World news | The Guardian

Renewed push comes after last week’s fatal shooting of two Queensland police officers and a neighbour in Wieambilla

Having survived a tough childhood in Coventry, Hall became one of pop’s defining voices at the turn of the 80s, chronicling British decline and disfranchised youth with the 2 Tone band• Alexis Petridis: ‘Terry Hall was the self-assured eye of the Specials storm’

Gaby Hutchinson, 23, was working in security role at London venue on night of Asake gigA security guard has become the second person to die after a crowd crush at the O2 Academy Brixton last week.Gaby Hutchinson, 23, was working as a contracted security provider at a performance on Thursday by the Nigerian Afrobeats singer-songwriter Asake.A previous version of this story was launched on Monday 19 December 2022. This version reflects updated information released by the Metropolitan police. Continue reading...

Francesco Velli, 73, had history of harassing neighbours before killing three members of the condo board and two othersThe man who shot and killed five people at a suburban Toronto condominium on Sunday evening had spent years harassing his neighbours and threatening the building’s condo board over a belief that the building’s electrical room was making him sick.At a news conference on Monday, York region police chief James MacSween identified the gunman in Sunday night’s attack in the city of Vaughn as Francesco Velli. Continue reading...

DfE annual report lays bare state of dilapidated education estate built during postwar shortagesOfficials have raised the risk level of school buildings collapsing to “very likely”, after an increase in serious structural issues being reported – especially in blocks built in the years 1945 to 1970.England’s dilapidated school estate has been a cause of growing concern, but the dangers were laid bare in the Department for Education’s (DfE) annual report, which highlights school building safety as one of six key risks. Continue reading...

No increases until August 2023 despite Jeremy Hunt’s first full budget being scheduled for 15 MarchA freeze on alcohol duty is to be extended for a further six months as the government seeks to help pubs, restaurants, brewers and distilleries weather the looming recession.The Treasury minister James Cartlidge told MPs there would be no increases in duty on beers, wine, cider and spirits until August 2023 – when a new simplified system comes into force – even if the chancellor announces new rates in next year’s budget. Continue reading...

Findings this month of geoglyphs, which date back more than 2,000 years, are smaller and can be seen from the groundMore than 100 new designs discovered in and around Peru’s ancient Nazca plain and surrounding areas could bring new information to light about the mysterious pre-Columbian artworks that have intrigued scientists and visitors for decades.Following two years of field surveys with aerial photos and drones, Peruvian and Japanese researches from Yamagata University earlier this month reported the discovery of 168 new designs at the Unesco World Heritage site on Peru’s southern Pacific coast. Continue reading...

More than a million people were in the streets of Buenos Aires celebrating the victory, according to estimates from authoritiesAround the Obelisk in Buenos Aires, revelers in football shirts, hats, wigs and face-paint in the Argentinian colours danced long into the night to drums and sound systems blaring cumbia and reggaeton.Young people climbed fences, light posts, and the giant BA sign at the foot of the monument. It was an ecstatic tribute to a World Cup victory this country had been waiting for ever since this football-mad nation last carried the trophy home in 1986. Continue reading...

The PM seems undecided about delivering the big uplift in military help Kyiv needs to get ready for a possible Russian offensive

Evening Standard owner among a series of peers who appear to play a minimal role without a formal leave of absence from LordsEvgeny Lebedev has turned up to little more than 1% of Lords sessions since Boris Johnson made him a peer, Guardian analysis shows, making him among the seemingly least active members of the chamber over the past three years.Of 318 possible sittings since he formally entered the Lords in November 2019, the billionaire newspaper proprietor and friend of Johnson attended four times up to 7 December, attendance records show, 1.25% of the total. Continue reading...

Handing over of Bülent Keneş is one of Ankara’s key demands in exchange for ratifying Sweden’s membershipSweden’s supreme court has blocked the extradition of an exiled Turkish journalist, which was a key demand by Ankara to ratify Stockholm’s Nato membership.The court said on Monday there were “several hindrances” to sending back Bülent Keneş, a former editor-in-chief of the Zaman daily, who Turkey accuses of being involved in a 2016 attempt to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Continue reading...

