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Lavin became working-class icon as waitress in TV sitcom and enjoyed long and celebrated career on stage and screenLinda Lavin, a Tony Award-winning stage actor who became a working-class icon as a paper-hat wearing waitress on the TV sitcom Alice, has died. She was 87.Lavin died in Los Angeles on Sunday of complications from recently discovered lung cancer, her representative, Bill Veloric, told the Associated Press in an email. Continue reading...

Hogmanay festival organisers cancel outdoor events with high winds and rain predicted to hit city in coming daysEdinburgh's New Year's Eve street parties and fireworks display have been cancelled on safety grounds because of storms forecast for the next 36 hours.The city's Hogmanay festival organisers said the high winds and rain predicted to hit the city made it unsafe to hold any of the outdoor events planned for Monday and Tuesday nights. Continue reading...

Severe storm system led to at least 45 reports of damage in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and GeorgiaMultiple tornadoes that began spawning across several southern US states on Saturday afternoon have resulted in the deaths of at least four people.Officials spent Sunday assessing the devastation inflicted by the severe storm system that produced the tornadoes. Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center, told the Associated Press that there were at least 45 reports of damage from the tornadoes across the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Continue reading...

Racing champion turned active travel advocate criticises parts of the media for safety scaremongeringThe UK's public health is being directly harmed by anti-cycling coverage in parts of the media, Chris Boardman, who heads the government's main active travel organisation, has told the Guardian.Boardman, a former champion cyclist and businessman, leads Active Travel England (ATE) and is at the forefront of government efforts to help people switch from car trips to healthier and more sustainable travel. Continue reading...

Two others charged with drug supply in connection with One Direction singer's fall from Buenos Aires hotel balconyThree people have been charged with manslaughter, and two others with drug supply, in connection with the death of Liam Payne, who was allegedly seen being dragged to his room" while unconscious moments before he fell from his balcony in Argentina earlier this year.The 31-year-old former One Direction singer fell from the third floor of the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires on 16 October. Continue reading...

A spate of six murders has taken the Caribbean nation's total to 623 in 2024, of which nearly half were gang related and almost all linked to organised crime, say policeThe government of Trinidad and Tobago has declared a state of emergency after a weekend of violence in the Caribbean dual-island nation took the number of murders this year to 623.Five men were shot overnight in an estate on the outskirts of the capital, Port of Spain, and a 57-year-old woman was shot dead on Friday as she collected her teenage son from hospital in San Fernando. Continue reading...

Authorities announce investigation as shocked citizens enter second day of official mourningSouth Korea has launched an emergency safety inspection of the country's entire airline operations, and a separate check of all Boeing 737-800s, after 179 people died in a Jeju Air crash involving the aircraft on Sunday.As shocked citizens began a second day of official mourning and flags flew at half-mast, the government said it would carry out the audit of all 101 of the aircraft in domestic operation, with US investigators, possibly including Boeing, joining the inspection. Continue reading...

Mizo Games wants players to have a chance to experience war on the tabletop before it reaches us'As families in Taiwan prepare to gather for lunar new year celebrations in January, a game that will be released that month promises to offer some war-themed fun over the festive period.The board game 2045, developed by the Taiwanese company Mizo Games, invites players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years in the future. Players are given roles that include Taiwanese army officers, Chinese sleeper agents and volunteer citizen fighters. Continue reading...

Financier has sued paper over articles containing allegations that he had sexually assaulted or harassed womenThe hedge fund manager Crispin Odey is seeking at least 79m in damages from the Financial Times after suing the publication for libel, documents filed at the high court show.Odey began legal action against the FT in May over four articles published in 2023 which contained allegations that he had sexually assaulted or harassed multiple women. Continue reading...

Summer break in August had to be cancelled after attack in Southport led to violent unrest across the UKKeir Starmer has finally been able to take an overseas holiday and is understood to be in Madeira with his family over the new year.While he has the use of Chequers, his official country retreat, the prime minister was unable to go on a planned summer break in August after rioting broke out in a series of towns and cities. Continue reading...

Cask N Tandoor pub, 200m from Anne Hathaway's cottage, accused of breaching legal covenant limiting developmentA pub that serves sizzling tandoori dishes" within shouting distance of a Shakespeare heritage site may have to be demolished as the result of planning objections.The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has claimed that the Cask N Tandoor pub was built in breach of a legal covenant that limits development on land owned by the hotelier Rakesh Singh. Continue reading...

