World news | The Guardian

Death of Pavel Antov, who reportedly criticised Ukraine war, comes days after his travelling companion died at same hotelIndian police are investigating the sudden deaths at a luxury hotel of a wealthy Russian politician who reportedly criticised the Ukraine war, and his travelling companion.The body of Pavel Antov, 65, was found on Saturday in a pool of blood outside his lodgings in eastern Odisha state, where he was on holiday with three other Russian nationals. Continue reading...

Not enough money to repay up to 30,000 customers for deposits on goods ordered at collapsed furniture makerMore than 30,000 Made.com shoppers are collectively owed almost £12m they will not get back, according to the latest report by administrators to the collapsed furniture seller.Shoppers paid £13.7m in deposits on large items such as sofas, according to documents filed with Companies House late last week. However, less than £1.9m has been recouped by customers through card charge-backs, which is where credit card providers refund borrowers when purchases go wrong. Continue reading...

Some voluntary groups have closed and farmers report problems after slow disbursal of UK funds to replace EU money

Ex-Labour MP and former critic of privatisation risks claims of hypocrisy over advisory role with Daniel KřetínskýThe MP turned banker, Chuka Umunna, is advising a Czech tycoon who was accused of planning a secret takeover of Royal Mail by union leaders.The former Labour MP is one of a team of bankers working on Daniel Křetínský’s British business interests, many of which are held within Vesa Equity Investment, including a 23% stake in Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distributions Services (IDS). Continue reading...

Directive also orders personnel not to ‘sanitise’ reports and warns commanders of their potential liability for subordinates’ actions

Conscripts will see the length of their service extended from four months to one year in plans to be outlined by Taiwan’s president

Reconstruction minister quits amid accusations of election law violations and ties to Unification churchJapan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has ended the year facing fierce political headwinds after his reconstruction minister became the fourth member of his scandal-hit cabinet to resign in two months.Kenya Akiba announced his resignation on Tuesday after opposition MPs accused him of election law violations and of having ties to the Unification church, a controversial religious group whose connections to the ruling party have sent Kishida’s approval ratings to record lows. Continue reading...

The children, aged five, two and two months, were found alive at the crash scene near their Kondinin home

Firefighters forced to flee scene of Newport fire after part of the roof collapsed revealing a ruptured gas line; Louis Ryckmans of the crew of Yeah Baby says he initially thought collision with ‘leviathan’ sunfish was boat hitting a reef. This blog is now closedHeavy rainfall expected across northern Australia: BoMHowe says the tropical monsoon period is “very active” at the moment across northern Australia.That’s associated with ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie which is continuing to deliver heavy rainfall across the NT.There is a warning for intense rainfall and damaging winds. We’ve already seen rainfall totals of more than 200mm over the last few days, causing roads to be washed out. Reminding travellers to take care and check conditions before heading out.We will see a cool change move through Adelaide late tonight and towards midnight, moving through western Victoria in the early hours of tomorrow morning.We will see the cool change move through around lunchtime today for Melbourne and also tomorrow afternoon for Hobart. Continue reading...

Trade was ‘luckiest’ in draw and number 39 was best-bet for jackpots, finds operator CamelotBuilders were once again the luckiest by employment type among national lottery players in a year when more than one millionaire was made each day.The trade was followed by teachers, drivers, retail workers and administration staff, said Camelot, operator of the lottery. Continue reading...

Calls for more funding as potential surge in demand for services in England threatens to put unsustainable pressure on systemMore people will be shut out from mental health services if no new cash is invested in the next two years, experts have warned.Sean Duggan, chief executive of the mental health network at the NHS Confederation, which represents the health and care system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said that a lack of long-term investment combined with a potential surge in demand due to the cost of living crisis would cause unsustainable pressure on the system. Continue reading...

Firm says suburban sites are among its fastest-growing as workers try to save on commuting costsThe return to the office after the pandemic lockdowns gathered pace in 2022 as hybrid working took hold at British businesses and employees headed to desks in suburban locations, according to figures from the workspace provider IWG.The average number of visits to IWG’s more than 300 UK workspaces climbed by 54% from January to November, as more workers split their time between home and office. Continue reading...

