World news | The Guardian

Whistleblowers allege large sums are being lost to corruption in Iraq as donors fail to track spending on postwar reconstructionStaff working for the UN in Iraq are allegedly demanding bribes in return for helping businessmen win contracts on postwar reconstruction projects in the country, a Guardian investigation has found.The alleged kickbacks are one of a number of claims of corruption and mismanagement the Guardian has uncovered in the Funding Facility for Stabilization, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) scheme launched in 2015 and backed by $1.5bn (1.2bn) in support so far from 30 donors, including the UK. Continue reading...

GP leaders say widespread shortage of family doctors is making it impossible to keep up with demandOne in 20 patients has to wait at least four weeks to see a GP at a time when funding for family doctor services is falling, NHS figures show.In November 2023, 1.5m appointments in England at a GP surgery took place four weeks or more after they were booked, 4.8% of the 31.9m held that month. Continue reading...

Judge tells court the accused cannot have a fair trial' because of defence counsel's health issues

This blog is now closed. See all our Middle East crisis coverage hereA total of 25,105 Palestinians have been killed and 62,681 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.An estimated 178 Palestinians were killed and 293 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added. Continue reading...

The prime minister said he rejected the terms of a deal which included Israel's complete withdrawal from Gaza

Police believe two men used a Mini Cooper during attack in which a diamond ring was stolen from Meshilin Marrogi's corpse

Years of strong price growth meant sellers in England and Wales netted hefty windfall despite fall in house pricesHomeowners in England and Wales who sold their property in 2023 netted an average profit of 102,000 despite house prices falling last year, according to new data.The data, issued by estate agent Hamptons, shows that while 2023 was challenging for the UK property market, years of strong price growth meant those who sold a home last year typically banked a sizeable profit or had a decent sum to put towards their next purchase. Continue reading...

British Heart Foundation says its figures reveal the worst heart care crisis in living memory'Premature deaths from cardiovascular disease have reached their highest rate in England for more than a decade, figures reveal.According to the British Heart Foundation (BHF), the rate at which people under 75 died from heart problems was in decline before the Covid pandemic, although progress slowed between 2012 and 2019. Continue reading...

Labour leader's speech will be his most outspoken response to woke' politics criticisms by ConservativesKeir Starmer will defend organisations such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the National Trust on Monday, accusing the Conservatives of attacking them to stoke a desperate" culture war.The Labour leader will mount a forceful defence of the institutions during a speech to a civil society summit on Monday in his most outspoken response to Conservative criticisms of woke" politics. Continue reading...

Contracts, which will cost 36m a year, tendered following news that existing boats will be replaced four years later than plannedThe Home Office has had to procure private boats at the cost of 36m a year to help Border Force patrol the Channel for small boats, owing to a delay in plans to replace the current fleet.Replacing the fleet of five cutters and six coastal patrol vessels, some of which are 20 years old, will now not begin until March 2026, four years later than planned. Continue reading...

Former police officer was serving a life sentence for the 2014 murder of Sydney drug dealer Jamie Gao

Man, 45, and woman, 36, found dead in house in Costessey were related to two girls to be given later postmortem examinationsTwo adults found dead with two children at a house in Norfolk died as a result of stab wounds to the neck, a postmortem examination has found.The bodies of two young girls, reportedly aged 12 and seven and believed to be daughters of the male, a 36-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man were found in a house on Allan Bedford Crescent, Costessey, on Friday. All four were related, police said. The man has been named locally as Bartomiej Kuczyski, a structural engineer, and the 12-year-old daughter as Jasmin Kuczyski. Continue reading...

Former journalist had lived in public eye for almost 30 years as prime suspect in 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan du PlantierIan Bailey, an English former journalist who was the prime suspect in one of Ireland's most notorious murders, has died near his home in Bantry, County Cork, at the age of 66. He suffered a heart attack on Sunday.Bailey had lived in the public eye for almost three decades as the main suspect in the 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, a French filmmaker who was battered to death near her holiday home in West Cork. Continue reading...

Hundreds follow route to Parliament Square in solidarity with people affected by Israel-Gaza conflictWithout flags, placards or chants, hundreds of people joined a silent multi-faith peace walk in London on Sunday in response to the Israel-Gaza war.Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists walked side-by-side from Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square and back in solidarity with people affected by the conflict in the Middle East. Continue reading...

