World news | The Guardian

Almost 13,500 retail stores closed, a rise of 28% on previous year, according to Centre for Retail ResearchThe UK lost about 37 shops a day during 2024 in yet another brutal year for the high street, data suggests.Almost 13,500 retail stores closed for good in the last 12 months, a rise of 28% on 2023 - although the losses were below the levels seen each year between 2019 and 2022, according to provisional figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research. Continue reading...

Bigger Austudy and carer allowance payments, higher Medicare safety net thresholds and mandatory corporate reporting on climate also in 1 Jan changes

Rain, sleet, flooding and freezing temperatures could lead to hazardous travel conditions, says Met OfficeThe Met Office has issued a three-day heavy snow warning as thousands of households mop up after torrential new year rain led to flooded properties, travel chaos and power cuts.Temperatures could drop to well below freezing at the weekend with up to 30cm (1ft) of snow across England, Scotland and Wales - leading to rural areas being cut off, schools closing and to road, rail and flight problems, forecasters said. Continue reading...

Known as one of the jet set's most outrageous characters', Wildenstein died in Paris hotel aged 84The Swiss socialite and cosmetic surgery aficionado Jocelyne Wildenstein, sometimes known as Catwoman" due to her extensive plastic surgery, has died, her partner said on Wednesday.It is with heavy heart and with great sadness that Mr Lloyd Klein announces the unexpected death of his beloved fiancee and longtime companion, Jocelyne Wildenstein," the fashion designer said in an English-language statement sent to the Agence France-Presse news agency. Continue reading...

Man accused of traveling to offices in Florida with intention of killing, injuring, harassing and intimidating'FBI agents say they have foiled a possible attack on a US pro-Israel group apparently timed to take place on the first night of Hanukah.Officers arrested Forrest Kendall Pemberton after he allegedly travelled to the city of Plantation in Florida to scout the local offices of the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) and tried to return later with concealed" firearms. Continue reading...

Veteran leaps metres into outfield to catch ball in one hand before throwing it back into field of playA stunning Glenn Maxwell catch in the outfield, an almost impossible take in mid-air on the wrong side of the boundary rope that he juggled back into play, has been hailed one of the best in Big Bash League history.It helped the Melbourne Stars break an eight-game BBL losing streak, thanks also to a Marcus Stoinis batting masterclass. Continue reading...

Mystery of Sheila Fox's disappearance at 16 solved after fresh police appealA woman who went missing 52 years ago has been found alive and well after police released a grainy photograph as part of an appeal, solving one of Britain's longest-running missing person cases.Sheila Fox, now 68, disappeared from Coventry in 1972 when she was 16. At the time, West Midlands police said she had been living with her parents and could have been in a relationship with a man. Officers said they were keeping an open mind, believing she may have moved out of the area. Continue reading...

In sobering year-end report, chief justice laments litany of threats judges face, which he says put the rule of law at riskViolence, intimidation, disinformation and threats to disobey lawful court rulings are putting the United States's revered principle of judicial independence in jeopardy, the chief justice of the US supreme court, John Roberts, has warned.In a sobering end of year report, Roberts - seen as the leading rightwinger on the court's current six-to-three pro-conservative majority - laments a litany of threats contemporary judges face in America's increasingly polarised political climate, which he says are putting the rule of law at risk. Continue reading...

President-elect hails Justin Caporale for Madison Square Garden rally and McDonald's shift'Donald Trump has appointed Justin Caporale, the man credited with some of his most eye-catching campaign gambits on the path to his second presidential election victory, to a White House role, signalling that high-profile publicity stunts are likely to be a key feature of his second presidential term.Posting on his Truth Social platform, the president-elect said Caparole would assume the role of executive producer for major events and public appearances" after he returns to the Oval Office on 20 January. Continue reading...

Residents celebrating new year recall scrambling for cover as scenes unimaginable unfolded in the French QuarterThe silence on Bourbon Street told much of the story.At the intersection that marks the centre of New Orleans's noisy tourist hub, lined with tall palm trees and towering hotels, the quiet on the morning of New Year's Day was broken only by yellow police tape fluttering in the light breeze and the occasional blare of sirens echoing on the road. Continue reading...

Small vessel tilted after taking in water, according to seven survivors who reached Italian island of LampedusaTwenty people are missing after falling into the sea from a tilting boat after it started to take in water in rough seas about 20 miles off the coast of Libya, according to survivors.Carrying 27 passengers, the six-metre boat had left Zuwara in Libya, about 571 nautical miles from Lampedusa, at 10pm on Monday. Continue reading...