From terms to mock the Russian foe to those that mask the grim reality of war, new usages aboundIt was once a superstition only among Ukrainian air crew: the word “last”, especially in the context of a last or final meeting, should be avoided as it denotes a premonition of death.In its place air crew would say krajne, which translates very roughly to English as “on the edge”. Continue reading...

Survey finds 16% of Indigenous Australian staff experienced bullying or harassment – almost double the rate of their non-Indigenous coworkers

Surveillance Australia handed six-year extension just three months after auditor general found home affairs’ management of contract ‘not effective’

Russia can only be invited if it has faced a war crimes tribunal first, says foreign minister, Dmytro KulebaUkraine is aiming to hold a peace summit by the end of February – preferably at the United Nations with its secretary general, António Guterres, as a possible mediator – according to its foreign minister.But Dmytro Kuleba said that Russia could only be invited if the country faced a war crimes tribunal first. Continue reading...

Eight days of isolation will no longer be needed, and officials say citizens’ ability to travel will be slowly restoredChina will drop Covid-19 quarantine requirements for passengers arriving from abroad from 8 January, its National Health Commission has announced in the latest easing of the country’s once-strict virus-control measures.Currently, arriving passengers must quarantine for five days at a hotel, followed by three days at home. At one stage there was a requirement to quarantine for three weeks. Continue reading...

Foreign affairs committee chair says holding of men allegedly involved in protests part of ‘industrialised taking of hostages’All British people still in Iran should leave immediately because of the “industrialised” level of people being taken state hostage, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee has said.Alicia Kearns made her call after the Iranian government said it had arrested seven “British linked” suspects including some dual nationals allegedly involved in the country’s anti-government protests, which began 100 days ago. Continue reading...

Growing numbers of students are experiencing hidden homelessness or accepting poor accommodationStudent housing is reaching a “crisis point” not seen since the 1970s, when students slept in sports halls and their cars, and is set to worsen in the new year, a charity has warned.Since the start of the academic year, students at universities across the UK have complained of fierce competition for rooms in flatshares for the 2022 and 2023 academic years. Continue reading...

Former PM says Rishi Sunak can turn things round, but another senior Tory MP says it’s ‘almost impossible’The Conservative party can still win the next general election if it shows the public it is on their side, Theresa May has said.The former prime minister said Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt could rebuild the party’s reputation for “sound money and sound public finances” within the next two years, after the damage done by Liz Truss’s mini-budget. Continue reading...

Labour says plan to ditch national targets equates to ‘scrapping standards altogether’ , after review by Patricia HewittThe government is preparing to ditch NHS national targets in an attempt to “boost efficiency”, as part of recommendations from a review led by a former Labour health secretary.Patricia Hewitt led the government-commissioned review into the NHS in England, looking at how the new integrated care systems (ICSs) could operate efficiently. The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced the assessment during the autumn budget. Continue reading...

Delays and cancellations linked to 20 years of privatisation, rising costs and labour shortages worsened by pandemic, say expertsRail passengers have been delayed or disrupted on more than half of all train services departing from 15 of Great Britain’s busiest stations in the last year, Guardian analysis shows, exposing what has been described as a “broken” railway system that cannot easily be fixed.Experts said the figures – which show rail services in the north and Midlands as the hardest hit – demonstrated the impact of two decades of privatisation, which had increased costs and public subsidies, combined with labour shortages exacerbated by the pandemic. Continue reading...

At least seven international NGOs have suspended aid, saying they cannot work without female staffThe acting head of the UN mission in Afghanistan met Taliban leaders on Monday in a bid to persuade them to withdraw their ban on all women working for aid agencies.Ramiz Alakbarov met the Taliban’s economy minister, Din Mohammad Hanif, in Kabul, telling him that millions of Afghans need “humanitarian assistance and removing barriers is vital”. Continue reading...

