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While country's return to global stage has filled many Syrians with pride, domestically old grievances threaten efforts to rebuild the state

President promises to get involved personally in controversial takeover called unprecedented' by ex-regulator boss

Concerns over recording of meetings at coordination centre excluding Palestinians that was set up to provide support for Trump's Gaza planIsraeli operatives are conducting widespread surveillance of US forces and allies stationed at a new US base in the country's south, according to sources briefed on disputes about open and covert recordings of meetings and discussions.The scale of intelligence gathering at the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) prompted the US commander of the base, Lt Gen Patrick Frank, to summon an Israeli counterpart for a meeting to tell him that recording has to stop here". Continue reading...

Home Office has reportedly ordered threat assessment amid long-running row into Duke of Sussex's safetyPrince Harry's security arrangements while in the UK are being reviewed by the government, according to reports.Harry wrote to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, shortly after her appointment and submitted a formal request for a risk assessment to the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), which is overseen by the Home Office, a source close to the prince said in October. Continue reading...

Chalmers flags pressure on national finances as Reserve Bank contemplates possibility of interest rate rises next year

Exclusive: Labor's minister for communications and sport has stood by her use of family travel expenses as within the rules

More councils expected to fall into bankruptcy in near future as they face nervous wait over government fundingLocal authorities in England and Wales have warned their finances are at breaking point" with more councils expected to fall into bankruptcy in future, as they face a nervous wait to discover their government funding this month.Council leaders expect changes to annual funding arrangements will result in steep cuts for many local authorities, preventing many from balancing their books and providing basic services to citizens. Continue reading...

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Sunday's patriots only' Legislative Council elections took place in the shadow of the Tai Po fire that killed at least 159 peopleHong Kong saw a near-record low turnout in Sunday's patriots only" Legislative Council elections, with fewer than 32% of voters turning out, as the number of registered voters fell for the fourth consecutive year.At 31.9%, Sunday's turnout is marginally higher than 2021's record low of 30.2%. But fewer people overall voted this year: 1.3 million compared to 1.4 million in 2021. Hong Kong's population is about 7.5 million. Continue reading...

Officials say the Birch nightclub had contravened multiple safety regulations and that the basement had no fire safety exitFour members of the same family on their first holiday to Goa were among the 25 killed in a deadly fire at a nightclub in the popular Indian tourist state on Saturday night.The massive blaze broke out at just before midnight at Birch by Romeo Lane, a buzzing bar, restaurant and nightclub in north Goa's Aporna district. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ministers face pushback over potential changes to asylum seekers' rights before Council of Europe meetingHuman rights groups have warned UK ministers against weakening protections against torture or other mistreatment for asylum seekers before a crucial European summit this week on how to respond to migration.David Lammy, the justice secretary, is expected to help lead arguments at the Council of Europe meeting on Wednesday on how the European convention on human rights (ECHR) could be reinterpreted to limit the scope of rights under article 3, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment". Continue reading...

From digging trenches and building walls, to learning survival skills, Poland is increasingly aware of risks posed by its eastern neighboursCezary Pruszko still remembers the civil defence training of his Communist-era schooldays - map reading, survival skills, and a sense that the danger of war was real and ever present.My generation grew up with those threats. You didn't have to explain why this mattered," said the 60-year-old Pruszko, as he refreshed those skills at an army base outside Warsaw on a recent frosty Saturday morning. With dozens of other Polish civilians, he toured a bomb shelter, fitted gas masks and practised striking sparks from a flint to start a fire. Continue reading...

Painting of Enlightenment figure, whose constitution for the island inspired revolutionaries in US, is up for auctionThirty years ago, a painting by the British artist Sir William Beechey was sold as portrait of a man".The anonymous buyer, however, knew precisely who the unnamed man in the picture was: Pascal Paoli, the 18th-century Corsican independence leader and icon of the Enlightenment. Continue reading...

China's ambassador summoned over alleged weekend incident that saw Chinese J-15 fighter aircraft twice train their radar on Japanese F-15sThe diplomatic dispute between Japan and China appeared to deepen over the weekend after Chinese military planes were accused of locking their radar on to Japanese fighter jets near the Okinawa islands.Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, vowed to respond calmly and resolutely" to the alleged incident, saying her country would take all possible measures to strengthen maritime and airspace surveillance and closely monitor Chinese military activities. The country's foreign ministry also summoned China's ambassador on Sunday. China's government has roundly rejected Japan's accusations, instead lodging its own counterprotests. Continue reading...

The singer posted a photo of the pair smiling cheek to cheek and a video of them eating sushi together while in JapanKaty Perry and Justin Trudeau have launched their relationship on Instagram, after the singer posted a photo of the pair smiling cheek to cheek and a video of them eating sushi together while in Japan.Perry's post appeared to confirm the pair are in a relationship, after months of speculation about a possible romance between her and the former Canadian prime minister. Continue reading...

