World news | The Guardian

Pro-Palestine and Indigenous activist groups say state government trying to strip away the right to peacefully protest for everyone' in wake of Bondi attack

City of Canterbury Bankstown issues a cease use', alleging building housing Al Madina centre was never approved to be a prayer hall

Under the new rules, parliamentarians will only be able to claim travel expenses for their partners between their home and Canberra

Trump again called for Venezuela's president to leave power and said the US would keep or sell the oil it had seizedChina and Russia have expressed support for Venezuela as it confronts a US blockade of sanctioned oil tankers, while Donald Trump continues to ramp up his pressure campaign on the South American country's president, Nicolas Maduro.Amid reports of slowing activity at Venezuelan ports, the US president again called for Maduro to leave power, and reiterated that the US would keep or sell the oil it had seized off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Chris Bowen criticises Liberal leader's attack on Penny Wong, saying, Sussan Ley is not the arbiter of grief or mourning'

Church leaders and members detained as government tightens controls on underground Christian gatheringsThe knocks came at 2am. Hiding out at a friend's house in a Beijing suburb, Gao Yingjia and his wife, Geng Pengpeng, rushed downstairs to meet the group of plain-clothed men who said they were police officers. Their son, nearly six, was sleeping upstairs, and Gao and Geng wanted to minimise the ruckus. They knew their time was up.Two months later, Gao is in a detention centre in Guangxi province, southern China, charged with illegal use of information networks". His arrest was part of the biggest crackdown on Christians in China since 2018. It has prompted alarm from the US government and human rights groups, with some analysts describing it as the death knell for unofficial churches in China. Continue reading...

Financier will assume the role on 15 February, ahead of US free trade negotiations, says prime minister Mark CarneyCanada's prime minister, Mark Carney, announced that financier Mark Wiseman will serve as the country's next ambassador to the US, an appointment that comes at a critical time in relations between the two major trading partners.Wiseman will assume the role on 15 February and will be involved in negotiations with the US regarding the review of their free trade agreement. Continue reading...

Scheme members will also receive lump sums averaging 5,500 after government hands over 2.3bn reserveSome former mineworkers who are receiving a 100-a-week boost to their pensions after a hard-fought battle say they will now no longer need to worry about money.The Guardian had reported that people were dying in abject poverty" and unable to afford to bury themselves" after the government raided billions from their pensions. Continue reading...

Document casts doubt on postal service claims it was unaware of bugs that could cause accounting shortfallsThe Post Office made a confidential deal with Fujitsu 19 years ago to fix errors in post office operators' accounts, a document has revealed.The document casts doubt on claims made by the postal service that they were not aware of bugs that could cause accounting shortfalls. Continue reading...

Seven prisoners have been taken to hospital since starting their strikes, with some claiming a lack of medical attention

Controversially appointed editor-in-chief Bari Weiss says: I held that story and I held it because it wasn't ready'CBS News was dealing with internal and external uproar on Monday after it pulled at the last minute an investigation for its flagship 60 Minutes show into the harsh prison in El Salvador where the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelans from the US earlier this year.The episode about the Cecot mega-prison was due to air on Sunday night. However, in an editor's note" posted on X late that afternoon, the broadcaster's official account announced that the lineup for tonight's edition of 60 Minutes has been updated. Our report Inside Cecot' will air in a future broadcast."Additional reporting by Jeremy Barr Continue reading...

Move is part of a long-awaited Labour strategy including outlawing hen cages and ending puppy farmingBoiling lobsters alive will be banned under proposals to improve animal welfare in England.Government ministers say that live boiling is not an acceptable killing method" for crustaceans and alternative guidance will be published. Continue reading...

Wes Streeting's wish for deeper trade relations is shared by growing number of MPs looking to fight back against FarageWhen Keir Starmer stood on the Labour conference stage in 2018 and defied Jeremy Corbyn to call for a second Brexit referendum with remain as an option, it put him in pole position to become the next Labour leader.Starmer must now feel a sense of deja vu watching Wes Streeting, the most out-and-out pretender for the leadership, follow a similar playbook. In an interview over the weekend, the health secretary strayed from the official government line to call for a deeper trading relationship" with the EU. Continue reading...

