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Police allege 31-year-old victim was shot in his car outside family home in western Sydney in targeted attack'

Survey by Chartered Management Institute finds only 19% of companies have a policy in place

Unesco-listed San Lorenzo de El Escorial was fulfilment of Philip II's dream of raising monastery in a desert'Despite perching imperiously on a mountainside near Madrid for the better part of five centuries, the royal monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial has yet to give up all its treasures - or all its secrets.Forty years after it was included on Unesco's World Heritage list, Philip II's austere monument to power, piety and patronage is undergoing a major reorganisation that will allow visitors to enjoy the peace of a previously off-limits monastic patio and to look at paintings once reserved for the royal gaze. Continue reading...

Damning report reveals millions in England are living in poor-quality housing that threatens their healthMinisters have been warned that efforts to save the NHS and grow the economy will fail unless they tackle the housing crisis, as a damning report reveals millions of people are living in substandard homes that risk worsening their health.In total, 4.5 million people aged 50 or above with an existing health condition in England are living in poor-quality housing with one or more problems such as rising damp, rot or decay that may be making them even sicker, the Centre for Ageing Better analysis found. Of those, 1.7 million are aged 70 or over. Continue reading...

Boy dies while being transported to hospital after being struck by Ford at Glossop Street in North St Marys

People warned against buying illegal weight-loss medicines through beauty salons or fake pharmacy websitesLong waits for NHS services could lead people to take matters into their own hands by buying potentially unsafe weight-loss jabs online, Britain's top GP has said.Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, warned that buying drugs online from unregulated retailers could put people at risk and they may also miss out on wraparound support offered alongside the medication. Continue reading...

Data shows spikes in antisemitic and Islamophobic offences after outbreak of Middle East conflict and Southport attackSome of the UK's largest police forces have reported increases in religious hate crimes in the past 18 months, figures reveal, with the number of incidents rising after the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict in autumn 2023 and again after the Southport attacks in England this summer.Forces including Greater Manchester, West Midlands and the Metropolitan police recorded sharp increases in antisemitic offences in the weeks after the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East in October last year. Continue reading...

Drowning deaths in 2024 were overwhelmingly male, accounting for 22 of the 29 lives lost

Diplomatic residence, where five members have been staying since March, has had power cut for more than a monthFive Venezuelan opposition members taking refuge in the Argentine embassy in Caracas to avoid arrest say it has become a prison".The residence has been without power for more than a month, Magalli Meda, adviser to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, said on X. Continue reading...

Kirk Marsden, 37, died after being struck by vehicle outside Gate Street Bar and Grill after reports of incident at venuePolice have arrested a third person suspected of murder after a man was fatally hit by a car outside a pub on Christmas Day.Officers were called to reports of an incident at the Gate Street Bar and Grill in Blackburn, just before 4.50pm, after an argument in the venue. Continue reading...

Green energy entrepreneur voices concerns over project's funding and spiralling costs' of UK's other nuclear plantsThe government's new value for money tsar has been challenged to examine the costs of a nuclear power station to be given final approval next year, as ministers attempt to shore up private investment for the project.New nuclear plants are a key part of the government's plan to have clean power by 2030. The Sizewell C reactor, billed as generating enough energy to power 6m homes, is expected to be given the final go ahead in June's review of public spending. Its projected costs are in excess of 20bn. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more of our Middle East coverage hereFive Israeli demonstrators protesting for the release of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 have been arrested outside the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.Twenty protestors gathered outside the home in the early morning, shouting through loudspeakers at the prime minister that the hostages were suffering in the tunnels and were cold, tortured and sick" while he enjoyed home comforts, Channel 12, an Israeli broadcaster, reported. Continue reading...

