World news | The Guardian

Despite tensions brewing with China, US president-elect is expected to clean house' with those who stray from agenda

Former footballer collects Crystal Award for work on children's rights, as World Economic Forum begins in DavosThe UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will travel to the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos this week in the hope of convincing some of the world's largest companies to invest, with allies saying she will use spending cuts rather than further tax increases to meet her own fiscal rules.At the same time, the Treasury is considering a push to cut the benefits bill, in a move that is causing nervousness among Labour MPs. Continue reading...

Protein found in Sydney rock oysters' haemolymph can kill bacteria and boost some antibiotics' effectiveness, scientists discoverAn antimicrobial protein found in the blood of an Australian oyster could help in the fight against superbugs, new research suggests.Australian scientists have discovered that a protein found in the haemolymph - the equivalent of blood - of the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, can kill bacteria itself and increase the effectiveness of some conventional antibiotics. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer said state had failed in its duty' after Axel Rudakubana admitted murdering three girlsYvette Cooper has announced a public inquiry into the murder of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance club in Southport after confirming the extremely violent" killer was known to the authorities.The home secretary said the inquiry would provide answers to the families of Axel Rudakubana, 18, who pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering the three girls. Continue reading...

Report uncovered sadistic' sect-like abuses of power at Sodalitium of Christian LifePope Francis has taken the remarkable step of dissolving a Peruvian-based Catholic movement, the Sodalitium of Christian Life (SCV), after years of attempts at reform and a Vatican investigation. The investigation uncovered sexual abuses by its founder, financial mismanagement by its leaders and spiritual abuses by its top members.The Sodalitium on Monday confirmed the dissolution, which was conveyed to an assembly of its members in Aparecida, Brazil, at the weekend by the pope's top legal adviser, Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda. In revealing the dissolution in a statement, the group lamented that news of Francis's decision had been leaked by two members attending the assembly, who were definitively expelled". Continue reading...

Hungary PM says US leader will bolster Europe's rightwing forces as nationalist politicians attend inauguration

Lawsuit filed moments after Trump's swearing-in challenges legality of department of government efficiency'

Reform UK leader, who is in the US for Trump's inauguration, says early election is not impossible'Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, thinks that his chances of becoming PM before Donald Trump leaves the White House in January could be as high as 25%. He made the comment in an interview with Dan Walker for 5 News being broadcast tonight. Farage told Walker he did genuinely believe he could be the next PM. And this is what he said when he was asked if that could happen during Trump's presidency.Look, Labour have got a whopping great big majority. The only thing that really brings an early election is if we get an economic meltdown.Now, that is not impossible for two reasons. One, the level of indebtedness is worse than it was in 2008 when we had the big meltdowns. And I think we've lived through rocketing stock markets for years. That can't go on.For Reform to replace the Tories three things would need to happen. First they would need to sustain their current momentum well into 2025, then there would need to be a tipping point moment when donors, right-wing media and a number of Tory MPs decided to shift support en masse, and then they would have to win more seats in the 2028/2029 election.The first of these seems fairly likely. The enthusiasm of Reform's voter base, the weakness of the Tory party, and the media need for narrative all point the same way. The biggest barrier is probably Farage's ability to manage the negative associations caused by Musk (who is not at all popular in the UK).It may take a long time but if - and it is a big if - Reform remain a major player in British politics, under the voting system we have, it will ultimately lead to the end of the Tory party as we know it. Continue reading...

The search for thousands of people buried under rubble has started as the ceasefire in Gaza enters its second day

Trump promises a blitz of executive orders, radical shake-up of the global order and revolution of common sense'

Security forces struggle to tamp down on rising leftwing violence as 11,000 people remain displacedColombia's security forces are struggling to contain a surge in leftwing guerrilla violence that has now killed more than 100 people in five days and threatens to derail the country's troubled peace process.Even as thousands of soldiers rushed to quell violence near the north-eastern border with Venezuela - where more than 80 people have been killed and 11,000 displaced by days of fighting - the defense ministry reported a similar outbreak of fighting in a remote Amazon region. Continue reading...

