World news | The Guardian

Group reviews office attendance as part of performance-related bonus targets forsenior employeesSenior bankers at Lloyds could be at risk of having their bonuses docked if they fail to follow company orders to be in the office at least two days a week.Lloyds Banking Group - which owns the Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland brands - has confirmed it is reviewing office attendance as part of performance-related bonus targets for its most senior employees. That includes hybrid staff who, in 2023, were ordered to be in the office at least 40% of the time, which typically amounts to two days a week for those on full-time contracts. Continue reading...

Sara Putt cites lack of access and retention in an increasingly precarious industryThere is still a long way to go" to achieve gender parity in the film and television industry, Sara Putt, the chair of Bafta has said, before the nominees' announcement this week.The talent agent and producer, who took over as chair of Bafta in 2023, said the low representation of women in the awards' most prestigious categories was reflective of a lack of access to and retention in an industry that has become increasingly precarious. Continue reading...

The grand version of the 12-yearly Hindu pilgrimage is expected to draw more than 400 million devoteesThe world's largest religious gathering kicked off on Monday as millions of Hindu devotees gathered on the banks of Ganges in India to mark the beginning of the Maha Kumbh Mela.The Kumbh Mela pilgrimage takes place every 12 years and is widely seen as the festival of festivals" in the Hindu religious calendar in India, attended by a vibrant mix of sadhus or holy men, ascetics, pilgrims and tourists. This year's celebration is particularly significant as the Maha or grand Kumbh Mela only takes places every 144 years, marking the 12th Kumbh Mela and a special celestial alignment of the sun, moon and Jupiter. Continue reading...

Headquarters of intelligence service in Damascus is now settlement centre' where those who served inside turn themselves inThe filthy corridors inside the headquarters of the general intelligence service lay dark and empty. Towering piles of boxes and plastic sit near the steps leading up to the imposing building, as well as torn posters of the former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.On the road outside, hastily abandoned cars with smashed windscreens and bullet casings litter the ground - a reminder of the looting and destruction that took place a month ago as Syrians vented their anger at symbols of the Assad regime's fearsome security state, built up over decades. Continue reading...

Author of Nineteen Eighty-Four to be commemorated on coin to coincide with 75th anniversary of his deathHe was a writer concerned with poverty, class and power; we will never know how George Orwell would feel about being commemorated on a coin.The Royal Mint had announced that the author of Nineteen Eighty-Four, Animal Farm and Coming Up for Air is to be honoured on a new 2 coin to coincide with the 75th anniversary of his death. Continue reading...

Prime minister and opposition leader start election bids with early campaigning and funding announcements

Joey Pace, 43, appeared in Raymond Terrace local court after his alleged slaughter of kangaroos on Singleton army base

Vandals also started a fire in Newtown that could have had deadly consequences, commissioner says

Kyiv keen to emphasise that Ukraine is fighting an unprecedented coalition of malign autocratic statesUkraine's capture of two North Korean soldiers on the battlefield has provided a rare glimpse into their role and Pyongyang's participation in the Russian invasion, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.The two soldiers were taken prisoner in Kursk oblast, the scene of intense fighting since Ukraine launched a cross-border raid five months ago. Video showed special forces soldiers carrying one of the wounded North Koreans across a snowy forest. Continue reading...

Annual fun event sees bare-legged passengers sporting array of underwear styles and coloursThe annual No Trousers Tube Ride event has returned in colourful fashion as people stripped down to their underwear and hopped on the London Underground.Hordes of bare legs were seen at Newport Place in Chinatown before heading on to the tube in their underwear of choice. Continue reading...

Exclusive: paramedics unable to respond to 100,000 calls a month as they wait to hand over patients

Italy's Alpine cliff and cave rescue corps find items belonging to Aziz Ziriat as search continuesItems belonging to a British hiker who has been missing in the Dolomites since New Year's Day have been found as the search for him continues.Sam Harris, 35, and Aziz Ziriat, 36, from London, last sent messages home on 1 January and the pair did not check in for their flight home on 6 January. Friends and relatives have travelled to Italy. Continue reading...