Ukraine president hails one of Moscow's biggest defeats' as deal's end brings power cuts in breakaway Moldovan regionRussian gas has stopped flowing to Europe via Ukraine, ending a major energy route that goes back to Soviet times and had even survived three years of full-scale war between the two states.Ukraine cut off the transit route after an agreement signed in 2019 expired in the early hours of New Year's Day, marking a new milestone in Europe weaning itself off Russian gas supplies over the past few years, and prompting immediate power cuts for hundreds of thousand of people in a breakaway region of Moldova. Continue reading...

Experts say evidence from abroad shows AVR is effective - and it's one of several proposals to try to boost votingA healthy democracy depends on people participating in it. In the UK, the proportion of people doing so is falling. Voter turnout in general elections stayed above 70% from 1945 through to 1997, hitting more than 80% in 1950 and 1951. But it collapsed to 59.4% when Tony Blair won his second term in 2001, and though it rose again between 2010 and 2019, it has not reached the 70% mark since 1997. In the 2024 election, turnout fell to 59.7%.The decline has been acute enough to trigger concern among Labour officials. Before July, the Guardian revealed they were drawing up plans to introduce automatic voter registration (AVR). In the election, when it came around, just 52% of adults living in the UK exercised their right to vote - the lowest proportion since universal suffrage was introduced. Crucially, this statistic counts all adults eligible to vote in the UK, not just those registered on the electoral roll. Continue reading...

IPPR says elections could lose legitimacy because of falling turnout among groups such as renters and non-graduatesUK elections are close to a tipping point" where they lose legitimacy because of plummeting voter turnout among renters and non-graduates, an influential thinktank has said.Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that the gap in turnout between those with and without university degrees grew to 11 percentage points in the 2024 general election - double that of 2019.Lowering the voting age to 16.Implementing automatic voter registration.Introducing a 100,000 annual cap on donations to political parties.Creating an election day service". Continue reading...

Ukraine ends agreement to allow gas to flow through its pipelines, with European supplies set to be tested as cold weather forecast later this weekUkraine has halted Russian gas supplies to European customers through its pipeline network, almost three years into Moscow's all-out invasion.

The number of listed companies fleeing can't be ignored, and cutting or abolishing the tax could revive the capital marketLast year was another depressing one for departures from the London stock market. Back in January, it was Flutter heading for the exit. The owner of Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet got itself a secondary listing in the US and said it would quickly convert it into the primary one, which it did in May.When December arrived, we were still on the same theme. Ashtead Group, the 27bn construction rental company that has been listed in London since 1986, announced plans to shift its primary listing to New York. Other escapers include Just Eat Takeaway, which is off to Amsterdam. Continue reading...

Officials say most of the victims were women and children as Israel's war against Hamas continues into the new yearIsraeli strikes killed at least 12 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on New Year's Day, mostly women and children, officials said, as the nearly 15-month war ground on into the new year.One strike hit a home in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, the most isolated and heavily destroyed part of the territory, where Israel has waged a major operation since early October. Gaza's health ministry said seven people had been killed, including a woman and four children, and at least a dozen had been wounded. Continue reading...

Exclusive: tenfold increase in drone incidents since 2020 leads MPs to call for urgent action over security concernsPrisons will need more money to combat the rapid rise in drones delivering drugs, the head of an influential Commons committee has said, as figures showed the number of aerial incursions predicted to have tripled in two years.A freedom of information request by the Guardian found there were 1,296 drone incidents at prisons in England and Wales in the 10 months to the end of October 2024, a tenfold increase since 2020. Continue reading...

Emergency services receiving reports of damage, risk to life and stranded vehicles'2025's tempestuous start is also affecting Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.Both counties are seeing heavy rain and strong winds today with three danger to life" weather warnings in place. Continue reading...

Neville Lawrence says he is not satisfied with David Norris getting parole but could accept it if he has changedThe father of Stephen Lawrence has said he would accept one of the teenager's killers being released if he can show remorse.A parole hearing could take place this year in the case of David Norris, one of only two of the killers of the 18-year-old to have been brought to justice. Continue reading...

David Jonathan Thackray, who was jailed in New Zealand in 2014, is one of three Australians now subject to such sanctions

Leila de Lima enraged Rodrigo Duterte when she began investigating killings carried out during his war on drugs'Leila de Lima, one of fiercest critics of the former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's bloody war on drugs" who was jailed for more than six years on baseless charges, will try to return to politics in 2025.De Lima was one of the few politicians who criticised Duterte during his time in office, and enraged the former leader when she began investigating killings carried out during his anti-drugs crackdowns. She knew to expect retaliation, she said. I thought it would just be regular vilification, the slut-shaming, the verbal attacks," she said. She did not anticipate that she would spend more than six and a half years in prison. Continue reading...

