World news | The Guardian

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

This blog is now closed

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...

Exclusive: paramedics unable to respond to 100,000 calls a month as they wait to hand over patients

Italy's Alpine cliff and cave rescue corps find items belonging to Aziz Ziriat as search continuesItems belonging to a British hiker who has been missing in the Dolomites since New Year's Day have been found as the search for him continues.Sam Harris, 35, and Aziz Ziriat, 36, from London, last sent messages home on 1 January and the pair did not check in for their flight home on 6 January. Friends and relatives have travelled to Italy. Continue reading...

Polling for far-right insurgent and its extreme policies is rising but other parties have closed ranks against it despite their weak popularityGermany's far-right AfD party has signed off on its manifesto before next month's critical election, proposing a series of deeply controversial policies on everything from migration to education as the campaign for a new government in Europe's powerhouse formally kicked off.The party, founded in 2013, endorsed the far-right concept of re-migration" into its programme, threatening the mass deportation of migrants if it came to power. Continue reading...

Mohammad Abedini detained on US warrant three days before Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was arrested in IranItaly has released an Iranian citizen wanted by the US over a drone attack in Jordan that killed three Americans a year ago, after the Italian justice minister asked a court to revoke his arrest.Mohammad Abedini has already returned to Iran, Iranian state TV said on Sunday afternoon. Continue reading...

Beatification ceremony for Clare Crockett, former party girl from Derry, draws more than 100 people to MadridA nun from Northern Ireland who was killed in an earthquake while she was teaching music in Ecuador has taken a step closer to sainthood.A ceremony on Sunday afternoon started the process of beatification for Clare Crockett, who died in Portoviejo, Ecuador during an earthquake in April 2016. The 33-year-old had been working in the country as part of her work as a nun, which had also taken in placements in Spain and the US. Continue reading...

Ulf Kristersson says hostile intent cannot be ruled out' as increased surveillance follows suspected cable sabotageThe Swedish prime minister has said that his country is neither at war nor at peace as he announced that Sweden would be sending armed forces into the Baltic sea for the first time as part of increased surveillance efforts amid a spate of suspected sabotage of undersea cables.The country announced it will contribute up to three warships and a surveillance aircraft to a Nato effort to monitor critical infrastructure and Russia's shadow fleet" as the alliance tries to guard against sabotage of underwater infrastructure. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Voters overall are downbeat about politics and almost two-thirds think the UK's best years are behind us'One in five generation Z and millennial Britons prefer strong leaders without elections to democracy, and voters overall are feeling downbeat about politics, a report has found.The polling, due to be published next week as part of the FGS Global Radar report, found that overall 14% of people agreed with the statement: The best system for running a country effectively is a strong leader who doesn't have to bother with elections," rather than the alternative: The best system for running a country effectively is democracy." Continue reading...

Riyadh meeting also discussed keeping pressure on Syria's new leadership to meet commitment to inclusive transitionMinisters from 17 Middle East and western countries have met in Riyadh to discuss how to speed aid to the new Syrian government while keeping pressure on the caretaker leadership to meet its commitment to run an administration representative of all religions and ethnic groups.The meeting on Sunday came as protesters in Syria called on the west to move faster on lifting economic sanctions, and so persuade more refugees to return from Europe and the states surrounding the country. Continue reading...

Emergency medicine consultant's comments come as north London hospital posts specific ad for corridor care nursesA senior doctor in emergency medicine has said almost every hospital is treating patients in corridors and car parks" after a hospital posted adverts calling for nurses to take on 12-hour corridor care" shifts.Responding to very significant pressure" in its A&E department, Whittington hospital in north London posted bank shifts available for A&E nurses which said corridor care" in the notes. Continue reading...

