World news | The Guardian

Number of people in England being treated remains at record level for this time of year with daily average of 2,660The NHS is facing its worst-case scenario" for flu cases this month across England after the number of people in hospital with the illness increased by 55% in a week.An average of 2,660 patients a day were in an NHS hospital bed with flu, up from 1,717 last week and the highest ever for this time of year. By comparison, in the same week last year the number of patients in hospital with flu stood at 1,861, compared with 402 in 2023. Continue reading...

Museum, which includes rich collection of Vermeers and Rembrandts, currently shows only fraction of its 1m objectsAmsterdam's Rijksmuseum, which holds the world's largest trove of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age, has announced plans to open an outpost in Eindhoven.The museum, which showcases only a fraction of its more than 1m objects, said on Thursday it would construct the 3,500 sq metre centre over the next six to eight years. Continue reading...

Compensation due to thousands of women and girls fitted with coils without their knowledge or consentVictims of Denmark's IUD scandal, in which thousands of Greenlandic women and girls were forcibly fitted with contraceptive coils without their knowledge or consent, have claimed victory in their legal fight with the Danish government after it was confirmed they will be eligible for compensation.The Danish parliament, Folketinget, and the government reached an agreement on Wednesday that entitles about 4,500 Greenlandic women to claim 300,000 DKK (35,000) each from a reconciliation fund. Continue reading...

Slew of allegations of sexual harassment hits party already battered by corruption claims and political setbacks

No more concessions, says minister after legislation was thwarted in upper house despite manifesto climbdown

Letters arguing research could harm participating children sent to medical regulators, health secretary and NHSCampaigners have begun a legal process intended to suspend a clinical trial of puberty blockers on the grounds that the research could prove harmful to the children taking part.The study was commissioned in response to last year's Cass review of gender identity services which found that gender medicine was an area of remarkably weak evidence" and built on shaky foundations". Continue reading...

Exclusive: New research points to need for holistic approach to combating illicit tobacco' including having support of health advocates

Women at FMC Carswell - long a focus of sexual abuse investigations - say prison officials have turned a blind eyeEleven women incarcerated at a federal prison in Texas allege they have been subjected to rampant sexual abuse by staff members in the past seven years. The allegations are the latest accusations of abuse within a federal prison system rife with claims of inhumane conditions.The allegations at FMC Carswell, a federal medical women's prison in Fort Worth, Texas, are particularly troubling because the facility has been the focus of sexual abuse investigations for years, with 13 staff members convicted of abuse and misconduct since 1997 and promises of reform at various times. Continue reading...

Singer told Jimmy Fallon that the ink is not dry' on a deal but the prospect of a stage version of her critically acclaimed album was very exciting'Lily Allen has said she is in discussions over adapting her hit album West End Girl into a play, possibly for the West End itself.Speaking on The Tonight Show in the US, host Jimmy Fallon said: In London, they're trying to make West End Girl into a play." Continue reading...

Letter written hours before her execution in 1587 will form part of exhibition and programme of events in Perth aiming to bring queen's story to lifeA letter written by Mary, Queen of Scots hours before her execution in 1587 will go on display for the first time in nearly a decade when it forms part of an exhibition in Perth next year.Mary wrote what is believed to be her last letter at 2am on Wednesday 8 February 1587 when she wrote to her brother-in-law Henri III in France to put her affairs in order. She was executed six hours later at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire. Continue reading...

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The federal opposition and crossbenchers have backed a review of expenses spending rules

British government also rejects president's claims on sovereignty over Falkland Islands as he suggests wanting to make Argentina a world military power'The British government has denied it is engaged in negotiations to lift a ban on selling arms to Argentina that has been in place since the Falklands war.Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, told the Daily Telegraph his government had begun speaking to the UK about the restrictions. Continue reading...

As part of wider strategy, opposition is exploring options to force visa holders to adhere to Australian values'

Wartime defences in Surrey and model boat club boathouse in Birmingham among this year's unusual listingsIf Nazi tanks had ever attempted to invade Guildford, they surely would have been thwarted by concrete pyramid-shaped obstacles known as dragon's teeth".Eight decades after the defences were installed in Surrey woodland, their history is being remembered by Historic England (HE), which has included them on its list of remarkable historic places granted protection in 2025. Continue reading...