Polling for far-right insurgent and its extreme policies is rising but other parties have closed ranks against it despite their weak popularityGermany's far-right AfD party has signed off on its manifesto before next month's critical election, proposing a series of deeply controversial policies on everything from migration to education as the campaign for a new government in Europe's powerhouse formally kicked off.The party, founded in 2013, endorsed the far-right concept of re-migration" into its programme, threatening the mass deportation of migrants if it came to power. Continue reading...

Mohammad Abedini detained on US warrant three days before Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was arrested in IranItaly has released an Iranian citizen wanted by the US over a drone attack in Jordan that killed three Americans a year ago, after the Italian justice minister asked a court to revoke his arrest.Mohammad Abedini has already returned to Iran, Iranian state TV said on Sunday afternoon. Continue reading...

Beatification ceremony for Clare Crockett, former party girl from Derry, draws more than 100 people to MadridA nun from Northern Ireland who was killed in an earthquake while she was teaching music in Ecuador has taken a step closer to sainthood.A ceremony on Sunday afternoon started the process of beatification for Clare Crockett, who died in Portoviejo, Ecuador during an earthquake in April 2016. The 33-year-old had been working in the country as part of her work as a nun, which had also taken in placements in Spain and the US. Continue reading...

Ulf Kristersson says hostile intent cannot be ruled out' as increased surveillance follows suspected cable sabotageThe Swedish prime minister has said that his country is neither at war nor at peace as he announced that Sweden would be sending armed forces into the Baltic sea for the first time as part of increased surveillance efforts amid a spate of suspected sabotage of undersea cables.The country announced it will contribute up to three warships and a surveillance aircraft to a Nato effort to monitor critical infrastructure and Russia's shadow fleet" as the alliance tries to guard against sabotage of underwater infrastructure. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Voters overall are downbeat about politics and almost two-thirds think the UK's best years are behind us'One in five generation Z and millennial Britons prefer strong leaders without elections to democracy, and voters overall are feeling downbeat about politics, a report has found.The polling, due to be published next week as part of the FGS Global Radar report, found that overall 14% of people agreed with the statement: The best system for running a country effectively is a strong leader who doesn't have to bother with elections," rather than the alternative: The best system for running a country effectively is democracy." Continue reading...

Riyadh meeting also discussed keeping pressure on Syria's new leadership to meet commitment to inclusive transitionMinisters from 17 Middle East and western countries have met in Riyadh to discuss how to speed aid to the new Syrian government while keeping pressure on the caretaker leadership to meet its commitment to run an administration representative of all religions and ethnic groups.The meeting on Sunday came as protesters in Syria called on the west to move faster on lifting economic sanctions, and so persuade more refugees to return from Europe and the states surrounding the country. Continue reading...

Emergency medicine consultant's comments come as north London hospital posts specific ad for corridor care nursesA senior doctor in emergency medicine has said almost every hospital is treating patients in corridors and car parks" after a hospital posted adverts calling for nurses to take on 12-hour corridor care" shifts.Responding to very significant pressure" in its A&E department, Whittington hospital in north London posted bank shifts available for A&E nurses which said corridor care" in the notes. Continue reading...

Accord comes after Somalia severed relations over sea access agreement Ethiopia signed with separatist region of SomalilandSomalia and Ethiopia have agreed to restore diplomatic representation in their respective capitals, more than a year after Somalia severed ties over a sea access agreement landlocked Ethiopia signed with the separatist northern Somali region of Somaliland.In a joint statement following an unexpected visit by Somalia's president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, to Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, both countries committed to restore and enhance bilateral relations through full diplomatic representation in their respective capitals". Continue reading...

Forecasters predict the weather will turn milder into next weekTemperatures have stayed firmly below freezing for the 12th night in a row across the UK, as forecasters predict the weather will turn milder into next week.Scotland remained the coldest place in the UK, with the Met Office reporting a low of -13.9C (7F) in Kinbrace in the northern Highlands. Wales experienced a low of -2.2C in Hawarden, Flintshire; England's coldest temperature was -7.8C at Cavendish, Suffolk; and Northern Ireland recorded -1.5C at Katesbridge, Co Down. Continue reading...

