World news | The Guardian

Follow today's news live

Andrew Cheung defends city's legal processes as transparent, fair and independent' despite mounting concerns from departing legal officersHong Kong's top judge has claimed the exodus of foreign judges from the judiciary's benches since the introduction of the national security law is due to escalating geopolitical tensions and orchestrated harassment".The city's chief justice, Andrew Cheung, made the remarks at the ceremonial opening of the city's legal year on Monday evening in a speech which acknowledged the changing political environment but otherwise stridently defended the judiciary. Hong Kong has a common law system separate from the Chinese mainland's, but observers say it is under growing political pressure. Continue reading...

Former NSW police officer is accused of killing TV presenter Jesse Baird and flight attendant Luke Davies with his service weapon in February 2024

This blog has closed. You can follow live coverage on our new liveblog hereMy colleague Joseph Gedeon in Washington DC also had this look at what Trump might have planned for day one:In the grand theatre of American politics, presidential inaugurations typically follow a familiar script: the oath, the speech, a few carefully chosen executive orders to satisfy campaign promises. Franklin D Roosevelt used his first day to tackle the banking crisis. Barack Obama moved to close Guantanamo Bay (though it remains open). Donald Trump's first term began with a single executive order targeting Obamacare. Joe Biden signed 17 executive orders on his first day in 2021. Continue reading...

Northern Beaches mayor hopes environment watchdog can identify source so they can stop this from happening at other beaches'

Exclusive: Timpson says government plans to reverse rise in female inmates and use alternative forms of punishmentA women's jail in England or Wales should be closed by diverting offenders to alternative forms of punishment and rehabilitation, the prisons minister, James Timpson has said.In an interview with the Guardian, the former head of the shoe repair chain said the government planned to reverse the rise in the number of women being sent to jail, around half of whom are mothers. Continue reading...

Exclusive: NGOs say safeguarding policies need improving, as victims tell of multiple assaults and incidents of race hateNGOs are calling for improvements in UK government safeguarding policies after multiple acts of violence and race hate incidents in Home Office accommodation.The incidents include 20 assaults of asylum seekers in one small area of Essex and a separate incident where another was attacked and threatened with a knife by a man recently released into shared asylum accommodation from prison on licence. Slices of bacon were also laid over food belonging to Muslim residents stored in a communal kitchen fridge. Continue reading...

Cheaper foodstuffs and being able to go out without fear of death or mutilation bring relief but conditions remain direOn the first morning of the first day after the ceasefire, the market of Asdaa camp, a sprawling area of tents and makeshift shelters on the central Gaza coast, was busy.Some shoppers had come because prices of the small range of basic necessities available had dropped since the ceasefire was declared, making once prohibitively expensive items just about affordable. Continue reading...

Dozens of children fall ill during rollout of program that was a centrepiece of President Prabowo Subianto's election campaignDozens of Indonesian schoolchildren have suffered food poisoning after consuming free meals offered through a new flagship program of President Prabowo Subianto, his office has confirmed.Rolled out this month, Prabowo's multi-billion dollar policy was a centrepiece of the former general's election campaign, with a pledge to reach 82.9 million children and pregnant women out of the country's population of 280 million by 2029. Continue reading...

Groups call for Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest and urge Australia to pressure Israel on Palestine just as South Africa was over apartheid

Zoe Conolan-Glen's discrimination case has now been referred to the federal court

President begins issuing flood of immigration-related executive orders after being sworn into office

Gulf of Mexico to be called Gulf of America, and Denali, highest North American peak, reverts to Mount McKinley

Trump's team has learned how to weaponize his power over the Republican party to achieve their political goals

President instructs US government to remove radical gender ideology guidance' and review diversity programsDonald Trump issued an executive order rescinding two orders that Biden signed on his first day in office four years ago, one advancing racial equity for under-served communities and another combating discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.One executive order, called Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government", instructs the federal government to remove all radical gender ideology guidance, communication, policies, and forms". Continue reading...

