World news | The Guardian

Cost of living likely to dominate the agenda ahead of 7 November poll as centre-right National party battles to retain powerThe prime minister, Christopher Luxon, has announced New Zealand's next general election will be held on 7 November, kickstarting a campaign cycle that could become one of the country's most contested in years.On Wednesday, Luxon told reporters the National party would continue its agenda to fix the basics and build the future". Continue reading...

Families call for end to political bickering' as David Crisafulli confirms the state LNP will not back the program

For years, Beijing has struggled to gain a foothold in Greenland, in part because of US and Danish unity. Trump's fraying of that alliance could create the opening it needsAccording to Kaja Kallas, the European Union's foreign affairs chief, China and Russia must be having a field day" about Donald Trump's plans for Greenland, which Kallas says will divide Nato.But according to Trump, his plans are motivated by a desire to counter the very threat that Kallas identified. World peace is at stake! China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. Continue reading...

Close family friend says Nico Antic had devastating injuries' and was fighting for his life after more than 60 hours in hospital

Actor and mother of Brianna Ghey among signatories of letter to three party leaders ahead of Lords voteThe actor Hugh Grant is among the signatories of a letter urging Westminster party leaders to ban social media for children under 16.The letter to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Ed Davey calls on them to back amendment 94a to the children's wellbeing and schools bill, ahead of peers voting on amendments on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Sharp increase in leading cause of irreversible but preventable blindness driven by ageing population and shows need for early diagnosisNew estimates predict at least 1.6 million people in the UK will be living with glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, by 2060.The figure is much higher than the current 1.1 million people estimated to have the condition, research published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology suggests. Continue reading...

Incident in Spain took place days after collision between two high-speed trains in Andalucia that killed at least 42A commuter train has hit a collapsed retaining wall near Barcelona, killing the driver and injuring 37 people, four of them seriously, firefighters have said.Four people are believed to be in a critical condition after the incident in the Catalonia region of north-eastern Spain, a spokesperson for the region's fire service, Claudi Gallardo, told reporters. Continue reading...

Cost-cutting' announcement comes amid uncertainty over deal struck with Saudi Arabia to perform in RiyadhNew York's Metropolitan Opera has announced a round of layoffs, pay cuts and program reductions as it grapples with financial strain.The organization cited problems left over from the Covid pandemic, which drastically affected performing arts shows across the US and internationally. Continue reading...

Guy Hochman says he was interrogated for six hours after legal group filed complaint accusing him of war crimesAn Israeli comedian and former combat soldier was detained and interrogated for six hours while traveling to Canada on Monday after a pro-Palestinian legal group filed a complaint against him accusing him of war crimes and incitement to genocide".The comedian, Guy Hochman, was detained upon arrival at Toronto Pearson international airport and only released after the intervention of the Israeli consulate, according to the Times of Israel. His detention came after the Hind Rajab Foundation, a Belgium-based group that aims to hold Israeli military personnel accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, filed a 40-page dossier about him with Canadian authorities. The groups Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights and the Legal Centre for Palestine also joined the complaint. Continue reading...

Prime minister hopes for pragmatic' solutions, while US president drops one diplomatic bomb after anotherIn his account of Tony Blair's years in power, The New Machiavelli, Jonathan Powell sets out two opposing strategies for any British prime minister in dealing with their counterpart in the White House.The first, he says, is cutting a bella figura" - parading for show - by openly criticising the US president, for which he gives the example of the French. The other, and the approach preferred by Powell, is to do diplomacy in private and build a close relationship, in the hope of having greater influence. Continue reading...

PM's spokesperson insists government's position is unchanged and that the US still supports the dealThe UK will press ahead with plans to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius despite Donald Trump calling it an act of great stupidity" and suggesting it was among the reasons he wants to take over Greenland.The US president said ceding sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes the Diego Garcia military base, was a sign of total weakness" by the UK. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Northern towns are unfairly penalised by new three-year council settlements, say members with Liverpool seatsKeir Starmer is facing another potentially damaging rebellion, as Labour MPs from north-west towns urge the government to give their local councils more money over the next three years.Labour MPs from the Liverpool city region have written to the local government secretary, Steve Reed, urging him to change the recent three-year local funding settlement, which they say unfairly penalises northern towns. Continue reading...

