World news | The Guardian

City of Kherson suffers worst toll as Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemns killing ‘for intimidation and pleasure’

Traffic blocked after vintage vehicle carrying several Santas gets wedged in narrow laneA vintage armoured vehicle filled with Santas had to be freed by police after getting stuck in a Cornish lane.The Santas, who were believed to be on a pub crawl, got wedged in a hedge at Marsh Lane, near Hayle. Continue reading...

Sympathy and irritation from public as thousands of RMT union members at Network Rail prepare to strikeRail passengers were facing delays as they rushed to get the last trains before Christmas Eve services came to a halt, while Britain’s roads were braced for extra traffic as a result of the strikes on the railways.People embarking on festive getaways or heading home for the holidays gathered on the concourses of major stations including London Euston and Birmingham New Street. Continue reading...

Police say the death of the four-year-old at the Longleat Forest resort is not being treated as suspiciousA four-year-old boy has died at a Center Parcs resort in Wiltshire.A statement issued by Wiltshire police said they had attended the Longleat Forest holiday park just after 11am. Continue reading...

People who quit during pandemic may be offered ‘midlife MOT’ as way to address labour shortagePlans to coax middle-aged retirees back into work to boost the economy are being considered by the government, according to reports.Older people who have given up work could be offered what is being described as a “midlife MOT” to entice them back into employment, the Times has reported. Continue reading...

Furtive transactions a thing of the past as retailers tentatively sell decorations openlyIn previous years during the run-up to Christmas, Alia Obaidi would go to the local market in Riyadh, summon an Indian merchant and whisper her order. A short time later, he’d return with a cardboard box from a back room and furtively collect money.But things have changed. When Alia, a Lebanese resident of the Saudi capital, made her annual trip to source Christmas decorations this year, she no longer needed the merchant, or the subterfuge. Continue reading...

All state and territory capital cities besides Hobart are expecting temperatures from the high-20s to the low-30s

WA police allege the man, 19, who was an employee at the facility south-east of Perth, strangled the woman to deathA teenage worker has been arrested and charged with murder following the death of a 70-year-old aged care resident in Western Australia.Police allege the 19-year-old from Orana was an employee at an aged-care facility in Albany in the great southern region, south-east of Perth, where the victim lived. Continue reading...

Industrial action by rail workers will not only hit train journeys but add to congestion on the roads; disruption at airports tooThe great Christmas getaway continues on Saturday as millions of people travel across the UK to be with friends and family for the festive season.But strikes mean journeys home could be severely hampered by industrial action on the roads, railways and at airports, as Britain’s transport network reaches breaking point. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war hereIn early 2022, the Ukrainian photojournalist Evgeny Maloletka was covering violence in Kazakhstan when his attention turned back home: there were several reports signalling that Russia was preparing an invasion.He didn’t have to think twice: he knew he had to be back in his home country. By mid-January, he was already working on assignment for the Associated Press in the city of Kharkiv and the Donbas region, in eastern Ukraine, where there was a growing tension among Russian proxies. Continue reading...

Shopping centre eatery said to have begun sinking before lunch service and observers describe it as ‘going down like the Titanic’A restaurant on a converted paddle steamer has begun to sink into a lake in Essex.Photographs of the Miller & Carter Steakhouse at the Lakeside shopping centre showing it partially submerged emerged online on Friday. Some observers described the venue as “going down like the Titanic”, while one wrote online: “Looks like my family meal is cancelled!” Continue reading...

Michael James Pratt, given life sentence in US for sexual assault and producing child sexual abuse images, was staying in MadridSpanish police have arrested one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives, who was staying at a hotel in Madrid under a false identity.Michael James Pratt, a New Zealand citizen, had been sentenced to life in prison in the US for sexual exploitation and sexual assault, and producing child sexual abuse images. Continue reading...

Nathan Daniels, 21, and Bradley Green, 24, damaged enclosures and allegedly threw bottle at giraffe’s headTwo men have admitted breaking into a zoo and damaging the penguin and giraffe enclosures during an incident in which a bottle was allegedly thrown at a giraffe’s head.Nathan Daniels, 21, admitted damaging the penguin enclosure at Marwell zoo, near Southampton, while Bradley Green, 24, admitted damaging an enclosure containing giraffes. Continue reading...

