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In today's newsletter: Kyiv's interrogation footage of captured North Korean soldiers leads to questions about what it might do with the soldiers - and what the PoWs might do for themGood morning. In a grinding war where significant changes at the front are hard to discern, a video released by Ukraine on Sunday is a rare point of focus: it featured two North Korean soldiers, answering questions from their Ukrainian captors, and weighing the circumstances of their presence in a conflict thousands of miles from home.The video is, perhaps, not militarily significant. But it is a unique insight into one of the more extraordinary aspects of a conflict that has drawn in actors from all over the world, and is a crucible in which every participant is learning how modern wars are fought.Economy | Rachel Reeves will remain as chancellor until the next general election, Keir Starmer has insisted, as he warned the Treasury would be ruthless" over public spending cuts to help meet the government's fiscal rules.Gaza | Joe Biden has said his administration is on the brink of sealing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that could pause the war after more than 14 months of fighting. Biden administration officials have said they believe the deal may be concluded before Donald Trump's inauguration next week.US politics | Donald Trump would have been convicted of crimes over his failed attempt to cling to power in 2020 if he had not won the presidential election in 2024, according to the special counsel who investigated him. Jack Smith's report detailing his team's findings about Trump's efforts to subvert democracy was released early on Tuesday.UK news | A man accused of driving a young mother to suicide through domestic violence has been found guilty of assault and prolonged controlling behaviour but cleared of her manslaughter. Ryan Wellings, 30, was blamed from beyond the grave" for the death of his partner, Kiena Dawes. Read more about the case.Forever chemicals' | The cost of cleaning up toxic forever chemical pollution could reach more than 1.6tn across the UK and Europe over a 20-year period, an annual bill of 84bn, research has found. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are used in everything from cosmetics to nonstick pans but are almost indestructible without human intervention.[It is] unclear if North Korea will even claim the two captured soldiers as their own, given Moscow and Pyongyang's refusal to officially admit that North Korean forces have been deployed to Russia. At the same time, Russia could claim them as their own and hand them over to North Korea after they are traded with Ukrainian PoWs. Continue reading...

Grey ball-shaped debris found washed up along shore will be tested by Environment Protection Authority, local council says

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First of five hearings into martial law declaration lasts only minutes, while Yoon Suk Yeol remains holed up inside his presidential compoundThe first hearing in the impeachment trial of South Korea's suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, ended after just a few minutes on Tuesday as Yoon failed to appear at the constitutional court.The court's justices have about five months to decide whether to strip Yoon of his presidential duties over his short-lived declaration of martial law on 3 December or return him to office. Continue reading...

Rodney Cherry, jailed for murdering two women, one of whom was never found, is appealing to the high court after being denied parole

The Olivier-winning star excited and honoured' to take the lead in the UK premiere of Marie and Rosetta, a 1940s-set two-hander from George BrantBeverley Knight is to play Sister Rosetta Tharpe in a drama about the gospel singer and guitarist who became known as the godmother of rock'n'roll".Written by US playwright George Brant (best known for the drone-pilot drama Grounded), Marie and Rosetta explores the personal and professional partnership between Tharpe and Marie Knight, with whom she toured and recorded. First staged off-Broadway in 2016, the play will have its UK premiere as a new co-production between the Rose theatre in Kingston, south-west London, and Chichester Festival theatre this summer. Continue reading...

Study says 61,353 non-combatants were killed or wounded in 2024, an increase of 67% on the previous yearCivilian casualties from bombing or other explosive violence have reached their highest level globally in more than a decade, an annual study has concluded, reflecting the intense bombing of Gaza and Lebanon and the ongoing war in Ukraine.Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a monitoring group, said 61,353 non-combatants had been killed or wounded during 2024, an increase of 67% on last year, previously the largest amount it had counted since it began its survey in 2010. Continue reading...

Woman, 63, allegedly stabbed in the back while working at supermarket in Ipswich's Yamanto Central shopping centre

Annual sector review says tax and wage rises and council funding cuts have left services in state of acute precarity'Charities providing specialist care to thousands of vulnerable adults with learning disabilities and severe autism are having to evict" residents to avoid insolvency because of tax and wage rises and local authority funding cuts.Non-profit providers say their work is in a state of acute precarity" with many preparing to cut services, close doors to new residents and effectively evict tenants because the fees councils pay no longer meet the cost of care. Continue reading...