Louisiana congresswoman is challenging Cassidy, who voted to convict the US president after 2021 Capitol attackLouisiana congresswoman Julia Letlow officially announced her bid for Senate on Tuesday after receiving a complete and total" social media endorsement from Donald Trump over the weekend.Letlow, a Republican, is issuing a primary challenge to two-term GOP incumbent Bill Cassidy, a former physician who once voted to convict the president of inciting an insurrection during his second impeachment trial after the 2021 Capitol riots. Continue reading...

The US president's global club was endorsed by the security council on a false prospectus and seems aimed at displacing the United NationsLike many punters who have tried to do business with Donald Trump in the past, the UN has found itself a victim of a classic bait-and-switch, thinking it was buying one thing, but getting quite another.When they voted to endorse the board of peace in November, other members of the UN security council hoped they were binding Trump into a Gaza peace process, but it now appears they were hoodwinked into backing a Trump-dominated pay-to-play club: a global version of his Mar-a-Lago court aimed at supplanting the UN itself. Continue reading...

Dan Jarvis answers questions in the Commons over the decision to approve a new super-embassy'

US president says there is no going back' on goal of controlling Arctic territory, while Emmanuel Macron condemns new colonialism'

French far-right leader denies existence of fake jobs system' in effort to overturn ban on running for presidentThe French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has told a Paris appeals court there was no system" set up by her party to misuse European parliament funds, as she gave evidence in a fresh embezzlement trial that will determine whether she can run in the 2027 presidential election.The word system' bothers me because [it gives] the impression of a manipulation," Le Pen said on Tuesday, denying she had told members of the European parliament to hire assistants who instead worked for the party headquarters in Paris. Continue reading...

Ex-nurse, who is serving 15 whole-life prison terms, was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven moreThe former nurse Lucy Letby will face no new charges on suspicion of murdering or harming babies, prosecutors have announced.Letby, 36, is serving 15 whole-life prison terms after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others in the year to June 2016. Continue reading...

Keelman's hospital, which housed dockers in 1700s, awarded 4.6m lottery grant after lying empty for 16 yearsIt was built 300 years ago as an almshouse for men who did some of the most backbreaking and dangerous work on the River Tyne.Most recently it provided fun, if chilly, accommodation for students. Now a new chapter is to be written in the history of a building considered the most at-risk structure in Newcastle, with the announcement of 4.6m lottery money to convert it into affordable housing. Continue reading...

Palestinian refugee agency compound is demolished, while teargas is fired at UN vocational school in West BankIsraeli crews have started bulldozing the Jerusalem headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Jerusalem and fired teargas at a UN vocational school in Qalandia, in the West Bank.Israel accuses the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unwra) of collaborating with Hamas - a charge the agency denies - and last year banned it from operating on its territory. The demolition marks Israel's latest step against Unrwa, which provides aid to millions of Palestinian refugees. Continue reading...

Gonzalo Sanchez, armed with tools and a quad bike, ferried rescuers and victims after rail collision near CordobaA lottery ticket seller in southern Spain has been hailed as a hero after he spent about six hours ferrying rescuers and victims around on his quad bike after the train collision that killed at least 41 people and injured dozens of others.Gonzalo Sanchez, 43, was at home in the small town of Adamuz when the town's WhatsApp group alerted to reports of a train that had derailed nearby. Continue reading...

Chief secretary to prime minister will also bring in small, risk-taking task forces to target specific problemsKeir Starmer's chief enforcer Darren Jones says he is going to bust the sludge" in Whitehall by bringing in risk-taking task forces to deal with problems and the ability to sack senior civil servants who do not deliver.Jones, who is chief secretary to the prime minister, said civil servants should feel jeopardy" if they are underperforming - highlighting that only seven out of 7,000 senior civil servants are on improvement plans. Continue reading...

Church leaders cite Greenland threats, Venezuela action and aid cuts as undermining human dignity and peaceThree cardinals in the US Catholic church have criticized the Trump administration's foreign policy, saying its push to obtain or otherwise seize Greenland, recent military action in Venezuela, and cuts to humanitarian aid risk destroying international relations and plunging the world into incalculable suffering".Our country's moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination," said a joint statement from Blase Cupich, Robert McElroy and Joseph Tobin, respectively the archbishops of Chicago, Washington DC, and Newark, New Jersey.The Associated Press contributed Continue reading...