Cyclones like those in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia that killed 1,750 are alarming new reality'The climate crisis supercharged the deadly storms that killed more than 1,750 people in Asia by making downpours more intense and flooding worse, scientists have reported. Monsoon rains often bring some flooding but the scientists were clear: this was not normal".In Sri Lanka, some floods reached the second floor of buildings, while in Sumatra, in Indonesia, the floods were worsened by the destruction of forests, which in the past slowed rainwater running off hillsides. Continue reading...

Former judge did not prove the ACT integrity commission's findings of his dishonesty, bad faith and partiality' were without evidence, court finds

Figures for England and Wales show there were 51,672 offences for child sexual exploitation and abuse online in 2024Online child sexual abuse in England and Wales has surged by a quarter within a year, figures show, prompting police to call for social media platforms to do more to protect young people.Becky Riggs, the acting chief constable of Staffordshire police, called for tech companies to use AI tools to automatically prevent indecent pictures from being uploaded and shared on their sites. Continue reading...

Qualifications watchdog launches consultation amid complaints from pupils about writing fatigue in examsStudents could be sitting some of their GCSEs and A-levels on a laptop by the end of the decade, according to England's qualifications watchdog.Amid complaints from pupils of writing fatigue in exams because their hand muscles are not strong enough", Ofqual is launching a three-month public consultation about the introduction of onscreen assessments. Continue reading...

More than 10bn was committed to building new schools between 2014-15 and 2023-24, compared with 6.8bn for rebuilding existing schoolsConservative governments spent 325m creating 67 free schools that subsequently failed or disappeared, many through lack of demand, according to data revealed by a freedom of information request.The figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show that the government committed more than 10bn to building new schools between 2014-15 and 2023-24, compared with 6.8bn for rebuilding existing schools, which critics say left England with a backlog of crumbling and decaying buildings. Continue reading...

Sex and nudity, violence and health and safety rank as top concerns among 5,000 complaints assessed by watchdog

The US president praised an autocrat, said Europe should send back' asylum seekers and compared Ukraine's leader to a conman

Nestle confectionery treats now described as being encased in a smooth milk chocolate flavour coating'Toffee Crisp and Blue Riband bars can no longer be called chocolate after Nestle reformulated their recipes due to the increasing cost of ingredients.The Swiss conglomerate now describes the treats as being encased in a smooth milk chocolate flavour coating", rather than being covered in milk chocolate. Continue reading...

Meanwhile, the Lib Dems' Gentleman Ed rips into Starmer for staying silent on The Donald's US security strategyWith little more than a week to go until the Christmas recess, the Commons is in festive overdrive. Demob happy. A few minutes in to the year's penultimate prime minister's questions with MPs from both sides shouting and cheering, the speaker interrupted proceedings to say: We don't need the panto auditions any more." To which the natural response was: Ooh yes we do." Because that's pretty much the whole purpose of PMQs at the best of times. A feelgood experience for some. A feelbad experience for others. Noise with no substance.No one embraces the panto spirit more than Kemi Badenoch. Kemi has come to realise that the bar is actually quite low for her to remain as Tory leader. All she has to do is be a little bit better than Keir Starmer at PMQs. Which is turning out to be a lot less difficult than she imagined. Sometimes just standing up is enough. Continue reading...

Roy Marsh, 86, says the penalty from enforcement officers was unnecessary and all out of proportion'A man has claimed he was fined 250 for spitting after a leaf blew into his mouth in Lincolnshire.Roy Marsh, 86, was given the financial penalty after the incident in Skegness earlier this year. He is now calling for responsible" litter enforcement. Continue reading...

Judge ordered the guard, deployed to the city in June, returned to the control of the California governor

Downing Street publishes list including ex-Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and Iceland supermarket chief Richard WalkerReeves is now being asked about the leak to the Financial Times on 13 November saying that Reeves had dropped plans to raise income tax in the budget.Reeves claims some aspects of the story were misleading. Continue reading...