Authorities say agent was killed in line of duty and that one suspect is dead while another is in custodyA US border patrol agent was killed on Monday in northern Vermont south of the Canadian border, authorities said.The Department of Homeland Security's US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that the agent was killed in the line of duty, although it did not provide details. Continue reading...

Executive order effectively reinstates Schedule F', which sought to categorize workers as political hires

Ninety-nine senators back confirmation of Rubio, 53, first member of Trump's cabinet to win Senate approvalThe Senate has confirmed one of its members, Republican Marco Rubio of Florida, as the next US secretary of state on Monday, giving Donald Trump the first permanent member of his cabinet just hours after the new president was sworn in for the second time.Rubio, 53, received overwhelming support from his former colleagues, with 99 senators backing his nomination. Rubio, who becomes the first Latino American to serve as secretary of state, was expected to be easily confirmed, as senators largely viewed him as one of the least controversial of Trump's cabinet picks. Continue reading...

Industry body says businesses and jobs at risk unless Rachel Reeves's tax changes delayed or alteredThe hospitality industry will incur an extra 1bn of costs for 774,000 of its workers who will be newly eligible for employer national insurance contributions from April, endangering jobs and businesses, a leading industry body has claimed.UKHospitality, which represents thousands of restaurants, hotels, pubs, cafes and nightclubs, is calling on the government to delay or alter changes to the tax announced in Rachel Reeves's October's budget in order to protect jobs. Continue reading...

Family members, Gen Mark Milley, Anthony Fauci, Liz Cheney and January 6 committee members pardoned

Desire to be unifier' rubs up against 47th US president's ambitions for territorial expansion

While the first lady seemed less than keen to pick up the traditional fashion baton, Ivanka was happy to step in

President plans to sign an order to change the name within the US - but other countries would not have to follow suitIn his inaugural speech, Donald Trump repeated his intention to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.The ocean basin - bounded by the US Gulf coast, Mexico's eastern states and the island of Cuba - is an an important centre of economic activity, including fishing, maritime transport, and oil and gas production, which perhaps offers an explanation for Trump's interest.Trump sworn in as 47th president - follow live inauguration updatesFactchecking Trump's speechA who's who of far-right leaders in WashingtonMigrant groups at US-Mexico border await mass deportationsDoge' violates federal transparency rules, lawsuit claims Continue reading...

Trump promises actions, from declaring a national emergency' at border to ending birthright citizenship

Palestinian prisoners describe being held in poor conditions after their release as part of ceasefire dealIn the dead of night on Sunday, after hours of waiting, a white bus carrying dozens of Palestinian prisoners, released in exchange for three Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas to Israel, arrived at Fawakeh square in the West Bank city of Ramallah.A group of young men had climbed on to the vehicle, waving Palestinian and Hamas flags. Disembarking from the coach were mostly women and many minors, the majority of whom were detained after 7 October 2023. Continue reading...

Despite tensions brewing with China, US president-elect is expected to clean house' with those who stray from agenda

Former footballer collects Crystal Award for work on children's rights, as World Economic Forum begins in DavosThe UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will travel to the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos this week in the hope of convincing some of the world's largest companies to invest, with allies saying she will use spending cuts rather than further tax increases to meet her own fiscal rules.At the same time, the Treasury is considering a push to cut the benefits bill, in a move that is causing nervousness among Labour MPs. Continue reading...

Protein found in Sydney rock oysters' haemolymph can kill bacteria and boost some antibiotics' effectiveness, scientists discoverAn antimicrobial protein found in the blood of an Australian oyster could help in the fight against superbugs, new research suggests.Australian scientists have discovered that a protein found in the haemolymph - the equivalent of blood - of the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, can kill bacteria itself and increase the effectiveness of some conventional antibiotics. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer said state had failed in its duty' after Axel Rudakubana admitted murdering three girlsYvette Cooper has announced a public inquiry into the murder of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance club in Southport after confirming the extremely violent" killer was known to the authorities.The home secretary said the inquiry would provide answers to the families of Axel Rudakubana, 18, who pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering the three girls. Continue reading...