Resolution allows deployment of 12,626 personnel - but it is unclear if Ethiopia will stay part of peacekeeping force amid territory disputeThe UN has authorised a new African peacekeeping mission to continue its fight against the al-Qaida-affiliated group al-Shabaab in Somalia, but there are doubts about whether troops from neighbouring Ethiopia will remain part of the deployment.The UN security council adopted a resolution on Friday allowing the deployment of up to 12,626 personnel to support the Somali government's nearly two decades-long fight against the al-Shabaab insurgents. Continue reading...

The Desertas Island land snails have been set free to roam on the uninhabited island of Bugio, near MadeiraMore than 1,300 tiny, critically endangered snails have been set free to roam on an island off the coast of Morocco after a breeding programme rescued two obscure species from the brink of extinction.

Gaza officials say staff at Kamal Adwan hospital, including its director, have been detained as WHO reports Israeli forces burned and destroyed key departmentsThe last major health facility in northern Gaza has been put out of service, the World Health Organization has said, and its director detained according to Gaza officials after an Israeli military operation targeting sites near the Kamal Adwan hospital.Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid," the WHO said in a statement on X. Continue reading...

Zla Mavka movement - meaning wicked forest spirit' - drops fake rouble notes bearing pro-Ukrainian images and shares messages of solidarity

Hussain Bisad, who has had health problems, says government should do more for people with physical or mental illnessWhen Hussain Bisad first settled in north London as an asylum seeker after fleeing from war in Somalia 23 years ago, he did so in the hope of a new and more settled life. Little did he know that shortly after arriving he would be at the centre of the media spotlight, not for his story of escaping conflict but for something altogether different: his height.Bisad had been in the UK for five months when Guinness World Records measured his height as 2.3 metres (7ft 6.5in), making him then the world's tallest living man. Continue reading...

Unsealed documents show British PM's idea in 2002 did not go down well with Northern Ireland politicianThe 2002 World Cup had been a gruelling rollercoaster for the Republic of Ireland. Nine days before the team's first match in the tournament, hosted by Japan and South Korea, its captain and talisman Roy Keane was on his way home before a ball had been kicked, after publicly berating his manager, Mick McCarthy.Two draws and a victory against Saudi Arabia had taken Ireland through the group stages, but after a dramatic penalty shootout against Spain, they were knocked out of the competition. Continue reading...

Survey also finds one in seven have either taken such jabs themselves or know someone who hasOne in five Britons would use a weight-loss drug if it was free on the NHS, according to polling that also shows one in seven have either taken a jab themselves or know someone who has.But almost one in four people would not tell others if they were using them, suggesting the growing popularity of weight-loss jabs is accompanied by persistent stigma about them. Continue reading...

Victorian temperatures to rise from Monday, with fire warnings also in place in NSW and Western Australia

Research for Lib Dems shows nearly 27,000 assaults were recorded last year, with about 3,200 deemed seriousAssaults in prisons have been rising with an average of 74 a day recorded in England and Wales last year, including 25 assaults a day inflicted on staff, House of Commons library research has shown.The figures, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, show that of the 26,912 assaults that took place over the course of the year, about 3,200 were deemed to be serious - an average of eight a day. Continue reading...

US Department of Housing and Urban Development reports largest increase among families with childrenThe US saw a dramatic rise in homelessness at the start of 2024, counting 18% more unhoused people during its annual tally in January than the year before, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud) reported on Friday.Cities reported counting a total of 771,480 unhoused people in January, a number that is larger than the population of Seattle. Representing 23 out of every 10,000 Americans, the number is the highest ever recorded during the tally. Still, experts consider the number an undercount, since it reflects one point in time and misses many people staying with friends or family. Continue reading...

Georgian Dream government threatens pro-west president with jail if she refuses to leave office on SundayAll eyes in Georgia are fixed on the elegant 19th-century Orbeliani Palace in Tbilisi, where a defining moment looms. Who will occupy its halls on 29 December?On Sunday, Georgia's pro-western president, Salome Zourabichvili, is supposed to hand over the keys to her successor, Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former football player turned far-right politician who is backed by the ruling and increasingly authoritarian Georgian Dream (GD) party. Continue reading...