Minister hits back after Tories call for PM to sack anti-corruption minister at centre of Bangladesh property rowKeir Starmer will act on the findings of an independent investigation into Tulip Siddiq's conduct regardless of the outcome, a cabinet minister has said, as Kemi Badenoch called for her to be sacked.Badenoch, the Conservative leader, accused the prime minister of appointing his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption", after the Bangladesh government raised serious concerns about Siddiq's links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina, her aunt. Continue reading...

Tributes paid to off-duty PC Rosie Prior, who died along with motorist Ryan Welford after being struck by lorry on A19An off-duty police officer who was killed after being struck by a lorry while helping at the scene of another crash in North Yorkshire was the very best of us", local leaders have said.PC Rosie Prior and a motorist, Ryan Welford, were standing on the verge of the A19 when they and a third person were struck by a heavy goods vehicle shortly before 9am on Saturday, police said. Continue reading...

Hwyl can raise the heartbeat or relax the body; it's your own particular form of happiness,' says Welsh psychologistThe Danish word hygge, which summons a feeling of cosy, fire-crackling contentedness, has done its fair share for tourism in Scandinavia as well as sparking a string of self-help guides.Now Visit Wales is aiming to draw tourists to its hills, valleys, coastlines and cities by harnessing the lovely Welsh word hwyl, which it defines as a deep state of joy that comes from being totally immersed in the moment", in its 2025 publicity drive. Continue reading...

Verdict of crimes against humanity for kidnap of mixed-race children could pave way for wider justice, activists sayA historic court ruling that found Belgium guilty of crimes against humanity during its colonial rule of central Africa has been hailed as a turning point that could pave the way for compensation and other forms of justice.Belgium's court of appeal ruled last month that the systematic kidnapping" of mixed-race children from their African mothers in Belgian-ruled Congo, Rwanda and Burundi was a crime against humanity. The case was brought by five women who were removed from their Congolese mothers as small children between 1948 and 1953, and who now live in Belgium and France. Each was awarded 50,000 (42,000) in damages. Continue reading...

As Trump's inauguration looms, the paper, owned by Jeff Bezos, is in shambles - largely of its own makingAs Donald Trump prepares to take office on 20 January, the ascension of a man who has repeatedly said he will persecute the media surely calls for the journalistic muscle of a newspaper that broke the Watergate scandal and has for decades been a mainstay of American political reporting.But as Trump's second term looms, the Washington Post, owned by the billionaire Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, is in shambles - mired in chaos and disarray largely of its own making. Continue reading...

Peter Kyle frustrated at bill inherited from Tories and says parliament should legislate faster to protect publicOnline safety legislation is unsatisfactory" and uneven", the science secretary has said as he expressed hopes for parliament to learn to legislate faster on the issue.Peter Kyle said he had given a very personal commitment to making sure that everybody - particularly people with vulnerabilities, and every child is vulnerable - has protection", after Ian Russell, whose daughter killed herself after viewing harmful content on social media, told Keir Starmer the UK was going backwards" on online safety. Continue reading...

Man held on suspicion of attempted murder after nurse left with life-changing' injuries in attack at Royal Oldham hospitalA nurse is in a critical condition after she was stabbed in a hospital A&E in a suspected attempted murder, police said.The nurse was on duty at the Royal Oldham hospital, in Greater Manchester, when she was attacked with a sharp instrument at about 11.30pm on Saturday night. Continue reading...

Memo obtained by the Guardian mandates that court would maintain exclusive' control of all security-related recordsA newly uncovered document reveals that the US supreme court sought to beef up judicial protection, while also reducing public scrutiny of the court's doings, before the court's controversial decision to overturn Roe v Wade.The heavily redacted memorandum of agreement (MOA) on security is dated March 2022, and was obtained by the Guardian after being recently surfaced by governmentattic.com. Continue reading...