Artist confirms image in Bayswater is by him, but gives no indication about another outside Centre Point towerA new Banksy mural that shows two children lying down and looking at the sky has appeared in west London.The artist revealed he was behind the artwork above a row of garages on Queen's Mews in Bayswater by posting a photo of it to his Instagram account on Monday afternoon. Continue reading...

Long sentences in case of Afro-Ecuadorian Guayaquil Four' focuses attention on president's crackdown on crimeA court in Ecuador has sentenced 11 air force personnel to decades in prison over the forced disappearance" of four Afro-Ecuadorian boys aged between 11 and 15 during security operations in the country's largest city last year.The case of the Guayaquil Four" is widely seen as the starkest example of human rights abuses under the iron-fist security policy pursued by the rightwing president, Daniel Noboa, who placed the armed forces at the centre of the fight against drug trafficking. Continue reading...

Philip Young, 49, is accused of 56 sexual offences, including drugging and raping his now ex-wifeA man has been charged with drugging and raping his then wife over a period of 13 years, with five other men also charged with sexual offences against her.Philip Young, 49, formerly from Swindon but now living in Enfield in north London, has been charged with 56 sexual offences. Continue reading...

Lisbon court rules the posters could incite hatred and tells party leader Andre Ventura to remove them within 24 hoursThe leader of Portugal's far-right Chega party has been ordered to remove street posters attacking the Roma community, after a Lisbon court ruled they were discriminatory and could incite hatred.Judge Ana Barao said the posters' wording attacks an ethnic minority" and she gave Andre Ventura 24 hours to remove them or face a daily fine of 2,500 (2,200) per poster. Continue reading...

YouGov poll for the Times suggests even 40% of Conservative voters support such a moveWes Streeting, the health secretary, used an interview with the Observer published at the weekend to suggest that he favours joining a customs union with the EU. This is something that Keir Starmer has ruled out.But Labour supporters back Streeting on this. According to YouGov polling for the Times, 80% of people who voted Labour at the last general election say a future leader should open negotiations on joining a customs union with the EU. Continue reading...

Mette Frederiksen and Jens-Frederik Nielsen demand respect for borders after US appoints Greenland envoyThe prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland have demanded respect for their borders after Donald Trump appointed a special envoy to the largely self-governing Danish territory, which he has said repeatedly should be under US control.We have said it very clearly before. Now we say it again. National borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law ... You cannot annex other countries," Mette Frederiksen and Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a joint statement. Continue reading...

Russia's Investigative Committee says it is looking into whether Ukraine intelligence services were behind attackA Russian general has been killed after an explosive device detonated beneath his car in what Moscow described as a likely assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services.Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov, the head of the operational training directorate of the Russian armed forces' general staff, died of his injuries, a spokesperson for Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement. Continue reading...

Middlesbrough-born musician had hits with Driving Home for Christmas, On the Beach and The Road to HellChris Rea, the British singer-songwriter whose hits included Driving Home For Christmas, has died at the age of 74, a spokesperson for his family said.The statement said that he died peacefully in hospital ... following a short illness". Continue reading...

Comments from deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov carried by state news agencyThe Guardian's Russian affairs reporter, Pjotr Sauer, has some more detail on this developing story. Here is an extract from his report:Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov, who oversees combat training and readiness for Russia's armed forces in the war in Ukraine, has extensive experience in the Kremlin's post-Soviet wars. He took part in both Chechen wars and later played a role in organising Russia's 2015-16 military intervention in Syria.The Kremlin is expected to comment later on the attack, but some Russian officials have already called for retribution. Continue reading...

More moderate alcohol habits rather than total abstention appear to have driven fallPeople in Britain are drinking less alcohol than in previous years, according to reports.The average UK adult consumed 10.2 alcoholic drinks a week last year, the lowest figure since data collection began in 1990 and a decline of more than a quarter from the peak of 14 two decades ago, according to figures published in the FT from research company IWSR. Continue reading...