UN committee raised concerns over government policies including scrapping the Mori Health Authority and funding cuts for Indigenous servicesA United Nations committee has warned New Zealand is at serious risk of weakening Mori rights and entrenching disparities for the Indigenous population, in its most critical review of the country's record on racial discrimination.Last month, the UN's committee for the convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD) examined New Zealand's record as part of its eight year review cycle for signatories to the convention. Continue reading...

Two of the men will face retrial while third has been acquitted after successfully arguing trial judge erred in directions to jury

Home Office drive to stop small boats crossing Channel is handing more power to people smugglers, report findsThe UK's policy to stop asylum seekers from crossing the Channel in small boats has led to an increase in violence, deaths and smuggler control, but has not deterred arrivals, according to a report by human rights organisations.The 176-page report from Humans for Rights Network, includes contributions from 17 refugee and human rights organisations operating in northern France and six in the UK. Continue reading...

Benny Zable worries Victoria police powers will target mask wearers, while Tarneen Onus Browne warns it will supercharge the harassment' of Indigenous people

Exclusive: Justice secretary to announce measures aimed at countering illicit finance as well as bribery in public servicesThe UK will no longer be a haven for dirty money and dictators' laundered assets, David Lammy is to promise as he announces a new anti-corruption strategy also aimed at tackling bribery and other misconduct across government and public services.Setting out the plan in a speech in London on Monday, Lammy, the justice secretary and deputy prime minister, will announce a series of initiatives including extra funding for an elite anti-corruption police unit. Continue reading...

Gunmen abducted 315 pupils and staff last month from St Mary's school in Niger state as part of spate of kidnappingsNigerian authorities have secured the release of 100 kidnapped schoolchildren taken by gunmen from a Catholic school last month, a UN source and local media said on Sunday, though the fate of another 165 students and staff thought to remain in captivity remained unclear.In November 315 students and staff were kidnapped from St Mary's co-educational boarding school in north-central Niger state, as the country buckled under a wave of mass abductions reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok. Continue reading...

Member of national parks firefighting team killed by tree at Bulahdelah in deeply distressing turn of events'

Disaster payments announced after 16 homes destroyed in Koolewong and four at Bulahdelah in NSW. Nineteen homes were lost in Tasmania

Police think incident at airport car park involved theft of a suitcase and people known to each other'A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault after people were allegedly attacked with a form of pepper spray" at a multistorey car park at Heathrow airport Terminal 3, police have said.The Metropolitan police said armed officers were called to the terminal's car park at about 8.11am to a report of people being assaulted. Continue reading...

Open valve in heating system affects 300 to 400 items just weeks after a brazen jewel theft raised security concernsA water leak in late November damaged several hundred works in the Louvre's Egyptian department, the Paris museum said on Sunday, weeks after a brazen jewel theft raised concerns over its infrastructure.Between 300 and 400 works" were affected by the leak discovered on 26 November, the museum's deputy administrator, Francis Steinbock, said, describing them as Egyptology journals" and scientific documentation" used by researchers. Continue reading...

Appointment marks a rapid political transformation for a former Tory donor and potential candidate for MPThe formerly Conservative-supporting boss of the supermarket Iceland is to be made a Labour peer when the party appoints another 25 representatives to parliament's upper house later this month.Keir Starmer will appoint Richard Walker to the House of Lords, the Guardian understands, the culmination of an unusual and rapid political transformation for someone named as a prospective Tory MP candidate a little over three years ago. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Watchdog finds 14% of cases not put on hospital waiting lists, with many reporting worsening health and rising anxietyOne in seven people in England who need hospital care are not receiving it because their GP referral is lost, rejected or delayed, the NHS's patient watchdog has found.Three-quarters (75%) of those trapped in this referrals black hole" suffer harm to their physical or mental health as a result of not being added to the waiting list for tests or treatment. Continue reading...

Former Beatle argues use of terms for meat-free products encourages attitudes essential to our health'Paul McCartney has joined calls for the EU to reject efforts to ban the use of terms such as sausage" and burger" for vegetarian foods.The former Beatle has joined eight British MPs who have written to the European Commission arguing that a ban approved in October by the European parliament would address a nonexistent problem while slowing progress on climate goals. Continue reading...

Moscow welcomes White House document critical of the EU as talks to end the Ukraine war enter a key phaseThe Kremlin has heaped praise on Donald Trump's latest national security strategy, calling it an encouraging change of policy that largely aligns with Russian thinking.The remarks follow the publication of a White House document on Friday that criticises the EU and says Europe is at risk of civilisational erasure", while making clear the US is keen to establish better relations with Russia. Continue reading...