Competition named after champion surfer Eddie Aikau is only held when waves in Waimea Bay top 30ftA rare surfing event, The Eddie, took place in Hawaii last week, thanks to some giant waves.Formed about a week ago in the north Pacific Ocean, the waves emerged as a large low-pressure system produced an exceptionally large swell. They went on to hit Hawaii, enabling The Eddie to take place for just the 11th time in its 40-year history. Named in memory of the champion big-wave surfer and lifeguard Eddie Aikau, the competition requires that waves in Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu, where the event is held, top 30ft (9 metres). Continue reading...

Kemi Badenoch is judged to be to the right of Tories, and Lib Dems' Ed Davey further left than StarmerKeir Starmer is towards the rightwing of Labour members of parliament, according to a study of the political positions of the MPs from every major party.The prime minister is less leftwing than almost all of his 401 Labour colleagues, according to the research by Chris Hanretty, a professor of politics at Royal Holloway, University of London. Continue reading...

Relatives' representative also says Jeju Air must do everything it can to help families financially. This live blog is closed

Exclusive: Structural weaknesses are threatening operating theatres, intensive care units and cancer units

Finance lead for England and Wales police chiefs says focus on officers gets in way of making better use of budgetsPolice forces should be allowed to cut officer numbers and spend more money on technology to boost crime fighting, a police chief has said.Chief constable Paul Sanford, who leads for police chiefs on finances, said there was an obsession with officer numbers, even though it would often be more effective to have fewer officers supported by better technology. Continue reading...

Marcus Fakana hands himself in to authorities and will serve year-long sentence in Dubai's al-Awir prisonA British teenager has handed himself in to the authorities in Dubai to begin a one-year prison sentence for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, a campaign group has said.Marcus Fakana, 18, was on holiday with his family in the United Arab Emirates when he met the girl, who is also from London and turned 18 the following month. He was arrested at his hotel and charged after the girl's mother found their chats and pictures after the family's return to London and called the Dubai police. Continue reading...

Lawyer says he wishes to spare Gisele Pelicot a new ordeal after marathon trial convicted all 51 accusedDominique Pelicot will not appeal against his conviction for drugging and raping his wife and inviting strangers to rape her, his lawyer has said.Beatrice Zavarro said the former electrician, 72, who was jailed for the maximum 20 years this month, wished to spare his now ex-wife, Gisele Pelicot, a new ordeal but admitted there was also the risk a new trial in front of a public jury could mean a longer prison sentence. Continue reading...

More than 400 pubs called last orders in 2024 amid rising costs and cautious consumer spending

Jump of 17.2% in 12 months to September for city, while Huddersfield had largest declineStoke-on-Trent experienced the biggest annual house price growth in the UK, while Huddersfield had the biggest decline, according to the mortgage lender Halifax.Average house prices in the Staffordshire city jumped by 17.2% or 33,000 in the 12 months to September, to 227,002 as buyers sought more affordable options against a backdrop of high mortgage costs.Stoke-on-Trent 227,002 +17.2 %Slough 497,704 +14.9%Oldham 250,546 14.6%Bradford 226,261 +13.1%Bolton 252,070 +12.9%Barnsley 224,886 +12.6%Wolverhampton 278,083 +12.4%Doncaster 228,040 +11.6%Dunfermline 230,379 + 10.8%Hamilton 229,835 +10.3%Huddersfield 260,498 -6.6%Wirral 294,250 -5.4%Ealing 559,788 -4.9%Southwark 555,325 -4.8%Kingston upon Thames 582,282 -4.2%Enfield 506,667 -4%Harrow 552,203 -3.6%Westminster 730,859 -3.6%Bromley 541,131 -3.2%Aylesbury 423,252 -2.8% Continue reading...

Electricity prices fall an average of 4% over 12 months - but almost half of customers miss out by sticking with their old plan

Even as experts remain puzzled by Jeju Air crash, they are sceptical a bird strike was sole cause of fatal disasterOne day after the fatal airline disaster in South Korea, the answer as to what went wrong with Jeju Air 2216 remains elusive.Even as experts remain puzzled by what caused the crash that killed 179 people, experts say that a bird striking the engine is unlikely to be the sole factor.Elias Visontay is Guardian Australia's transport and urban affairs reporter Continue reading...

