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Witnesses say people used bed sheets or jumped to try to get out of the 12-storey Grand Kartal hotel after fire broke out early in the morningSeventy-six people died and 51 others were injured when a fire engulfed a popular ski resort hotel in Turkey's Bolu mountains, forcing guests to jump out of windows or attempt to use bed sheets to flee the building.The fire broke out at about 3.30am on Tuesday in the restaurant of the 12-storey Grand Kartal hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, north-west Turkey. Continue reading...

Midsumma organisers say the decision to exclude uniformed Victoria police from march is based on trauma-informed practice'

AFP investigating if criminals for hire' have been behind at least some recent incidents across the nation

New report says more than 30m hectares burned, 79% more than in 2023, after country saw worst drought on recordAfter enduring its worst drought on record in 2024, Brazil closed the year with another alarming milestone: between January and December, 30.86m hectares of wilderness burned - an area larger than Italy.The figure published in a new report is 79% higher than in 2023 and the largest recorded by Fire Monitor since its launch in 2019 by MapBiomas, an initiative by NGOs, universities and technology companies that monitors Brazil's biomes. Continue reading...

Administration overturns policies that for more than a decade restricted enforcement from sensitive areas'US immigration authorities will be able to arrest migrants at schools, churches and hospitals after the Trump administration overturned policies banning immigration enforcement from so-called sensitive areas".Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and Customs and Border Protection had been restricted from doing so for more than a decade. The US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees both agencies, said in a statement: Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest. Continue reading...

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New fraud, error and debt bill will also allow money to be recovered direct from bank accounts of people fraudulently claiming benefitsPeople could be banned from driving if they repeatedly fail to repay money they owe under a new government crackdown on welfare fraud.The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will also be able to recover money directly from the bank accounts of people fraudulently claiming benefits. Continue reading...

In a step backward', Trump effectively reinstated Schedule F, reclassifying thousands of employees as political hiresOne day after Donald Trump returned to office, a leading government labor union filed a lawsuit against his administration's reclassification of thousands of federal workers as political hires.An executive order signed by the president - making public sector workers easier to fire - amounts to a dangerous step backward", according to the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents federal government employees across 37 agencies and departments. Continue reading...

Critics say program that forces asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while cases are processed exposes migrants to harmThe Trump administration has announced the reinstatement of the remain in Mexico" program, resuming an initiative that forced non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait south of the border while their cases were processed.The US Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Tuesday that it would restart the program immediately, years after it was ended by Joe Biden. Continue reading...

The Southport case shows how easily the seeds of extremism can now be sown - and the law needs find a way to keep up

Trump's agenda is clear: keep people out or make them pay. The US's fabric as a nation of immigrants is tearing apartImmigrants, refugees and asylum seekers hoping for a safe haven to build a life in the United States awoke to a blistering reality on Tuesday, after Donald Trump's barrage of policy changes shortly after taking office effectively slammed the door shut on many would-be newcomers - and cast a spectre over many already living stateside.First came the news that, as Trump was being sworn in as the 47th president, the federal government had disabled its CBP One phone app's appointment system, where prospective migrants and asylum seekers could schedule an appointment with the US authorities and legally enter the country. Continue reading...

Ofcom figures show number of people seeing material depicting or encouraging violence or injury has risenSix minutes before Axel Rudakubana left home to murder three girls at a Southport dance class, he searched for a video of the Sydney church attack in which a bishop was stabbed while livestreaming a sermon.

Keir Starmer says social media platforms must also act to remove extreme content that is inspiring violenceTerrorism laws will be overhauled and technology companies be pressured to remove a tidal wave" of online violent content that is inspiring acts of murder, ministers have said amid growing anger over the Southport stabbings.After it emerged Axel Rudakubana had accessed violent content in his bedroom before he stabbed three girls to death in July, Keir Starmer said it could not be right that with just a few clicks, people can watch video after horrific video, videos that in some cases are never taken down". Continue reading...

Dame Kate Bingham, who led the vaccine taskforce in 2020, said the clinically vulnerable were deprioritised and goals were not followedThere was open warfare" between UK government departments during the pandemic, the former vaccines tsar has said, adding the failure to prioritise the needs of clinically vulnerable, immunocompromised individuals was ethically and morally wrong.Dame Kate Bingham led the vaccine taskforce (VTF) - based in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) - between May and December 2020, and played a pivotal role in persuading the government to back the development of a portfolio of potential jabs, as well as securing contracts for millions of doses. Continue reading...

Communication lines open 24 hours intended to avoid breakdown over reported violations and other issuesQatari, US and Egyptian negotiators are running a communications hub in Cairo to protect the ceasefire in Gaza, as Donald Trump said he was not confident the break in fighting would hold.Violations have already been reported. Medics in Gaza said on Monday that eight people had been hit by Israeli fire. The start of the ceasefire was also delayed when Hamas did not provide the names of hostages to be released. Continue reading...

Historians say Musk clearly made Nazi salute - but supporter claims he was inspired by Roman greeting adopted by Benito MussoliniThe back-to-back gestures were swift and enthusiastic, and they elicited huge cheers from the crowd. After Elon Musk ignited controversy with two fascist-style salutes during Donald Trump's presidential inauguration, critics accused him of giving the Nazi salute.Some of Musk's supporters rushed to defend him, claiming that he had instead been giving the Roman salute. The Roman empire is back, starting with the Roman salute," Andrea Stroppa, a Rome-based adviser to Musk, wrote on in a post that he later deleted. Continue reading...

