World news | The Guardian

Opposition groups in north-west have launched biggest push in years against government forcesJihadist fighters have cut the Damascus to Aleppo highway during an offensive that a monitor says killed about 200, including civilians hit by Russian air force strikes.On Wednesday, the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions launched a surprise attack on government-held areas of northern Aleppo province, triggering the fiercest fighting in years, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Continue reading...

Jim Colwell, who is acting in the role after suspension of predecessor, is also being investigated in another matterThe acting chief constable of Devon and Cornwall has been suspended from his 180,000-a-year job over claims he misused his work phone, 18 months after his predecessor was also suspended.Jim Colwell has been placed under investigation for gross misconduct by the police watchdog, triggering fears that the force in south-west England may go into freefall", according to one senior policing source. Continue reading...

Court told Bulgarian nationals surveilled targets including a journalist linked to Russian dissident Alexei NavalnyA sophisticated" UK-based spy ring passed secrets to Russia for nearly three years and gathered information on targets across Europe, a court has heard.Three Bulgarian nationals - Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39 - allegedly carried out surveillance on individuals and places of interest to Russia. Continue reading...

Lawyer for Syrians who sued Doha Bank alleges kidnap threats and tracking devices used to thwart his clients' caseAgents working for Qatar threatened witnesses and issued bribes to thwart an alleged terror funding case brought in London and to avoid derailing the Gulf state's hosting of the 2022 Fifa World Cup, a court has heard.Eight Syrian refugees were attempting to sue Doha Bank claiming that it knowingly facilitated the transfer of funds to al-Nusra Front, a jihadist group that controlled part of northern Syria, which forced them to flee for their lives overseas. Continue reading...

Teaching assistants and other workers regularly experience physical and verbal abuse, Unison saysTeaching assistants, librarians and catering workers are on the frontline of England's school behaviour crisis, facing daily abuse for low pay and long hours, according to a union representing school support staff.A survey of more than 7,000 Unison members working in schools found that one in three said they were verbally abused every day, while many said they had recently witnessed violence including kicking, pushing and throwing objects. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester police ask for help identifying child's mother who may require medical assistance'A baby whose body was found last week on the edge of a snow-covered field in Salford was a newborn girl, police have said.Greater Manchester police (GMP) said the girl had now been named Ava and they renewed an appeal for the child's mother, family or anyone with information to come forward. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereHere is a chart from the ONS report illustrating the latest figures.Here is the PA Media story on the figures.Net migration to the UK hit a higher than previously thought record of 906,000 in the year to June 2023, revised official estimates show.The measure for the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country then dropped by 20% in the latest period, the 12 months to June 2024, and now stands at 728,000. Continue reading...

Prime minister says Beijing has been asked to cooperate after Yi Peng 3 vessel was seen in area where cables were cutSweden has announced that it has sent a formal request to China for cooperation over the suspected sabotage of two undersea cables in the Baltic sea.The prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said on Thursday that Swedish authorities were seeking clarity" from China on what happened to the two fibre-optic cables between Finland and Germany and Sweden and Lithuania last week. Continue reading...

Vapes and batteries maker Supreme says it is in talks over rescue of British tea brand, which was founded in 1903Typhoo Tea has fallen into administration after 121 years.The vapes and batteries maker Supreme has said it is in talks over a potential rescue deal to snap up Typhoo, which filed a notice to appoint administrators on Wednesday, according to official filings. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereMy colleagues, Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem, and Oliver Holmes have produced this explainer on what the terms of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire are. You can read more at the link below:Here is a video report on families returning to homes in Lebanon and northern Israel after the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire took effect: Continue reading...

SNP says heating payment will go to every single Scottish pensioner' from next year

Departments ready to work on assessment of its workability as critics say it is proceeding the wrong way round'Civil servants and ministers will begin work on implementing the assisted dying bill if it passes its first stage in parliament on Friday, but the Guardian understands it will not be adopted as a government bill.MPs will have a free vote on the bill to legalise assisted dying in the case of terminal illness. It is a private member's bill, brought by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, which means the government is technically neutral on the issue. Continue reading...

Recheck of result of the first round, won by Clin Georgescu with Elena Lasconi second, likely to take daysRomania's constitutional court has ordered a recount of all first-round votes to rule out a suspicion of fraud in the country's presidential election, which was won in a major upset by a little-known far-right candidate.The court said on Thursday it had decided unanimously to order Romania's central electoral bureau to recheck and recount all valid and invalid ballots" cast in Sunday's election, won by the Moscow-friendly ultranationalist Clin Georgescu. Continue reading...