The 23-year-old was last seen descending a walking trail after agreeing to meet up with friends at Geehi campsite, sparking a multi-agency search

Police allege 31-year-old victim was shot in his car outside family home in western Sydney in targeted attack'

Survey by Chartered Management Institute finds only 19% of companies have a policy in place

Unesco-listed San Lorenzo de El Escorial was fulfilment of Philip II's dream of raising monastery in a desert'Despite perching imperiously on a mountainside near Madrid for the better part of five centuries, the royal monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial has yet to give up all its treasures - or all its secrets.Forty years after it was included on Unesco's World Heritage list, Philip II's austere monument to power, piety and patronage is undergoing a major reorganisation that will allow visitors to enjoy the peace of a previously off-limits monastic patio and to look at paintings once reserved for the royal gaze. Continue reading...

Damning report reveals millions in England are living in poor-quality housing that threatens their healthMinisters have been warned that efforts to save the NHS and grow the economy will fail unless they tackle the housing crisis, as a damning report reveals millions of people are living in substandard homes that risk worsening their health.In total, 4.5 million people aged 50 or above with an existing health condition in England are living in poor-quality housing with one or more problems such as rising damp, rot or decay that may be making them even sicker, the Centre for Ageing Better analysis found. Of those, 1.7 million are aged 70 or over. Continue reading...

Boy dies while being transported to hospital after being struck by Ford at Glossop Street in North St Marys

People warned against buying illegal weight-loss medicines through beauty salons or fake pharmacy websitesLong waits for NHS services could lead people to take matters into their own hands by buying potentially unsafe weight-loss jabs online, Britain's top GP has said.Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, warned that buying drugs online from unregulated retailers could put people at risk and they may also miss out on wraparound support offered alongside the medication. Continue reading...

Data shows spikes in antisemitic and Islamophobic offences after outbreak of Middle East conflict and Southport attackSome of the UK's largest police forces have reported increases in religious hate crimes in the past 18 months, figures reveal, with the number of incidents rising after the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict in autumn 2023 and again after the Southport attacks in England this summer.Forces including Greater Manchester, West Midlands and the Metropolitan police recorded sharp increases in antisemitic offences in the weeks after the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East in October last year. Continue reading...

Drowning deaths in 2024 were overwhelmingly male, accounting for 22 of the 29 lives lost

Diplomatic residence, where five members have been staying since March, has had power cut for more than a monthFive Venezuelan opposition members taking refuge in the Argentine embassy in Caracas to avoid arrest say it has become a prison".The residence has been without power for more than a month, Magalli Meda, adviser to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, said on X. Continue reading...

Kirk Marsden, 37, died after being struck by vehicle outside Gate Street Bar and Grill after reports of incident at venuePolice have arrested a third person suspected of murder after a man was fatally hit by a car outside a pub on Christmas Day.Officers were called to reports of an incident at the Gate Street Bar and Grill in Blackburn, just before 4.50pm, after an argument in the venue. Continue reading...

Green energy entrepreneur voices concerns over project's funding and spiralling costs' of UK's other nuclear plantsThe government's new value for money tsar has been challenged to examine the costs of a nuclear power station to be given final approval next year, as ministers attempt to shore up private investment for the project.New nuclear plants are a key part of the government's plan to have clean power by 2030. The Sizewell C reactor, billed as generating enough energy to power 6m homes, is expected to be given the final go ahead in June's review of public spending. Its projected costs are in excess of 20bn. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more of our Middle East coverage hereFive Israeli demonstrators protesting for the release of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 have been arrested outside the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.Twenty protestors gathered outside the home in the early morning, shouting through loudspeakers at the prime minister that the hostages were suffering in the tunnels and were cold, tortured and sick" while he enjoyed home comforts, Channel 12, an Israeli broadcaster, reported. Continue reading...

Resolution allows deployment of 12,626 personnel - but it is unclear if Ethiopia will stay part of peacekeeping force amid territory disputeThe UN has authorised a new African peacekeeping mission to continue its fight against the al-Qaida-affiliated group al-Shabaab in Somalia, but there are doubts about whether troops from neighbouring Ethiopia will remain part of the deployment.The UN security council adopted a resolution on Friday allowing the deployment of up to 12,626 personnel to support the Somali government's nearly two decades-long fight against the al-Shabaab insurgents. Continue reading...

