World news | The Guardian

Putin says Russia will intensify' strikes on military targets in Ukraine; Zelenskiy says Moscow is suffering major lossesRussian president Vladimir Putin said that his forces would intensify strikes on military targets in Ukraine, after an unprecedented Ukrainian attack over the weekend on the Russian city of Belgorod. We're going to intensify the strikes. No crime against civilians will rest unpunished, that's for certain," Putin said during a visit to a military hospital on Monday. We are doing that today and tomorrow we will continue doing it," he said.The death toll following Ukrainian strikes on Belgorod has risen to 25, according to the region's governor. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Monday a four-year-old girl died from injuries sustained in the attack. The attack on Saturday came after Moscow launched a large-scale attack on Ukrainian cities on Friday.Ukraine claims Russia has launched a record number' of attack drones on New Year's Day. Ukraine's air force said 87 out of 90 drones had successfully been shot down.Russian drones attacked a university and a museum linked to two of the most prominent 20th century defenders of Ukrainian national identity on Monday, leaving locals vowing to repair the damage. The first smashed windows and much of the roof at the National Agrarian University, outside the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where Stepan Bandera - a hero in Ukraine but a villain according to the Kremlin - studied. The second ravaged a nearby museum devoted to Roman Shukhevych.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Economist that the notion that Russia was winning the nearly two-year-old war was only a feeling" and that Moscow was still suffering heavy battlefield losses. Zelenskiy, in an interview published on Monday, provided no substantiation of his allegation on Russian losses. He said Ukraine's priorities in 2024 included hitting Russia's strengths in Crimea to reduce the number of attacks on his country as well as protecting key cities on the eastern front.In the interview, Zelenskiy rejected any suggestion that Moscow was interested in peace talks, pointing to Moscow's repeated waves of aerial strikes. I see only the steps of a terrorist country," he said.Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...

Figure estimated to be down by a fifth, as rising interest rates and high house prices had impact

Patients registered with GPs in England exceeds population meaning practices could be getting money for people who are not realThe number of patients who might not exist but are registered with GPs has risen by almost two-thirds over the last five years, figures suggest.Ghost patients' refers to when more people are registered with GP practices than are in the population. GPs are paid for patients on their list, meaning practices could be receiving millions of extra pounds for people who may not be real. Continue reading...

PM promised to clear backlog of cases from before June 2022 by end of 2023 but 4,500 complex cases need further checksThe Home Office is yet to make decisions on thousands of asylum applications from before June 2022 despite Rishi Sunak's promise to clear the legacy backlog.Caseworkers have been offered financial incentives to help hit the prime minister's target of processing 92,000 cases from before June 2022. But in a statement released on Monday, the department said 4,500 complex cases from the backlog were still subject to further investigation. Continue reading...

Major tsunami warnings downgraded but residents in coastal areas told not to return to homesA powerful earthquake has struck central Japan's western coastline, triggering waves over a metre high and prompting tsunami alerts and warnings for people to evacuate.The quake, which is estimated to have been magnitude 7.6, struck the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture on the main central island of Honshu at about 4.10pm local time (07.10 GMT). It knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and disrupted flights and rail services. Continue reading...

Hospital bosses worry BMA will not honour agreement to return junior doctors to work in event of major incidentNHS bosses fear patient safety could be compromised during this week's junior doctors strikes if medics do not honour an agreement to abandon picket lines if hospitals become overwhelmed during the winter crisis.Hospital bosses can ask the British Medical Association (BMA) to allow junior doctors to return to work to help if an emergency arises during their six-day strike starting on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Buildings collapse, trapping residents, and fires break out but tsunami warning lowered after series of major earthquakes in Japan

I cried. And then I watched it back and cried again,' says one as nation processes shock royal broadcastIt began like any other Danish New Year's Eve. Martin Ebmark, a hotelier from the central town of Billund, was, like everyone", sitting watching the queen's annual address on the television with his family.He and his wife raised a toast to the queen, resplendent in a Cadbury-purple frock, when she started talking about the right time'. My wife turned to me and said, she's not doing what I think she's doing! Is she?' Then, she did it." Continue reading...