Ryan Quigley was celebrating the new year with former teammate Martin Tiger' Bech, one of the 14 victims killedAmong those who were injured but survived the deadly New Year's Day truck attack on New Orleans' most famous street was a former Princeton University football player whose ex-teammate was murdered by the assailant.Ryan Quigley, 26, was in New Orleans with Martin Tiger" Bech - who grew up about a two-hour drive west of the city in Lafayette, Louisiana - to ring in 2025 after both had forged a friendship while playing for Princeton University's college football team. They had joined other revelers on Bourbon Street when a former US army veteran inspired by the Islamic State (IS) terror group managed to drive a pickup truck into the crowd that had gathered on one of the world's most festive thoroughfares. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Study of 2024 election says party's refusal to make formal deals with others was vindicated in ballotBritons are so adept at tactical voting that any sort of progressive alliance among parties on the left is no longer needed, an internal Liberal Democrat report into the party's general election campaign has concluded.The report, led by the former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, said that while the party enjoyed its best general election in a century in July, rising from 15 MPs to 72, it also barely increased its vote share and won few second places on which to build. Continue reading...

Diplomats have advised the UK prime minister to have a face-saving response just in case he comes low down on the list at the inaugurationDonald Trump may invite populist rightwing leaders from Europe such as Italy's Giorgia Meloni andHungarian prime minister Viktor Orban to the White House before Keir Starmer, senior UK diplomats believe.Downing Street and the Foreign Office are eagerly pressing for the prime minister to be at the head of the traditional beauty parade" of overseas leaders who are called to see the new president in the days after the inauguration on 20 January. Representations are being made via the UK embassy inWashington. Continue reading...

Constable Rosie Prior and a motorist were fatally struck by HGV that also hit a teenage boy, who was left with serious injuries, say policeA North Yorkshire policewoman has died after she was struck by a lorry while helping at the scene of another crash on the side of a highway.Constable Rosie Prior was standing on the verge of the A19 at Bagby, near the village of Thirsk, on Saturday morning when she and two others were struck by an approaching heavy goods vehicle (HGV) just before 9am, authorities said. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer accuses opposition leader of spending a lot of time on social media over Christmas'When Kemi Badenoch used prime minister's questions this week to echo Elon Musk's demands for a new inquiry into sexual grooming gangs, the MPs behind her were trying to interpret the intentions of their fledgling leader. Was it a long-held view? A short-term move to wrong-foot Labour or appeal to Reform voters? A sign she was adopting a more radical politics?There was one point, however, that seemed to unite those with differing theories about their leader's motives. Her decision to warn Keir Starmer that refusing a fresh inquiry could prompt speculation about a cover-up" was the kind of political gamble they had expected her to be willing to take. Continue reading...

Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage are among those who have earned large sums from broadcasters, but a tightening of rules on MPs' outside interests is being consideredMPs would no longer be able to rake in huge sums that can see them more than double their parliamentary salaries by signing contracts with media outlets, under plans being considered by ministers.The Observer has been told that talks on further tightening rules on MPs' outside interests, including media contracts, will be started by leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, at a hearing of the all-party standards committee on Tuesday. Continue reading...

There was his log cabin story, an official slogan and - later in the day - a policy booklet, but no new announcements in Melbourne

Lawyer for suspended president says concerns about potential incidents' have arisen following thwarted attempt to arrest him at his residence

Dan Carden says government must heed calls for justice and show whose side it on'A Labour MP has become the first to break ranks and publicly call for a national inquiry into grooming gangs and has urged the prime minister to use the full power of the state to deliver justice".Keir Starmer and other ministers have suggested they are open-minded about a future inquiry but have said the government's priority is acting on the recommendations of the 2022 report on child sexual abuse led by Prof Alexis Jay. Continue reading...

The president strongly criticized Meta's decision to replace factchecking department with community notesJoe Biden has pushed back on Meta chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg's decision to replace Facebook factchecking departments with company-moderated community notes, calling the decision a really shameful" choice.The whole idea of walking away from factchecking as well as not reporting anything having to do with discrimination regarding ... I find it to be contrary to American justice," the outgoing president told reporters during a press call on Friday. Telling the truth matters." Continue reading...

Coach en route from Berlin to Polish city of Szczecin ended up on its side near Prenzlau, north-east of German capitalA bus accident on a motorway in north-eastern Germany on Saturday left two people dead and another four seriously injured, police said.The accident happened on an exit from the A11 motorway that leads to a car park close to an interchange near Prenzlau, north-east of Berlin, German news agency dpa reported. Seven people were slightly injured. Continue reading...