Such moves by energy firms labelled ‘morally repugnant’ as households struggle with soaring billsMPs have called for a ban on forced installations of prepayment meters amid fears that elderly and vulnerable people are being effectively cut off from heating and power supplies.Prepayment meters (PPM) are under the spotlight as thousands of warrants allowing forced installations are being issued while households struggle with a rise in the cost of energy. Continue reading...

Exclusive: MP said she received allegations from staff of elderly patients being left in corridors for hoursThe Birmingham MP Preet Gill has called on the UK health secretary to launch a major public inquiry into allegations that a bullying and a toxic culture is risking patient safety at University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB).The MP for Edgbaston, where UHB is based, said she had received complaints from staff alleging elderly patients had been left on beds in corridors outside wards due to mismanagement, and medics were discouraged from speaking out about problems.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. For more information visit www.samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

Two men identified as leading players in May 2021 disturbance are jailed for six years and three monthsRioters turned a housing estate in Swansea into a “war zone” for the sake of “mass entertainment”, leaving families terrorised, police officers injured and a community scarred, a judge has said.Sentencing 18 men who organised or took part in the disturbance in May 2021, the judge, Paul Thomas KC, said the plan had been to “light up” the Mayhill estate, with ringleaders “cynically hijacking” a vigil for a teenager who died suddenly to create a “large-scale ruckus”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: NWAS letter says ambulance will come only if a patient is having a cardiac arrest or if there is immediate risk of them dying

Belarusian leader stresses country’s independence as Russian president makes first visit since 2019

As Penny Wong heads to Beijing for the first such visit in four years, trade minister says he is confident economic issues can be resolved

Unions say ‘bar must be set very low’ as only 9% of facilities rated substandard despite recent reports of poor conditions

Country’s president wins second five-year term as party leader after campaign dogged by scandalThe South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has been re-elected as leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) for a second five-year term in a party leadership contest.Votes casts by delegates at the party conference gave Ramaphosa a clear victory over his rival, Zweli Mkhize, a former party treasurer and health minister. Continue reading...

Government announces help for 900,000 households in Great Britain and £600 Northern Ireland paymentPeople living in care homes and on caravan parks can receive £400 to help with their fuel bills as part of a government drive to support all UK households with energy costs this winter.The government said on Monday that 900,000 households in England, Scotland and Wales without a direct relationship to an energy supplier would be able to apply online for the £400. Continue reading...

Counter-terrorism officer killed after militants seize compound in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinceTaliban detainees overpowered their guards at a counter-terrorism centre in north-western Pakistan overnight, snatching police weapons, taking hostages and seizing control of the facility.The incident quickly evolved into a standoff. Pakistani officials later confirmed that one counter-terrorism officer had been killed during the militants’ takeover at the detention centre in Bannu, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and part of a former tribal region. Continue reading...

Adviser urges governments to act ‘before this form of racism poisons the minds of many more young people’Schools should be required to teach about contemporary antisemitism, not only the Holocaust, as part of a drive to combat an “alarming” rise in hatred towards Jewish people among British pupils, a government adviser has said.The former Labour MP Lord Mann, who now sits as a non-affiliated peer, urged ministers across the UK to take action after an investigation found the number of antisemitic incidents in English schools had almost trebled over the past five years. Continue reading...

Mere commitment to discuss pay, so far refused by health secretary, would now be insufficient

Footfall likely to increase less than in previous years as shoppers struggle with cost of living crisis, say analystsThe UK retail industry is braced for a muted end to the Christmas shopping period as poor weather and strikes weigh further on consumers whose spending is already under pressure from the increased cost of living.Analysts at the data company Springboard said they expected the number of shoppers at retail destinations across the UK to rise by 4.5% in high streets, 5% in retail parks and 10% in shopping centres in December compared with November. However, those footfall increases would be smaller than previous years. Continue reading...

Anchorage Capital Partners will acquire the 185-year-old company from South African-based Woolworths Holdings Limited

Thirty-one crew thought to be missing as army recruits three ships and two helicopters to rescue effortA flagship Royal Thai Navy warship sank amid strong waves and high winds on Sunday, with dozens of sailors still missing on Monday.More than 100 sailors were rescued on Sunday evening from HTMS Sukhothai – one of just seven navy corvettes – after high winds made the boat tilt sharply toward the water, navy spokesperson Pokkrong Monthatphalin said in a statement. Continue reading...