Met Office issues yellow warnings, as heavy rain expected in Wales and strong winds across EnglandA widely wet" start to the new year is expected for many areas, with heavy rainfall predicted for parts of the UK and dozens of flood warnings in place.The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for rain and wind for large parts of England and Wales on Tuesday. The heaviest rain is more likely across parts of Wales, the Midlands towards eastern England and Yorkshire while gusts could reach 60mph in coastal areas or 40 to 50mph elsewhere, the forecaster said. Continue reading...

Financial pressures have led to postponement of 19% of divorces, involving 270,000 couples, Legal & General claimsThe start of the new year is often boom time for divorce lawyers, but 2024 may be different as new research shows the cost of living crisis has delayed more than 270,000 couples from splitting.Financial pressures delayed 19% of divorces, researchers at Legal & General found. The impact has been particularly pronounced since 2020, with income concerns, cost of living pressures and the price of divorce all cited as reasons to postpone the split. Continue reading...

Iran security chief praises brave actions' of Houthi rebels who have targeted Israeli-linked vessels in shipping lane

Joe Outlaw is one of the 2,921 inmates still on IPP sentences, which were abolished in 2012It should be impossible to escape from a high-security prison, doubly so for prisoners held on the segregation unit, who are allowed only to exercise in a caged yard.But on 21 June, the summer solstice and the hottest day of the year at that point, Joe Outlaw managed to break through the cage and get on to the roof of HMP Frankland, a Durham prison dubbed Monster mansion" due to many of its inmates being convicted murderers, terrorists and sex offenders. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Proliferation comes amid treatment shortage and poses major public health threat, say expertsDoctors are reporting a surge in scabies cases across the UK amid an acute shortage of treatments, and say the nightmare" situation poses a major public health threat.Scabies is a highly contagious condition caused by mites, that results in an itchy rash. It is spread through close skin contact, anyone can get it, and it should be treated quickly to stop it spreading. Continue reading...

Immigration Services Union says recent lull in migrant Channel crossings was due to bad weatherThe number of people arriving in Britain in small boats is expected to rise again this year after a lull caused by bad weather, according to the union representing Border Force officials.Migrant arrivals across the Channel have fallen year on year for the first time since current records began, new government figures show. But Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services Union warned that the latest slowdown was likely a glitch" due to extremely poor weather in recent months. Continue reading...

Border Force director reportedly hopes to create intelligent border' after being impressed by schemes in Australia and DubaiIt has happened to the best of us. The last-minute racking of brains on arrival in the UK to try to remember where the passports were packed, followed by the panicked fumbling all the way to the bottom of every compartment of every bag.That may all be in the past though, should plans reportedly proposed by the government's borders agency go ahead, with the need to present the document on arrival in the UK being replaced by facial recognition technology. Continue reading...

Blaze in Dublin comes less than fortnight after suspected arson attack on vacant Galway hotel earmarked for asylum seekersIrish police have been investigating a second fire in less than a fortnight at a building local residents reportedly believed would be used to accommodate asylum seekers.The emergency services were called to the scene at Ringsend area of Dublin in the early hours of New Year's Eve. Continue reading...

Registrations open after Estonia became first former Soviet-ruled country to legalise gay marriageNSame-sex couples in Estonia are able to marry from today, in a milestone move people say brings the Baltic nation closer to its Nordic neighbours.Estonia became the first former Soviet-ruled country to legalise gay marriage when the Riigikogu, Estonia's parliament, voted in favour of marriage equality in June. A majority of 55 MPs voted for amending the Family Act, while 34 MPs voted against the bill in the 101-seat parliament. Continue reading...

Prizewinner has earned the enmity of the prime minister, who accused him of sucking blood' from poor peopleNobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus has been convicted of violating Bangladesh's labour laws in a case decried by his supporters as politically motivated.The 83-year-old is credited with lifting millions out of poverty with his pioneering microfinance bank, but has earned the enmity of Sheikh Hasina, the longtime prime minister who has accused him of sucking blood" from poor people. Continue reading...

Exclusive: London mayor says voting system changes could result in Hall starting series of hard-right victories in 2024Sadiq Khan has linked Susan Hall, his Conservative challenger for the London mayoralty, with Donald Trump, saying a win for her could start a string of victories in 2024 for the extreme, populist right.Khan predicted this wave of hard-right populism could include Suella Braverman replacing Rishi Sunak as Tory leader. Continue reading...