GMB says it would ballot members on even a below-inflation deal, as nurses announce two more days of action

Prime minister says ‘lots of people’ have concerns about the reform and it is right for the UK government to ‘have a look at it’This will be my last Politics Live blog of 2022, and so I’d like to wish all readers a merry Christmas and a happy new year. And I would also like to thank you for your support. Journalism can’t function without an audience, and so thank you just for reading. And if you are one of the many, many readers who contribute, thank you even more. We can’t fund our news gathering just by selling printed copies of the newspaper and adverts, and people who donate are helping to ensure that we can continue to publish our reporting online, to everyone, for free. And if you post comments here below the line, thank you too. I find the comments mostly encouraging, often very interesting, and almost always helpful. The blog is always better as a result of feedback. Do keep it coming in the new year.And here is the full quote from Rishi Sunak when he was asked about Scotland’s gender recognition reform bill this morning. He said:Lots of people have got concerns about this new bill in Scotland, about the impact it will have on women’s and children’s safety.So I think it is completely reasonable for the UK government to have a look at it, understand what the consequences are for women and children’s safety in the rest of the UK, and then decide on what the appropriate course of action is. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester police say incident occurred during pursuit of a suspected stolen vehicleA 53-year-old woman has died in Oldham after a collision involving a police car that was pursuing a suspected stolen vehicle.Greater Manchester police said it was about 10am that officers started a pursuit of the vehicle. Continue reading...

VK Garment factory in Mae Sot is subject of a UK lawsuit against the supermarket from 130 ex-workersThai police have raided a clothing factory previously used by Tesco that is the subject of a UK lawsuit over alleged sweatshop conditions.The Guardian revealed earlier this week that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand reported being trapped in, in effect, forced labour, working 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in appalling conditions. Continue reading...

Blunder became apparent after seven-hour abdominal procedure at Alexandra hospital in RedditchA hospital is investigating how a pair of metal surgical forceps were left inside a patient after they had been stitched up following abdominal surgery.Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS trust has apologised unreservedly and said the incident at Redditch’s Alexandra hospital was “exceptionally rare”. Continue reading...

People taking refuge are grateful to their hosts but rue spending the festive season far from their familiesLike many Ukrainian refugees, Yuliia Kashperenko will spend Christmas away from home this year.She feels upset at the thought of being away from her family and friends in Ukraine, but comforted to know she will spend the holiday with her host and their children in south London. Continue reading...

As country prepares for first ‘normal’ Christmas since 2019, experts warn some precautions may be needed

Governments, peak bodies and advocates set to discuss security and verification polices next monthA criminologist has called for dating apps to introduce criminal history checks on users as the federal government is set to hold a summit into the security measures used by the platforms.Dr Rachael Burgin, lecturer of criminology at Swinburne law school, said there was a clear need for dating apps to implement robust verification systems and criminal checks.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

Human Rights Commission says aspects of ParentsNext program have the ‘effect of penalising parents, overwhelmingly mothers’

Former Liberal MP says problem was party ran a presidential campaign around ‘one of most unpopular leaders in Australian history’

Experts say ‘year after year we see abuse ramp up in December’ and it’s up to men to stop gendered violence

Jennie Trevithick says she felt ‘super safe’ while giving birth to son in midairA woman has said she could not have felt safer as she gave birth, even though it happened on a rescue helicopter whizzing her from the Isles of Scilly to the Cornish mainland.Jennie Trevithick was being flown from the island of St Mary’s to have her baby at the Royal Cornwall hospital in Truro but her labour progressed so quickly that baby Ebbyn arrived in the world before the coastguard helicopter could land. Continue reading...

Grisly discovery rocks capital, an oasis of tentative calm in a country that has seen more than 35,000 murders in the past yearThe two brothers’ bodies were found in a cellar, bound hand and foot, their heads wrapped in packing tape. Their elderly uncle, who had also been murdered, lay nearby.The grisly discovery, announced by authorities on Sunday, has rocked Mexico City, piercing the veneer of relative safety that has long characterised the capital, an oasis of tentative calm in a country awash with violence. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Companies tapping into growing demand, often charging hundreds of pounds – or more for longer journeysPrivate ambulance companies have been cashing in on strikes and long response times to 999 calls by charging hundreds of pounds to ferry stricken people to hospital.In another sign of the growing pressures on the NHS and the private sector’s encroachment on the health service, the Guardian can reveal that several of these services have expanded in recent months to tap into the growing demand. Continue reading...