Human rights bodies have long criticised the tests as culturally unsuitable for Greenlandic peopleDenmark has announced it is abandoning the use of highly controversial parenting competency" tests on Greenlandic families, amid fury over the way that they have been routinely used on people with Inuit backgrounds, often resulting in the separation of children from their parents.Campaigners have been warning about the discriminatory impact of the psychometric tests used in Danish child protection investigations - known as FKU (foraeldrekompetenceundersogelse) - for years. Human rights bodies have long criticised them as being culturally unsuitable for Greenlandic people and other minorities living in Denmark, which once ruled the Arctic island as a colony and continues to control its foreign and security policy. Continue reading...

Ceasefire celebrations replaced by shock and sorrow as people begin to assess the scale of devastation

Yellow warning for parts of the country with potential power cuts, travel disruption and damage from ThursdayA weather bomb" is forecast to hit parts of the UK later this week, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and snow.The first half of the week will be benign" with cloudy weather and outbreaks of rain for much of the country before the arrival of more unsettled conditions, the Met Office said. Continue reading...

Bank is considering sale of British business amid mounting frustrations over regulation

If a strike goes ahead, 56 of the company's warehouse stores across five states would be affectedMembers of the Teamsters union have authorized a strike against popular US retailer Costco next month as a pre-emptive bargaining-position ahead of the expiration of a work contract for 18,000 company workers.If a strike goes ahead, 56 of the company's warehouse stores across five states would be affected after 85% of Teamster members voted to authorize the action over wages and benefits. Continue reading...

Leadership at international criminal court fears new US administration will move quickly to shut it downThe international criminal court is bracing itself for Donald Trump to launch aggressive economic sanctions against it this week, amid fears such a move could paralyse its work and pose an existential threat.ICC officials are preparing for Trump's new US administration to act quickly once in office to impose draconian financial and travel restrictions against the court and senior staff, including its chief prosecutor and judges. Continue reading...

The scale of Australia's trade with blacklisted companies, revealed in Guardian investigation, prompts anger across the Uyghur community

Critics say new draft policies, including a rule about sending political emails, are even worse' than last year's draconian' crackdown

Proof of group's survival demonstrates stalemate that gave rise to ceasefire and is likely to fuel more conflict

Ripples from Axel Rudakubana's killing of three girls spread wide and deep, from the personal to the politicalSouthport is a quiet, kind place in which nothing ever happens," said the Rev Thomas Carter, the morning after it happened. People are struggling to understand it."It wasn't just Southport; the whole country struggled to process the carnage that took place late on a sunny Monday one week into the school holidays. Continue reading...

Publisher was helped by strong digital advertising performance towards end of year, say analysts

Incoming president has promised retaliation against his opponents. Plus, billionaire wealth grew $2tn in 2024Good morning.The United States braces for a new era of disruption and division on Monday with Donald Trump scheduled to be sworn in as its 47th president, promising a blitz of executive orders and radical shake-up of the global order.What did Trump promise yesterday? We're going to stop the invasion of our borders ... We're going to unlock the liquid gold that's right under our feet ... We're going to bring back law and order to our cities ... We're going to get radical woke ideology the hell out of our military."How are some assessing the Biden administration? Joe Biden was a remarkably consequential one-term president", writes Katrina vanden Heuvel. Internationally, Biden was assuming a world that no longer existed" - with calamitous results - but domestically, Biden consolidated the break" with failed market fundamentalism".What is the status of the three Israelis? On Sunday, three women held hostage by Hamas in tunnels beneath Gaza - Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24 and Doron Steinbrecher, 31 - were released and reunited with their mothers. Videos showed them in apparently reasonable health.Were there any obstacles? Yes, a three-hour delay to the start of the truce, during which Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the Gaza Strip. The delay meant a further 13 people were killed, Palestinian health authorities said. At least two missiles hit a family travelling on a donkey cart as they tried to return home, Al Jazeera reported. Continue reading...