Australian federal police notified after 23-year-old woman allegedly became abusive on board a plane at Gold Coast airportA Victorian woman allegedly assaulted airline staff at Gold Coast airport on New Year's Eve while on board a plane bound for Melbourne.The 23-year-old was arrested after airline staff notified the Australian federal police that a passenger was allegedly being verbally abusive on the plane, the AFP said. Continue reading...

State government says group has specialist skills and appropriate agency is chosen at federal levelThe Australian defence force was not deployed after storms hit the Gold Coast because it was determined other agencies would be better suited to the clean-up task, according to the Queensland disaster coordinator.Acting deputy commissioner, Shane Chelepy, told media on Monday afternoon that the state response to continued thunderstorms and flooding has been bolstered by 50 cleanup workers from a veteran-led not-for-profit, Disaster Relief Australia. Continue reading...

Rise of 6% shows consequences of prisoner overcrowding and low staffing levels, say Liberal DemocratsThere were nearly 8,000 assaults on prison staff in the year to June 2023, almost one an hour on average, the Liberal Democrats have said, arguing that the statistic shows the consequences of prisoner overcrowding and low staffing levels.Official statistics showed there were 7,908 assaults over the 12 months in prisons across England and Wales - 6% higher than the same period a year before - with 748 of them classified as serious. Continue reading...

New Year's address made almost no direct reference to the situation on the 1,000-km front line or the limited success of a counteroffensive

This blog is now closed

Defence secretary says UK would not hesitate to take direct action' after US sank boats targeting a container shipBritain is reportedly considering airstrikes on Houthi rebels after the US said its navy sank three boats that had been targeting a container ship in the Red Sea.Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said the government would not hesitate to take direct action" to prevent further attacks amid reports the UK and US are preparing a joint statement to issue a final warning to the Yemeni group. Continue reading...

Measures include target for British food in public institutions and seeking veterinary deal with EULabour has pledged to improve food security and boost the UK's agriculture sector with a new deal for farmers", including a target that at least half of the food used in hospitals, schools and prisons is British.Condemning what the party called an abandonment of farmers under the Conservatives, the plan also includes a reiteration of Labour's proposal to seek to sign a new veterinary agreement with the EU. Continue reading...

Reports name Hoskins as woman who died after being hit by car in Adelaide and Dennis as the driverTwo-time Olympian and former world champion cyclist Melissa Hoskins has died after she was struck by a car in Adelaide's inner north.Hoskins' husband and fellow Australian Olympic cyclist, Rohan Dennis, has reportedly been charged in relation to her death. Continue reading...

Boy and girl pulled from the water by members of the public on Sunday afteroon, but could not be revivedTwo young children have died after they were found floating in Perth's Swan River on New Year's Eve.The boy and girl, both under 10, were spotted at Burswood near Perth Stadium about 5.25pm on Sunday. Continue reading...

Unite union says payout shows Three is highly profitable, and proposed merger is clear attack on consumers'A record 2bn dividend payment to the owners of the telecoms firm Three sparked a row over the weekend as it was claimed that the huge payout showed the firm was profiteering and that its planned merger with Vodafone was a clear attack on consumers".The Unite union said the dividend paid to the Hong Kong-listed conglomerate of the billionaire Li Ka-shing, which owns Three, revealed that the firm was highly profitable as an independent business and could remain viable without a merger. Continue reading...

Warships responded after container vessel came under fire from Houthi rebel-held part of Yemen, says USThe US Navy has shot down two anti-ship missiles and sunk three small boats after responding to distress calls from a container ship that was attacked twice by Houthi rebels as it crossed the Red Sea over the weekend.The US Central Command (Centcom) said it dispatched two destroyers, the USS Gravely and the USS Laboon, after the container ship Maersk Hangzhou reported being struck by a missile at 8.30pm local time on Saturday. Continue reading...

Chloe Macdermott researched suicide methods on a forum and bought lethal substance online from USGoogle and Amazon must act after a British woman made a suicide pact with two people she met online and bought the poison that killed her on the internet, a coroner has said.Chloe Macdermott, 43, died on 23 May 2021 after buying a lethal substance from the US on Amazon. She had been struggling with her mental health for several years before she began researching ways to end her life on an online forum, an inquest at inner west London coroner's court was told this month.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...