Preparations for new year's street parties under way as Met Office warns of significant disruption' due to heavy rain on 30 and 31 DecemberA severe weather warning is threatening to put a dampener on Hogmanay plans across Scotland as the nation braces for 48 hours of heavy rain.The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain covering all of Scotland apart from Orkney and Shetland on 30 and 31 December, with significant disruption" expected from the early hours of Monday. Continue reading...

Finland seizes ship it suspects of engaging in sabotage causing Estlink 2 cable outage on Christmas DayNato is to increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea, the alliance has announced, after the suspected sabotage of an underwater power cable running between Finland and Estonia.The Estlink 2 submarine cable was disconnected from the grid on Christmas Day, little more than a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea. Continue reading...

Guardian analysis finds 1.6 million pupils in schools in need of repair, while some NHS sites endanger patients and staff

Manchester-raised entertainment mogul is ambassador for scheme helping businesses in creative industries succeedHe is the man behind 3bn streams, a string of chart-topping artists - and Wetherspoon's newest brand of tequila.Ask Michael Adex how he has achieved all this by the age of 28 and he gives some credit to his immovable" will to make things happen. Continue reading...

Underinvestment has led to crumbling infrastructure in schools, hospitals and courts, Guardian study shows

Deliveries of vital food and medical supplies will help 200,000 families, say aid groups and local volunteersAn aid convoy has reached a besieged area of Khartoum for the first time since Sudan's civil war broke out in April 2023, bringing food and medicines in a country where half of the people are at risk of starvation.The 28 trucks arrived in southern Khartoum on 25 December, according to the World Food Programme (WFP), which provided 22 trucks loaded with 750 tonnes of food. Continue reading...

Nick Starmer, 60, who had cancer, met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour', says PMKeir Starmer has paid tribute to his brother, Nick, who had cancer and died on Boxing Day aged 60.The prime minister said his younger brother was a wonderful man" who met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour". Continue reading...

Report for final three months of year shows pressure driven by rising costs and weak consumer confidence

Anthony Gilheaney, 30, charged with attempted murder after four pedestrians were hit by a carA man has been charged with four counts of attempted murder after allegedly driving into four pedestrians in the West End of London on Christmas Day.Anthony Gilheaney, 30, was also charged with causing serious injury by driving while disqualified, driving a motor vehicle dangerously, and possession of a bladed article in a public place. Continue reading...

Formal step taken by Frank-Walter Steinmeier after chancellor Olaf Scholz lost confidence vote in BundestagGermany's president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has dissolved parliament and called a snap election on 23 February after Olaf Scholz's fractious three-way coalition collapsed three years into its mandate.The national vote will come seven months ahead of schedule amid a rocky stretch of unusual political turmoil for the EU's top economic power, with growth rates flatlining, industry in crisis and the far right on the rise. Continue reading...

Deal under which Family Action takes over Relate's counselling services will save up to 185 jobs, say administratorsBritain's biggest relationship counselling charity looks likely to be rescued from insolvency under plans for it to be taken over.Last month, Relate was put into administration after a collapse in its funding from NHS, school and local authority contracts. Continue reading...

Gemfields makes decision over ruby mining after groups took advantage' of situation to try to invade its siteThe London-listed mining company Gemfields said it had temporarily halted its ruby mining operation in Mozambique after groups took advantage" of political unrest to set fire and attempt to invade its site, resulting in two deaths.Gemfields, one of the world's largest miners of coloured gemstones, said more than 200 people associated with illegal ruby mining attempted to invade the residential village built by the company next to its Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) operation in northern Mozambique on Christmas Eve. Continue reading...

