World news | The Guardian

Salary of at least 153,000 offered by Cabinet Office for principal adviser' to prime ministerMinisters are hiring a new EU negotiator as Keir Starmer seeks to reset Britain's relationship with Europe.The post, worth at least 153,000 a year and advertised by the Cabinet Office, would act as a representative for all of the UK's dealings with the bloc. Continue reading...

A cache of notes that will be auctioned this week include the artist's instructions to her bronze foundry and show how deeply involved she was with the casting processBarbara Hepworth's stone and bronze sculptures are recognised around the world for their distinct, curved forms. The oval alabasters and gleaming bronzes, punctured with holes and lozenge-like gaps, were all made in contrasting tones and surfaces, creating a new aesthetic.Now, Hepworth's unseen letters to the London foundry owner who made many of her bronze pieces offer a revelatory new guide to her work. The bundle of letters and draft sketches, which cover a decade of work and will be sold for the first time this week, also reveal the exacting standards of this pioneering woman, hailed as one of Britain's most important artists. Continue reading...

Weather warnings for wind, rain and snow cover much of country, with 16 flood alerts in placeStorm Bert has hit the UK, with snow closing roads and strong rains and winds expected to cause further travel disruption and potential flooding.Weather warnings and 13 flood alerts have come into effect across much of the country. Continue reading...

Despite new rules, many lenders have decided to implement the optional exemptionSome victims of bank transfer scams will not get a penny back despite beefed-up rules designed to better protect consumers from fraudsters, because several big banks have introduced an excess on refund claims.New rules requiring banks and other payment companies to reimburse fraud victims who have been tricked into sending money to scammers took effect last month, and included an optional 100 excess that firms can apply to a claim. Continue reading...

Players heard news of Holly Bowles' death as they gathered to remember her friend Bianca Jones, Beaumaris Football Club says

Woman who has become a feminist hero says she is determined to change society', as trial approaches its endMore than a hundred women formed a line and applauded as Gisele Pelicot left the courtroom of the French mass rape trial this week. Pelicot, whose husband has admitted drugging her and inviting dozens of strangers into her bedroom to rape her for a decade, thanked supporters, putting a hand to her heart.She would, she told the court, now go for walk. I heal by hours and hours of walking - it's a way to protect myself. That and my psychologist, music and chocolate ... Everyone has their own therapy for suffering." Continue reading...

Advocates and officials argue that consequences of Israeli siege are inextricably linked to tackling the climate crisisAs countries negotiate over climate finance, Palestinian officials and advocates have come to Cop29 in Baku to highlight global heating's intersection with another crisis: Israel's siege on Gaza.The Cop [meetings] are very keen to protect the environment, but for whom?" said Ahmed Abu Thaher, director of projects and international relations at Palestine's Environment Quality Authority, who had travelled to Cop29 from Ramallah. If you are killing the people there, for whom are you keen to protect the environment and to minimise the effects of climate change?" Continue reading...

British suppliers source from South Africa and South America as Spanish farmers struggle to harvest and shipSome British retailers and wholesalers have been forced to switch to sourcing oranges from South Africa and South America early after last month's catastrophic" floods in eastern Spain left farmers struggling to harvest and ship their crops.Companies in the UK have moved to buying fruit from the southern hemisphere several weeks earlier than in a typical year to prevent gaps emerging on supermarket shelves and amid fears over the quality of Spanish produce. Continue reading...

Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel and Steve Shand were part of operation bringing increasing numbers of Indians into USA jury has convicted two men of human smuggling charges after an Indian family froze to death attempting to cross the Canada-US border.After a brief deliberation on Friday, a jury in Fergus Falls, Minnesota delivered the verdict in the case against Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, an Indian national who used the alias Dirty Harry", and Steve Shand, 50, an American from Florida. Prosecutors say the pair were part of a broader criminal enterprise that helped migrants cross from Canada into the United States. Continue reading...

Several weather warnings in place for weekend, with snow, wind, rain and ice predictedStorm Bert is expected to bring wind, rain, ice and snow to much of the UK over the weekend in what forecasters have called a multi-hazard event".The Met Office has issued several weather warnings - mostly yellow, but also including the more severe amber in Scotland - for Saturday and Sunday. Continue reading...

MP spent 21 days in young offenders' institute after kicking victim, according to court records

Government protests unfriendly and inappropriate' comments by French president caught on cameraHaiti's government has summoned the French ambassador to the country to protest unfriendly and inappropriate" comments from Emmanuel Macron, who was caught on camera calling the country's leaders morons".The French president had on Wednesday described the decision of the Caribbean country's transitional presidential council to oust the prime minister earlier this month amid an escalation in gang warfare as completely dumb". Continue reading...

