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National Archives documents show concerns raised over Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s proposalDowning Street feared that a group portrait of Tony Blair’s cabinet that the Scottish National Portrait Gallery wanted to commission to mark New Labour’s 1997 election victory would look “triumphalist” and be unlikely to win votes in Scotland, newly released documents reveal.The gallery proposed a portrait by Peter Howson, a distinguished member of the new wave of expressionist artists who emerged from the Glasgow School of Art in the 80s, and was willing to pay. With the fee likely to be “substantial”, Downing Street aides were also concerned about negative coverage if any public funds were used, the documents released by the National Archives show. Continue reading...

Infectious disease experts believe strategy more effective in slowing virus spread than new travel restrictions, as health data firm says thousands are likely dying daily in ChinaThe United States is considering sampling wastewater taken from international aircraft to track any emerging new Covid-19 variants as infections surge in China, as UK-based health experts estimate about 9,000 people a days are now dying of the disease in China.The proposed of testing wastewater by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would provide a better solution to tracking the virus and slowing its entry into the US than new travel restrictions announced this week, three infectious disease experts said. Continue reading...

A retired businessman recalls the time when, in 1958, the then-17-year-old World Cup footballer practised at his school

Admirers of Pelé gather in Times Square and eulogize the three-time world champion and New York Cosmos crowd-pleaserFans of Pelé gathered at the store dedicated to him in New York’s Times Square on Thursday, to memorialize and celebrate a soccer player who electrified the city when he signed with the New York Cosmos in 1975 on a three-year, $7m (£5.8m) contract, a deal that made the 34‐year‐old player the highest‐paid team athlete in the world.“I grew up hearing about Pelé,” said Larisa Belyansky in front of a wall celebrating the king of football. “The style of his play was so different, the way he moved.” “We remember him as the greatest player”, said her husband, Alex, “because he was the only one to win three World Cups.” Continue reading...

Archives reveal PM’s early attempts to establish personal relationship with president after 2000 US electionTony Blair moved swiftly to place his relationship with George W Bush on a personal footing after the Republican won the 2000 US presidential election, asking him “early on” in their first telephone call if he could call him by his first name.“Bush warmly assented (but stuck himself with addressing the prime minister as ‘Sir’),” according to a note of their call, which is among government files released to the National Archives. Blair was the first foreign leader to call to congratulate the president-elect. Michael Tatham, a British diplomat, noted that the eight-minute conversation had established “as good a rapport as one could hope for” from such a short call. Continue reading...

Files show PM favoured allowing Putin ‘a position on the top table’ and encouraging him to integrate with westTony Blair was told by officials that he would be presenting Vladimir Putin with a new set of silver cufflinks from 10 Downing Street as he took up the Russian leader’s invitation to join him on his birthday during a prime ministerial visit to Moscow.The president would be the first leader to receive the special No 10 cufflinks, the prime minister was told in a memo before the October 2001 trip to Moscow, which has been released by the National Archives. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story hereMissiles are being launched at Ukraine from ships on the Black Sea, according to Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Ukrainian military administration of Kryvyi Rih, on Telegram.As we get the first reports of the sound of blasts in Kyiv, Presidential office adviser Oleksiy Arestovych has written on Facebook that over 100 missiles were incoming in several waves and air raid alarms could be heard across the country. Continue reading...

Alleged victim says end of suspension is ‘slap in face to anyone who has experienced sexual harassment’The SNP has restored the party whip to a senior MP who has sat as an independent since June after an independent parliamentary inquiry found he made an unwanted sexual advance towards a teenage party worker.Patrick Grady quit the SNP group at Westminster after a two-day suspension from parliament, imposed after the independent parliamentary standards commissioner found he had made the advances to the then 19-year-old man in 2016. The man to whom he made the advances said the end of Grady’s suspension was “a slap in the face to anyone who has experienced sexual harassment”. Continue reading...

Politicians and experts call for border testing to be introduced, but others question usefulness of moveMinisters are coming under pressure to screen arrivals from China as the number of Covid-19 cases there continues to surge after Beijing’s abrupt decision to end most of its strict pandemic restrictions.The US became the latest country to impose controls on travellers entering the country from China on Wednesday, demanding that all such arrivals show proof of a negative Covid test. Continue reading...

Italy urges action at European level as more than 50% of recent arrivals from China test positive at Milan airportMember states of the European Union have resisted pressure from Italy to immediately impose mandatory anti-Covid checks on travellers entering the borderless Schengen area from China, with health officials in Brussels saying they would instead continue to monitor the consequences of Beijing’s rapid rollback of its previously stringent hygiene restrictions.In recent days more than 50% of passengers from China at Milan’s Malpensa airport have tested positive for the virus, and on Wednesday Italy brought back mandatory coronavirus tests for everyone arriving from China, after reports of rising infection rates in the world’s most populous country. Continue reading...