Trump ally Elise Stefanik says she supports Israeli claims of biblical rights to West Bank; Antonio Guterres cautions Israel's security forces over major West Bank operationUS President Donald Trump has reversed the Biden administration's sanctions on violent Israeli settlers in a concession to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid the precarious ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. You can follow our US Politics blog for the latest on all the key policy actions taken by Trump on inauguration day here.Trump rescinded an executive order Biden signed last February, which gave the US government the power to sanction any foreign nationals who tried to attack, intimidate or seize the property of Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank. Continue reading...

Forty academics write to home secretary over weekend's dangerous assault' on the right to protestMore than 40 legal scholars have signed a letter calling for an independent inquiry into the Met's policing of a pro-Palestine protest in London on Saturday, describing it as a disproportionate, unwarranted and dangerous assault on the right to assembly and protest".The force said it arrested 77 people at the demonstration, having banned protesters from gathering outside the BBC's London headquarters, citing its proximity to a synagogue and the fact it was taking place on the Sabbath. The ban led to the protest being changed to a static rally, but the Met claimed people broke through police lines in a coordinated effort to breach the conditions. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president tells Davos that Europe must establish itself as an indispensable' player on the global stageVolodymyr Zelenskyy has said that at least 200,000" allied troops would be needed to enforce any peace deal in Ukraine as he urged Europe to take care of itself" as Donald Trump returns to power in the US.Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskyy said European leaders should not ask themselves what Trump would do next, and said that they instead needed to take collective steps to defend their continent at a time when it is under an aggressive attack by Russia. Continue reading...

Home secretary also says inquiry into the attack will cover wider threat posed by youth violenceStarmer says nothing will be off the table in the inquiry.There are also questions about the accountability of the Whitehall and Westminster system - a system that is far too often driven by circling the institutional wagons, that does not react until justice is either hard won by campaigners, or until appalling tragedies like this [take place].Time and again we see this pattern, and people are right to be angry about it. I'm angry about it.There are also bigger questions, questions such as how we protect our children from the tidal wave of violence freely available online.Because you can't tell me that the material this individual viewed before committing these murders should be accessible on mainstream social media platforms, but with just a few clicks, people can watch video after horrific video - videos that, in some cases, are never taken down, Continue reading...

Jim Newman claims band who performed at inauguration is entirely separate entity' from group he was inA former member of Village People has distanced himself from the band that performed at Donald Trump's inauguration events, stating that the current group has nothing to do with the group that I was a part of".Village People, whose song YMCA is widely considered a gay anthem and a favorite of the returning US president's, performed at several of Trump's inaugural events over the weekend and on Monday. However, only one original member, the lead singer and songwriter Victor Willis, 73, is still part of the band and participated in the performances. Continue reading...

Shares in Lloyds and Close Brothers rise as Treasury seeks to tell court that lawsuit could cause economic harm

Rachel Reeves hopes expansion will increase economic growth but Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan oppose it

Mute B. Egede says we are Greenlanders' and says we don't want to be Danish either' at press conferenceIn the last few minutes, von der Leyen has been speaking about what will be the EU's position on Ukraine given potential changes in the US policy under Trump.This is what she said:I think we should never forget where it all started. Ukraine is a sovereign country, and it determined its own future by asking for accession to the EU. That's where it all started. The response was an invasion by its neighbour, Russia.We should also never forget ... it is never only about the security of Ukraine, but about European security. Continue reading...

Tehran massively weakened' by reverses in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, says vice-president of Aden-based administration

The prime minister's about-face after attack on Sydney childcare centre has left him once again looking like he's playing catchup

More than 40% of individual corals monitored around One Tree Island reef bleached by heat stress and damaged by flesh-eating disease

Study by parental control software firm Qustodio also shows Roblox is the gaming app most blocked by parents

Toy sales fell in 2024 but industry reports growth in kidult' collectors of expensive Lego building sets

Doctor calls situation an absolute disaster' for public mental health system and vulnerable patients

Finding upholds Human Rights Commission's earlier ruling to deny group a five-year exemption under Sex Discrimination Act

PM defends decision not to disclose Southport killer's violent history and promises to tackle new threat' in UK

Wiwwaeo Sriaoun, whose son Watchara is one of six Thais held by Hamas, says ceasefire deal has given her more hope

Germany will elect a new Bundestag on 23 February. Find out who is ahead in opinion polls and what coalitions are possibleGermany is preparing for a general election to the Bundestag, the lower house of its parliament, on 23 February, after its traffic-light" coalition of social democrats, liberals and greens collapsed. The country's electoral system is highly proportional, so polls give a good indication of what shape of government might be possible after the election. Continue reading...

State and territory leaders also agree to set up new database tracking antisemitic crime after national cabinet meeting

Prime minister acknowledges US president's move would impact the globe' but says Australia remains a sovereign nation

Exclusive: Concerns raised that wording of law could result in people with eating disorders using it to end their livesMPs will look to close a potential anorexia loophole in the assisted dying bill that psychiatrists fear could result in people with severe eating disorders using it to end their lives.The Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney, who sits on the committee of MPs that will scrutinise the proposed law, is tabling an amendment to tighten the language around mental capacity. Continue reading...

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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