Increasingly unpopular at home, a president obsessed by his legacy has turned his scattergun on the world stageOne year into the second Trump administration, an actual US foreign policy remains just a nice idea. Instead, the world has been forced to adapt to the world according to Donald Trump: one increasingly shaped by his erratic shifts and unpredictable decisions, his fury at perceived slights and his growing desire to stamp his legacy in the model of an imperial leader from centuries past.Think of it as the mad king's court, where every day is a carnival. Continue reading...

Critics expected to mount legal challenge to plans for vast complex at Royal Mint Court amid security concernsThe UK government has approved the construction of a vast new Chinese embassy complex in east London, despite concerns about security and its impact on political exiles in the capital.The decision by the communities secretary, Steve Reed, brings to an end, for now at least, the saga that has been running since 2018 over the site at Royal Mint Court near Tower Bridge. Continue reading...

Research comparing UK and US finds people with fewer qualifications more likely to support rightwing movementsRightwing movements are struggling to gain support among graduates as education emerges as the most important dividing line in British attitudes towards politics, diversity and immigration, research has found.A study from the independent National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) found people with qualifications below A-level were more than twice as likely to support rightwing parties compared with those with qualifications above. Continue reading...

Flurry of posts on Truth Social firmly set out Trump's Greenland stance to European leaders. Plus, spoof Maga caps soar in popularityGood morning.Donald Trump has suggested Britain's decision to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is among the reasons he wants to take over Greenland.What else did Trump share on Truth Social? He leaked private text messages from France's Emmanuel Macron and Nato's Mark Rutte discussing his latest policy moves, and reiterated his intention to take over Greenland as imperative for national and world security", saying there can be no going back".This is a developing story. Follow our live blog here.What was said at other rallies and events? In Washington, Wisdom Cole, the senior national director of advocacy for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said elevated fears within racially diverse and immigrant communities meant that MLK Day observances were forced to take a more urgent tone. We are faced with increased police and state violence inflicted by the government," he said. Meanwhile, Zohran Mamdani, the newly installed New York City mayor, framed inequality as an economic issue at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's annual MLK Day celebration. Continue reading...

Film and TV tie-ins, Lego sets and Toniebox speakers help push sales 6% higher in 2025, after five years of no growth

US president says on social media that Britain's decision to cede islands to Mauritius is act of total weakness'Donald Trump has suggested Britain's decision to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is among the reasons he wants to take over Greenland.The US president, who is travelling to Davos in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, made the claim as he ramped up his rhetoric on acquiring the Arctic territory. Continue reading...

Son of David and Victoria Beckham takes to Instagram to open up about feud with parentsA very public spat on social media captured global attention and filled the front pages on Tuesday with its grave consequences for a once close relationship.No, not the US president Donald Trump slamming the UK for its extreme stupidity" but this was Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, son of David and Victoria Beckham, apparently permanently cutting ties with his family. Continue reading...

Two sides blame each other for release of inmates, as Syria's president looks to gain control of north-eastMore than 100 inmates have escaped from a Syrian jail holding Islamic State prisoners amid clashes in the north-east of the country after an agreement by the under-pressure Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to withdraw from two key provinces.Videos released by the SDF showed what it said were IS members being broken out from a jail in Shaddadi by figures in black balaclavas. It said it had lost control of the building after what it claimed was an attack by government-affiliated fighters that killed or wounded dozens. Continue reading...

Surfer taken to hospital with minor injuries after latest shark attack at Point Plomer beach on mid-north coast

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While violent dingo and human interactions have been increasing, police refuse to speculate whether 19-year-old woman drowned or was killed by the wild canids

Police investigate after Nazi slogans allegedly yelled at schoolboys in St Kilda East on Monday night

Total pay of the qualification body's top six executives has risen by 240% to 6.2m since charity sold itThe new owners of the vocational training body City & Guilds appear to have more than tripled the pay of its top six executives right at the moment the company is cutting 22m of costs and shrinking its UK workforce.The large increases to salary and bonuses have emerged during a scandal over the sale of the qualification awards business by its former owner, the UK charity City & Guilds London Institute (CGLI), to the international certification company PeopleCert. Continue reading...