Arctic airmass heading south, reaching Texas and even Florida with some areas facing temperatures of up to 45 degrees below normalWhile the UK is getting less cold this week in the run-up to Christmas, temperatures in the lower 48 states of the US will be taking a major plunge. Over the course of the weekend, an Arctic airmass that was sitting over northern Canada, characterised by extremely low temperatures and strong high pressure, slid to the south across Alberta and Saskatchewan into eastern states of the Pacific north-west. Temperatures across these regions averaged about -23C at around midday on Sunday.Through the week, this airmass will slowly spread southward across central states, with temperatures ranging from 10-30 degrees below average. Later in the week, the airmass will extend to the south, reaching Texas and even Florida, with some areas possibly reaching up to 45 degrees below normal. This cold airmass is likely going to interact with an area of low pressure across the eastern half of the country towards the end of the week, threatening significant snowfall to states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois. Continue reading...

Police in Canada shoot dead suspect after receiving reports of an active male shooter in Vaughan on Sunday nightFive people have been shot and killed in a residential unit in a Toronto suburb before the gunman was killed by police, authorities have said.Police were called to a residential building in Vaughan, Ontario, at about 7.20pm on Sunday to reports of an active male shooter who had shot several victims at a condo in Vaughan, Ontario. Continue reading...

Melbourne Victory could be hit with heavy sanctions for the behaviour of their fans

Chief epidemiologist says China is in the first of an expected three waves of Covid cases, despite official figures showing low numbersChinese authorities have warned of successive waves of Covid infections over the coming months, as cases continue to surge after the lifting of restrictions earlier this month.Across major cities people appear to be staying inside, either with the virus or in fear of contracting it, but authorities have pushed on with the reopening. Continue reading...

Daily shows of dissent against repressive 43-year clerical rule continue, with exiled demonstrators asking for help from the westIn late October, Paiman, an Iranian protester from the restive city of Mahabad lay in a hospital ward, guarded by regime officials who had gunned him down during anti-government demonstrations.Buckshot from a shotgun blast riddled his legs and torso, and blows to his head with wooden clubs had left him dazed and in agony. Continue reading...

Queensland Council of Social Services report reveals rental costs, inflation and inadequate welfare payments squeezing household budgets

Australia’s education minister Jason Clare says government still committed to schools getting 100% ‘fair funding’

Trip by Australia’s foreign affairs minister comes as tensions ease between two trading partners

Survey identifies slew of problems, with half of lawyers experiencing cases being adjourned because of disrepairBroken heating, sewage, mould, asbestos and leaking toilets and roofs are among the problems encountered by solicitors in courts in England and Wales, a survey by the Law Society has found.Approximately two-thirds of respondents said they had experienced delays in cases being heard in the last year owing to the physical state of the courts, with their professional body warning that it is contributing to the large backlog. Continue reading...

‘Sudden explosion of billionaire wealth’ at the expense of the rest of society is ‘grossly unjust’, says Equality TrustThe number of UK billionaires has increased by a fifth since the onset of the Covid pandemic, according to a report calling for a progressive wealth tax to tackle rising inequality amid the cost of living crisis.The Equality Trust charity said interventions by governments and central banks during the pandemic allowed for an “explosion of billionaire wealth” in Britain at the expense of the rest of society, after fuelling a boom in property values and on the stock market. Continue reading...

PSNI believe same two gunmen were responsible for deaths of Mark Hall in December 2021 and Sean Fox in October 2022The “horrifically violent” murders of two men who were killed almost a year apart in west Belfast have been formally linked by police. Both Sean Fox and Mark Hall were shot at close range in broad daylight, and detectives believe the murders were carried out by the same two gunmen.Hall, 31, was shot dead at his family home in Rodney Drive, Belfast, on Saturday 18 December 2021. Two men approached the house and one fired shots through the front window. Continue reading...

