World news | The Guardian

Zhang Youxia, second-in command under president Xi Jinping as chairman of the Central Military Commission, has long been seen as Xi's closest military allyChina's most senior general is under investigation, China's defence ministry has confirmed, in the highest profile case to date in an aggressive anti-graft purge of senior military leadership in recent months.Zhang Youxia serves as second-in-command under president Xi Jinping as vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission - the supreme command body - and has long been seen as Xi's closest military ally. Continue reading...

Taxi app's analysis shows Scottish capital had highest number of trips made between 10pm and 4pm in 2025Edinburgh and Glasgow have a busier nightlife than London, according to data on late-night journeys from Uber.The global ride-hailing app analysed millions of trips and takeaway deliveries from the UK's biggest cities, and found that Edinburgh had the highest proportion of journeys made between 10pm and 4am. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed.

Netanyahu says it will open Rafah crossing and begin second phase of ceasefire after search endsIsrael said on Sunday its military was conducting a large-scale operation" to locate the last hostage in Gaza, as Washington and other mediators pressure Israel and Hamas to move into the next phase of their ceasefire.The statement came as Israel's cabinet met to discuss the possibility of opening Gaza's key Rafah border crossing with Egypt, and a day after top US envoys met the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, about next steps. Continue reading...

Snow, sleet and perilously cold temperatures sweep eastern two-thirds of country as thousands of flights grounded

Yousef Pezeshkian says nothing will be solved by trying to postpone moment images of violent crackdown circulateThe son of Iran's president has called for the internet restrictions in the country to be lifted, saying nothing will be solved by trying to postpone the moment when pictures and video circulate of the protests that were violently crushed by the regime.With a battle under way at the top of the regime about the political risks of continuing to block Iran from the internet, Yousef Pezeshkian, whose father, Masoud, was elected in the summer of 2024, said keeping the digital shutdown would create dissatisfaction and widen the gap between the people and the government. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester mayor will not be tested in tough byelection or against PM for now, but can continue to pose speculative threat

PM says recent agreement just cuts tariffs on a few sectors, as Trump threatens 100% tariffs on Canadian importsCanada's prime minister, Mark Carney, said on Sunday his country had no intention of pursuing a free trade deal with China, responding to Donald Trump's threat to impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada if the US's northern neighbour went ahead with a trade deal with Beijing.Carney said his recent agreement with China merely cut tariffs on a few sectors that were recently hit with them. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Almost half of GPs have seen children up to the age of seven who have obesity, research findsAlmost a quarter of GPs are seeing children aged four or under who are obese, according to a survey of UK family doctors.The alarming" research also found that almost half (49%) of GPs have seen boys and girls up to the age of seven who have obesity, including a handful younger than a year old.Almost one in four (23%) said they had seen children aged zero to four where obesity was a clinical concern.Among the doctors, 81% have seen obesity in those between their first 12 months and the age of 11.Four in five (80%) find it somewhat or very challenging to talk to the parents of an obese child under the age of 16 about their weight and health, with only 10% saying that is easy to do.Nearly two thirds (65%) find it hard to talk to obese young people themselves, with just 20% saying that is easy. Continue reading...

PM will now face questions over whether he is focussed more on protecting job than boosting Labour's chancesIt is a sign that the political deck of cards is stacked against you when the only good hand is one that was never really going to be dealt. And so it was with Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham.In an ideal world for the prime minister, Andrew Gwynne's announcement that he was stepping down from his Gorton and Denton seat would have been followed by Burnham saying he already had a job as Greater Manchester mayor and would sit this one out, thanks very much. Continue reading...

When organisers posted a TikTok promoting 45-minute pilates sessions, the video amassed 2m views. Now plans are afoot for female classes and youth clubsIt's early afternoon on a gloomy day at the Jamia Usmania mosque in Bradford and a group of mostly elderly men have finished their midday prayers.The assembly of mainly retired men would usually return to the familiar drumbeat of day-to-day life, but instead they make their way downstairs to tackle squats, glute bridges and the butterfly position in the mosque's weekly 45-minute pilates class. Continue reading...

