World news | The Guardian

Typical advertised rent outside London dipped 3 to 1,341 a month in final quarter of 2024, says RightmoveAverage private rents in Great Britain have fallen for the first time since before the pandemic, with an improvement in the supply of properties helping to cool a ferociously hot" rental market.After several years of seemingly relentless rises, with fresh records being hit every three months, the typical advertised rent outside London slipped back in the final three months of 2024 to 1,341 a month - the first decline since 2019. Continue reading...

Current terms of the law for England and Wales passing through parliament will only aid those with terminal cancer, former judge to sayAssisted dying must be expanded to help those with dementia and Parkinson's disease in England and Wales, a former high court judge will tell MPs this week.Sir Nicholas Mostyn, who has Parkinson's, will argue that under the current terms of the law passing through parliament, the vast majority of people would need to have terminal cancer before being allowed an assisted death. Continue reading...

Boxer shot and killed in car park on High Street in Preston on Tuesday morning in what police believe was a targeted attack

Changes mean visitors and influencers working for foreign employers can stay longer in bid to boost tourismNew Zealand has relaxed its visitor visa rules to attract so-called digital nomads" in a bid to boost tourism and the economy.Visitor visas will now allow people to work remotely for a foreign employer while they are visiting New Zealand for up to 90 days. The visa can be extended up to nine months but visitors may need to pay tax during this time. Continue reading...

The woman, 34, is accused of torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations

Defence team of 29-year-old yet to review extraordinary volume' of evidence compiled by prosecutors

Journalist Shane Harrison and campaigner Michael Gallagher chart the long legal struggle for a public inquiry into the 1998 atrocity, which begins by hearing from survivors and bereaved familiesThe Omagh bombing was the single worst atrocity of the Troubles.As the journalist Shane Harrison explains, it was carried out when hopes were high in Northern Ireland that the country would never experience such violence again - four months after the signing of the Good Friday agreement in April 1998. Continue reading...

People begin long walk at dawn to what remains of their homes after 24-hour delay over release of Israeli hostageHundreds of thousands of Palestinians flooded back into northern Gaza on Monday after Israel opened military checkpoints that had divided the strip for more than a year, ending a forced exile from homes and loved ones that many feared could become permanent.In the dawn light, crowds that had waited by the road overnight began the long walk back to their homes and business - or what remained of them - as soon as the crossing opened. Continue reading...

The series about a family of blue heelers racked up an extraordinary 55.62 billion viewing minutes - but has yet to announce a new seasonAustralian-made animated series Bluey was the most streamed show in the US in 2024, topping Nielsen's annual year-end streaming charts, released this week.US viewers watched 55.62bn minutes of the 7-minute show on Disney+ according to Nielsen's reporting, just shy of the all-time yearly record of 57.7bn minutes set by Suits in 2023. Continue reading...

The film includes footage shot by Clarke Gayford, the husband of the former New Zealand prime ministerA documentary traversing former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern's leadership and personal life through home videos, archival footage and fresh interviews has premiered at Sundance.The film, Prime Minister, directed by Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz covers Ardern's five-year tenure, after her abrupt ascension to leader of the Labour party in 2017, just six weeks out from an election her party was widely expected to lose. On a wave of popularity dubbed Jacindamania", the then-37-year-old led the party to victory, becoming the world's then-youngest ever female leader. Continue reading...

The development is the latest sign of thaw in diplomatic relations between the world's two most populous nationsIndia and China have agreed in principle to resume direct flights between the two nations, nearly five years after the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent political tensions halted them.The announcement on Monday came at the conclusion of a visit to Beijing by New Delhi's top career diplomat and heralds the latest signs of a thaw in the frosty ties between the world's two most populous nations. Continue reading...

Children's commissioner says young people involved in disorder felt disempowered and saw chance to retaliateA deep distrust of the police and a lack of youth opportunities fuelled the involvement of hundreds of disempowered" children in last year's riots across England, a report has found.Dame Rachel de Souza, the children's commissioner for England, said young people were not primarily motivated by far-right, anti-immigration or racist views" or by online misinformation, contrary to what she called the prevailing narrative". Continue reading...