Duchess of York remains in good spirits and is undergoing further investigations, spokesperson saysThe Duchess of York has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of skin cancer months after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.A spokesperson for Sarah Ferguson, 64, said medics had removed a mole on her body, which tested as a malignant melanoma, during treatment for her cancer. Doctors are now working to establish whether it was caught early. Continue reading...

Territory's health ministry says most casualties are women and children, and that thousands more may lie under rubble

Rescue teams find charter ambulance flight from Thailand to Moscow after it disappeared from radar screensFour people are reported to have survived after a private jet carrying out a medical evacuation from Thailand to Russia disappeared from radar screens and crashed in a remote and mountainous area of north-eastern Afghanistan on Saturday.Russian aviation authorities said two passengers and four crew members were onboard the charter ambulance flight, which was travelling from Utapao airport, near Pattaya, to Moscow via India and Uzbekistan. Continue reading...

Old Vic announces play starring Rami Malek and Indira Varma just 30 minutes after Wyndham's confirms Robert Icke stagingThe Old Vic has found itself in the mother of all messes after announcing a star-studded adaptation of Oedipus just 30 minutes after another major production was confirmed.At 7.02pm on Thursday the Old Vic announced that Rami Malek and Indira Varma were to star in an adaptation of Sophocles's tragedy in 2025. Continue reading...

Three politicians from Muslim and Palestinian backgrounds say Gaza war should not be used to inflame tensions

Auditors warn about ability of firm employing 4,500 staff to operate without new funds from Chinese owner JingyeBritish Steel's financial footing has been thrown into question after auditors warned of material uncertainty" over the struggling manufacturer's ability to operate without a fresh cash injection from its Chinese owner.The auditors at Moore Kingston Smith also unexpectedly resigned just days after the company released delayed financial filings for 2021. The auditor had only been appointed a year earlier. Continue reading...

Local officials are now saying that at least 25 were killed in the strike; cause of fire at gas plant unknown but drones were reported in area

Wiring error meant HMS Chiddingfold went backwards when set to go forward and hit HMS Bangor in Bahrain, say sourcesTwo Royal Navy warships crashed into each other in Bahrain at the end of last week because one was incorrectly rewired, meaning that it unexpectedly went into reverse when it was set to go forward, military sources said.The minehunter HMS Chiddingfold went backwards into HMS Bangor, which was lying at port, ripping open a hole into a cabin above the waterline, in an embarrassing blunder that the defence secretary, Grant Shapps, insisted did not reflect incompetence. Continue reading...

Russian-installed mayor and governor say another 20 people were injured in attack on city in eastern UkraineAt least 25 people have been killed after Ukrainian forces shelled a busy suburban shopping area in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, according to local officials.Alexei Kulemzin, the city's Russian-installed mayor, said Ukrainian artillery had fired on a bustling district where shops and a market are located. Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed head of the Donetsk region, said emergency services were working at the scene and that forensic specialists were trying to collect fragments of the weapons used in the attack. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary told MPs he had not made formal decision to continue, but papers reveal he recommended move

Sir Ephraim Mirvis says use of the term is moral inversion designed to tear open the still gaping wound of the Holocaust'The chief rabbi has said using the word genocide" to describe Israel's actions in Gaza is an increasingly frequent, disingenuous misappropriation of the term".Sir Ephraim Mirvis said the use of the term was a moral inversion, which undermines the memory of the worst crimes in human history" and was designed to tear open the still gaping wound of the Holocaust". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Jeremy Hunt urged to act over report showing poorest families spend 63p in each 1 on food and energy billsGordon Brown has urged Jeremy Hunt to act on startling new research into Britain's threadbare benefits system that showed the poorest families must spend an average of 63p in each pound to meet basic food and energy needs.The former prime minister said the paper was a wake-up call" to the chancellor that reveals the arithmetic of poverty", and forces the UK to face up to the fact that it is in the throes of a crisis". Continue reading...