The Desertas Island land snails have been set free to roam on the uninhabited island of Bugio, near MadeiraMore than 1,300 tiny, critically endangered snails have been set free to roam on an island off the coast of Morocco after a breeding programme rescued two obscure species from the brink of extinction.

Gaza officials say staff at Kamal Adwan hospital, including its director, have been detained as WHO reports Israeli forces burned and destroyed key departmentsThe last major health facility in northern Gaza has been put out of service, the World Health Organization has said, and its director detained according to Gaza officials after an Israeli military operation targeting sites near the Kamal Adwan hospital.Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid," the WHO said in a statement on X. Continue reading...

Zla Mavka movement - meaning wicked forest spirit' - drops fake rouble notes bearing pro-Ukrainian images and shares messages of solidarity

Hussain Bisad, who has had health problems, says government should do more for people with physical or mental illnessWhen Hussain Bisad first settled in north London as an asylum seeker after fleeing from war in Somalia 23 years ago, he did so in the hope of a new and more settled life. Little did he know that shortly after arriving he would be at the centre of the media spotlight, not for his story of escaping conflict but for something altogether different: his height.Bisad had been in the UK for five months when Guinness World Records measured his height as 2.3 metres (7ft 6.5in), making him then the world's tallest living man. Continue reading...

Unsealed documents show British PM's idea in 2002 did not go down well with Northern Ireland politicianThe 2002 World Cup had been a gruelling rollercoaster for the Republic of Ireland. Nine days before the team's first match in the tournament, hosted by Japan and South Korea, its captain and talisman Roy Keane was on his way home before a ball had been kicked, after publicly berating his manager, Mick McCarthy.Two draws and a victory against Saudi Arabia had taken Ireland through the group stages, but after a dramatic penalty shootout against Spain, they were knocked out of the competition. Continue reading...

Survey also finds one in seven have either taken such jabs themselves or know someone who hasOne in five Britons would use a weight-loss drug if it was free on the NHS, according to polling that also shows one in seven have either taken a jab themselves or know someone who has.But almost one in four people would not tell others if they were using them, suggesting the growing popularity of weight-loss jabs is accompanied by persistent stigma about them. Continue reading...

Victorian temperatures to rise from Monday, with fire warnings also in place in NSW and Western Australia

Research for Lib Dems shows nearly 27,000 assaults were recorded last year, with about 3,200 deemed seriousAssaults in prisons have been rising with an average of 74 a day recorded in England and Wales last year, including 25 assaults a day inflicted on staff, House of Commons library research has shown.The figures, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, show that of the 26,912 assaults that took place over the course of the year, about 3,200 were deemed to be serious - an average of eight a day. Continue reading...

US Department of Housing and Urban Development reports largest increase among families with childrenThe US saw a dramatic rise in homelessness at the start of 2024, counting 18% more unhoused people during its annual tally in January than the year before, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud) reported on Friday.Cities reported counting a total of 771,480 unhoused people in January, a number that is larger than the population of Seattle. Representing 23 out of every 10,000 Americans, the number is the highest ever recorded during the tally. Still, experts consider the number an undercount, since it reflects one point in time and misses many people staying with friends or family. Continue reading...

Georgian Dream government threatens pro-west president with jail if she refuses to leave office on SundayAll eyes in Georgia are fixed on the elegant 19th-century Orbeliani Palace in Tbilisi, where a defining moment looms. Who will occupy its halls on 29 December?On Sunday, Georgia's pro-western president, Salome Zourabichvili, is supposed to hand over the keys to her successor, Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former football player turned far-right politician who is backed by the ruling and increasingly authoritarian Georgian Dream (GD) party. Continue reading...

Preparations for new year's street parties under way as Met Office warns of significant disruption' due to heavy rain on 30 and 31 DecemberA severe weather warning is threatening to put a dampener on Hogmanay plans across Scotland as the nation braces for 48 hours of heavy rain.The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain covering all of Scotland apart from Orkney and Shetland on 30 and 31 December, with significant disruption" expected from the early hours of Monday. Continue reading...

Finland seizes ship it suspects of engaging in sabotage causing Estlink 2 cable outage on Christmas DayNato is to increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea, the alliance has announced, after the suspected sabotage of an underwater power cable running between Finland and Estonia.The Estlink 2 submarine cable was disconnected from the grid on Christmas Day, little more than a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea. Continue reading...

Guardian analysis finds 1.6 million pupils in schools in need of repair, while some NHS sites endanger patients and staff