This live blog is closedReuters has a quick snap that there are power cuts in Ukraine's southern region of Mykolaiv as a result of Russia's missile attack. It cited regional governor Vitaliy Kim.Zhitomir and Chernihiv region have ended their air alarms in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Tamzin Hall, 17, was hit by car after fleeing police vehicle which had pulled over on M5 in SomersetTwo police officers have been served with misconduct notices after the death of a 17-year-old girl who fled a police car and was killed by a vehicle on the M5 in Somerset, the Independent Office for Police Conduct has said.Tamzin Hall was being taken to custody on the night of 11 November when officers pulled over for safety reasons", the IOPC said, adding that she had been handcuffed with her hands in front of her and had an officer sitting beside her. Continue reading...

Louise Haigh plans to focus on poorer areas, healthy methods and ability to tap in and tap out seamlessly'

In its report Ofcom says the novelty of meeting online could be waning, which tracks with a romanticisation of real-life meet cutes'The UK's dating scene is swiping left on popular apps such as such as Tinder and Hinge as younger people turn to real-life ways of connecting with potential partners, according to the UK's communications watchdog.Ofcom said the UK's top four dating apps had experience a dip in use since 2023, with Tinder losing 600,000 users, Hinge shedding 131,000, Bumble declining by 368,000 and Grindr falling by 11,000. Continue reading...

Campaigners welcome IOPC's recognition of adultification as racial bias but say guidelines to address it do not go far enoughThe police watchdog for England and Wales has called for urgent measures to stop the adultification" of black children by officers, but campaigners have said the revised guidelines do not go far enough.The Independent Office for Police Conduct identified adultification as a racial bias that primarily affects black children as well as other minority ethnic children, where they are seen as more streetwise", more grown up", less innocent and less vulnerable. Continue reading...

More than 30 pieces of legislation pass the upper house amid a flurry of deals with the Coalition and Greens

Independent Office for Police Conduct to look into allegations Jim Colwell breached professional standardsThe acting chief constable of Devon and Cornwall police, Jim Colwell, has been suspended pending an investigation into allegations of breaching professional standards.The region's police and crime commissioner, Alison Hernandez, has made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which has confirmed it will investigate the allegations. Continue reading...

Test to be offered to people with heartburn gives faster, cheaper diagnosis of precursor conditionThe NHS is to offer a 10-minute sponge on a string" test to 120,000 patients with heartburn in a trial to see if it should be used to screen millions of people for one of the world's deadliest cancers.Patients swallow a soluble pill attached to a thread which, when washed down with a glass of water, releases a sponge the size of a 50p coin to collect cells from the oesophagus as it is retrieved. Continue reading...

Insurer says 250p per share offer was highly opportunistic' and undervalues the companyDirect Line shares surged more than 40% on Thursday after the insurer rebuffed a 3.3bn offer from Aviva, prompting speculation that the company could attract a higher offer.Aviva's approach, which was revealed on Wednesday night, is the third rejected by Direct Line this year, with the company having snubbed two previous bids by the Belgium insurer Ageas that culminated in a 3.2bn offer in March. Continue reading...

Lebanese given conflicting information about whether they can return home, as Israeli army strikes cars and areas along boundary

Firms reach preliminary agreement on financial terms of deal that values Renewi at 870p a share

The young man who escaped Wandsworth prison offered a mixed picture of ineptitude and threat, according to policeAt the heart of the Daniel Khalife trial has been the question: is he an amateurish fantasist who convinced himself he was playing a game of chess with spies, or a consequential character in the global world of espionage?The answer, the police have said, is a bit of both. They believed Khalife to be inept in many regards. Khalife's own barrister, Gul Nawaz Hussain KC, said he was hapless" and sometimes bordering on the slapstick" - more Scooby-Doo than 007. Continue reading...