Susan Evans not seen by specialist at the Queen Alexandra in Portsmouth despite complications and contracted sepsisFailings at a hospital contributed to the death of a 55-year-old woman who suffered abdominal sepsis after weight loss surgery at the time of a junior doctors' strike, a coroner has said.Susan Evans returned to Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth, Hampshire, with stomach pains two days after undergoing elective gastric bypass surgery. Continue reading...

Federal action comes hours after film's director sued New York Times for libel over story about Lively's accusationsThe actor Blake Lively has sued the director of It Ends With Us, Justin Baldoni, and several others associated with the film, alleging harassment and a coordinated campaign to attack her reputation for coming forward about her treatment on the set.The federal lawsuit was filed in New York on Tuesday, hours after Baldoni and many of the other defendants in Lively's suit sued the New York Times for libel for its story on her allegations, saying the newspaper and the star were the ones conducting a coordinated smear campaign. Continue reading...

Footballer who signed a seven-year AFL deal in October has been charged after 30 December incident in Riverina town of Mulwala

Concerned members of public alerted officers to vehicle being driven erratically in Knowsley on New Year's EvePolice on Merseyside have admitted they were surprised when they caught up with an erratically driven scrambler bike on a public road to find the rider was a seven-year-old boy.The budding Steve McQueen, who was by himself, explained to officers that he had been given the bike as a Christmas present. Continue reading...

Heritage groups call on Teignbridge district council to convert buildings in Newton Abbot rather than raze themThe wooded banks of the River Lemon, which tumbles through the town of Newton Abbot from the heights of Dartmoor, has long been a hive of activity, the site of corn and wool mills and tanneries that have employed thousands over the centuries.But demolition crews are about to move in to clear a collection of mill buildings and make way for housing despite an outcry from local people and from national conservation organisations, who argue the historic structures should be saved and re-purposed. Continue reading...

A total of 36,816 people made journey last year compared with 29,437 who arrived in 2023, Home Office saysThe number of people arriving in the UK in 2024 after crossing the Channel in small boats was up by a quarter on the previous year, figures show.A total of 36,816 people made the journey in 2024, a jump of 25% from the 29,437 who arrived in 2023, according to provisional Home Office figures, but lower than the record 45,774 arrivals in 2022. Continue reading...

Former Australian prime minister posted a photograph with himself, his wife Jenny and Donald and Melania Trump on X

This live coverage has ended now, thanks for following along.And there are many events are taking place around the world ahead of the midnight celebrations.There is already a massive crowd in Chongqing in western China ahead of midnight. Continue reading...

Authorities hope for vital clues as contents of cockpit recorder are converted into audio formatInvestigators in South Korea have extracted data from one of two black boxesretrieved from a Jeju Air plane that crashed shortly after landing on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people aboard.The country's deputy minister for civil aviation, Joo Jong-wan, said initial data had been retrieved from the Boeing 737-800's cockpit voice recorder, and that the contents were being converted into audio format. Continue reading...

More than 800 African-Caribbean families in Derbyshire were not sent results of tests for genetic blood disordersAn error by the NHS led to hundreds of families with African-Caribbean heritage being left unaware of whether their babies may be carriers of certain genetic blood disorders, the Guardian has learned.More than 800 families in Derbyshire were not sent the results of a heel prick test given to babies after birth, meaning they did not know whether their child was a carrier of a trait for sickle cell disease or for an unusual haemoglobin gene. Continue reading...

Influential Commons committee calls for government to take action to prevent justice being further delayedThe Post Office needs to be removed from running redress schemes for victims of the Horizon scandal to prevent justice from being further delayed, an influential parliamentary committee has said.In a report published on Wednesday, one year to the day since the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office brought the scandal to widespread public attention, the Commons business and trade committee said compensation for victims was still not being paid quickly enough and that the government should face financial penalties if the process did not speed up. Continue reading...

Average annual bill in England, Scotland and Wales increases by 1.2% to 1,738 from New Year's DayNine million homes will face higher energy bills from Wednesday as Britain braces for freezing temperatures and snow warnings for the new year period.The average energy bill for households across England, Scotland and Wales will rise by 1.2% from New Year's Day to 1,738 a year for a typical household after the energy regulator raised its cap on gas and electricity charges. Continue reading...

Virginijus Sinkeviius, a former environment commissioner, criticises bloc's decision to delay deforestation lawA former EU environment commissioner has warned against backsliding on the protection of nature and the battle against the climate crisis after the bloc decided to delay its landmark deforestation law.Virginijus Sinkeviius, the Lithuanian MEP and a vice-president of the European parliament's Green group, said he disagreed with the decision to amend the deforestation law in order to give companies a year of extra time to ensure their products are not implicated in the felling of trees. Continue reading...