President condemns anti-LGBTQ rhetoric after comment by Orit Strook, which she later said referred to certain proceduresA suggestion by one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming ministers that Israeli doctors should be allowed to refuse treatment to LGBTQ patients on religious grounds has heightened fears that the new government poses an unprecedented threat to gay rights.The Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has weighed in to condemn the growing anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, saying: “The racist pronouncements of recent days against the LGBTQ community and other sectors of the public make me extremely worried and concerned.” The president, whose post is largely ceremonial but who commands a degree of authority, added that such rhetoric undermined Israeli “democratic and moral values”. Continue reading...

Concerns over increased influenza and RSV cases also high after indoor gatherings and abandoned preventive measuresUS public health officials are bracing for a possible Covid-19 surge in the coming weeks following indoor holiday gatherings among a populace that has largely abandoned preventive measures.Concerns over this uptick come amid rising influenza and RSV cases in America. This so-called “tripledemic,” experts warn, could further strain the already overburdened US health system. Continue reading...

Defence ministry says drone was shot down on approach to Engels airbase but falling debris killed three

The number of people who have made the dangerous journey this year is now 45,756Ninety people crossed the Channel in two small boats on Christmas Day, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed.That takes the provisional total for people making the perilous journey from France during 2022 to 45,756, the highest total since the data was first collected in 2018. According to official figures, last year’s total was 28,526. Continue reading...

With reports of surf life saving rescues up in some states, there are fears of a repeat of last summer, when 145 people drownedAustralians are being urged to be safe in the water this week, as the country enters the most dangerous time of the year for fatal drownings.Two swimmers drowned on Christmas Day – a 36-year-old man in Sydney and a 19-year-old in Lorne in Victoria – and police divers in Western Australia are searching Black Diamond Lake near Collie in the state’s south-west after a 30-year-old man did not return from a swim. Continue reading...

Cloud Act deal will allow authorities to demand data from tech giants in days or weeks, rather than months or yearsA parliamentary inquiry has given the green light to greater information sharing with US law enforcement despite its concern Australians will be kept in the dark about the number of orders made for data.The joint standing committee on treaties has approved Australia’s Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (Cloud) Act agreement with the US, signed by the Morrison government in December 2021, labelling it an “important tool” for investigating serious crime. Continue reading...

A shared sense of national history is proving to be a crucial weapon, spurring on Ukraine resistance and Russian soldiersThe Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko recalls a quote attributed to Otto von Bismarck: “Wars are not won by generals, but by schoolteachers and parish priests.” It’s a country’s taught collective memory, its shared sense of its own history, that are the decisive instruments for mobilisation, and are as important on the battlefield as weaponry.Few conflicts have been so shaped by the chief actors’ sense of their own national story as the Ukrainian war that began in February. It is the competing grand narratives of the past, not just in Russia and Ukraine, but in Germany, France, Poland, the Baltics, the UK, the US, and even the global south, that make this war so hard to resolve. Continue reading...

Warning shots fired after drones crossed military demarcation line from north, South Korea military saysSouth Korea scrambled warplanes and attack helicopters and fired warning shots on Monday after North Korean drones violated its airspace, the South Korean military said.South Korea tracked the drones crossing from North Korea over what is known as the military demarcation line between the two countries after detecting them in the skies of the western city of Gimpo at about 10.25am (0125 GMT), the military said. Continue reading...

No services on railways for second consecutive day as RMT union members strike over payThousands of people face Boxing Day travel chaos across Britain as a rail strike means no services will be running.Many have been forced to cancel or make alternative plans as the industrial action continues. Continue reading...

The slowdown is expected to intensify with price declines between 5% and 12%The housing market will cool sharply next year after a bumpy 2022, industry experts are predicting, as the UK contends with recession and higher mortgage rates.As the cost of living crisis has intensified amid soaring inflation and as interest rates have increased, house prices have already started falling month-on-month. The average house price dropped 2.3% in November from October – the most since the start of the financial crash in 2008 – according to Halifax. Continue reading...

Traces of contaminant found in Coles Finest Australian Organic Washed Rind Raw, sold in Victoria and Tasmania

Trio were surfing at Cumberland River beach just south of Lorne on Victoria’s Surf Coast on Sunday evening when one ran into trouble

Boxing Day sales could prove fruitful, with many of the most popular pieces on offerBirkenstocks, trouser suits and seam-free workout sets were three of the most purchased fashion items of 2022. For those looking to tap into trending items, the Boxing Day sales could prove fruitful, with many of the most popular pieces on offer.I Shop Therefore I Am reads the 1987 work of Barbara Kruger. So if we are defined by what we own, what does this say about consumers in 2022? Continue reading...