GMB says it is overwhelmed by public support and doesn’t want to cause additional anxiety over Christmas

Proposal to dismantle existing reserves for ‘uncontacted’ Indigenous groups quietly pushed amid ongoing political chaosAmid the political chaos following the ousting of Peru’s President Pedro Castillo, lawmakers in the country’s congress are quietly trying to pass a bill into law that would strip “uncontacted” Indigenous people of protection and dismantle existing reserves created for them.The bill proposes to modify a 2006 law protecting Indigenous peoples in “isolation” and “initial contact” – those living with little or no contact with the outside world – in order to halt the creation of new reserves and eliminate existing ones, of which there are seven in Peru’s Amazon. Continue reading...

Cold air from north Canada brings wind-chill warnings over area stretching down to Mexico borderMuch of the United States is experiencing very cold conditions as cold air plunges south from northern Canada all the way to the Gulf coast, giving freezing temperatures across most of the country.An area of low pressure in the Great Lakes region brought snow and bitter winds. Twenty centimetres (8in) of snow was reported in the twin city area of Minneapolis-Saint Paul in Minnesota on Wednesday. The surge of cold air also affected areas farther west, with a sharp cold front bringing a dramatic 22C (40F) drop in just 30 minutes in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Continue reading...

RAC issues severe traffic alert for stretch of M25 and congestion also expected on parts of M23 and M40Drivers are being warned to prepare for long queues as millions of people embark on journeys to spend Christmas with friends and family.A severe traffic warning has been issued. The RAC, which expects 7.9m leisure journeys to be made across the UK on Friday and Christmas Eve combined, published the alert for a stretch of the M25. Continue reading...

French national suspected of murdering western backpackers on the hippie trail in 1970s and 80sCharles Sobhraj, the French serial killer known as “the serpent” who targeted western backpackers on the hippie trail in the 1970s, has walked free from a jail in Nepal after he was given early release.Sobhraj, 78, had been serving a life sentence after he was convicted in 2004 for the murder of an American tourist, Connie Jo Bronzich, in 1975. In 2014, Sobhraj was also convicted of killing her Canadian companion, Laurent Carrière. Continue reading...

Mark Serwotka, head of the PCS union, warns of ‘huge escalation’ of action in January across all sectors• UK strike calendar – service stoppages in December and JanuaryA union leader has warned of six months of strike disruption by Border Force staff, as they and postal workers become the latest groups to walk out.Mark Serwotka, the head of the Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents Border Force staff, said on Friday he expected rolling strikes to take their toll for months to come, with what he called a “huge escalation” in January. Continue reading...

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Deadline is 31 January, although there will then be six-month grace period with such post still deliveredDo you have a book of stamps in your wallet, purse or drawer at home? Maybe you have stockpiled them to avoid future price rises.If so, you need to be aware that the official deadline for using up stamps without barcodes – notably the regular first and second-class “everyday” stamps featuring the profile of the late Queen – is getting closer. Continue reading...

Covid-19 situation across the strait, and concern at home sparked by Taiwan’s reopening for travel, have put strain on medicine suppliesTaiwan may restrict the bulk buying of pain relief medications as people stock up, with some planning to ship their purchases to China, where the worsened Covid-19 situation has put a strain on supplies.Hsueh Jui-yuan, Taiwan’s minister of health and welfare, told lawmakers at a legislative committee hearing on Thursday that the health agency would first instruct pharmacies to advise customers not to snap up Panadol and related drugs. Continue reading...

Seven or Nine would have to partner with Fox to compete with bid, but they are talking up their ability to promote the gameIn the life cycle of a Cricket Australia administration, nothing matters more than the home broadcast deal. There is prize money, ICC distributions, overseas broadcasts, but the value of showing the major summer sport to an Australian audience dwarfs the lot. Everything that CA does depends on that cashflow, as well as keeping cricket in front of as many people as possible. The current contract has another season to run, but with channels Seven, Nine, Ten, and Fox Sports all keen for a slice next time, everyone wants a deal done now.Last time, in 2018 in the dying months of James Sutherland’s time in charge, was a landmark missed opportunity. Channel Ten had spent the preceding years making a success of the Big Bash League, and with the backing of US giant CBS, offered $960m to put every Australian cricket match on free-to-air. That meant domestic men’s and women’s games, boosting the Sheffield Shield and the 50-over competitions along with internationals and the BBL. But CA wanted to top a billion dollars, and after a verbal agreement with Ten, reneged to split the rights between Seven and Fox for a relatively small increase to $1.18bn, with plenty of that value in contra advertising rather than in cash. Continue reading...