Daughter delivers speech, with Nobel Institute saying Maria Corina Machado still expected in Oslo after journey of extreme danger'

Outgoing NYC comptroller and progressive ally of mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani launches primary bid for CongressBrad Lander, the outgoing comptroller of New York City and a former candidate for mayor, announced on Wednesday that he is running for the US Congress in a challenge from the left to fellow Democrat and representative, Dan Goldman - with the backing of the city's progressive mayor-elect.Lander will run in the Democratic primary contest next year for a liberal district in lower Manhattan and northwest Brooklyn. Continue reading...

The White House has formalised its contempt for decaying' Europe with an ominous plan to undermine the EU and boost the far right

Baby Ruth Villarama's documentary Food Delivery depicts those struggling with the superpower to retain their trade. The director describes capturing their boats getting rammed by the Chinese coast guardDuring a televised debate in 2016, populist presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte made a typically belligerent statement that he himself would jetski to Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and plant a Philippine flag there. Duterte claimed that he was ready to die a hero to keep the Chinese out of the bitterly contested maritime territory.That made millions of Filipino workers and fishers vote for him because of that one promise," says film-maker Baby Ruth Villarama. As her new Oscar and Bafta-contending documentary Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea reveals, it wasn't a promise Duterte kept. He would make excuses that the jetski has broken down. Eventually there was an official pronouncement that it had just been a campaign joke. From then on, the fisherfolk were really enraged." Continue reading...

Keeping reindeer in pens for public enjoyment can cause them physical and mental harm, charities warnWith their fluffy coats, big brown eyes and reputation as Santa's helpers, reindeer are a common and popular attraction at Christmas markets around the UK.But being stuck in a pen and approached by hordes of adoring fans is harming the mental and physical health of Rudolph and his brethren, animal charities have warned. Continue reading...

The short answer is yes, but if you don't want big brands or to use Amazon then more time and a lot more prompts are needed

Military personnel told they can return to Nigeria after actions described as unfriendly act'Authorities in Burkina Faso have released 11 Nigerian military personnel held after a cargo plane from Lagos made an unauthorised" emergency landing in its second largest city, Bobo-Dioulasso.The breakaway regional Association of Sahel States (AES) said on Monday that the C-130 aircraft had entered Burkina Faso's airspace without clearance, calling it an unfriendly act". Continue reading...

Report also found an overall failure of the museum', including broken security camera and lack of coordination, hearing told

Tory leader says head of Reform should put on his big boy pants' and apologise over allegations from ex-schoolmates

Australian psych-rockers, who removed their music from Spotify in protest against the streaming service, lament the appearance of AI band King Lizard WizardSpotify has removed an AI impersonator of popular Australian rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard from the streaming service, with the band's frontman voicing despair at the situation.King Gizzard removed their music from Spotify in July in a protest against the company's chief executive Daniel Ek, who is the chair of military technology company Helsing as well as a major investor. Continue reading...

Parents of Madeleine McCann among dozens to sign letter to PM urging him to revive second part of Leveson inquiryMadeleine McCann's father has called for greater scrutiny of the UK media as he told how monstering" by sections of the press had made him feel as if he was being suffocated and buried".Gerry McCann said his family was tormented by press abuses" and that the media had repeatedly interfered" with the investigation into his daughter's disappearance in 2007. Continue reading...

Local police say Dyllon Redfern, 24, brandished a derringer from the 19th century after being asked for his IDThe single-shot, percussion-style pistols known as derringers have almost certainly not been used in violent crimes since the 19th-century old west in the US - but police allege that a robber clad in pajama pants brandished one of those weapons at an Oklahoma liquor store recently.Dyllon Redfern, 24, stands accused of going into Primo's Wine and Spirits in Tulsa on the night of 5 December but being turned away from buying anything because he did not have his identification. Store employees later told Tulsa police that Redfern, who was in pajama pants and a hooded sweatshirt, left and came back with what they described as an old timey musket", pointed the gun at them and demanded cash as well as their IDs. Continue reading...

