killed along with his deputy after device attached to escooter exploded

Two investigative reporters put under surveillance say public inquiry is needed to uncover scale of operations

Dr Dewi Evans says allegations made by former nurse's barrister are unsubstantiated' and inaccurate'A doctor has said claims he has changed his mind over the cause of death for three of Lucy Letby's victims are unsubstantiated" and inaccurate".Retired consultant paediatrician Dr Dewi Evans responded to the assertions of Letby's barrister, Mark McDonald, who said the prosecution's lead medical witness had altered his views on how the infants had died at the Countess of Chester hospital's neonatal unit. Continue reading...

Turkey tried to stall the HTS rebels' offensive but has now become Syria's gateway to the outside world'Less than a week after the deposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow, Turkish officials raised their flag over the embassy in Damascus. While many of the shutters on the palatial villa remained closed, the red and white crescent flew over the embassy rooftop for the first time in 12 years.It was a moment preceded days before by the arrival in the Syrian capital of Turkey's spy chief, Ibrahim Kalin. In this immediate aftermath of the end of the Assad regime, Kalin rode in a black sedan driven by the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Ahmed al-Sharaa, who wore civilian dress as he chauffeured Kalin through the crowded streets. The spy chief prayed beneath the hallowed archways of the Umayyad mosque, before emerging to stunned crowds gathered to see the first foreign dignitary to visit the new Syrian leadership. Continue reading...

Retired nurse John Hanson made no plea over death of 84-year-old Margaret Hanson in GalashielsAn 84-year-old man appeared in court last week in connection with the death of his wife at their home in Galashiels.

Mother of girl who died in 2021 reveals figures on Today programme that are welcomed by national medical directorPatients have been moved to intensive care or received potentially life-saving treatment such as oxygen as a direct result of hospitals adopting Martha's rule, NHS data shows.Doctors and nurses have changed how they care for dozens of very sick patients since its introduction in many parts of the NHS in England during the course of 2024. Continue reading...

Scholz had called the vote to deliberately lose it following the collapse of his coalition governmentOlaf Scholz has lost a historic vote of confidence in the German parliament, paving the way for early national elections following the collapse of his government.The German chancellor had called the vote in order to deliberately lose it, urging the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, to declare its lack of confidence in him so that the first formal step could be made towards triggering new elections. Continue reading...

Chrystia Freeland, who is also minister of finance, says country faces grave challenge' from Trump policyCanada's deputy prime minister and minister of finance has resigned amid growing tensions with the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, over the looming threat posed by Donald Trump's America First" economic nationalism.Chrystia Freeland stood down on Monday, just hours before she was due to release the country's first economic plan ahead of the change of administration in Washington. Continue reading...

RAC says to avoid major routes in England between 1pm and 7pm on Friday and Saturday as long queues expectedDrivers are being urged not to travel on major routes for six hours on Friday and Saturday, with record levels of Christmas holiday traffic expected to cause long queues on Britain's roads.The RAC and the transport analytics company Inrix predicted a total of 29.3m festive journeys would be made between Wednesday and Christmas Eve, the most since the RAC began recording the data in 2013. Continue reading...

Coastguard reports rescue of 39 survivors from boat that set out from Libya, but hopes fade for other passengersA mammoth rescue operation was launched in Greece on Saturday to locate dozens of migrants reported missing after their boat capsized en route from Libya to Crete.Nearly 12 hours after combat Aegean Hawk naval helicopters were first dispatched to the site of the shipwreck, 12.5 nautical miles south-west of the tiny isle of Gavdos, at least 39 survivors had been found, according to the Greek coastguard. Continue reading...

Unprecedented' decision taken to protect judicial anonymity despite huge public interest in case

Sam Burns, 40, went missing in Cairngorms after going skiing aloneA body has been found in the search for a skier missing overnight in the Cairngorms.Sam Burns, 40, was last in contact with friends at about 11.30am on Friday. He has since failed to return to his van, which was parked in the Cairngorm mountain car park. Continue reading...

Doug Ford's threat to use the province's liquor control board would entail ordering it to halt buying American productsThe leader of Canada's most populous province is looking at fresh ways to ward off US tariffs, including wielding the power of Ontario's liquor control board - the largest purchaser of alcohol in the world.Earlier this week, Ontario's premier, Doug Ford, said he could halt electricity exports to multiple American states in retaliation for tariffs promised by Donald Trump. Continue reading...

If company fails to meet deadline, it could lead to Amazon's first large-scale unfair labor practice strike in the USAmazon workers in New York have set a deadline for Sunday 15 December demanding the company agree to begin bargaining a first union contract with the union or else workers at the warehouse, along with other Amazon workers around the US, will begin an unfair labor practice strike.Amazon workers at the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island, New York, made history in March 2022 when they became the first warehouse at the retail giant to win a union election in the US. Continue reading...