After a major restoration, new theatre in east London announces opening programme with Sara Pascoe and Rosie Jones on the bill - plus panto and a new show by Bryony KimmingsIt opened as a Victorian music hall, had various incarnations as a picture house and hosted concerts by the Beatles, Dusty Springfield and James Brown. But for most of the 21st century, the site of the former Granada cinema in Walthamstow, east London, has remained shuttered.Now, after a major restoration in partnership with the local council, the Grade II* listed building in Hoe Street is set to reopen as Soho Theatre Walthamstow, with a 960-seat main auditorium, three studio spaces and a generous four bars. It will be operated by Soho theatre, which has run a lively venue in Dean Street, central London, for 25 years. The sister site will present a similar mix of comedy, cabaret and theatre from May onwards. Continue reading...

There were 55,033 diagnoses of prostate cancer in England in 2023 compared with 47,526 diagnoses of breast cancerProstate cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed in England, surpassing breast cancer for two consecutive years, according to analysis by a leading charity.In 2023 there were 55,033 prostate cancer diagnoses compared with 47,526 breast cancer diagnoses, according to the Prostate Cancer UK's analysis of NHS England data. Continue reading...

The manosphere' and Hindu nationalism were also identified by report commissioned after last summer's riotsHindu nationalism, misogyny and the manosphere" have been identified as breeding grounds for extremism in a leaked report commissioned by Yvette Cooper after last summer's riots.The home secretary's rapid analytical sprint" also dismissed claims of two-tier policing" as a rightwing extremist narrative". It argued that the authorities should adopt a behaviour-based and ideologically agnostic approach" to clamping down on extremism rather than focus resources primarily on ideologies of concern". Continue reading...

Indiana state police say Matthew Huttle, who was given six months in prison, was shot after allegedly resisting arrest

Elderly former inmates gather for perhaps final time and urge vigilance against resurgent European far rightOn a day of startling blue skies, Auschwitz survivors stood before princes and presidents on Monday to remind the world, perhaps for the final time, of the horrors they suffered there during one of the darkest moments of human history.Beneath a white marquee erected in front of the gate to the former Nazi death camp, four former inmates - the youngest 86, the oldest 99 - warned world leaders on the 80th anniversary of its liberation against the danger of rising antisemitism. Continue reading...

Elizabeth Warren and fellow lawmakers slam president for not keeping promise to reduce grocery bills immediately'

Katrin Ivanova, giving evidence in UK court, pressed by prosecutor over her response to partner's messageA London-based lab technician accused of spying for Moscow has been questioned in court as to why she did not challenge her partner when he suggested they abduct or kill a man wanted by Russia for a 500,000 reward.Katrin Ivanova, 33, was forwarded a message on 23 February 2022 suggesting that the money was on offer if she and other members of an alleged spy ring of Bulgarians living in the UK could capture Kirill Kachur, a Russian, in Montenegro. Continue reading...

Group takes steps to protect members after traumatizing' reports of people being stopped or detained by agentsThe Navajo nation is taking steps to protect its community from federal immigration actions, amid reports that some Indigenous Americans have been swept up in US deportation raids being carried out early in Donald Trump's second presidency.In a statement, the Navajo nation president, Buu Nygren, said his office in Window Rock, Arizona, had received reports that tribal members had had negative, and sometimes traumatizing, experiences with federal agents targeting undocumented immigrants in the south-west". Continue reading...

In moving speech, Marian Turski warns that current conditions are similar to those which led to the Holocaust

Government lawyers say no need to include unnecessary pejorative words' after campaigners appeal against changeProducers of Scottish salmon can drop the word farmed" from the front of their packaging after government lawyers argued it was unnecessary and pejorative.The government amended the protected geographical indication (PGI) of Scottish farmed salmon" to Scottish salmon" last year, after lobbying from the industry. Continue reading...

Spokesperson denies decision to change name to HMS Achilles was made to avoid upsetting the French

People begin to return to areas such as Jabalia and Beit Hanoun following hostage agreementIsraeli defence minister Israel Katz has said the country will continue to firmly enforce the ceasefires in the north and south", in a post on X, referring to Lebanon and Gaza. He added:Anyone who violates the rules or threatens IDF forces will bear the full cost. We will not allow a return to the reality of 7 October. Continue reading...