Interviews follow raid on VK Garment factory, the subject of a UK lawsuit against the supermarket from 130 ex-workersThai police and civil servants have begun screening more than 100 former workers at a factory that supplied Tesco to determine if they were victims of forced labour.The Guardian revealed last week that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand had reported being trapped in their work, enduring 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in appalling conditions. Continue reading...

Effort to reduce new year collisions has been criticised for encouraging drivers to film others or stage violationsThai police are taking an alternative approach to their annual road safety campaign by offering cash prizes of 10,000 baht (£240) for the best – or worst – videos of traffic violations.About 22,000 people die each year in Thailand in road traffic accidents, one of the worst death rates in the world. The week over the new year, known locally as the “seven dangerous days”, has the biggest spike as people speed around the country. Continue reading...

Jeremy Fleming says war in Ukraine prompted new public outreach effort by intelligence community

Suspect arrested in London over death of Fisher, who was stabbed to death in a Birmingham nightclub on Boxing DayA third man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Cody Fisher, the semi-professional footballer stabbed to death in a Birmingham nightclub on Boxing Day.

At least 19 people now known to have died but figure could rise as rescue teams have not reached all areasA fire that lasted more than 12 hours in a Cambodian hotel casino killed at least 19 people and injured scores more, with an official warning that other people could be missing.“There are 19 dead so far as we see bodies and bones,” said Sek Sokhom, the director of the Banteay Meanchey provincial information department, warning “the dead figure could be higher” as rescue teams have not reached many parts of the complex. Continue reading...

Shadow justice secretary says party will put prevention at the heart of its approach to crimeLabour would overhaul the approach to antisocial behaviour with plans to allow victims to choose how offenders are punished, it has been reported.The shadow justice secretary, Steve Reed, has said he will update Tony Blair’s “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime” slogan and put prevention at the heart of their approach, the Times reported. Continue reading...

Mystery surrounds the alleged involvement of top officials in the murder of the high-profile Philippine journalistIt was just past 8pm on 3 October and the veteran broadcaster Percy Mabasa was on his way to record his nightly radio show. Every weekday evening, tens of thousands of Filipinos, many living abroad, would tune in to listen to his news commentary and sharp humour.But on this evening, as Mabasa drove up to the entrance of his gated community where his studio is located in Las Piñas, Metro Manila, a motorbike began to trail him. Footage taken by a camera on the back of his car, and since released by police, shows two figures on the bike pulling up alongside him. Then gunshots can be heard. There’s a bang as Mabasa’s car slams into the vehicle in front. The motorbike turns and drives away. Mabasa was killed instantly. Continue reading...

Police say 31-year-old man from Tranmere held on suspicion of conspiracy to murder over Christmas Eve shootingA third person has been arrested over the death of Elle Edwards, who was shot dead at a pub on Christmas Eve.Merseyside police said a 31-year-old man from Tranmere had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. He is in custody, where he will be questioned by detectives. Continue reading...

Evacuation calls in Kherson amid barrage of Russian artillery attacks; Zelenskiy says of Bakhmut ‘there is no place that is not covered with blood’

World men’s tennis No 5 says return proves he is ready to move on from his deportation and begin quest for 10th Australian Open titleNovak Djokovic says there are no hard feelings on his return to Australia, but can’t guarantee he will ever completely move past the saga that torpedoed his 2022 Australian Open hopes and thrust him into the centre of a media frenzy.Djokovic was deported from Australia almost 12 months ago after arriving unvaccinated against Covid at a time when the country was still subject to strict biosecurity regulations. Such regulations have now been lifted and in November the Australian government overturned the three-year ban that came with Djokovic’s deportation and granted him a visa to return for the summer of tennis. Continue reading...

Ukrainian embassy in Australia says the number of enquiries about volunteering in the country has dropped off

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Appeal for UK authorities to bring over mother who was left in France after smugglers departed shore with her three childrenThe Home Office is under pressure to reunite a family of Eritrean asylum seekers after smugglers forced three children, the youngest aged just five, to cross the Channel on a small boat before their mother could get on board with them.The woman, 31, who was staying in northern France hoping to reach the UK, paid smugglers for places on a dinghy for herself and her three children, a boy aged 14 and two girls aged nine and five, to cross the Channel on 16 December. She said she believed the UK was the place where she would find safety and a respect for the human rights of her family. Continue reading...