Accord comes after Somalia severed relations over sea access agreement Ethiopia signed with separatist region of SomalilandSomalia and Ethiopia have agreed to restore diplomatic representation in their respective capitals, more than a year after Somalia severed ties over a sea access agreement landlocked Ethiopia signed with the separatist northern Somali region of Somaliland.In a joint statement following an unexpected visit by Somalia's president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, to Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, both countries committed to restore and enhance bilateral relations through full diplomatic representation in their respective capitals". Continue reading...

Forecasters predict the weather will turn milder into next weekTemperatures have stayed firmly below freezing for the 12th night in a row across the UK, as forecasters predict the weather will turn milder into next week.Scotland remained the coldest place in the UK, with the Met Office reporting a low of -13.9C (7F) in Kinbrace in the northern Highlands. Wales experienced a low of -2.2C in Hawarden, Flintshire; England's coldest temperature was -7.8C at Cavendish, Suffolk; and Northern Ireland recorded -1.5C at Katesbridge, Co Down. Continue reading...

Minister hits back after Tories call for PM to sack anti-corruption minister at centre of Bangladesh property rowKeir Starmer will act on the findings of an independent investigation into Tulip Siddiq's conduct regardless of the outcome, a cabinet minister has said, as Kemi Badenoch called for her to be sacked.Badenoch, the Conservative leader, accused the prime minister of appointing his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption", after the Bangladesh government raised serious concerns about Siddiq's links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina, her aunt. Continue reading...

Tributes paid to off-duty PC Rosie Prior, who died along with motorist Ryan Welford after being struck by lorry on A19An off-duty police officer who was killed after being struck by a lorry while helping at the scene of another crash in North Yorkshire was the very best of us", local leaders have said.PC Rosie Prior and a motorist, Ryan Welford, were standing on the verge of the A19 when they and a third person were struck by a heavy goods vehicle shortly before 9am on Saturday, police said. Continue reading...

Hwyl can raise the heartbeat or relax the body; it's your own particular form of happiness,' says Welsh psychologistThe Danish word hygge, which summons a feeling of cosy, fire-crackling contentedness, has done its fair share for tourism in Scandinavia as well as sparking a string of self-help guides.Now Visit Wales is aiming to draw tourists to its hills, valleys, coastlines and cities by harnessing the lovely Welsh word hwyl, which it defines as a deep state of joy that comes from being totally immersed in the moment", in its 2025 publicity drive. Continue reading...

Verdict of crimes against humanity for kidnap of mixed-race children could pave way for wider justice, activists sayA historic court ruling that found Belgium guilty of crimes against humanity during its colonial rule of central Africa has been hailed as a turning point that could pave the way for compensation and other forms of justice.Belgium's court of appeal ruled last month that the systematic kidnapping" of mixed-race children from their African mothers in Belgian-ruled Congo, Rwanda and Burundi was a crime against humanity. The case was brought by five women who were removed from their Congolese mothers as small children between 1948 and 1953, and who now live in Belgium and France. Each was awarded 50,000 (42,000) in damages. Continue reading...

As Trump's inauguration looms, the paper, owned by Jeff Bezos, is in shambles - largely of its own makingAs Donald Trump prepares to take office on 20 January, the ascension of a man who has repeatedly said he will persecute the media surely calls for the journalistic muscle of a newspaper that broke the Watergate scandal and has for decades been a mainstay of American political reporting.But as Trump's second term looms, the Washington Post, owned by the billionaire Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, is in shambles - mired in chaos and disarray largely of its own making. Continue reading...

Peter Kyle frustrated at bill inherited from Tories and says parliament should legislate faster to protect publicOnline safety legislation is unsatisfactory" and uneven", the science secretary has said as he expressed hopes for parliament to learn to legislate faster on the issue.Peter Kyle said he had given a very personal commitment to making sure that everybody - particularly people with vulnerabilities, and every child is vulnerable - has protection", after Ian Russell, whose daughter killed herself after viewing harmful content on social media, told Keir Starmer the UK was going backwards" on online safety. Continue reading...