M23's lightning advance into east DRC being supported by up to 4,000 Rwandan troops, say UN officialsFrance is seeking western support for a UN security council resolution that names Rwanda as being behind the M23 rebel group attacks inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the surprise weekend seizure of parts of Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC.UN officials said as many as 4,000 Rwandan troops were escorting the M23 rebels. The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, on Sunday called on the Rwandan defence forces to stop supporting the M23 and to withdraw from the territory of the DRC". It was his clearest statement of Rwandan responsibility for much of the violence. Continue reading...

Seven people, said by the judge to have plumbed the depths of human depravity', will be monitored for lifeSeven people involved in a Scottish child abuse ring that plumbed the depths of human depravity" have been jailed for minimum terms ranging from eight to 20 years.The two women and five men will be monitored for life after being convicted of gang-raping a child and violently abusing two other children in a flat in Glasgow where drugs were taken. Continue reading...

Researchers say companies have prolonged injustice and exaggerated cost of solving infrastructure problemsWater companies are adopting disinformation tactics similar to those used by the fossil fuel and tobacco industries with the widespread use of greenwashing to downplay the environmental harm they cause, a study says.Environmental scientists analysed the communications of the nine main water and sewerage companies in England, and compared them with a framework of 28 greenwashing tactics employed, researchers say, by the tobacco, alcohol, fossil fuels and chemical industries. Continue reading...

Trump-era decision criticized by advocacy groups as being in direct conflict with freedom of speech'A decision by the US education department to end their investigations into book bans in the country has sparked backlash from advocacy and civil liberties groups.The DOE's Office for Civil Rights announced on Friday that it had dismissed 11 complaints related to book bans and it will no longer employ a book ban coordinator" to investigate local school districts and parents. Continue reading...

Rwanda-backed rebels have captured largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as United Nations reports mass panic'UN staff and their families were evacuating to Rwanda on Monday morning, where 10 buses were waiting to pick them up.Unverified videos shared on social media showed local residents looting merchandise outside the airport customs warehouse and columns of heavily armed men, believed to be M23 fighters, walking through the northern suburbs of the city. Continue reading...

Government figures show 1,300 people died on the roads last year in a worsening trend not seen since the 1960s

Australia ranks well when it comes to total dental care expenditure. But a closer look at the numbers reveals that trips to the dentist are a luxury many people can't afford

New book casts doubt on accepted picture of communist bloc support for violent radicals during cold warIn June 1986, a pair of operatives from communist Czechoslovakia's StB intelligence service made contact with a mysterious couple staying at a Prague hotel. The man's passport identified him as a Syrian diplomat called Walid Wattar; his pregnant wife also had a Syrian diplomatic passport.In fact, the man was Venezuela-born Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, better known as Carlos the Jackal, perhaps the world's most wanted terrorist at the time. He was with his wife, Magdalena Kopp, recently released from French prison. Continue reading...

Met Office issues warnings for England and Wales, as Scotland and Northern Ireland continue cleanup operationsStormy weather is bringing the threat of flooding to homes and businesses and disrupted travel across large parts of England and Wales, while Scotland and Northern Ireland are still recovering from the impact of Storm Eowyn.On Monday morning, there were 48 flood warnings and 172 alerts in place for England and three Met Office yellow warnings in England and Wales for heavy rain and strong winds. Continue reading...

Esyasoft to acquire UK company, which supplies renewable power to about 245,000 householdsA British green electricity supplier, Good Energy, has agreed a near-100m takeover by a company controlled by a member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family.The retail energy company said on Monday it had agreed a deal with the Dubai-headquartered Esyasoft for a cash offer of 4.90 a share, valuing it at 99.4m. Continue reading...

Thinktank says there has been a shift in attitudes - but claims of a UK Jewish exodus' are alarmist

Introduced to parliament by a minor coalition party, the treaty principles bill seeks to abandon a set of principles that guide the relationship between Mori and ruling authoritiesA marathon public hearing into a bill that seeks to radically reinterpret New Zealand's founding treaty between Mori tribes and the British Crown began on Monday amid widespread outcry the proposed changes are unconstitutional, socially divisive and an attack on Mori rights.The treaty principles bill, which was introduced to parliament by the minor coalition Act party, seeks to abandon a set of well-established principles that guide the relationship between Mori and ruling authorities in favour of its own redefined principles. Continue reading...