MI5 told Bogarde in 1971 that he had been identified as practising homosexual' of interest by Russian spiesThe film star Dirk Bogarde was clearly disturbed" and troubled" after MI5 warned him that his name had been given to the KGB as a practising homosexual" and he risked being compromised in a sting operation, newly declassified intelligence files show.Bogarde, who died in 1999 and never came out publicly but lived with his life partner and manager, Anthony Forwood, was told by security services that his name was on a list of six practising British homosexuals" given to the Russians by an unnamed source who had himself been sexually compromised during a visit to Moscow in the late 1950s. Continue reading...

Documents indicate monarch was informed Anthony Blunt was Soviet agent in 1973, though he confessed in 1964The late Queen Elizabeth II was not told for almost 10 years that Anthony Blunt, a surveyor of the queen's pictures and a member of the royal household, had confessed to being a Soviet double agent, previously secret security files suggest.Declassified MI5 documents throw intriguing new light on how the security services closely guarded news that the art historian, of the notorious Cambridge Five spy ring, had confessed in April 1964, with records indicating the queen was only informed in 1973. Continue reading...

Decision not to renew former presenter's contract triggered angry backlash from ABC Radio listeners and colleagues

Pedro Sanchez announces measure in response to anger over rising housing costsSpain has announced plans to impose a tax of up to 100% on real estate bought by non-residents from countries outside the EU, such as the UK, in an aim to tackle the country's housing crisis.The measure was one of a dozen unveiled on Monday by the country's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, as the government seeks to quell mounting anger over housing costs that have soared far beyond the reach of many in Spain. Continue reading...

Dina Boluarte, who didn't appoint a caretaker president for two-week absence, accused of abandoning her postThe Peruvian president, Dina Boluarte, has appeared before prosecutors to explain a two-week absence for plastic surgery on her nose that she insists was medical, not cosmetic.Boluarte, 62, did not appoint a caretaker president for the period of her absence in July 2023, and stands accused of abandoning her post. Continue reading...

Taxpayers asked to shoulder burden as beleaguered council expected to merge with neighbouring authoritiesTaxpayers are being asked to shoulder 1bn in debt amassed by a bankrupt Surrey council that will be merged in the government's plan for the biggest transfer of powers to England's regions this century.Posing a fresh financial headache for the government, councillors in Surrey have requested that ministers write off" 1bn in debt held by troubled Woking borough council to enable a merger between the county's 12 local authorities. Continue reading...

US president says agreement that could pause more than 14 months of fighting matches a proposal he made months agoJoe Biden has said his administration is on the brink of sealing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that could pause the war after more than 14 months of fighting.In a speech in Washington meant to showcase his foreign policy achievements, the US president said on Monday that the contours of the deal matched a proposal that I laid out in detail months ago". Continue reading...

Anonymised data could help develop treatments, drugs and diagnostic tools but potential misuse worries experts

Entertainment industry impacted as Critics Choice awards pushed back and Academy cancels nominees luncheonThe ongoing wildfires in California have added a further delay to this year's Oscar nominations as the industry continues to feel the impact.With 92,000 residents under evacuation orders and the death toll up to 24, Hollywood has seen a number of events postponed and rescheduled. Continue reading...

Top civil servant makes assurances to MPs after Guardian exposed profits made by Ecctis LtdEngland's most senior education official has assured MPs that suppliers on not-for-profit contracts will not in the future be able to make money secretly after serious failings" were exposed by the Guardian.Susan Acland-Hood, the Department for Education's permanent secretary, told the cross-party public accounts committee (PAC) that a very hard" review had been undertaken in light of the conduct of a company running UK visa services. Continue reading...

Phone video shared by mining NGO appears to show dozens of wrapped bodies in underground tunnelThe South African government has launched a mission to bring potentially hundreds of people in an illegal mine to the surface who last year had supplies of food, water and medicine blocked by police in an attempt to force them out.The government agreed to the attempt on Friday after the sister of one of those underground initiated a court case in response to letters from miners brought to the surface on Thursday. Continue reading...

Semina Halliwell had reported case to police but felt like she wasn't believed', her mother tells inquestA 12-year-old girl overdosed on her mother's prescription tablets after making an allegation of sexual assault to police and feeling like she wasn't believed", an inquest has heard.Semina Halliwell died on 12 June 2021, three days after taking the tablets at the family home in Southport, Merseyside. Continue reading...

Transphobia is fuelling abuse towards community, said artists gathering over weekend at RuPaul's DragCon UKDrag artists are under unprecedented pressure as they are more visible, but also more debated" than ever before, performers have said, as they paid tribute to The Vivienne.The international drag community came together in London for RuPaul's DragCon UK over the weekend, its first large gathering since the Welsh performer's death. Continue reading...