Move aims to reduce pressure of thousands of daily visitors to Italian city and protect residentsVenice is to limit the size of tourist groups in an attempt to reduce the pressure of thousands of visitors crowding its squares, bridges and narrow walkways each day.From June, groups visiting the Italian canal city will be limited to 25 people, or roughly half the capacity of a tourist bus, the city announced this weekend. The use of loudspeakers, popular among tour groups but which can generate confusion and disturbances", will be banned in the city and on nearby islands, officials said in a statement. Continue reading...

Radioactive Waste Management says attempt was made to breach the business using LinkedInCyber-hackers have targeted the company behind a 50bn project to build a vast underground nuclear waste store in Britain, its developer has said.Radioactive Waste Management, the company behind the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) project, has said that hackers unsuccessfully attempted to breach the business using LinkedIn. Continue reading...

Officials in Democratic Republic of the Congo says Felix Tshisekedi has been re-elected with 73% of the voteThe president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, has won a second term in office with a landslide victory, according to provisional results, in a vote opposition leaders have dismissed as a sham".Provisional results from the single-round presidential ballot, declared on Sunday by the country's electoral commission, Ceni, showed Tshisekedi had won 73% of the vote. Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands gather in Sydney and Melbourne to enjoy spectacular fireworks displaysAustralians turned out in their hundreds of thousands to see in the new year under a midnight sky lit up by fireworks.In Sydney, crowds were abuzz and at maximum capacity as revellers crammed picnic rugs together across harbour foreshore vantage points. More than 8.5 tonnes of fireworks went up in smoke alongside 80,000 pyrotechnic effects to the sounds of jubilant cheers. Continue reading...

Renowned Australian journalist and documentary filmmaker covered conflicts in Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh and BiafraThe Australian journalist and documentary film-maker John Pilger has died aged 84, his family have announced.A statement posted to his account on X said: It is with great sadness the family of John Pilger announce he died yesterday 30 December 2023 in London aged 84. Continue reading...

The Howard government drafted a statement declaring its support for an emissions trading scheme before abruptly changing courseThe Howard government drafted a statement declaring its support for an emissions trading scheme 20 years ago, only for the idea to be scuttled by business lobbying, newly released documents show.Cabinet papers from 2003, released by the National Archives on Monday, show the then Coalition government was in possession of clear advice from Treasury that a broad-based market mechanism would be the cheapest way to reduce emissions. Continue reading...

Amid rumours of ill health, Chechnya's strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov is said to be lining up his children as successorsMany dictators try to cover up their children's crimes. For Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen warlord, broadcasting his son's violent behaviour may be a strategy for holding on to power.In September, Kadyrov reposted a video on the Telegram social network showing Adam, his then 15-year-old son, launching a flurry of kicks and punches to the head of a Russian prisoner who had been transferred to Chechnya after being accused of burning a Qur'an. Continue reading...

Campaign groups call on regulator to abolish January bill increase, saying households are facing an assault from all sides'Midwinter energy price increases should be abolished to protect households from unaffordable bills at the worst possible time", according to a coalition of leading charities.Charities and campaign groups have called on Ofgem, the energy regulator, to scrap future January bill increases as it prepares to raise the cap on energy prices by 5% from Monday. Continue reading...

Many Ukrainians have been welcomed in the UK, in some cases becoming part of the extended families of their hostsNot all blended families get through the festive period in perfect harmony. But a number of extended units whose members did not even know each other two years ago say they are looking forward to bringing in the new year together.These blended families are composed of Ukrainians who escaped the war in their home country and Britons who have given them shelter in their homes. While not all the relationships between Ukrainian refugees and their British host families have endured, the scheme has had many successful pairings where those from both countries say they have forged friendships for life and where two families have become one. Continue reading...

Russia's invasion prompted the LGBTQ+ community to urgently discuss their lack of legal rightsA Ukrainian couple campaigning for marital equality has called on the Kyiv government to act on a draft civil union law that would give same-sex partnerships legal status.I don't understand why, if there are people that are ready to sacrifice their lives for the country, for the state, the state cannot ensure their families are protected and their families have support," said Stanislava Petlytsia, a 27-year-old LGBTQI+ activist in Kharkiv. Continue reading...