Serco employees also say they are given email addresses identical to public servants, making them indistinguishable

Lee Knight says accolade for A Friend of Dorothy, based on friendship with neighbour, sends message to never give upA writer-director from Stanmore in Middlesex whose short film has been nominated for an Oscar has said he feels utterly overwhelmed" by the accolade.Lee Knight's film A Friend of Dorothy, starring Miriam Margolyes and Stephen Fry, is in the running for best live action short. Continue reading...

Some residents say they are facing financial ruin as government's long-awaited law changes stallI don't say this lightly, but I feel traumatised by this," said Sarah*, a leaseholder who owns a one-bedroom flat in Moseley, south Birmingham. Every time I open the front door to my house I'm expecting some frightening letter with lots of zeros on it. It has ruined my life, to be honest."Sarah works full-time as a school teacher, but has been forced to take up a second job to pay the spiralling bills from the management company of her building. Continue reading...

Home secretary says climbdown was as good as it gets' from US president despite failure to apologise for remarksDonald Trump's climbdown over his claim that UK troops avoided the frontline in Afghanistan has been greeted with cross-party relief in Westminster despite his failure to apologise for remarks widely condemned as offensive and false.In a rare clarification, the US president praised British troops as being among the greatest of all warriors" and acknowledged that 457 had died in Afghanistan. Continue reading...

Survey finds schools referring homeless children to food banks as record numbers live in temporary housingSchools are regularly referring homeless children to food banks, driving them to classes and washing their clothes, according to research.A survey conducted by the housing charity Shelter and NASUWT, also known as the Teachers' Union, asked 11,000 teachers about their experiences of working with children living in temporary accommodation. Continue reading...

US readers said they were feeling anxious and helpless as authorities' brutal crackdown has left thousands deadRecent protests in Iran have created the most serious and deadliest unrest in the country since the 1979 revolution, prompting eyes from all around the globe to shift to the Middle East.The Guardian asked Iranians living outside the country to share their views on the current situation in the country and about the possibility of US intervention. Continue reading...

In the search for stability, some western nations are turning to a country that many in Washington see as an existential threatIf geopolitics relies at least in part on bonhomie between global leaders, China made an unexpected play for Ireland's good graces when the taoiseach visited Beijing this month. Meeting Ireland's leader, Micheal Martin, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China's president, Xi Jinping, said a favourite book of his as a teenager was The Gadfly, by the Irish author Ethel Voynich, a novel set in the revolutionary fervour of Italy in the 1840s.It was unusual that we ended up discussing The Gadfly and its impact on both of us but there you are," Martin told reporters in Beijing. Continue reading...

High-profile Australians celebrated alongside more than 600 civilians who have changed lives and the country

Critics say banks will be able to avoid tax on compensation payouts to victims of 11bn loans scandalThe City minister, Lucy Rigby, has been accused of snubbing taxpayers after she appeared to brush off concerns about a 2bn tax loophole benefiting big banks caught up in the car loans scandal.Rigby was urged to intervene by a member of the parliamentary Treasury committee after it emerged that lenders including Barclays, Lloyds and Santander could sidestep rules designed to ensure banks pay tax on compensation linked to corporate misconduct. Continue reading...

Voting ends in month-long poll derided internationally as sham designed to cement army's grip on powerVoting in Myanmar has ended with the military-backed party expected to win a landslide victory after a month-long election that has been widely derided as a sham designed to cement the army's grip on power.The junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing, has rejected criticism of the vote, saying it has the support of the public and presenting it as a return to democracy and stability. Continue reading...

Home secretary is chair of party's NEC, which will decide if Greater Manchester mayor can seek return to parliamentLabour must do all it can to avoid a psychodrama" over Andy Burnham's possible return to parliament, Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, has said.Mahmood is chair of Labour's national executive committee (NEC), which was due to meet later on Sunday to decide whether Burnham should be allowed to seek selection for the Gorton and Denton byelection, which would involve him giving up his Greater Manchester mayoralty. Continue reading...

Wasdale mountain rescue team says we struggle to understand when the rescued take advantage of hospitality'A mountain rescue team has appealed for two rescued walkers to pay a hotel bill they owe, return head torches they took and collect a hospital crutch one of them used to climb Scafell Pike in treacherous conditions.We avoid judging those we rescue," said Wasdale mountain rescue team in a statement. But we struggle to understand when the rescued take advantage of hospitality provided by our supporters in the valley." Continue reading...