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Ex-PM, who previously feared vulnerable people may be pressured to end lives, says legislation has extremely strong' safeguards

Human rights commissioner says David Crisafulli's LNP government risking state's international reputation with tough new youth crime laws

NT police lawyer Ian Freckelton KC tells inquest into death of 19-year-old it is important to call it as it is'

AEMC says electrification of homes, including ending use of gas for heating and cooking, could reduce costs by about $1,000 a year

Liberal National party moves to urgently repeal historic legislation, eliminating state's treaty-making body and truth-telling inquiry

In today's newsletter: Behind the celebratory scenes on the streets of Beirut lies a battered, divided country teetering on the brink of becoming a failed state Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. At 4am local time on Wednesday, a ceasefire began between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. By that time, some displaced residents of Lebanon's devastated south were already on their way back, many of them wondering as they travelled whether the homes they had fled were still there.The pause in hostilities has been broadly welcomed in Lebanon, Israel and beyond, both for those who have been exiled on either side of the border and as a step towards regional stability. There are even some optimistic claims that it might help bring about a ceasefire in Gaza. But as the Lebanon ceasefire begins, a formidable task remains: the reconstruction of a shattered region of a country that is perilously close to being a failed state.Assisted dying | The former president of the supreme court, who ruled on the most high-profile assisted dying cases, has declared his support for the law change. David Neuberger's intervention came as MPs backing the bill say they believe they have the numbers for Friday's historic vote to pass.UK news | Police believe Mohamed Al Fayed may have raped and abused more than 111 women over nearly four decades, with his youngest victim said to have been 13 years old. The Metropolitan police said that five unnamed individuals were being investigated for facilitating the offences.Ukraine | Ukraine's power infrastructure was under massive enemy attack" on Thursday, the country's energy minister said, after a nationwide air raid alert was declared due to incoming missiles.Weather | The third named storm of the autumn, Conall, has brought more disruption to the UK, with trains cancelled in parts of southern England on Wednesday and the Met Office warning of delays on roads and potential power cuts.Trade | Canada's federal government and the premiers of the 10 provinces have agreed to work together against a threat by US president-elect Donald Trump to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports. Possible retaliatory measures are under consideration after Trump said one of his first executive orders would be a 25% tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico. Continue reading...

Peter Malinauskas says the laws were not in his party's best interest, but critics say it'll mean more taxpayer dollars going to major parties

As MPs prepare to vote on a bill that would, for the first time, pass assisted dying into UK law, what are the arguments on either side? The Guardian's John Harris speaks to two campaigners: Liz Carr, an actor and disability activist who believes the bill would endanger many marginalised groups, and Mark Mardell, a broadcaster who thinks the legislation doesn't go far enough. Continue reading...

After Guardian reporting, foreign secretary looks at cases of thousands who need consular help each yearDavid Lammy has said he plans to appoint an envoy to deal with complex detention cases" involving Britons abroad and give them a legal right to consular access.After the Guardian's reporting on detained Britons, the foreign secretary said he had been looking hard" at the thousands of cases a year involving people who require consular assistance. Continue reading...

Glen Coleman sentenced to minimum two years' jail after sexually touching 19-year-old without her consent in 2022

South Korea's capital has been hit by some of the heaviest snowfall in a century, with dangerous conditions wreaking havoc on transportSouth Korea grappled with heavy snowfall for a second day on Thursday, with dozens of flights cancelled, ferry operations suspended and at least four people reported dead in a bitter winter, though conditions showed signs of easing.Thursday's snowfall was the third-heaviest in capital Seoul since records began in 1907, the Yonhap news agency said, citing city data. The previous day broke all snowfall records for November. Continue reading...

All Victorians and many Australians need to prepare for multi-hazard events', warns Bureau of Meteorology

Health Services Safety Investigation Body reveals difficulties inmates have when they leave jail for treatmentA female inmate remained handcuffed to a male prison officer while she had a mammogram, in an example of prisoners being denied their dignity while receiving NHS care, a watchdog has revealed.The incident is highlighted in a report by the Health Services Safety Investigation Body (HSSIB) into the difficulties prisoners can face when they leave jail to see a GP or visit a hospital. Continue reading...

Kurdish Community Centre in Haringey among properties being searched by officers investigating banned groupUK-based Kurdish advocacy groups have condemned the arrest of seven people by counter-terrorism police in London as part of an investigation into the banned Kurdistan Workers' party, known as the PKK.Four men aged 23, 27, 56 and 62, and two women aged 31 and 59, were arrested at separate addresses during dawn raids in the capital on Wednesday and remain in custody, the Metropolitan police said. A 31-year-old man was arrested Wednesday afternoon in west London. All are yet to be charged. Continue reading...