PM's spokesman says legal obligations' would be followed if the Israeli leader was to visit the UKPolly Toynbee has written today about this week's farming protests, asking how will we ever make tax fairer amid such grumbling?Incidentally, we are anticipating that Keir Starmer, between 11am and noon, will be facing interviews on six different BBC regional radio stations. These media rounds have historically turned out a lot trickier than people often expect - Liz Truss in particular came unstuck. Continue reading...

Jake Reeves, 23, also pleads guilty to accepting payment from a foreign intelligence agencyA British man has pleaded guilty to an arson attack on a Ukraine-linked business and accepting pay from a foreign intelligence agency.Jake Reeves, 23, admitted aggravated arson in relation to a fire in March at an east London warehouse belonging to a man only referred to in court as Mr X. Continue reading...

Simone White was one of six people to die in suspected methanol poisoning incident in Vang ViengTributes have been paid to the beautiful, kind and loving" British tourist Simone White, one of six people to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos.The six died after allegedly being served drinks laced with methanol in Vang Vieng, a town popular with backpackers. These include the Australian teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, an American man and two Danish women aged 19 and 20. Continue reading...

Former PM, whose daughter died when she was 11 days old, says debate is moving too fast and calls for commission on palliative care Gordon Brown: We need better end-of-life care, not assisted dyingThe former prime minister Gordon Brown has declared his opposition to the legalisation of assisted dying, saying the death of his newborn daughter in January 2002 convinced him of the value and imperative of good end-of-life care".In a rare and poignant glimpse into the tragedy, he says the time he and his wife, Sarah, spent at their baby Jennifer's bedside as her life ebbed away" were among the most precious days of [our] lives". Continue reading...

Chancellor's popular rival says he is unavailable to stand, leaving Scholz as the default candidateThe German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, will be nominated as the candidate to lead his Social Democratic party (SPD) into the February general election after his more popular defence minister, Boris Pistorius, pulled out of the race.After weeks of calls for a change at the top of the ticket, Pistorius released a video on Thursday in which he said he was not available" to stand as the SPD flag-bearer in the snap election triggered after Scholz sacked his finance minister, Christian Lindner, imploding the three-year-old ruling coalition. Continue reading...

Israeli PM thanks his Hungarian counterpart after he extends invite in defiance of moves by International Criminal CourtThe US have said they fundamentally reject" the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants for senior Israel officials and said the court does not have jurisdiction over the matter.On Thursday, arrest warrants were issued by the court for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's former defence minister Yoav Gallant and the late Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif over alleged war crimes committed in Gaza. Continue reading...

Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation says the development will help Indigenous women stay in the increasingly unaffordable regional city

Labor and Coalition would have missed out on $4.1m and $4.7m in donations after public funding boost, while the Greens would have been $2.9m better off

This month's attacks, including car-rammings, follow a series of similar incidents earlier in the yearChina is grappling with a spate of violent rampages that have left dozens of people dead, sparking a conversation about whether revenge against society" attacks are becoming more common.On 19 November, a 39-year-old man drove a car into a group of people near a school in Changde, a city in central China, injuring several students. It came days after another car-ramming attack in the southern city of Zhuhai had killed 35 people outside a sports centre, China's deadliest mass killing in a decade. That same week, a former student in another city killed eight people and injured 17 others on a stabbing spree at a vocational college. Continue reading...

Thieves target 1904 work by goldsmith Joseph Chaumet at Hieron Museum that is classed as a national treasureArmed robbers snatched jewels worth millions from a work by the famed Parisian goldsmith Joseph Chaumet classed as a national treasure in a brazen heist at a French museum.The thieves arrived on motorbikes at the Hieron Museum in Paray-le-Monial, in central France, at about 4pm local time on Thursday. Three entered the building and one stood guard outside, said the local mayor, Jean-Marc Nesme. Continue reading...

In the picturesque village of Orford, an incredibly luxurious' festive treat is thought to have set a record priceOrford, a picturesque pocket of the Suffolk coast, has a storied and rather bizarre history. It is home to an impeccably preserved medieval castle built by Henry II to see off dissenting barons, and for much of the 20th century the rugged seafront was sealed off and used as a top-secret military testing site, prompting rumours about death rays and UFO sightings.Now, the area may have another claim to fame, as home of the UK's most expensive mince pie. Continue reading...

Action follows reports of suspicious package outside embassy in Nine ElmsA controlled explosion" has been carried out by Metropolitan police officers outside the US embassy in Nine Elms, London. It followed reports of a suspicious package outside the embassy.A spokesperson for the Met said: We're aware of speculation online about an incident in the vicinity of the US embassy in Nine Elms. Continue reading...