January is a prime time for people looking to get fit, so fraudsters create fake websites and appsA new year means a new start - it's time to get fit and there are quite a few deals out there. On Facebook you see a local gym advertising a discount on membership if you sign up within the next few hours. There are limited spaces so you act quickly.It's only after you pay that you realise the ad was a fraud: you've received no membership details and when you contact the gym it has no record of your payment. Continue reading...

Queensland government says pack linked to 19-year-old's death pose unacceptable public safety risk' as Indigenous traditional owners say they were not consultedThe dingo pack linked to the death of Canadian tourist Piper James on Australian island K'gari will be destroyed, the Queensland government has announced.Environment minister Andrew Powell said on Sunday that an entire pack of 10 animals would be euthanised. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed.

Police deploy air support to search properties at Mount Hope, about 70km north of Lake Cargelligo, where shootings took place on Thursday

Career public servant and former chief of staff to Malcolm Turnbull to represent Australia's interests with Trump administration from April, including progression of Aukus agreement

Police said group breached HMP Wormwood Scrubs grounds where Umer Khalid is being heldA group of protesters supporting a Palestine Action prisoner on hunger strike have been arrested after they breached prison grounds, the Metropolitan police has said.The force said on Saturday evening that it had detained a group of protesters outside HMP Wormwood Scrubs, in west London, and was in the process of making a number of arrests. Continue reading...

Winter storm system brings emergency declarations as snow and ice create unsafe driving conditions and power shortages. This blog is now closed.

Greater Manchester mayor has applied to stand for Labour in Gorton and Denton, setting up potential fight for PM's political futureKeir Starmer's allies are urging him to block Andy Burnham from running in the Gorton and Denton byelection, after the Greater Manchester mayor declared his intention to stand, setting up a potential fight for the prime minister's political future.Burnham said on Saturday he wanted to contest the seat after the sitting MP, Andrew Gwynne, said he intended to stand down. Continue reading...

Yellow warnings for heavy rain remain in place across parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland and south-west England and WalesDownpours and high winds are likely to continue after Storm Ingrid wreaked havoc in the south-west and washed away part of a historic pier in Devon, the Met Office said on Saturday.It has been a wet weekend for many, with yellow weather warnings for heavy rain in place across parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland and south-west England and Wales. Continue reading...

Starmerites argue Burnham's return to Westminster would undermine the government, but he has the support of powerful party figuresWhen Lucy Powell, Labour's deputy leader and a close ally of Andy Burnham, took to the stage at the Fabian conference in London on Saturday, she had a blunt message for her party.I want to make sure that we're putting out the best team on the pitch, week after week, so we can win those important matches," she told the audience. Continue reading...

Teachers who attended compulsory' creationist conference run by US-based fundamentalist group told radiometric dating techniques were flawed

Exclusive: Experts say AI is likely to create more news deserts, fewer independent voices and threaten the viability of Australian journalism

Full text of the Manchester mayor's letter seeking selection for Gorton and Denton byelection

Jacob Frey's full response after federal agents shoot and kill 37-year-old US citizen on 24 January

After criticism over allegation Nato troops stayed off front lines' in conflict, US president says UK forces were great and very brave'Donald Trump has said UK soldiers who fought in Afghanistan were among the greatest of all warriors" after previously drawing criticism for his claims Nato troops stayed away from the frontlines during the conflict.In a post on social media on Saturday, the US president said: The great and very brave soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America. Continue reading...

Police say two men and a woman shouted abuse and struck vehicle outside Crowborough military site in East SussexThree people have been arrested after two occurrences of disorder outside Crowborough training camp, which is being used to house asylum seekers.A 36-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman from Crowborough, and a 54-year-old man from Newhaven were arrested on Saturday on suspicion of an offence under the Public Order Act and are now in police custody. Continue reading...

President also claimed US refineries will process seized Venezuelan oil, saying we take the oil'Donald Trump on Saturday said he would impose a 100% tariff on all Canadian imports if the North American country makes a trade deal with China.Beside that tariff threat, another Trump foreign policy maneuver to make news on Saturday involved the president announcing the US had taken the oil that was on recently seized Venezuelan tankers. Continue reading...