Centre in London says record number born on site is a result of fewer people being able to afford cost of neuteringParsnip, Cranberry and Sprouts. Not your Christmas dinner, but a festive trio of fluffy black and white kittens, newly arrived at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. Down the corridor in the cattery, another three newborns have just been taken in, along with their parents, in something approaching a feline nativity scene.The new arrivals are, according to Bridie Williams, Battersea’s cattery manager, “ridiculously cute”. And they come at the end of a year during which 133 kittens were born on site – considerably more than any year in the past decade. Continue reading...

Paul Nowak says party can ‘set a very clear direction of travel’ for public services if it wins next electionLabour will not be able “turn the taps on from day one” on public spending if it wins the next election, the new leader of the TUC has acknowledged, suggesting the party’s attempts to manage expectations are working.The incoming general secretary, Paul Nowak, said a Labour government would not be able to fix the Conservatives’ “neglect” straight after coming to power but suggested it could still “set a very clear direction of travel” for public services. Continue reading...

British government urged Washington embassy to lobby incoming president, declassified documents showThe election of Bill Clinton as US president in 1992 prompted the British government to brace for “turbulence” because of his views on Northern Ireland.The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) said the incoming president’s views on the region were unwelcome and urged the British embassy in Washington to confront him, according to an official document declassified this week. Continue reading...

Across country last month, almost 14,000 people were ready to be discharged but could not be sent home or into careMore people could be spending the time between Christmas and new year in hospital in parts of England this year than at any time in the past decade, as NHS trusts struggle to find social care places for patients medically fit for discharge.The latest figures for December to date show an average of 94,200 patients were in hospitals across England, more than 93,000 of them in acute settings, the highest in seven winters. Continue reading...

Five-year-old girl credited for helping siblings survive 55 hours in 30-degree heat in car wreckage with dead parentsTrapped inside the wreckage of a car after an accident that killed her parents, a five-year-old girl has been credited for an “absolute miracle” feat of survival.Inside an upturned Land Rover, hidden from view beside a remote Western Australian road, the young girl managed to undo her one-year-old brother’s seatbelt, freeing him. Continue reading...

Santa Cruz governor and former presidential candidate flown to La Paz after what his supporters called a ‘kidnapping’Bolivian police have detained prominent opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho on charges of “terrorism” in a move that significantly escalates tensions between the national government and Camacho’s Santa Cruz base.Bolivia’s state attorney’s office confirmed the detention on Wednesday of 43-year-old Camacho, the governor of Santa Cruz who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020. Continue reading...

Victorian treasurer says plagued myki payment system will be reviewed with current contract due to expire late next year

Poorly resourced regional hospitals brace for flood of cases during upcoming lunar new year holiday as infections soarChina’s sprawling and thinly resourced countryside was racing to beef up its medical facilities amid a surging Covid-19 wave as hundreds of millions of migrant factory workers prepare to return to their families for the lunar new year.Each year, hundreds of millions of people, mostly working in factories near the southern and eastern coasts, return to the countryside for the lunar new year festivities, due to start on 22 January next year. Continue reading...

Homicide investigation launched after deaths of Todd Mooney and 10-year-old Kirra at BiggendenA shed fire that killed Queensland man Todd Mooney and his 10-year-old daughter Kirra was deliberately lit, police believe.Remains believed to be the 54-year-old man and the girl were found after the blaze at Biggenden, south-east of Bundaberg, on 20 December. Continue reading...

Many humanitarian activities ‘paused’ as Taliban decision to bar women NGO workers prevents vital services across the countryThe United Nations said that some “time-critical” programs in Afghanistan have temporarily stopped and warned many other activities will also likely need to be paused because of a ban by the Taliban-led administration on women aid workers.UN aid chief Martin Griffiths, the heads of UN agencies and several aid groups said in a joint statement on Wednesday that women’s “participation in aid delivery is not negotiable and must continue”, calling on authorities to reverse the decision. Continue reading...

Chief medical officer does not rule out future border restrictions but says community has high immunity to current variants

Emma Lovell died after being stabbed in the chest in an alleged home invasion north of Brisbane on Boxing Day

Castillo is appealing against his detention earlier in December over an attempt to illegally dissolve CongressThe former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo, who is being held in pretrial detention after attempting to illegally dissolve Congress, said he was a victim of “political revenge” by his adversaries.Castillo, speaking at a hearing on Wednesday to appeal against the detention, said he had not committed the crimes of rebellion and conspiracy for which he is under investigation. Continue reading...

Exiled National Unity Government says figure is a rise of 78% on last year, following February 2021 coupMyanmar’s military junta killed 165 children in 2022, according to the country’s exiled opposition National Unity Government (NUG). According to their data, 78% more children died at the hands of the occupying military in 2022 compared with 2021.“The NUG figure appears credible,” says Thomas Kean, a senior consultant on Myanmar for the International Crisis Group, explaining that reports are often accompanied by evidence. Continue reading...