Streets of central Buenos Aires are a cacophony of yelling and horns after shootout victory against France

Patrons of French capital’s bars go through gamut of emotions as Argentina eventually win out on penaltiesIt was a rollercoaster. By the end they were standing on the tables outside, roars of “allez les Bleus” and “liberté, égalité, Mbappé” rising hoarsely into the freezing early evening air, hugging each other fiercely, cheering on their heroes.It was standing room only in Le Napoléon and Le Mondial cafes, facing each other across the Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis in Paris’s 10th arrondissement – both rammed to the rafters inside with flag-waving, face-painted, red-white-and-blue bewigged fans. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Supermarket faces landmark lawsuit in the UK from 130 former workers alleging negligence

Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposes global peace summit; archbishop of Canterbury says Russia’s invasion has opened ‘gates of hell’

Outcry after presenter writes he is ‘dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets’A Jeremy Clarkson column in the Sun about the Duchess of Sussex has provoked outcry online, with social media users labelling it “vile”, “horrific” and “abusive”.In an article for the paper published on Friday, Clarkson wrote that he loathed Meghan “on a cellular level”. He said he was “dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her”. Continue reading...

Lorna Tucker says not enough is being done to help Britain’s homeless people, and what is being done is not workingThe film-maker Lorna Tucker was once a teenage runaway, sleeping rough in London for 18 months. Twenty-five years later, she has relived the harrowing experience for a documentary, returning to her former haunts and speaking to homeless people at a time when record numbers are living on Britain’s streets.She was reunited with some of those she left behind, including “Darren”, who has been on the streets since his alcoholic mother was unable to care for him. “Darren sleeps where I used to sleep under Waterloo Bridge,” she said. “He still has the same eyes he had as a 15-year-old boy. He’s still got this beauty, but obviously he’s been very affected by it.” Continue reading...

Law courts will deliver their verdict on Monday on whether plans to export asylum seekers are lawfulIt has been more than three months since two of the UK’s most senior judges sifted through thousands of pages of evidence and heard opposing arguments from some of the country’s lawyers about whether or not the government’s controversial plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda are lawful. On Monday at 10.30am, at the Royal Courts of Justice, they will deliver their judgment.The government’s plan to export asylum seekers from one of the world’s richest countries to one of the world’s poorer nations, 4,000 miles away, is so radical that no other country has attempted anything like it. Continue reading...

Search takes place after man and woman arrested on suspicion of causing or allowing death of a childPolice have found a child’s body during searches of a garden in Birmingham.West Midlands police said last week they were searching the garden of a home in Clarence Road, Handsworth, after receiving information about the death of a child in the area. Continue reading...

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin suggests army personnel should be allowed to get on with their day-to-day jobsThe UK armed forces are not “spare capacity” for striking workers, the chief of the defence staff has said as he cautioned against relying on the military as the “ultimate backstop” during industrial action.Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the head of Britain’s armed forces, said it would be “slightly perilous” to expect them to be used routinely in the event of strikes by public sector workers. Continue reading...

Warning comes as more than 130 people who ate range of contaminated fresh food items suffer symptoms including hallucinations and delirium

Blast in Salang Tunnel, a key route linking north and south of country, killed at least 19 people, says officialAt least 19 people were killed and 32 injured when a fuel tanker exploded in a tunnel north of the Afghan capital, Kabul, a local official has said.The Salang Tunnel, about 80 miles (130km) north of Kabul, was originally built in the 1960s to assist the Soviet invasion. It is a key route linking the country’s north and south. Continue reading...

A year after he helped his terminally ill wife die, David Hunter is still in jailIn the hills above Paphos, at the end of a cul-de-sac in the village of Tala, Chris Jones is giving a guided tour of what has become his life’s work: transforming a two-storey villa into a palliative care facility.As the late afternoon sun shimmers over the sea beyond, Jones, a retired headmaster, points out the areas that will soon become the hospice’s lift and nurses’ station, oxygen and buzzer systems. Continue reading...

As the climate warms, and with up to 23 hours of summer sun to ripen innovative varieties, commercial wineries are boomingAcross most of the northern hemisphere, the grape harvest finished months ago. But in a small vineyard not far from Stockholm, in temperatures of -8C and 15cm of snow, it’s only just begun.“It’s perfect,” said Göran Amnegård, whose Blaxsta winery claims to be one of the world’s most northerly vineyards, as they started the harvest last week. Continue reading...