Kyiv says Moscow used 396 drones and missiles in another night of Russian terror' on second day of talks in UAERussia launched a major drone and missile attack targeting Ukraine's two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv, early on Saturday, as US, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met in the United Arab Emirates for a second day of tripartite peace talks.Peace efforts? Trilateral meeting in the UAE? Diplomacy? For Ukrainians, this was another night of Russian terror," the country's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said after the latest Russian assault on critical infrastructure. Continue reading...

Change being considered amid global glut driven by supplies from China along with a rise in protectionismThe UK is expected to reduce the amount of foreign steel it allows in tariff-free, as the government looks to protect its domestic industry amid a global glut and a rise in protectionism.Ministers are considering changing the quota system that allows a quantity of the metal to be imported before imposing a 25% levy on anything above that level. Continue reading...

Fire department was responding to report of gas odor in Bronx building when explosion occurred during frigid nightA gas explosion sent fire racing through the top floors of a high-rise apartment building in New York City early on Saturday, killing one person and injuring 14 others as temperatures plunged into the single digits overnight, authorities said.Firefighters responded shortly before 12.30am to the 17-story New York City housing authority (Nycha) building in the Bronx, where people were seen leaning out of windows calling for help as flames engulfed parts of the top floors, officials said. Continue reading...

Driver was taken into custody after car crashed through airport entrance and struck Delta ticket counterA car crashed through the entrance of Detroit's metropolitan Wayne county airport on Friday evening, striking a ticket counter and injuring six people, airport officials said.The driver was taken into custody, the Wayne county airport authority (WCAA) said in a statement. The cause of the crash was not yet known, and airport police were investigating. Continue reading...

Groups say EPA did not adequately consider adverse health effects to children when it approved the pesticidePublic health groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its approval of a Pfas forever chemical" insecticide that industry research found likely reduces testicle size, lowers sperm count and harms the liver in rats.The pesticide, isocycloseram, is used on food crops and could especially threaten children and developing fetuses, but the EPA did not factor those risks into its safety assessment, said Nathan Donley, environmental health science director with the Center for Biological Diversity, a plaintiff in the suit. Continue reading...

Many of those moved into an asylum return centre have held jobs for years and can speak the languageSweden did this for us," said Sofiye*, making a supportive scooping up gesture with her hands. And then, bam." She dropped them to the ground.Sofiye, who has three children, arrived in Sweden from Uzbekistan as an asylum seeker in 2008, and for much of that time she was able to build a life in the Scandinavian country. The family lived in a flat in a Stockholm suburb and Sofiye worked for the municipality in the home help department. She learned Swedish and her children went through the Swedish school system. Her youngest son was born in Sweden and her 18-year-old son, Hamza, who is studying in college to be a technician, doesn't know life anywhere else. Continue reading...

Crime minister says reforms will improve standards, but Federation says unsafe workloads must be tackled firstThe government must stop burdening police officers with unsafe workloads and improve police pay and training if they want professional" policing, the Police Federation has said, in response to sweeping Home Office changes to improve standards in the police.Under the new plans, to be unveiled in a white paper on Monday, police officers in England and Wales will be required to hold and renew a licence to practise" throughout their career in the future. Continue reading...

this blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereIndia and Europe hope to strike the mother of all deals" when EU chiefs meet prime minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi next week, as the two economic behemoths seek to forge closer ties, AFP reports.Facing challenges from China and the United States, India and the European Union have been negotiating a massive free trade pact - and talks, first launched about two decades ago, are nearing the finishing line. Continue reading...

Ceasefire to be extended for one month to allow transfer of suspected Islamic State members from Syria to IraqThe Syrian government and Kurdish forces agreed to extend a ceasefire on Saturday, according to Syrian diplomatic sources, temporarily staving off a looming war between the two sides in Syria's northeast.Diplomatic sources told Agence France-Presse the ceasefire would be extended for a period of up to one month at most," citing the need to facilitate the transfer of suspected members of Islamic State from Syria to Iraq. Continue reading...