Report uncovered sadistic' sect-like abuses of power at Sodalitium of Christian LifePope Francis has taken the remarkable step of dissolving a Peruvian-based Catholic movement, the Sodalitium of Christian Life (SCV), after years of attempts at reform and a Vatican investigation. The investigation uncovered sexual abuses by its founder, financial mismanagement by its leaders and spiritual abuses by its top members.The Sodalitium on Monday confirmed the dissolution, which was conveyed to an assembly of its members in Aparecida, Brazil, at the weekend by the pope's top legal adviser, Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda. In revealing the dissolution in a statement, the group lamented that news of Francis's decision had been leaked by two members attending the assembly, who were definitively expelled". Continue reading...

Hungary PM says US leader will bolster Europe's rightwing forces as nationalist politicians attend inauguration

Lawsuit filed moments after Trump's swearing-in challenges legality of department of government efficiency'

Reform UK leader, who is in the US for Trump's inauguration, says early election is not impossible'Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, thinks that his chances of becoming PM before Donald Trump leaves the White House in January could be as high as 25%. He made the comment in an interview with Dan Walker for 5 News being broadcast tonight. Farage told Walker he did genuinely believe he could be the next PM. And this is what he said when he was asked if that could happen during Trump's presidency.Look, Labour have got a whopping great big majority. The only thing that really brings an early election is if we get an economic meltdown.Now, that is not impossible for two reasons. One, the level of indebtedness is worse than it was in 2008 when we had the big meltdowns. And I think we've lived through rocketing stock markets for years. That can't go on.For Reform to replace the Tories three things would need to happen. First they would need to sustain their current momentum well into 2025, then there would need to be a tipping point moment when donors, right-wing media and a number of Tory MPs decided to shift support en masse, and then they would have to win more seats in the 2028/2029 election.The first of these seems fairly likely. The enthusiasm of Reform's voter base, the weakness of the Tory party, and the media need for narrative all point the same way. The biggest barrier is probably Farage's ability to manage the negative associations caused by Musk (who is not at all popular in the UK).It may take a long time but if - and it is a big if - Reform remain a major player in British politics, under the voting system we have, it will ultimately lead to the end of the Tory party as we know it. Continue reading...

The search for thousands of people buried under rubble has started as the ceasefire in Gaza enters its second day

Trump promises a blitz of executive orders, radical shake-up of the global order and revolution of common sense'

Security forces struggle to tamp down on rising leftwing violence as 11,000 people remain displacedColombia's security forces are struggling to contain a surge in leftwing guerrilla violence that has now killed more than 100 people in five days and threatens to derail the country's troubled peace process.Even as thousands of soldiers rushed to quell violence near the north-eastern border with Venezuela - where more than 80 people have been killed and 11,000 displaced by days of fighting - the defense ministry reported a similar outbreak of fighting in a remote Amazon region. Continue reading...

Human rights bodies have long criticised the tests as culturally unsuitable for Greenlandic peopleDenmark has announced it is abandoning the use of highly controversial parenting competency" tests on Greenlandic families, amid fury over the way that they have been routinely used on people with Inuit backgrounds, often resulting in the separation of children from their parents.Campaigners have been warning about the discriminatory impact of the psychometric tests used in Danish child protection investigations - known as FKU (foraeldrekompetenceundersogelse) - for years. Human rights bodies have long criticised them as being culturally unsuitable for Greenlandic people and other minorities living in Denmark, which once ruled the Arctic island as a colony and continues to control its foreign and security policy. Continue reading...