Ian Russell, whose daughter died viewing harmful content, says Online Safety Act a disaster'The father of a 14-year-old girl who died after viewing harmful content on social media has told Keir Starmer that the UK is going backwards" on online safety.Ian Russell, chair of the Molly Rose Foundation set up in memory of Molly, who took her own life in 2017, said the regulator Ofcom's implementation of the Online Safety Act has been a disaster" in a letter to the prime minister on Saturday. Continue reading...

Steve Witkoff meets Israeli PM in renewed efforts to secure hostage release deal with HamasThe US Middle East envoy chosen by the president-elect, Donald Trump, met the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Saturday amid efforts to secure a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza, an Israeli official said.On Friday, Steve Witkoff met the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, to discuss the latest developments in the region, especially the efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip", the Qatari foreign ministry said. Continue reading...

Flight cancellations pile up and state officials warn of dangerous roads on Saturday with biting cold and wet snowFlight cancellations piled up and state officials warned of continuing dangerous roads on Saturday in the wake of a winter storm that closed schools and disrupted travel across parts of the southern US.A storm that brought biting cold and wet snow to the south was moving out to sea off the east coast on Saturday, leaving behind a forecast of snow showers in the Appalachian mountains and New England. But temperatures are expected to plunge after sundown on Saturday in the south, raising the risk that melting snow will refreeze, turning roadways treacherous and glazed with ice. Continue reading...

Rescue services treat 100 more people for shock or stress after collision in tunnel leading to central train stationTwo trams collided in Strasbourg in eastern France on Saturday, causing dozens of injuries, though none critical, authorities said. The accident took place during the afternoon in a tunnel leading to the city's central train station.An additional 100 people, though uninjured, were assessed for shock or stress, said Rene Cellier, director of the Bas-Rhin fire and rescue service. Emergency services deployed 130 firefighters, 50 rescue vehicles and established a wide safety perimeter. Continue reading...

Three-year project returns out-of-print classics - including six Miles Franklin winners - to circulation and into ebook format for the first time

Chancellor's mission to Beijing weighted with greater expectationsRachel Reeves hailed a new era of respectful and consistent future relations with China" as pressure grew on the embattled chancellor to deliver on her government's central promise to fire up UK economic growth.After meeting China's vice-premier, He Lifeng, in Beijing, Reeves said Britain's relationship with the world's second largest economy would be frank and open on areas where we disagree", while stressing it would be pragmatic in finding opportunities for safe trade and investment". Continue reading...

Joe Stone says authorities trying everything' to find Aziz Ziriat after body of Sam Harris discovered on WednesdayA close friend of a British hiker who has been missing in the Dolomites since New Year's Day has said there is an acceptance that it won't be good news" as search efforts continued.Sam Harris, 35, and Aziz Ziriat, 36, from London, last sent messages home on 1 January and the pair did not check in to their flight home on 6 January. Friends and relatives have travelled to Italy. Continue reading...

Retail assistants on low pay using YoungOnes platform docked cash or told to wait up to 30 days for earningsRetail assistants have accused a gig economy firm of holding them to ransom" by making them pay a fee if they want to receive their wages within a month.A new payment system brought in by YoungOnes, which supplies freelance" retail assistants to many well-known high street stores, charges gig workers 4.8% of their earnings to be paid in one minute or 2.9% to be paid in three days. If they decline, they typically have to wait 30 days. Previously the workers were paid in three days, without a charge. Continue reading...

Eliza and Henrietta Huszti last seen near Victoria Bridge in city centre in early hours of TuesdayThe search for two sisters, who went missing in Aberdeen on Tuesday morning, has been extended to the coast, police said.Eliza and Henrietta Huszti - who are part of a set of triplets - were last seen in the city on Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Heavy police presence in place as far-right party meets in Saxony to finalise details of campaign platformThousands of people have demonstrated against a convention of the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) as political parties launched their campaigns for the country's election next month.A heavy police presence was in place in Riesa - in the eastern state of Saxony, an AfD stronghold - and officers cleared some protesters from the streets. However, the two-day convention started a little more than two hours late as many delegates' trips to the venue were slowed by blockades. Continue reading...