Mayor of La Baneza says winning El Gordo Christmas lottery is something that has fallen from the heavens'When the village of La Baneza in Castilla y Leon was engulfed in one of the worst forest fires in Spanish history, the rain came too late to save it.But now the Christmas lottery has showered its 10,000 inhabitants with hundreds of millions of euros. Continue reading...

Guardian analysis of 20 major companies in UK and US shows mentions of Pride on social media have fallen substantially in past two yearsThe UK's biggest businesses are rolling back their public support for Pride celebrations, Guardian analysis suggests, prompting warnings that clear signals" were needed in the face of growing global LGBTQ+ hostility.Analysis of social media posts by the country's biggest companies found mentions of Pride had plummeted by 92% since 2023, mirroring a trend seen in large American firms. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Executives at body that trained chef Jamie Oliver awarded pay rises and bonuses after sale to private firm - as hundreds of jobs may be offshoredA pair of City & Guilds executives have each been awarded million-pound bonuses and sizeable salary increases after the skills charity's business was acquired by an international company in October, the Guardian understands.The payments - which are understood to include a 1.7m award for the chief executive, Kirstie Donnelly, and 1.2m to the finance director, Abid Ismail - have emerged at a sensitive time for the training and qualifications business, as it navigates its first few months in the private sector. Continue reading...

Rabbi calls for good deeds in memory of Dan Elkayam and other victims of attack at Jewish event

Prof Alice Sullivan claims university failed to protect her right to freedom of expression after protest at eventA UK university faces the prospect of legal action over claims it failed to protect an academic's right to freedom of expression who was invited to give a lecture on sex and gender.Prof Alice Sullivan has written to the University of Bristol and the university regulator the Office for Students (OfS) to complain after her talk was disrupted by protesters. She told the BBC some people who had wanted to attend had stayed away because they felt intimidated and that reasonable steps could have been taken to prevent that. Continue reading...

Mary-Ann Stephenson defends convention as really important' and warns against demonisation of migrantsTaking the UK out of a European human rights treaty to quell rightwing anger over immigration would be a mistake, the new head of Britain's equalities watchdog has said, as she warned against the demonisation of people who migrate to the UK.Mary-Ann Stephenson, who became chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in December, said the European convention on human rights (ECHR) was part of a framework that provides rights most people would agree were fundamental. But she said the tone of public conversation on it was often dangerous. Continue reading...

Purcell, of Victoria's Animal Justice party and Burns, of federal Labor, announce arrival of Lilah Poppy Purcell, born on Friday 19 December

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Backlash after broadcaster announces the program, due to air on Sunday night, needs additional reporting'CBS News is facing a backlash, including from one of its own correspondents, after it cancelled a 60 Minutes investigation into a brutal prison in El Salvador where the Trump administration has deported hundreds of migrants.The episode of its flagship program about the Cecot megaprison was due to air on Sunday night. However, in an editors note" posted on X, the broadcaster's official account announced that the lineup for tonight's edition of 60 Minutes has been updated. Our report Inside Cecot' will air in a future broadcast." Continue reading...

BMA calls on Wes Streeting to be equally positive and says 11th-hour talks before five-day stoppage came too late but were encouragingResident doctors have said they will approach talks with Wes Streeting with a can-do spirit" to avoid further strikes in the new year, as their five-day action ended on Monday morning.The British Medical Association called on the health secretary to come to the table with the same constructive" attitude, saying the tone of 11th-hour talks before their stoppage had been encouraging but too late to avoid the strike in England. Continue reading...

MPs vote to investigate crash amid accusations from victims' relatives of cover-ups and delaysSouth Korea's parliament has launched an independent inquiry into the deadliest air disaster on its soil amid accusations of investigation delays and cover-ups of last year's Jeju Air crash.On 29 December 2024 all but two of the 181 people onboard a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 died when it crashed at Muan international airport, 288km south of Seoul, after reporting a bird strike during landing. Continue reading...