Operation Orion, a cooperative operation between 62 countries, busted narco submarines carrying drugsColombian authorities, in a joint operation with 61 other countries, have uncovered a new drug trafficking route to Australia using narco-submarines", seizing 225 tonnes of cocaine, in a new global record for any single anti-narcotics operation.In the six-week Operation Orion, law enforcement agencies halted six semi-submersible vessels stuffed with cocaine and confiscated 1,400 tonnes of drugs in total, including more than 1,000 tonnes of marijuana. Continue reading...

Scale of the criminality would make Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, one of Britain's most notorious sex offendersPolice believe Mohamed Al Fayed may have raped and abused more than 111 women over nearly four decades, with his youngest victim said to have been just 13 years old.The scale of the criminality would make Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, one of Britain's most notorious sex offenders, and raises urgent questions about how he got away with his crimes. Continue reading...

Regional leaders meet after undersea telecoms cables severed, while Chinese ship remains at anchor nearbyThe Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has said the Baltic sea is now a high risk" zone as he met Nordic and Baltic leaders days after a suspected sabotage attack on undersea cables.The Swedish prime minister declined to speculate on who may have been responsible for the severing of two fibre optic telecoms cables in the Baltic last week. A Chinese ship - the Yi Peng 3 - that sailed over the cables about the time they were severed has remained anchored in the Kattegat strait between Sweden and Denmark since 19 November. Continue reading...

For Women Scotland is challenging ruling extending definition of woman' to transgender women with GRCTransgender people have a fundamental right" to be recognised in their legally acquired gender, the supreme court has heard in a case brought by Scottish campaigners to resolve how women are defined in law.For Women Scotland is challenging a prior ruling by the court of session in Edinburgh, which found that Scottish government guidance extending the definition of woman" to transgender women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) was lawful. Continue reading...

Joe Biden may have revived diplomatic efforts, but after compromising in Lebanon, Netanyahu has even less leeway in GazaJoe Biden has revived diplomatic efforts to achieve a truce in Gaza with the hope of building on momentum generated by the newly agreed ceasefire in Lebanon.There are doubts, however, that such momentum exists outside the Biden administration, which is anxious to use its last few weeks to salvage scraps of diplomatic honour after the bloody past 14 months in the Middle East. Continue reading...

Party leader could revive deportations for people who arrive on small boats but did not recommit to Rwanda planKemi Badenoch is considering a new cap on visas if the Conservatives return to power and has admitted that previous Tory governments had failed to keep their promises on immigration.In her first policy intervention as party leader, she also said pulling out of human rights laws may not be the most radical thing" that her future government will have to do to control the flow of people into the UK. Continue reading...

Group to say GMB is breaching Equality Act duties by failing to properly investigate sexual harassment and bullying claimsA dozen former and current GMB staffers and members are planning to complain to the equalities watchdog about allegations of institutional sexism and women being bullied out of their roles at the trade union.The group plans to argue to the Equality and Human Rights Commission that the GMB is failing to adequately investigate sexual harassment and bullying claims, which could be a breach of its duties under the Equality Act. Continue reading...

People are relieved to be home but face having to re-build lives among destroyed homes and villagesBefore the ceasefire had even come into effect, Zeinab and Dina were already driving south. The two sisters had been forced to flee to Tripoli, northern Lebanon, for 64 days - they had counted - and they could not bear another day without seeing home.We were laughing and crying at the same time when we heard the news of the ceasefire. We were packing our stuff and still we didn't believe it was happening, it was like a dream," said Zeinab Beezeh, a 28-year-old resident of the town of Zibqeen, south Lebanon.

Children's commissioner Rachel de Souza calls for urgent review after leak of CCTV footage from Whitefield schoolThe children's commissioner for England has called for an urgent review of the use of restraint and calming rooms" after leaked CCTV footage showed autistic children being pushed into a padded space where they were left distressed, self-harming and sitting in vomit.Footage obtained by the BBC as part of a three-year investigation into allegations of abuse and mistreatment of vulnerable children at a north London special school between 2014 and 2017 reveals for the first time the graphic reality of what happened. Continue reading...

Presenter who joined BBC in 1998 says her time at corporation has involved many memorable moments'Mishal Husain, the Today programme presenter and one of the BBC's highest-profile news journalists, is to leave the broadcaster for a new role at Bloomberg, she has confirmed.Husain has presented the flagship morning radio show since 2013, where she has won praise for her calm but forensic interviewing style. In 25 years at the BBC, she has become one of the key faces of BBC news, having hosted several recent general election debates and held key roles at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth and King Charles's coronation. Continue reading...