Claims of government interference' in decision on plans for vast outpost near Tower of LondonResidents of Royal Mint Court plan to mount a legal challenge within weeks if Steve Reed, the local government secretary, approves China's plans to build a vast new embassy at the site by the Tower of London on Tuesday.Mark Nygate, the treasurer of the local Royal Mint Court Residents' Association, said people living near the proposed development had concerns about government interference in what is supposed to be an independent process". Continue reading...

Plans to speed up airspace changes for Heathrow expansion could mean industry influences decisions on noise and routesAviation campaigners have warned that communities risk being locked out of decisions about new flight paths as the government accelerates reforms that will allow a third runway at Heathrow to go ahead.Airspace around the UK will be reconfigured as part of a long-running modernisation process to allow planes to fly more efficiently and minimise delays, and the London airport has said progress in this area is essential for its expansion. Continue reading...

Edmond Atalla defends decision to keep some submissions secret while Jewish Board of Deputies wants from the river to the sea' and death to the IDF' banned

Electric bikes have gained cult status among young people while irking some in the community and raising safety concerns

Red caps are becoming a symbol of protest in Denmark as Donald Trump ratchets up the pressure on GreenlandRed baseball caps spoofing Donald Trump's Maga hats have become a symbol of Danish and Greenlandic defiance against the US president's threat to seize the frozen territory.The caps reading Make America Go Away" - parodying Trump's Make America Great Again" slogan - have gained popularity, along with several variants on social media and at public protests, including a weekend demonstration held in freezing weather in Copenhagen. Continue reading...

Liberal MPs likely to vote for watered-down hate speech provisions and new powers to legally designate extremist organisations

Cancer charity highlights apparent postcode lottery' of testing and diagnoses across different regions seen in studyProstate cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer across the UK, surpassing breast cancer, according to a leading charity.There were 64,425 diagnoses of prostate cancer in 2022, an analysis of NHS figures by Prostate Cancer UK found, and 61,640 new cases of breast cancer. Continue reading...

Guidance for GPs and nurses says other factors should be taken into account, such as changes in behaviourA child's body mass index should not be the key factor when deciding which under-18s get help for an eating disorder, the NHS has told health professionals.The new guidance from NHS England to GPs and nurses follows criticism that over-reliance on BMI has led to children who have an illness such as anorexia or bulimia being misdiagnosed and missing out on care. Continue reading...

Move comes as peers prepare to vote on an amendment to a bill that would enact a ban within a year of the bill passingMinisters have launched a consultation into whether to ban under-16s from using social media as part of a package of measures designed to curb mobile phone use among young people.Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, announced the consultation on Monday as the government responds to mounting pressure for stricter curbs on social media use for younger teenagers. On Monday afternoon, Esther Ghey, the mother of the murdered teenager Brianna Ghey, became the latest high profile figure to add her name to those in support of a ban. Continue reading...

The US president said he would 100%" push ahead with his plans to hit European nations with tarrifs if he doesn't get Greenland

All northern beaches remain closed on Tuesday after attack in Manly on Monday evening follows attacks in Dee Why and Vaucluse

PM says US tariffs are in no one's interests - and Greenland row should be resolved through calm discussion'Keir Starmer has played down the prospect of retaliatory tariffs on the US, after Donald Trump threatened to impose fresh levies against Nato allies if a deal over Greenland is not reached.The prime minister said US tariffs would damage the British economy and were in no one's interests", despite growing pressure domestically to take a more forceful response. The UK would prefer a calm discussion" with allies, he added. Continue reading...

Bill will not return to Commons until government finds common ground over role of active intelligence officersLabour will not bring the Hillsborough law back to the Commons for debate until it can reach agreement with the families, the Guardian understands.Keir Starmer was forced to delay the bill again on Monday after talks broke down last week with families from Hillsborough and the Manchester Arena attack. Central to the disagreement is how the duty of candour in the public authority (accountability) bill would apply to serving intelligence officers. Continue reading...

Sarah Rogers says prosecuting people for merely' expressing support does more harm than good'Arresting supporters of Palestine Action is censoring" their free speech and does more harm than good", a Trump administration official has said.Sarah Rogers, the US undersecretary for public diplomacy, was asked in an interview with the news platform Semafor whether the British government should allow supporters of the proscribed terror group to protest. Continue reading...