Coalition MPs also, without evidence, link government's decision to recognise Palestinian state to Bondi terror attack at extraordinary press conference

Government has vowed to end use of asylum hotels and plans to send first men to Crowborough site within weeksThe Home Office plans to send the first group of asylum seekers to a military site in East Sussex in the new year, the Guardian understands.Discussions in Whitehall are under way to use Crowborough army training camp within weeks as part of efforts to end the use of hotels for asylum accommodation. Continue reading...

Office for Students accused of glacial' response to allegations of fraud, bullying and mismanagementEngland's universities regulator has been attacked for being asleep at the wheel" over its delays in investigating suspected fraud, bullying and mismanagement at the University of Greater Manchester.Phil Brickell, the MP for Bolton West whose constituency includes the campus, has accused the Office for Students (OfS) of failing to act on whistleblowers' reports and media investigations for almost a year. Continue reading...

Police with semi-automatic rifles will be deployed at Boxing Day Test but commissioner says this move is not based on a specific new threat'

Attorney general's office also says 10 people received prison terms from 463 to 958 years amid crackdown on gangs under state of emergencyEl Salvador has announced prison sentences for hundreds of gang members, with some of the convicted receiving terms of hundreds of years.The attorney general's office posted on X that 248 members of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) street gang had received exemplary sentences" for 43 homicides and 42 disappearances, among other crimes. Continue reading...

Chris Bowen announces long-awaited policy aimed at lowering energy prices on Australia's east coast

NSW Nationals to oppose gun law reforms introduced in wake of Bondi attack as Greens say protest laws are draconian' and may be unconstitutional

Six absurdist signs resembling official city council information boards have popped up across New Zealand's second-largest cityOutside an abandoned building in New Zealand's second-biggest city, a sign reads slightly haunted but manageable". In the middle of a busy shopping strip, pedestrians are warned to keep to a 2.83km/h walking speed. In another part of Christchurch, one piece of signage declares simply don't".The baffling boards are not an overzealous new council initiative, but a piece of art designed to play with the way we take authority and signage so seriously". Continue reading...

Regulator says ex-customers allegedly affected by Centrepay scandal were already likely experiencing economic vulnerability'

Police charge 20-year-old after post allegedly calls for protest at location of 2005 race riots

Fantasy, mystery and psychological thriller series dominate book sales, as adult colouring also makes a comebackFantasy, mystery and psychological thriller series dominate the UK's bestsellers list for 2025, topped by Richard Osman's The Impossible Fortune. The fifth book in his Thursday Murder Club series secured the top position at 391,429 hardback sales.Adult colouring also had a resurgence this year: colouring books aimed at all ages made it into the top 20 chart, according to analysis by NielsenIQ BookData. Continue reading...

TV host who came under pressure from Trump government will say: From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year'The US comedian whose late-night show was briefly cancelled after pressure from Donald Trump's government is to urge UK audiences to stand up for free speech.In a defiant alternative Christmas message on Channel 4, Jimmy Kimmel will liken the first year of Trump's second administration to the rise of fascism. Continue reading...

Figures at event include Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Trump Jr as cohesion of political right shows signs of stressThe stars of the Maga conservatism converged for the four-day AmericaFest conference in Phoenix this weekend amid reports that the cohesion of the political-religious right, a year into Donald Trump's second presidential term, is showing signs of stress.The sold-out Turning Point USA event brought together figures from the right including Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ben Shapiro and Glenn Beck, to kick around the dominant themes of conservatism. Continue reading...

Traffic signals failed in large portions of the California city while Waymo robotaxis stopped in streets and intersectionsA widespread power failure plunged San Francisco into darkness on Saturday night, disrupting traffic citywide and forcing numerous self-driving Waymo taxis to stop abruptly in the middle of streets and intersections.As electricity went out across large portions of the city, traffic signals failed, leaving autonomous vehicles unable to operate as normal. Photos and videos shared by users on X showed Waymo robotaxis frozen in place, backing up traffic and creating hazardous conditions for other drivers. Continue reading...

Presidential spokesperson says all those abducted from a Catholic school in Niger state last month are now freeNigerian authorities say they have secured the release of a further 130 schoolchildren kidnapped from a Catholic school in November, after 100 were freed earlier this month.Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity," presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare said on X, in a post accompanied by a photo of smiling children. Continue reading...