Glen Sannox makes first scheduled voyage after years of design failures, cost overruns and procurement errorsIt set sail nearly seven years late but in the event proved its worth. After quelling stormy seas that left two other ferries sheltering in harbour, the Glen Sannox is finally serving islanders on Arran.As if to prove its durability, some passengers on its first scheduled voyage at dawn on Monday reacted in the traditional fashion to heavy seas, by vomiting into its brand-new toilets, while cafeteria trays slid over the tables. Continue reading...

Billionaire reposted false claim as Republicans seek to condition disaster aid to Democratic-controlled California

Group tells Reuters that there has been progress over core issues with US hopeful for agreement this week. This live blog is now closedA Hamas official has spoken to CNN about the remaining sticking points that have prevented a ceasefire deal being secured by negotiators.They include Hamas' demands that Israel withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor, the Israeli military's code name for the 9-mile-long (14km) strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border, and commit to a permanent ceasefire rather than a temporary halt to the war, which Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to wage until total victory". Continue reading...

Healthcare worker remains in critical condition after attack at Royal Oldham hospital on Saturday nightA man has been charged with attempting to murder a nurse who suffered life-changing" injuries after being stabbed in a hospital's acute medicine ward.The healthcare worker, who has not been named, remains in a critical condition after the attack at the Royal Oldham hospital in Greater Manchester on Saturday night. Continue reading...

Appeal from longtime campaigner on sexual abuse of women and girls increases the pressure on Keir Starmer

Ryan Wellings also guilty of controlling behaviour but cleared of manslaughter of Kiena Dawes, who left note saying she was murdered'A man accused of driving a young mother to suicide through domestic violence has been found guilty of assault and prolonged controlling behaviour but cleared of her manslaughter.Ryan Wellings, 30, was blamed from beyond the grave" for the death of his partner, Kiena Dawes.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Explorer was buried in home town after his remains were found during construction of UK's high speed railThe small sheet of lead, which once adorned a coffin that was lost under London for 200 years, now sits in a slick new building in the Adelaide CBD.Capt. Matthew Flinders RN, died 19 July 1814, aged 40 years," it says, the ornate writing legible despite signs of age.Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Continue reading...

Airline asks authorities to impose new curbs as it seeks to recover 15,000 in costs related to diverted flightRyanair wants a limit of two alcoholic drinks at airports, as the airline released further details of legal action to recover 15,000 (12,615) in costs related to a diversion it said was caused by an allegedly disruptive passenger.The airline has called on European authorities to bring in new curbs on alcohol to stop passengers getting drunk before boarding a plane. Continue reading...

Former Scottish first minister says on social media that we have been separated for some time now'

Former US House speaker says documented people, Dreamers, mothers and children must not be deportedNewt Gingrich, the former US House speaker and presidential hopeful, said a section of his own Republican party was rabid" over immigration and predicted Donald Trump's suggestion that he could deport documented people as well as millions of undocumented people will not come to pass.I'd be very surprised if you see any significant effort to change the game for people who are here legally," Gingrich said, weeks before Trump's return to the White House. I just think there's a very small faction of the party that's rabid about this." Continue reading...

Exclusive: dinners with both the president and vice president-elect will cost $1m, up from $500,000Major donors to Donald Trump's inaugural committee are having to contribute twice as much to get direct access to him and vice-president-elect JD Vance at private events around the swearing-in ceremony compared with the first inauguration, according to fundraising materials.The ability to briefly interact with Trump and Vance requires donors to contribute at least $1m to the committee - the highest-tier ticket package - in a marked increase from the previous cycle when the same access cost $500,000. Continue reading...

Tropical storm batters eastern parts of Africa, including French territory still recovering from Cyclone ChidoOver the weekend, eastern parts of Africa were threatened by Tropical Cyclone Dikeledi. What started as a slight tropical disturbance between Indonesia and Australia on 2 January progressed westwards while developing into a depression over the week that followed.The depression strengthened into a moderate tropical storm with heavy downpours and gusty winds exceeding 39mph (63km/h) across central parts of the Indian Ocean. At this time, the system was named Dikeledi. It continued westwards and deepened into a tropical cyclone on the evening of 10 January as maximum sustained wind speeds hit 74mph - the equivalent of becoming a category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. Continue reading...

A taxi driver, 58, a mother and daughter, aged 56 and 81, and an unidentified driver of another car died at the scene

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Exclusive: About 89% of such crimes closed without a suspect being caught or charged in the year to June 2024

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...