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More than 5,000 workers to benefit from reduced hours with no loss of payTwo hundred UK companies have signed up for a permanent four-day working week for all their employees with no loss of pay, in the latest landmark in the campaign to reinvent Britain's working week.Together the companies employ more than 5,000 people, with charities, marketing and technology firms among the best-represented, according to the latest update from the 4 Day Week Foundation. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Office workers have more flexibility than frontline staff such as nurses and shop workers, report saysBritain is dividing into a two-tier workforce as office staff benefit from flexible working but the conditions of frontline staff such as nurses and shop workers remain frozen in time", according to a report.Workers who were considered to be on the frontline during the pandemic have seen no change to their working hours or shift patterns in recent years, according to research by Timewise, a social enterprise that helps businesses with flexible working policies. This is despite the post-pandemic rise in hybrid working for office-based staff. Continue reading...

Hot, dry and windy weather for Australia's south-east prompts bushfire and heatwave warnings

Exclusive: Wiener Holocaust Library has digitised more than 150,000 items including letters, pamphlets and photosOne of the world's largest Holocaust archives is accessible online for the first time after a three-year digitisation of much of the collection.Announced on Holocaust Memorial Day, the Wiener Holocaust Library's new online platform includes more than 150,000 items collected over nine decades. Users can view letters, pamphlets and photographs that record the rise of fascism in Britain and Europe. Continue reading...

Actor has accused Justin Baldoni, co-star and director of It Ends With Us, of sexual harassment in civil actionThe film footage at the centre of Blake Lively's high-profile legal row proves that intimacy coordination should be considered as necessary on set as organising stunts, leading consultants have said.Lively filed a civil complaint against co-star and director Justin Baldoni just before Christmas, accusing him of sexual harassment during the filming of It Ends with Us - a romantic drama released last year. Baldoni denies the claims. Continue reading...

Report by rights groups alleges border police refused to rescue boys and blocked activists' efforts to save themBulgarian authorities have been accused of ignoring emergency calls and obstructing efforts to rescue three Egyptian teenage boys, who later died in sub-zero temperatures near the Bulgarian-Turkish border in late December.A dossier of evidence compiled by two humanitarian organisations, seen by the Guardian, contains photos, testimonies and geolocations allegedly showing the authorities' failure to save the boys, who called for help as they struggled cold and lost in the forests of Burgas, in south-eastern Bulgaria. Continue reading...

Prime minister says deputy Liberal leader's Australia Day speech was disrespectful' and Katy Gallagher called it nuts'

Accused to face court on Monday after boy found dead from what police allege appears to be blunt force trauma'

Attorney general responded in Poland to criticism from opposition leader over Penny Wong's visit to Auschwitz commemoration

Survey for patient watchdog finds over half of those who made complaint were not satisfied with process or outcomeA quarter of people in England experienced poor NHS care over the last year but fewer than one in 10 of them complained about it, a report by the patient watchdog has revealed.When people did complain, more than half were not satisfied with either the process involved or the outcome, Healthwatch England said. Complaints take many months to resolve.24% of patients had received poor care in that time - the equivalent of 10.7 million people in England.56% took no action - and only 9% made a complaint.20% were scared that complaining would affect their treatment.34% did not trust the NHS to use a complaint they made to improve services. Continue reading...

Journalists and bloggers to have greater access under open reporting provisions' after pilot scheme launched in 2023A scheme allowing journalists increased access to family courts is being rolled out in an effort to improve transparency.The initiative permits accredited journalists and legal bloggers to report on cases as they unfold, as they would in criminal courts, provided the families and certain professionals involved remain anonymous. Continue reading...

The missing 73-year-old set off his distress beacon during stormy weather on Saturday afternoonA 73-year-old British sailor is lost at sea and his yacht has been found eviscerated" off the French coast in stormy weather.A French air force helicopter was dispatched to find the man after he set off his distress beacon at 3pm on Saturday, approximately 50 miles (80km) west of Lacanau in south-west France. Continue reading...

A lifeboat had to make four trips to recover seven people from Worms Head island due to very challenging conditionsIt turned out to be a dangerous trip to a tidal island in Wales that, thanks to the RNLI, seven American students will never forget.The group had to be rescued by the lifeboat service after the incoming tide cut Worms Head island off from the Gower coast on Saturday morning. Continue reading...