As well as Simone White, two Danes, an American and two Australians have died after incident in town popular with backpackersA British lawyer is among six people to have died in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it was supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Laos, and we are in contact with the local authorities". Continue reading...

It come as Vang Vieng's tourism police says manager and owner of Nana backpacker hostel taken in for questioningA second Australian teenager, Holly Bowles, has died after suspected methanol poisoning in Laos, it has been confirmed.The 19-year-old's death comes just one day after her friend Bianca Jones also died in a Thai hospital. The pair had been travelling through Laos together and fell ill a week ago. Continue reading...

Increase in energy price cap by Ofgem follows 10% rise for current quarter, heaping more pressure on households Business live What is the energy price cap and can I cut my bill?An average annual energy bill in England, Scotland and Wales will rise by 1.2% to 1,738 from January, heaping further pressure on household finances.The energy regulator Ofgem said its quarterly price cap would go up by 21 a year, or about 1.75 a month, for a typical household's gas and electricity use. Continue reading...

Residents of Sutton in Hull remember the former MP and deputy prime minister who became a proper Hully'In the village of Sutton, which John Prescott called home, everybody has their own anecdote about the Labour heavyweight.For some, it was simply that they had seen him walking his dog, or out and about in his slippers, but others had more colourful stories to tell. Continue reading...

The current escalations will set a new status quo for life under Trump - what does the US president have planned?Like Chekhov's gun coming off the wall in Act V, it was probably only a matter of time before Vladimir Putin launched an experimental, nuclear-capable ballistic missile into Ukraine. It is hardly a coincidence that his decision comes as the war approaches a likely endgame, with both sides jockeying for position ahead of negotiations in the shadow of Donald Trump.Neither Ukraine nor Russia quite knows what Trump will do when he takes office in January. But the escalations taking place now will set a new status quo for the day he becomes president, at which point Trump's options range from hard-nosed horse-trading to simply throwing Ukraine under the bus. Continue reading...

Historic England to recognise home where Hollywood legend said he spent happiest days' of his childhoodThe humble West Country beginnings of one of Hollywood's most glittering stars is being commemorated with the unveiling of a Historic England national blue plaque at his beloved childhood home.Archie Leach may have transformed into that epitome of well-heeled sophistication, Cary Grant, but he never forgot the old apple tree and his father's vegetable garden at 50 Berkeley Road in Bristol. Continue reading...

Case shows gap in protections for deceased tenants' families, with authorities' property access policies varyingThe brother of a 29-year-old man found dead in temporary council accommodation says he has been left bereft after his sibling's belongings were disposed of by council contractors.Simon Byrne had made an appointment with Brighton and Hove officials to collect the possessions of his brother Chris, who had died from a drug overdose. However, when he arrived, he discovered Chris's lodgings had already been cleared. I was pointed to a small suitcase in the caretaker's [building]," he said. The rest of his things, including his bracelets and other tangible memories, had been thrown into a skip with no opportunity for me as his only surviving family member to go through them." Continue reading...

Reforms include public registers to track how developers are meeting their commitments and avoiding damaging endangered ecosystems

Magistrate finds there is not enough evidence to convict officer, known only as AB, on a high range drink-driving charge, court hears

Queensland's new premier vowed to sack cabinet members who didn't meet public targets. A month in, accountability questions are being raised

Joe Biden describes as outrageous' the warrants for Israeli PM and former defence minister, which put them at risk of detention if they go to some other countries

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres's spokesperson says Russia's use of a new ballistic missile is yet another ... worrying development'. This blog is now closed

Police accuse 37 people of crimes including conspiracy and trying to tear down one of world's largest democraciesThe former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and some of his closest allies are among dozens of people formally accused by federal police of being part of a criminal conspiracy designed to obliterate Brazil's democratic system through a rightwing coup d'etat.Federal police confirmed on Thursday that investigators had concluded their long-running investigation into what they called a coordinated attempt to violently dismantle the constitutional state". Continue reading...

Dave Williams, the permanent secretary, said department aims to lose 10% of staff, causing alarm among trade unionsMore than 5,000 civil service jobs are set to go at the Ministry of Defence in a drive to cut costs, prompting alarm among trade unions.Dave Williams, the permanent secretary, said the department is aiming to lose 10% of its 56,800 staff by the end of the parliament. It has already shed thousands under the previous government through a hiring freeze which was due to end in March 2025. Continue reading...

Matthew Pennycook says Labour must close loopholes in changes to rules in England and Wales passed by GoveLong-awaited reforms to the leasehold system in England and Wales have been delayed for several months due to flaws" in legislation passed by the previous Conservative government, the housing minister has said.Matthew Pennycook told the Commons it would take longer than expected to enact reforms originally passed by the former housing secretary Michael Gove in the dying days of the last parliament. Continue reading...