Human rights worker Ayman Lubbad is among the Palestinian prisoners claiming abuse in Israeli custody, where six have diedThe Gaza-based human rights activist Ayman Lubbad has not seen his wife and three children for more than a month, since he was ordered to strip to his underwear in the street outside his home, then driven away with other Palestinian men for a week of abuse and detention.He was tortured and humiliated, he said, giving one of various accounts of recent Israeli abuse of Palestinians in detention; at least six have died, and one autopsy report showed serious injuries, Haaretz newspaper reported. Continue reading...

Police say 17-year-old was found seriously injured on Saturday afternoon and later died in hospitalA teenage boy has been stabbed to death in Birmingham city centre.West Midlands police said officers were called to Victoria Square after the 17-year-old was found seriously injured just before 3.30pm on Saturday. He was taken to hospital but later died. Continue reading...

Exclusive: FBU's Matt Wrack says investment is crucial for tackling rise in floods, wildfires and stormsThe public will be put at risk if Keir Starmer drops his plan to spend 28bn a year on green investment, according to the head of the Fire Brigades Union, who warned his members were already experiencing the effects of the climate crisis.Matt Wrack, the FBU's general secretary, urged the Labour leader not to scale back or delay the party's green scheme, which he said was essential for combatting a steep increase in floods, wildfires and storms. Continue reading...

Campaigners renew calls to end incarceration of pregnant women after introduction of measure at HMP BronzefieldPregnant women at a prison in which a teenager gave birth alone in her cell to a baby later found dead have been given rape alarms to carry to summon urgent assistance, the Guardian has learned.Aisha Cleary died in her mother's cell at the privately run HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, the biggest women's prison in Europe, in September 2019. Continue reading...

Documents recording request from monarch to keep secret the will of a relative partly withdrawn from public viewStaff at Britain's National Archives have censored documents that show how the late Queen Elizabeth II concealed details of a relative's wealth from the public.They recently withdrew the papers, removed parts of them and then placed them back in the public domain. Continue reading...

Dithering on renewable energy and insulation will leave people in Britain colder and poorer', campaigners warnRishi Sunak is facing further attacks on his plans to expand oil and gas exploration in the North Sea this week. The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill - to be debated in the Commons on Monday - has already triggered widespread protests, including the resignation of Chris Skidmore, a former Conservative energy minister.The bill aims to boost fossil fuel extraction by establishing a new system under which licences for North Sea oil and gas projects will be awarded annually. Continue reading...

Survey reveals 70% of MPs are concerned AI-generated content will increase the spread of disinformation ahead of polling dayMost MPs across Westminster fear the use of deepfakes and AI-generated content will undermine the integrity of the next general election, amid demands for an urgent overhaul of their regulation ahead of polling day.Ministers are already concerned about the effect the technology has had on elections overseas, with a survey of MPs revealing that a majority believe it poses a threat to the integrity of the coming election. Some 70% fear AI will increase the spread of misinformation and disinformation. Continue reading...

Protesters took aim at foreign minister Penny Wong and prime minister Anthony Albanese and said they would continue to chant for a liberated Palestine'

With the IDF now routinely using armed drones to watch and target militants, the worst wave of violence for almost 20 years is sweeping the West BankFor days earlier this month, many of the young men of Nur Shams refugee camp on the outskirts of the town of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank were engaged in a potentially lethal race against time.Scaling precarious ladders, they stretched between rooftops vast plastic sheets used in more peaceful times to collect the olive harvest. Soon, hundreds of metres of winding lanes were in deep shadow, the sun and the sky obscured. The hill behind the buildings, from which you can see the Mediterranean less than 20km away, was no longer visible. Continue reading...

More than 1.5 million women in the UK are affected by the painful condition - but new study says NHS is failing themWomen with endometriosis who have endured years of excruciating pain are being fobbed off" by doctors and told their symptoms are all in their head", leading them to give up seeking NHS treatment, new research has found.A study carried out by academics at Manchester Metropolitan University found women with the disease felt gaslit" by doctors due to their lack of understanding of the condition. Continue reading...

Vigil is one of a series of events due to be held in the next few days in solidarity with people affected by events in Middle EastA multi-faith peace march is due to be held in London on Sunday, aimed at easing the bitterness and tension over the Israel-Gaza war.The midday march from Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square and back is one of a series of events due to be held in the next few days and weeks in solidarity with people affected by conflict in Israel and Palestine. Gatherings are also planned in Birmingham and Oxford. Continue reading...