Renewed program would allow hunters to eliminate up to 80% of the animals on 20,000 acres of state landAlaska is set to resume the aerial gunning of bears and wolves as a population control measure aimed at boosting caribou and moose herd numbers, even as the state's own evaluation of the practice cast doubt on its effectiveness.The renewed program would allow hunters to eliminate up to 80% of the animals on 20,000 acres of state land. Environmental groups opposed to what they label a barbaric" practice of shooting wildlife from helicopters is more about sport than scientific practice in part because hunters want caribou populations to increase because they are trophy animals. Continue reading...

FRC confirms inquiry into accounting firm's 2022 audit of Ladbrokes, Coral and Sportingbet owner

Rate of wealth growth last year was three times faster than 2023, Oxfam inequality research revealsThe wealth of the world's billionaires grew by $2tn (1.64tn) in 2024, three times faster than in 2023, amounting to $5.7bn a day, according to a report by Oxfam.The latest inequality report from the charity reveals that the world is now on track to have five trillionaires within a decade, a change from last year's forecast of one trillionaire within 10 years. Continue reading...

State asks Industrial Relations Commission to urgently arbitrate on the matter before resignations take effect from Wednesday

Renata Edward Manning has been accused of attempting to kill Destiny Otton-Rakuraku and assaulting another woman

Rents spiral and neighbourhoods lose charm as cities report tourist flat boom and surge in housing speculationCiutat Vella, the old city of Barcelona, was once quirky and mysterious.Now it has become a parody of itself, a place from which the local population has been exiled in the interests of tourism and maturing investments. Doorways have sprouted combination key safes, a telltale sign of an apartment given over to tourist lets. A 100-year-old apothecary and shirtmaker that stood on La Rambla for two centuries have been replaced by shops selling flamenco dolls and ceramic bulls. Continue reading...

Plan sparks debate about use of urban space, housing costs and investment in public transport amid climate crisis

Journalists and broadcasters at Sana wait for actions, not words' but look to future after fall of Assad governmentZyad Mahameed finally has the job he always wanted. In his previous role in the media team for the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, he often thought about the Syrian state news agency - an Assad regime mouthpiece he considered his opposition - and what he would do if he was in charge there. Now he is.As an appointee of the HTS-led caretaker government, his position is at present temporary but his plans for the Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana) stretch far into the future. Continue reading...

State government will force 1,500 petrol stations to report fuel prices a day in advance under cost-of-living shake-up'

Those killed in attack on camp for relatives of junta soldiers in Rakhine state were women and children, Arakan Army saysA Myanmar junta airstrike has killed 28 people, including children, and wounded 25 at a temporary detention area in western Rakhine state, an ethnic minority armed group has said.The Arakan Army (AA) is engaged in a fierce fight with the military for control of Rakhine, where it has seized swaths of territory in the past year, all but cutting off the state capital Sittwe. Continue reading...

Labour's embrace of plans to reduce the incapacity benefit bill by 3bn has the potential to trigger a backbench revoltOne of the most important takeaways from last week's high court ruling declaring the government consultation on reform of incapacity benefits to be unlawful was the clarity with which it highlighted the failure of Conservative ministers to be honest about why they wanted the changes, and who will lose out as a result.The ruling effectively pointed out that the previous administration's presentation of cuts to incapacity benefit as a positive development for low-income claimants was misleading because it unaccountably neglected to mention 420,000 of them would also be 416 a month out of pocket, and many of them thrust into abject poverty. Continue reading...

Peers call on Labour to carry out fundamental review' amid rising concerns over retention of Tory plans for 3bn in cutsLabour must carry out a root-and-branch overhaul of the UK's incapacity benefits system if it is to rein in rising heath-related welfare spending, an influential cross-party Westminster committee has warned.The House of Lords economic affairs committee - whose members include two former Treasury permanent secretaries and a former chancellor - said major reform was needed to address the rising social and fiscal costs of disability benefits. Continue reading...