Ceasefire celebrations replaced by shock and sorrow as people begin to assess the scale of devastation

Yellow warning for parts of the country with potential power cuts, travel disruption and damage from ThursdayA weather bomb" is forecast to hit parts of the UK later this week, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and snow.The first half of the week will be benign" with cloudy weather and outbreaks of rain for much of the country before the arrival of more unsettled conditions, the Met Office said. Continue reading...

Bank is considering sale of British business amid mounting frustrations over regulation

If a strike goes ahead, 56 of the company's warehouse stores across five states would be affectedMembers of the Teamsters union have authorized a strike against popular US retailer Costco next month as a pre-emptive bargaining-position ahead of the expiration of a work contract for 18,000 company workers.If a strike goes ahead, 56 of the company's warehouse stores across five states would be affected after 85% of Teamster members voted to authorize the action over wages and benefits. Continue reading...

Leadership at international criminal court fears new US administration will move quickly to shut it downThe international criminal court is bracing itself for Donald Trump to launch aggressive economic sanctions against it this week, amid fears such a move could paralyse its work and pose an existential threat.ICC officials are preparing for Trump's new US administration to act quickly once in office to impose draconian financial and travel restrictions against the court and senior staff, including its chief prosecutor and judges. Continue reading...

The scale of Australia's trade with blacklisted companies, revealed in Guardian investigation, prompts anger across the Uyghur community

Critics say new draft policies, including a rule about sending political emails, are even worse' than last year's draconian' crackdown

Proof of group's survival demonstrates stalemate that gave rise to ceasefire and is likely to fuel more conflict

Ripples from Axel Rudakubana's killing of three girls spread wide and deep, from the personal to the politicalSouthport is a quiet, kind place in which nothing ever happens," said the Rev Thomas Carter, the morning after it happened. People are struggling to understand it."It wasn't just Southport; the whole country struggled to process the carnage that took place late on a sunny Monday one week into the school holidays. Continue reading...

Publisher was helped by strong digital advertising performance towards end of year, say analysts

Incoming president has promised retaliation against his opponents. Plus, billionaire wealth grew $2tn in 2024Good morning.The United States braces for a new era of disruption and division on Monday with Donald Trump scheduled to be sworn in as its 47th president, promising a blitz of executive orders and radical shake-up of the global order.What did Trump promise yesterday? We're going to stop the invasion of our borders ... We're going to unlock the liquid gold that's right under our feet ... We're going to bring back law and order to our cities ... We're going to get radical woke ideology the hell out of our military."How are some assessing the Biden administration? Joe Biden was a remarkably consequential one-term president", writes Katrina vanden Heuvel. Internationally, Biden was assuming a world that no longer existed" - with calamitous results - but domestically, Biden consolidated the break" with failed market fundamentalism".What is the status of the three Israelis? On Sunday, three women held hostage by Hamas in tunnels beneath Gaza - Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24 and Doron Steinbrecher, 31 - were released and reunited with their mothers. Videos showed them in apparently reasonable health.Were there any obstacles? Yes, a three-hour delay to the start of the truce, during which Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the Gaza Strip. The delay meant a further 13 people were killed, Palestinian health authorities said. At least two missiles hit a family travelling on a donkey cart as they tried to return home, Al Jazeera reported. Continue reading...

Renewed program would allow hunters to eliminate up to 80% of the animals on 20,000 acres of state landAlaska is set to resume the aerial gunning of bears and wolves as a population control measure aimed at boosting caribou and moose herd numbers, even as the state's own evaluation of the practice cast doubt on its effectiveness.The renewed program would allow hunters to eliminate up to 80% of the animals on 20,000 acres of state land. Environmental groups opposed to what they label a barbaric" practice of shooting wildlife from helicopters is more about sport than scientific practice in part because hunters want caribou populations to increase because they are trophy animals. Continue reading...

FRC confirms inquiry into accounting firm's 2022 audit of Ladbrokes, Coral and Sportingbet owner