Junior doctors call on government to make credible offer as Wednesday's six-day walkout threatens to stretch service to limitsOne of Rishi Sunak's key targets for the NHS - to eliminate waits of longer than 65 weeks for operations and other procedures by March - is likely to be missed because of strike action, health bosses warned this weekend.The health service faces the longest national strike in its history when junior doctors walk out for six days from 7am on Wednesday. One NHS trust leader said he expected about a third of operations to be cancelled at his trust. Continue reading...

Russia launches overnight air assault targeting Kyiv, Ukraine says; Moscow reports 21 dead after Ukrainian strike on BelgorodRussia launched a bombardment on Ukrainian regions in the hours leading into New Year's Eve, targeting Kyiv and inflicting damage on residential areas of the city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said. Ukraine's air defence systems in the region surrounding Kyiv were engaged in repelling Russia's drone attack, the military administration of the region said on Telegram.The Kharkiv mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said the drone attack came in several waves, hitting residential buildings in the city centre and starting fires. All relevant emergency services are already on the site. Information about potential casualties is being clarified."Ukraine carried out a series of strikes on the Russian border city of Belgorod, the day after an 18-hour aerial barrage across Ukraine killed at least 41 civilians. Russian officials said the shelling in the centre of Belgorod on Saturday killed 21 people, including three children, and injured 110 more. Ukrainian media - citing law enforcement agencies - said the attacks only hit military targets and were retaliation for Friday's mass bombardment of Ukrainian cities.The Belgorod attack came a day after Ukraine said a barrage of Russian missile strikes on several cities killed at least 40 people, wounding dozens more.Russia experienced a sharp rise in the number of killed and wounded troops in 2023, due to degradation" of military quality, according to the UK's Ministry of Defence.In its daily intelligence briefing, the MoD said the average daily number of Russian casualties (killed and wounded) had risen by almost 300 a day compared with 2022. The increase in daily averages, as reported by the Ukrainian authorities, almost certainly reflects the degradation of Russia's forces and its transition to a lower quality, high quantity mass army since the partial mobilisation' of reservists in September 2022."Moscow would not give an explanation for a missile in Polish airspace unless provided with hard evidence" it was Russian, said Andrei Ordash, Russia's charge d'affaires in Poland, after being summoned to the Polish foreign ministry. Poland's armed forces said an unknown airborne object, which they identified as a Russian missile, entered Polish airspace from the direction of Ukraine for less than three minutes. Until hard evidence is provided, we will not give any explanations, because these accusations are unfounded," Ordash said. Continue reading...

Family of Oscar-nominated British star announced his death on 30 December in a statement

Southeastern trains on same route also affected, while windy conditions expected to sweep UK

Dismay at St Pancras International in London as services cancelled due to flooding of Thames tunnel

Inquiry into the Stardust inferno in north Dublin, that killed 48 and injured 214, recognises the suffering and grief of those left behindDeirdre Dames was 18 and on the dancefloor of the Stardust nightclub in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 1981 when the music stopped and the DJ announced there was a fire and people should head for the exits.Then there was a bang and the lights went out," Dames recalled. I was trying to make my way to my friends but everyone was pushing and shouting. I got on my hands and knees and crawled to the toilet." Continue reading...

Chris Marriott was hit by a car after he went to the aid of a woman lying unconscious in the streetA 23-year-old man has been remanded in custody after he was charged with the murder of a Good Samaritan" who died after being hit by a car while trying to help a stranger.Chris Marriott, 46, died on Wednesday after he went to the aid of a woman he saw unconscious in the street during a disturbance in the Burngreave area of Sheffield. Continue reading...

Singers, artists and co-founder of women's fiction prize among members of arts world to be recognisedThe co-founder of the Glastonbury festival, a bestselling novelist and an organ-playing TikTok sensation are among the recipients of New Year honours from the world of arts and culture.Michael Eavis, 88, who first hosted the Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk festival at Worthy Farm in 1970, was recognised for services to music and charity. Continue reading...