Italians are taking to the court with factors including the pandemic and broadcasting also said to be fuelling enthusiasmAt the age of 47, diehard AC Milan fan Ninni Licata has hung up his football boots in exchange for a tennis racket.Like thousands of Italians in recent years, Licata has been unable to resist the lure of a game that for years had been relegated to the sidelines of the country's national sports, overshadowed by football and Formula One. Continue reading...

Producer says courage has gone out of broadcasting' and audiences want to see grittier issuesThe creator of some of Britain's best-loved soaps has said the courage has gone out of broadcasting" and suggested that television bosses should not be afraid to flout Ofcom rules.Phil Redmond - the brains behind Hollyoaks, Grange Hill and Brookside - said there was too much risk aversion" in television, with producers afraid to upset regulators even if it meant pleasing audiences. Continue reading...

Female prison officer faces misconduct investigation after footage reportedly shared with inmates at HMP Five WellsA prison officer has been arrested after she was allegedly filmed having sex with an inmate at a Northamptonshire prison.

Record-breaking explorer, who was first woman of colour to complete solo expedition to Antarctica, turns to northThe record-breaking British explorer Preet Chandi, who made history trekking solo to the south pole, is now turning her ambitions north.Nicknamed Polar Preet, the 36-year-old from Derby has made three solo expeditions to Antarctica, earning herself four Guinness world records, as well as praise from the Princess of Wales for her incredible" achievements.

Crackling fireplace edges out new series of Squid Game as streaming service's most watched Boxing Day show in UKIt pays the world's biggest stars and utilises the most cutting-edge special effects to entice families away from terrestrial TV over the festive period.But Netflix viewers this year were instead drawn to one of humanity's oldest sources of fascination: fire. Continue reading...

Assembly approves motion days after parliament stripped President Yoon Suk Yeol of his powers over martial law order

Exclusive: Shelter poll shows housing crisis is causing hardship even for those with jobsNearly two-thirds of workers living in private rented housing struggle to pay their rent, according to a poll that shows how England's housing crisis is causing financial hardship even for those with jobs.Only 32% of workers said they were able to keep up on their rent payments without difficulty, the poll by YouGov for Shelter shows, with 40% sometimes struggling and 23% constantly struggling. Continue reading...

Outgoing minister says combination of more medium-term housing and dedicated staff has dropped average discharge rate to a record low of 20 days

Secondhand tumble dryer and roast beef for vegetarian also in worst present ever received' pollA burial plot and a toilet seat top the list of the nation's all-time worst Christmas gifts, according to research that suggests one in five Britons receive an unwanted present in their annual haul.More than 2,000 members of the public were polled by Which? about what they were given at Christmas last year, with 21% saying they had received an unwanted or unsuitable gift. Continue reading...

Temperatures plunged overnight in Victoria's west as gusty winds swept over blazes that scorched bushland the size of Singapore

Yoon's legal team will attend the first hearing in impeachment review on Friday, the same day that the acting president also faces an impeachment voteSouth Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol's legal team are set to attend court on Friday as the constitutional court begins hearings into his impeachment by parliament over his short-lived imposition of martial law,The court has 180 days to decide whether to reinstate Yoon or remove him. In the latter scenario, a new presidential election would be held within 60 days. Continue reading...

UN secretary general decries escalatory actions on both sides after WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he was just metres from airport strikeThe United Nations chief has denounced the escalation" in hostilities between Yemen's Houthi rebels and Israel, calling IDF strikes on targets including at the airport in Sana'a especially alarming" after it came under attack while the head of the World Health Organization was about to board a plane.Israel struck multiple targets linked to the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen on Thursday, including the international airport in the capital, Sana'a. Houthi media said at least six people were killed. Continue reading...

Newly released documents show senior official accepted that Rosemary Nelson should have been offered helpThe murdered solicitor Rosemary Nelson should have been offered protection by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), a senior official accepted, according to newly released documents.Nelson was killed by a loyalist car bomb outside her home in Lurgan, County Armagh in March 1999. Continue reading...