Injured woman recalls ride crashing to the ground, which led to two women being taken to hospital on ThursdayTwo men have been arrested after a Christmas fairground ride dropped to the ground" causing injuries in Birmingham city centre.Two women were taken to hospital after the City Star Flyer ride failed and crashed" in Centenary Square on Thursday evening, while another 11 patients were assessed by paramedics and discharged at the scene. Continue reading...

Questions raised over missed opportunities to save girl after conviction of Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool at Old Bailey

Andrew Cayley, of the international criminal court, questioned reports used to justify Israeli military strikesClaims about the presence of Hamas fighters in hospitals in Gaza under siege by Israel's military have been grossly exaggerated", a top prosecutor at the international criminal court (ICC) has said.Andrew Cayley, who is leading the ICC's Palestine investigation, questioned the reliability of claims about military activity in Gaza's hospitals which have been made to justify Israeli attacks on healthcare facilities in the territory. Continue reading...

Exclusive: TV star is said to have behaved inappropriately towards journalist he met at awards ceremonyGregg Wallace has been accused of sending inappropriate texts to a young female reporter asking her for a snog" and leaving multiple creepy" voicemails after taking her number under the pretext of work.The MasterChef judge and presenter announced he was stepping back from the show earlier this month while the BBC investigated other allegations of misconduct. Continue reading...

Rents have risen by 27% since end of pandemic lockdowns, while earnings have increased by 19%The average cost of renting a newly let UK home is now 3,240 higher than at the end of the pandemic lockdowns, after three years of rental increases outstripping rises in earnings, research shows.Rents have risen by 27% since 2021, the online property website Zoopla found, compared with a 19% increase in earnings, taking the annual cost of renting a property to 15,240, up from 12,000 in 2021. Continue reading...

Andrew Powell first said he was not 100% convinced' 12 years ago while holding the portfolio during the Campbell Newman era

PM takes stance on provocative acts' and denounces antisemitism after Melbourne synagogue arson attack and Sydney anti-Israel vandalism

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Home Office plans to find 800 new accommodation sites and cut bill that has risen to 8m a dayAsylum seekers will be housed in disused care homes and student digs under a Home Office plan to find 800 new accommodation sites and cut a bill that has risen to 8m a day.Home Office sources have confirmed to the Guardian that the fundamental changes to asylum accommodation are under way in a bid to save millions spent every day on hotel accommodation. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Secure Journeys, a local subsidiary of Management & Training Corporation, will begin operating the centres from early 2025

Pesticide Action Network analysis of government testing data finds chemicals linked to cancer and harmful to beesImported food has been found to have residues of 48 pesticides that have not been approved for use by British farmers, including chemicals linked to cancer and imidacloprid, which is harmful to bees, analysis shows.Pesticide Action Network (PAN) went through UK government testing data, comparing the results for pesticide tests on imported and domestically produced food. They found there were residues of 46 cancer-linked pesticides in imported produce, compared with 19 in food of UK origin.. Importers include the EU, Peru, Thailand, Turkey and the US. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Pilots of scheme to tackle drug-driven crimes have been encouraging, says head of sentencing reviewSpecialist courts focused on breaking the addictions of prolific offenders are efficient" and a good idea", the head of the government's sentencing review has said as he suggested they could be rolled out across England and Wales.In an interview with the Guardian, David Gauke praised very encouraging" pilots of intensive supervision courts which steer recidivists to engage repeatedly with judges, probation officers and drug counsellors.Supported proposals for an intermediate court between magistrates and crown court, in which the bench consists of a district judge sitting with two magistrates.Warned ministers and opposition leaders to stop making promises to increase sentences for offenders.Called for ministers to consider inviting third sector organisations to become involved in the provision of drug treatment. Continue reading...

Research shows UK police arrest environmental and climate protesters at three times the average global rateBritish police arrest environmental protesters at nearly three times the global average rate, research has found, revealing the country as a world leader in the legal crackdown on climate activism.Only Australia arrested climate and environmental protesters at a higher rate than UK police. One in five Australian eco-protests led to arrests, compared with about 17% in the UK. The global average rate is 6.7%. Continue reading...

Daughter confirms swimming great broke four ribs and required a hip replacement after accident last week

Energy giant executive admits in court company was absolutely wrong' not to compensate ex-customers it took money from

Israel plans to create sterile defensive zone' inside southern border, and Turkey bombs Kurdish targets in north Syria

This blog is now closed. You can read our latest report on events in Syria here or all our coverage from the region here.

Exclusive: Open letter seen by the Guardian asks King to ensure the government does not diminish the crown's honour' amid tensions over policy direction for Mori