Incoming general secretary, Paul Nowak, says PM has overestimated public support for confronting unionsRishi Sunak needs an “exit strategy” from ongoing industrial disputes to avoid them escalating in the months ahead after overestimating public support for his “1980s playbook” approach to widespread strikes, the incoming TUC general secretary has said.Paul Nowak, who takes over as Britain’s top union leader next month, predicted the government’s “war of attrition” against the unions would fail and accused ministers of having their “hands over their ears” about the severity of the situation. Continue reading...

‘You’d think they would have shown compassion’: patient’s son decries Kansas police who issued citation as father sufferedHospital staff in Kansas called the police on a man dying of cancer who was using cannabis products to cope with his symptoms, in an incident that has since sparked outrage and renewed calls to rethink the state’s strict cannabis laws.The encounter took place in mid-December, when police in the city of Hays say two officers showed up at the cancer patient’s hospital room to issue him a citation for a drug violation. Police also took away a vaping device and cannabis product that hospital staff had already confiscated. Continue reading...

Ministers considering change that would class eggs laid by hens kept in barns for months under restrictions as free rangeFree-range egg rules in the UK could be relaxed in response to the European Union preparing to overhaul regulations after the biggest avian flu outbreak on record.Ministers are understood to be considering a change to the rules that would mean eggs laid by hens kept in barns for months on end could be classed as free range. Continue reading...

Dyfed-Powys police arrested 33-year-old on suspicion of child neglect after sudden death of child in LampeterA woman has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect in Wales over the death of an eight-year-old linked to the strep A infection.According to the BBC, a 33-year-old woman was arrested by Dyfed-Powys police on 23 December after the “sudden death” of a child the day before in Lampeter, Ceredigion and has been released as inquiries continue. Continue reading...

A five-year-old girl saved her younger brother’s life after their Land Rover rolled on Christmas Day

Other countries including Italy have taken similar steps after Beijing’s rollback of ‘zero-Covid’ policies led to surge in casesThe US has announced all travellers from China must provide a negative Covid-19 test to enter the country, joining other nations imposing restrictions because of a surge of infections.The increase in cases across China follows the rollback of the nation’s strict anti-virus controls. Beijing’s “zero Covid” policies had kept the country’s infection rate low but fuelled public frustration and crushed economic growth. Continue reading...

Storm that sent US temperatures plunging triggers yellow weather warning for heavy rain over Scotland on FridayThe deadly bomb cyclone that has sent temperatures plunging in the US is also causing the UK to experience wet and windy weather, the Met Office has said.On Wednesday, the forecaster issued a yellow weather warning for heavy rain from 3am on Friday for 15 hours for much of Scotland, including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling. The Met Office said heavy rain could bring some flooding and travel disruption. Continue reading...

Putin bans supply of oil to countries participating in price cap; heavy fighting continues in southern and eastern Ukraine

Whitehall sources claim the Home Office is fighting with Michael Gove over whether Islamist extremists’ details should be removedNo 10 has refused to say if its review of the Prevent counter-terrorism strategy will be redacted, amid reports it has been delayed by a row between Michael Gove and the Home Office over whether to reveal the names of suspected Islamist extremists.The Prevent review was handed over to the Home Office by William Shawcross, a former head of the Charity Commission, in the summer. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Nearly one in 10 care homes that offer dementia support reported on by inspectors in 2022 were given worst rating

This year, 3,275 took a break from mince pies and charades to fill in their self-assessment forms, HMRC saidWhile most households spent the holidays feasting and visiting relatives and friends, others apparently decided Christmas was the season to catch up on admin, with 22,000 Britons filing self-assessment tax returns during the yuletide break this year.The latest data from HMRC indicates that on Christmas Day, 3,275 people took a break from eating mince pies and watching the Mrs Brown’s Boys special to disclose their latest earnings. Continue reading...

Footballer was stabbed death in Birmingham nightclub on Boxing DayTwo men have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a footballer who was stabbed to death in a nightclub on Boxing Day.Cody Fisher, 23, was fatally attacked in the Crane nightclub in Digbeth, Birmingham, just before midnight on Monday. Continue reading...

Liliana Segre, 92, has been subjected to racist attacks, and fears the Holocaust will become a footnote in the history booksAn Italian senator who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp and this year found herself witnessing a far-right government take power again in Rome has said her “personal nightmare” is that the Holocaust will all but vanish from history books.Liliana Segre, 92, was the only one of her relatives to survive the Holocaust, which killed six million Jews as part of Nazi Germany’s second world war campaign to obliterate the Jewish population in Europe. Continue reading...