Fifteen months after two men were shot in Bratislava, evidence suggests the killer may have been helped by an unidentified US-based extremistThe October evening was warm and sunny. At about 7pm, two young men stepped out of the Teplare bar on Zamocka Street in the centre of Bratislava, to sit on a concrete bench and drink lemonade. Matu, 23, had just arrived in the Slovakian capital to study Chinese. His 26-year-old friend worked in a local clothes shop and enjoyed anime, K-pop and dance.Standing in an alcove a few metres away was Juraj Krajik. The 19-year-old had been loitering for about half an hour, witnesses later said. Shortly after the two patrons of the Teplare sat down, Krajik stepped forward, raised a .45-calibre handgun and fired several shots at them. Then he turned and ran, gun in hand. Continue reading...

Heat warnings have been issued to residents in NSW, South Australia and Western Australia about rising temperatures this weekend

Detectives believe man is targeting single women - while AFP shines spotlight on romance fraud

Protests held at about 100 locations over party's meeting with neo-Nazis to discuss deporting those it deems have failed to integrate, including German citizensMore than 100,000 people turned out across Germany on Saturday in protest against the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party, which sparked an outcry after it emerged that the party's members discussed mass deportation plans at a meeting of extremists.In Frankfurt, about 35,000 people joined a call under the banner Defend democracy - Frankfurt against the AfD", marching in the financial heart of Germany. A similar number, some carrying posters like Nazis out", turned up in the northern city of Hanover. Continue reading...

Damage to buildings and flying debris expected as country set to be battered by wind and rainStorm Isha is set to batter everybody" in the UK with wind and rain during a rare" weather cycle, forecasters say.Winds of up to 80mph will swoop in later on Sunday, potentially causing power cuts and loss of mobile phone signal, while roads and bridges are likely to be shut and transport services could face delays and cancellations in some areas. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. See all our Middle East crisis coverageThe Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has said the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza remains dire", with people returning to primitive methods for food preparation and general hygiene". It also said the situation had been exacerbated by the continuous Israeli blockade hindering aid delivery".In a post on X, the PRCS quoted Mohammed Abu Msbeh, its director of ambulances and emergency centres in the Gaza Strip, as saying:People have returned to primitive methods for food preparation and general hygiene, to make bread.The daily struggle for water is a daily torment for Gaza residents to secure life-sustaining droplets, who stand in large crowds for hours with containers. Continue reading...

Hunt draws comparisons with Thatcher's tax-slashing chancellor as he claims UK is ready for economic boomJeremy Hunt has compared himself to former tax-cutting chancellor Nigel Lawson, as he joined Rishi Sunak in teasing further potential cuts in the spring budget.Writing in the Mail on Sunday, the chancellor drew comparisons with the late Lawson, who was known for slashing personal taxation while serving in the Thatcher government. Continue reading...

Police confirm they are not looking for anyone else in connection with incident after four people found deadPolice failed to attend a 999 call made from a house where four people, including two young children, were subsequently found dead.Norfolk police said it was contacted by a man at the address at about 6am on Friday but no officers were deployed. Continue reading...

Advocates say government failing to meet basic obligation' to process claims quickly after Tim McCabe spent weeks with no income'

Heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding forecast across Kimberley, Northern Territory and much of Cape York peninsula

Ukrainian leader invited Trump to Ukraine but says if he returns to White House he could make unilateral concessions to RussiaThe Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, fears that if Donald Trump returns to the White House next year he could make unilateral concessions to Russia that override Ukraine's interests and branded the former US president's claims he could stop the war in 24 hours as very dangerous".In an interview with the UK's Channel 4 News, Zelenskiy said he was stressed" that the former president is going to make decisions on his own, without ... I'm not even talking about Russia, but without both sides, without us." Continue reading...

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has lost four members in strike on Syrian capital

The Israeli leader is under pressure over course of the Gaza war but is doubling down on opposition to a two-state solutionDefiant Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on opposition to Palestinian statehood, deepening the divide with Israel's closest international allies, as cracks in his wartime unity" government became increasingly evident.Anger with Netanyahu is also increasingly visible on the streets, even though there is broad public support for the war. On Saturday, protesters gathered in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Caesarea and Kfar Saba, some calling for bolder action to secure the release of hostages, and others demanding the prime minister step down. Continue reading...