Some of the fundamental shift in attitudes towards caregiving during lockdown appears to have endured

Manhunt has begun for gunman after woman, 26, was shot dead in Lighthouse pub in WallaseyPolice have launched a murder investigation after a woman was shot dead in a pub on Christmas Eve in Wallasey, where she was celebrating the festive season with family and friends.Merseyside police are appealing for information after the gunman fled in a dark vehicle, believed to be a Mercedes, after the incident, which they said happened in a “busy venue full of young people” and injured a number of other people. Continue reading...

Labour says department has failed to make crimes such as rape, stalking and upskirting a priorityThe Home Office has been accused of breaking a promise made after the murder of Sarah Everard to elevate violence against women and girls to the same status as terrorism.Police forces are not yet required to make a group of misogynistic crimes such as rape, stalking and upskirting a major priority because of a failure to issue a proposed government directive, Labour said. Continue reading...

Ofcom reviews longstanding rules that allow pay-TV companies more ad minutes than public service rivalsThe pay-TV provider Sky could lose as much as £150m a year in TV advertising revenue from proposals aimed at enabling the UK’s biggest free-to-air broadcasters to make more money and better compete with streaming services.The broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, is reviewing historical rules that restrict the UK’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) – ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – from running as many minutes of advertising on their main channels as rivals such as Sky are allowed. Continue reading...

Ruling BJP accused of agenda of ‘Hindi imposition’ in a country with more than 700 languagesTensions are rising in India over prime minister Narendra Modi’s push to make Hindi the country’s dominant language.Modi’s Bharatiya Janaya party (BJP) government has been accused of an agenda of “Hindi imposition” and “Hindi imperialism” and non-Hindi speaking states in south and east India have been fighting back. Continue reading...

The Hemisphere programme helps teachers see how unconscious damages students’ prospectsOne of the UK’s most successful schemes supporting students of Black heritage to get into Oxford and Cambridge universities is expanding to help children as young as three years old to achieve their academic potential.Target Oxbridge has worked with more than 800 Black British students, of whom more than 350 have secured Oxbridge offers. In 2021, alumni from the scheme made up 24% of the Black British undergraduates starting at the universities. Continue reading...

It comes as another Qantas flight leaving Sydney for London on Christmas Day was delayed from taking off due to a technical issue

Merseyside police have called on the public to provide information while the gunman remains at largeA murder investigation has been launched after a woman was killed and multiple people were injured in a shooting incident in Wallasey near Liverpool, police said.Merseyside police said officers were called to the Lighthouse Inn in Wallasey Village, Wallasey about 11.50pm on Saturday after reports of gunshots. Continue reading...

With three-time winner Ichi Ban not competing and a favourable weather forecast, a crowd of challengers is likely for what is shaping up to be a fast raceAustralia’s recent domination of Sydney to Hobart overall honours is under threat from a high-quality contingent of overseas boats in this year’s race.With handicap colossus Ichi Ban not racing this year, Australia’s recent ironclad grip on overall Sydney to Hobart honours could be loosened, with a number of high-quality overseas boats competing. Continue reading...

Victoria police have charged a Melbourne woman with theft after the dog was allegedly taken from outside a supermarketPolice have reunited a Melbourne woman with her therapy dog after it was allegedly stolen on Christmas Eve, in what its owner described as the best Christmas present she had ever received.Kyron the dog was returned to its owner in the early hours of Christmas morning, hours after it went missing from a supermarket in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon. Continue reading...

Eight people confirmed dead and more than 50 injured as Russian shelling hits city of KhersonUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said the shelling on Kherson that has killed five and injured 20 others is “terrorism”.Posting photographs of the aftermath of the attacks, including casualties lying on the street, he said: “The terrorist country continues bringing the Russian world in the form of shelling of the civilian population. Kherson. In the morning, on Saturday, on the eve of Christmas, in the central part of the city. Continue reading...

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...