Natasha Ugle says nothing has changed' since her husband Wayne's death in 2023, as a national report found 33 First Nations peoples died in custody last year

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Dramatic scenes in the water prompt warnings to swimmers and snorkelers at one of Australia's most popular holiday destinationsAn abundance of baitfish has drawn in hundreds of sharks to feed in the shallows around Byron Bay, creating dramatic scenes at one of Australia's most popular holiday destinations.The multi-day event was captured by many Byron locals, who shared footage of the sharks, including black tip whalers, dusky whalers and bull sharks, as they fed on the large school of fish over the weekend. Continue reading...

After a ceasefire deal he brokered collapsed, Trump told a rally in Pennsylvania that he would make a call' to stop a war' between Thailand and CambodiaUS president Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he will make a call regarding reignited hostilities on the Thai-Cambodia border, where fighting has resumed less than two months after a ceasefire he brokered between the two nations collapsed.Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, the US president reiterated his global peacemaking skills, proclaiming that in ten months I ended eight wars", before listing hostilities between Kosovo and Serbia, Pakistan and India, and Israel and Iran. Continue reading...

The Emily in Paris actor and writer of the Tony-nominated Slave Play remains in Japan while prosecutors investigate the alleged discovery of MDMA in his bagThe American playwright and Emily in Paris actor Jeremy O Harris has been released three weeks after his arrest in Japan on suspicion of drug smuggling while prosecutors investigate, police said Wednesday.Japan has some of the world's strictest drug laws, and possession of illegal narcotics can result in jail time. Prosecutors also have a very high conviction rate. Continue reading...

Additional student critically wounded on Tuesday, after 17 August shooting left two people with gunshot woundsAt least one student was killed and another was critically wounded in a shooting at a residence hall at Kentucky State University on Tuesday, and a suspect who is not a student at the school was in custody, officials said.The shooting was the second in four months in the same area of the university. Continue reading...

The 71-year-old performer's son Micah has been arrested on suspicion of murder, Santa Monica police saidJubilant Sykes, the Grammy-nominated opera and gospel singer, has died aged 71 after being stabbed to death at his home in California.His 31-year-old son, Micah Sykes, was arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said on Tuesday. Continue reading...

In state's 18th execution this year, Mark Geralds, 58, given three-drug injection for 1989 stabbing of Tressa PettiboneA man convicted of fatally stabbing a woman during a home invasion decades ago was executed on Tuesday evening in Florida.Mark Allen Geralds, 58, was pronounced dead at 6.15pm following a three-drug injection at Florida state prison for the February 1989 murder of Tressa Pettibone. Continue reading...

Crews conduct high-water rescues in Washington, and flood watches put in effect along coast down to OregonA series of powerful storms hit the Pacific north-west, dumping heavy rain, swelling rivers, closing roads and prompting high-water rescues in several states.An unusually strong storm system called an atmospheric river is passing through the region, bringing heavy rainfall across western Washington and north-western Oregon and more than a foot of snow in the northern Rockies and north-western Wyoming. Continue reading...

National Audit Office says Shabana Mahmood's plans may have unintended consequences' on stretched systemShabana Mahmood's radical plans to overhaul the asylum system could cause unintended consequences" such as increased homelessness among people seeking refuge and growing case backlogs, Whitehall's spending watchdog has concluded.The head of the National Audit Office said that the home secretary's policies, which are meant to accelerate case decisions and reduce appeals, would require effective action on the bottlenecks" if they were to succeed. Continue reading...

Seven brainteasers feature in intelligence agency's 2025 Christmas card, with covers designed by UK school pupilsA warning from the spies at GCHQ: a robber is on the loose, intent on stealing Christmas presents. Luckily, he won't find it easy.The robber's target, according to the British intelligence and security agency, is a house with a large number of rooms, each of which has a letter, which are linked to each other by coloured doors and arrows. He can't go through the same-coloured door twice in a row, and can't move against any arrows. Eventually, the robber is caught by the police. How was he acting? Continue reading...