Woman dies in tubing accident near Toowomba, while another drowns scuba diving near Wave Break Island on the Gold Coast

Melbourne and Sydney fires brought under control, including in Tempe, and stabbings reported in Guildford and the Mornington Peninsula

Bigger Austudy and carer allowance payments, higher Medicare safety net thresholds and mandatory corporate reporting on climate also in 1 Jan changes

Tens of thousands attend display in capital while much of the country faces issues with heavy rain and high windsThe UK has welcomed 2025 with fireworks and celebrations in London, but many events across the country were cancelled due to bad weather.Tens of thousands of people attended the annual event in the capital, with millions more tuning in on television. Continue reading...

Admissions for vitamin or iron deficiencies up by more than 10% year on year and as much as tenfold on 1998-99The number of people admitted to hospital in England because of a lack of vitamins or minerals is soaring, according to analysis of NHS figures.In 2023-24 there were 191,927 admissions where the main reason was a lack of iron, up 11% on 2022-23. The figure is almost 10 times the 20,396 hospital admissions for lack of iron in 1998-99. Continue reading...

PM says in his new year message that 2025 will be a year of rebuilding, comparing the task to that Attlee faced in 1945Keir Starmer has promised to rebuild Britain as Labour did after the second world war as he enters a pivotal year for his premiership.The prime minister said in his prerecorded new year message that 2025 would be a year of rebuilding, with his government looking to turn the corner after a turbulent first six months in power. Continue reading...

Supermarket chain says it will help customers celebrate the day' by selling flag-themed items

Sixteen air force personnel who apprehended boys being held in custody as inquiry into deaths continuesEcuador's attorney general's office has confirmed that incinerated bodies found on Christmas Eve belong to the four children missing since early December, in a case posing a severe challenge to President Daniel Noboa's war on drugs".The four boys - all black, aged between 11 and 15, and residents of Las Malvinas, a poor area in the country's largest city, Guayaquil - were returning from a football game on 8 December when they were apprehended by 16 air force soldiers. Continue reading...

Detectives launch inquiry into incident reported at 11.35am on Tuesday, at address in Poole, DorsetA man and woman in their 70s have been found dead at an address in a seaside town, police said.Detectives have launched an investigation into the incident, which happened at a property in Anthony's Avenue, Poole, Dorset, and was reported at 11.35am on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Nine tonnes of fireworks set off around the harbour, but parts of Queensland again hit by heavy rain and flooding

Police say lone wolf' in one of Britain's biggest burglaries escaped with his haul in a rucksack on his backThe burglar who stole 10m worth of jewellery in one of Britain's biggest ever heists broke into a London mansion through a bathroom window and escaped with his haul in a rucksack on his back.Police are hunting for the suspect, described as a lone wolf", after the theft in Avenue Road, north London, just after 5pm on 7 December. Continue reading...

MoD reveals incidents involving 10 soldiers are under investigation after trying to keep figures secretNine special forces troops are facing prosecution over alleged war crimes committed in Syria, the government has revealed, with another member of the armed forces under investigation over their actions in Afghanistan.The Ministry of Defence has said the prosecuting authority for the armed forces - known as the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) - has been considering the cases of the 10 individuals over at least three separate incidents, though it would not say what those were. Continue reading...

Exclusive: warning that lack of NHS dentists and soaring cost of private work puts essential care out of reach for manyHow soaring fees for private care are deepening England's dentistry crisisPrivate dentists are cashing in on the scarcity of NHS treatment by hiking their charges for fillings, checkups and extractions to eye-watering" levels, research has found.Patients are paying as much as 775 for root canal work, 435 to have a tooth out and 325 for a white filling due to fees for common dental procedures soaring since 2022.A white filling has gone from 105 to 129 - up 23%.An extraction has risen from 105 to 139 - 32% more.A half-hour scale and polish is now 75, up from 65 - a 15% jump.An initial consultation for a new patient is up 23% from 65 to 80. Continue reading...

Ever growing numbers of people find themselves unable to get NHS treatment or pay for the alternativeExclusive: patients unable to get dental care after eye-watering' rise in private feesThe inability of millions of patients to access an NHS dentist is one of the longest-running injustices in the history of the health service. The misery and the harm it causes is profound and well documented. The scandal is not new.Going private is often the only alternative. If it means getting a checkup, a scale and polish, a filling, an extraction or if necessary a root canal, many will pay. Anything to keep your teeth in good nick. Continue reading...