‘We believe we have agreed on a way forward that benefits this country,’ party leader Viliame Gavoka told reporters after an internal party voteFiji’s Social Democratic Liberal party (Sodelpa) said on Friday that it would form a coalition with two other parties, a move that will dislodge the current prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, signalling an end to the former military leader’s 16 years in power.“We believe we have agreed on a way forward that benefits this country,” party leader Viliame Gavoka said in a news conference after an internal party vote. Continue reading...

League of Gentlemen star’s two programmes are part of a rich seam of shows about the supernatural this yearThis year’s Christmas TV and radio schedules feature more spooky and supernatural content than before the pandemic, reflecting a hunger for answers during uncertain times or grief for loved ones.That’s according to Sherlock and League of Gentlemen writer and actor Mark Gatiss, who will be appearing in two ghostly programmes over the Christmas period. Continue reading...

Extradition of Abdullah al-Senussi over Lockerbie bombing would have closely followed that of Mohammed Abouagela MasudThe extradition to the US of Muammar Gaddafi’s most trusted and notorious aide was abruptly halted by Libya at the 11th hour this week for fear of public anger after the handover of another ex-senior Libyan intelligence operative, officials in Tripoli have told the Guardian.Abdullah al-Senussi, a former intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Gaddafi, is blamed for a series of lethal bombings directed at western aviation as well as other targets. Continue reading...

Passengers arriving in UK can expect longer queues while mail may not arrive in time for ChristmasBorder Force officials will on Friday join the wave of industrial action across Britain, starting the first of a series of strikes at airports, while Royal Mail workers walk out again for two days before Christmas.Passengers travelling into the UK have been warned to be prepared for longer queues at immigration in airports, while many letters and parcels will now go undelivered before Christmas, as staff take action over pay trailing behind inflation. Continue reading...

Flight QF1 landed safely at Baku airport and was met by emergency services on the runway

Communities directly in the path of the cyclone have reported no major damage despite wind gusts up to 100 km/h

UK ministers considering ‘nuclear option’ after MSPs overwhelmingly back bill on transgender rightsRishi Sunak’s government is threatening to block a new law that would make Scotland the first part of the UK to introduce a self-identification system for people who want to change gender.In a significant escalation that brings tensions around transgender rights into the constitutional arena, Westminster made clear it would consider a “nuclear option” of blocking the bill from going for royal assent, a move that would enrage supporters of the changes and nationalists. Continue reading...

Kaili is one of four charged with corruption and money laundering in relation to Qatar and will go on trial in BelgiumEva Kaili, the Greek MEP at the centre of a cash for influence scandal implicating Qatar, will remain in jail pending trial, a Belgian court has decided.“In its order this morning, the pre-council chamber extended the pre-trial detention of E.K by one month,” said a statement from the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office. If Kaili chooses to appeal against the decision within 24 hours, she will appear before a chamber at the Brussels court of appeal within 15 days. Continue reading...

Unemployed mother of two is among winners as world’s biggest lottery hands out prizes of up to €325,000A Gambian man who crossed from the Mediterranean by boat and an unemployed mother of two were among those rejoicing after the world’s biggest lottery sprayed money across Spain.On Thursday, the country celebrated the Christmas lottery known as El Gordo, or the Fat One, which dished out €2.5bn (£2.2bn) in prize money. Continue reading...

O2 venue to be subject to full hearing in January after fans at Asake gig were trapped in crowd surgeThe O2 Academy Brixton has had its licence suspended following last week’s crush at the south London venue in which two people died and others were injured.Fans attending a gig by the Afrobeats singer Asake were trapped in a crowd surge outside last Thursday night when a large number of people tried to enter the venue, leading to two deaths. A third person is still in a critical condition and eight others needed hospital care. Continue reading...

‘Don’t mingle’ advice comes as UK Health Security Agency says scarlet fever and strep A infections continue to riseFlu and Covid are on the rise in England, with experts stressing the importance of vaccination and warning that people who feel unwell should stay at home rather than mingling with others during the festive season.The figures come as cases of scarlet fever and strep A infections continue to rise. Continue reading...

Judge at Cardiff hearing rejects families’ complaint, saying relationships curriculum does not advocate any one gender identityA group of parents has lost a legal challenge against the teaching of children about gender identity and sex in primary schools across Wales.Campaigners launched a judicial review in the high court against the Welsh government’s new relationships and sexuality education (RSE) curriculum, which they depicted as “dangerous” and “woke”. Continue reading...