Second named storm of the season expected this weekend, with hundreds of schools already closed after snowfallThe second named storm of the season is forecast to bring snow, rain and strong winds to parts of the UK this weekend.Storm Bert has been named, with wind gusts of up to 70mph expected in some areas. Heavy snowfall could bring further disruption to parts of the country while heavy rain is also likely, especially in western parts. Continue reading...

Veteran Labour politician was an analytical thinker who could ask sharp, pertinent questions in a natural way UK politics live - latest updatesTributes have been pouring in for John Prescott, the deputy prime minister from 1997 to 2007, who has died aged 86.The son of a railway signalman, Prescott was born in Prestatyn, Wales, in 1938 and left school at 15 to work as a trainee chef and then as a steward on the Cunard Line before entering politics. Continue reading...

Sector will have extra 2.8bn cost burden from April due to tax and wage rises announced in budget, says Nuffield TrustLarge parts of England's adult social care market face collapse as a result of tax and wage rises announced in the budget, with devastating consequences for vulnerable and older people who rely on care services, a leading thinktank has warned.The Nuffield Trust said that while the government has consistently spoken of its long term ambition to reform the social care sector, there may be little of it left" to reform unless it takes urgent action to stabilise the care market financially. Continue reading...

William Bush, 23, was stabbed 37 times on Christmas Eve by Dylan Thomas, who had admitted manslaughterThe heir to a pie company fortune has been found guilty of the murder of his best friend on Christmas Eve.Dylan Thomas, 24, the grandson of the pie company tycoon Stanley Thomas, killed his friend William Bush, 23, at their home in Llandaff, Cardiff. Continue reading...

Republican calls Trump's choice of national intelligence director a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer'Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador and Republican presidential hopeful, criticized two of Donald Trump's cabinet picks, calling his choice for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer" and Robert F Kennedy Jr, tapped for health secretary, a liberal Democrat" with no background in relevant policy.So now she's defended Russia, she's defended Syria, she's defended Iran, and she's defended China," Haley said of Gabbard on her SiriusXM radio show on Wednesday. No, she has not denounced any of these views. None of them. She hasn't taken one of them back. Continue reading...

Flash flooding, rockslides and power outages affect northern California, Oregon and Washington stateA major storm pummeled northern California with rain and snow on Thursday and threatened to cause flash flooding and rockslides, in the latest wave of damaging weather to wash over the west coast.The National Weather Service (NWS) extended a flood watch into Saturday for areas north of San Francisco as the strongest atmospheric river - a large plume of moisture flowing onshore - that California and the Pacific north-west has seen this season inundated the region. The storm system unleashed winds the night before that left two people dead and hundreds of thousands without power in Washington state. Continue reading...

Leaders from across spectrum are outspoken in rejection of court's antisemitic' and outrageous' decisionIsraeli leaders from across the political spectrum united to condemn the decision by a three-judge panel of the international criminal court to issue arrest warrants for the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the former defence minister Yoav Gallant.Netanyahu's office described the warrants as an antisemitic decision ... equivalent to the modern Dreyfus trial", referring to the 1894 trial of a French artillery captain of Jewish descent that has become one of the most prominent examples of antisemitism. Continue reading...

Trump's pick for attorney general attempts to win over skeptical lawmakers amid ethics report controversyThe scandal-plagued former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz reportedly told senators skeptical of his suitability to be attorney general that he would not seek retribution against Donald Trump's enemies - in his first week on the job, at least.Look, I'm not going to go there and indict [the former Wyoming congresswoman] Liz Cheney, have storm troopers bust through the studio door at MSNBC, and arrest [the retired public health official] Anthony Fauci in my first week," Gaetz told senators, according to the Bulwark, a never-Trump conservative site. Continue reading...

Former health secretary was also pressed on the slowness' of the resumption of elective care, at Covid inquiryThe former health secretary Matt Hancock has said he reluctantly" approved of the decision to pause non-urgent planned care during the pandemic.Ministers prioritised hospital capacity for Covid and emergency patients, and so paused elective (non-urgent) treatment from April 2020. Continue reading...

Analysis of training models on global market found all had flat torsos with just one having a breast overlayMost CPR manikins don't have breasts, which contributes towards women being less likely to receive life-saving first aid from bystanders, a study has found.The study led by Dr Rebecca Szabo, the lead of the Gandel Simulation Service at the Royal Women's hospital in Melbourne, analysed all manikin models on the global market designed for adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. Continue reading...