Three Israeli hostages, Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher, were released by Hamas earlier

Rapper says he is honoured to perform for the US president after he and other acts, including Village People and Billy Ray Cyrus, faced criticismNelly has defended his decision to perform at US president Donald Trump's inauguration ball after a backlash, saying it is an honour for me to perform for the president of the United States, regardless of who is in office".The Hot in Herre singer is booked to perform alongside country singer Jason Aldean and the Village People on Monday at the Liberty Inaugural Ball, one of three official balls marking Trump's return to office. Other acts who are performing at Trump's various inauguration events include Carrie Underwood, Gavin DeGraw and Billy Ray Cyrus, who have also faced a backlash from fans. Continue reading...

Analysis shows local billionaire wealth rose by 8% last year, meaning tycoons such as Gina Rinehart make 1,300 times more than average person's pay

Leeds surgeons first to use new type of surgery that gives hope to patients whose cancers were previously inoperableMedics have performed a UK-first operation to remove a previously inoperable brain tumour using keyhole surgery through a patient's eye socket.Ruvimbo Kaviya, 40, became the first person in the UK to have a brain tumour removed from the cavernous sinus, the space beneath the brain and behind the eyes, via the pioneering new type of surgery. Continue reading...

One in six Welsh species threatened with extinction but report says Welsh government lacks action and investment'The Welsh government is failing to halt the alarming" decline in nature, putting iconic species at risk, a report has concluded.Labour ministers were accused of overseeing delays, undelivered commitments and missed deadlines" by the Senedd's cross-party climate change, environment and infrastructure committee. Continue reading...

Regional inequality means annual pay in the capital almost 20,000 higher than in the lowest-paid places in UKThe average London worker could quit their job in August and still be paid what an average worker in Burnley would make in a year, according to a report highlighting Britain's stark regional pay divide.Calling on the government to close regional pay divisions and increase economic growth, the Centre for Cities said the average annual wage for an employee in London was almost 20,000 higher than in the lowest-paid places in the UK. Continue reading...

Freeland casts herself as battle tested leader' and most capable of negotiating with an unpredictable White House

Seventeen-year-old girl fell off waterfall at Queensland's Wappa Falls and 17-year-old boy died after jumping in to help her

Hundreds of aid trucks queue to enter Gaza as territory awaits release of 90 Palestinian prisoners

Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher return to Israel after 15 months in captivity

Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo's five-year jail term increased after prosecutor's objection, according to reportsAn Iranian court has sentenced the popular singer Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, known as Tataloo, to death on appeal after he was convicted of blasphemy, according to local media reports.The supreme court accepted the prosecutor's objection" to a previous five-year jail term on offences including blasphemy, the reformist newspaper Etemad reported on Sunday. Continue reading...

Damari, one of three freed female hostages, reunited with family after 471 days in captivity in Gaza

Former Labour leader and former shadow chancellor due to be interviewed under caution following protest in LondonJeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell were due to be interviewed under caution by police after a pro-Palestine march in central London on Saturday.Nine people have been charged with public order offences after protesters allegedly breached conditions as they marched through the city, allegedly breaking through a police line in the process. Continue reading...

Cheryl Bennett has been paid substantial damages after fake clip taken when she was canvassing for Labour was viewed millions of timesA teacher subjected to a torrent of abuse after doctored footage falsely alleged she used a racist slur while canvassing for the Labour party has said she was forced into hiding and feared it would ruin her career.Cheryl Bennett, a PE teacher from Wednesbury in the West Midlands, was helping her colleague, Qasim Mughal, hand out Labour leaflets during the local elections in May last year when she was recorded on a household security camera. Continue reading...

Celebrations break out across the territory but many are worried the deal will break down and war will resume