Ankara's foreign minister suggests international partners should start by separating Israeli troops from HamasThe international stabilisation force (ISF) in Gaza should make its priority the separation of Israeli troops and Hamas rather than the disarmament of the Palestinian group, the Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, has said.He also suggested that Indonesia and Azerbaijan, two countries that have offered to contribute troops, would prefer that Turkey was a member of the planned UN-backed force, something Israel is seeking to veto. Continue reading...

At least eight MEPs elected for Ukip or Brexit party now known to have been focus of efforts by jailed Nathan GillThree more British MEPs from Nigel Farage's bloc are alleged to have followed the script" given to a colleague who was being bribed by an alleged Russian asset, according to prosecutors, as a police investigation into the affair continues.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has named Jonathan Bullock, Julia Reid and Steven Woolfe, saying they followed the script provided to Nathan Gill by Oleg Voloshyn when giving interviews to 112 Ukraine, a pro-Russian TV channel in March 2019. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Groups including British Cycling call for active travel strategy to be put on equal footing with road and railMore than 50 groups connected to transport and public health have urged the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, to set specific targets for levels of walking and cycling in England, warning that plans as they stand are too vague.A letter from groups including British Cycling, Cycling UK, the National Trust and the British Medical Association says the government's proposals for active travel must move from good intentions to a clear, long-term, fully deliverable national plan comparable to other strategic transport programmes". Continue reading...

Three men fled Opelousas jail after removing concrete blocks from wall in state's second inmate escape of yearAuthorities on Sunday were hunting for the last of three inmates who escaped from a Louisiana jail after removing concrete blocks from a deteriorating wall.We would prefer that he surrender himself peaceably," St Landry parish sheriff Bobby J Guidroz said in a statement, but we will not rest until he is captured." Continue reading...

Neil Couling said failings by individual claimants at the heart' of crisis, despite a report finding DWP shortcomings unacceptable'One of the most senior civil servants in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has placed the blame for the carer's allowance benefits crisis on victims, many of whom have been left with life-changing debts.In an internal blogpost written for Whitehall colleagues, Neil Couling, the director general of DWP services, said individual failings by carers were at the heart" of the issue that has been likened to the Post Office Horizon scandal. Continue reading...

Israeli PM to discuss next steps with Donald Trump this month but timetable for lasting peace remains unclearBenjamin Netanyahu has said that the first phase of the UN-endorsed Gaza ceasefire plan is close to completion, and that the second phase must involve the disarmament of Hamas.The Israeli prime minister said he would discuss the next steps later this month in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were codified in a UN security council resolution on 17 November. Continue reading...

Calls for regulation of pharmacies and transparency around who is sponsoring products being registered with the TGA

Judiciary says a criminal case has been opened after online images showed a number of unveiled female competitorsJudicial authorities in Iran have arrested two organisers of a marathon held on an island off the country's southern coast after images emerged showing women taking part in the race without hijabs.The arrests on Saturday come as the authorities face increasing criticism from ultraconservatives who accuse them of inadequate efforts to enforce a mandatory headscarf law for women amid fears of growing western influence on the Islamic republic. Continue reading...

Authorities say strain of virus that has killed wild boars in Catalonia is one often used for experiments in secure facilitiesSpanish authorities investigating the African swine fever outbreak in Catalonia are looking into the possibility that the disease may have leaked from a research facility and are focusing on five nearby laboratories as potential sources.Thirteen cases of the fever have been confirmed in wild boars in the countryside outside Barcelona since 28 November, prompting Spain to scramble to contain the outbreak before it becomes a serious threat to its pork export industry, which is worth 8.8bn (7.7bn) a year. Continue reading...

Sultana says Labour party has left the scene' as she says she gets on really well' with Greens' PolanskiRounding up his interview, Trevor Phillips asked Helen Whately about the Guardian's investigation into Nigel Farage's alleged racist and antisemitic behaviour as a teenager towards fellow Dulwich college pupils. She suggested that the Reform leader appears not to be giving straight answers" when asked about his past behaviour, and ruled out any pact with Farage's party at the next general election.He needs to give people a straight answer," Whately said.The number one reason why people, young people, are becoming Neet - not in employment, education or training - is because they're moving on to sickness benefits.Yet we just saw a few months ago where Labour was attempting to make some reforms to this problem (people going on to sickness benefits). They u-turned, they abandoned their reforms. Continue reading...

About 350,000 work and training places in care, construction and hospitality available but sanctions' may apply if neets' refuse offersYoung unemployed people will be offered training or job opportunities in construction, care and hospitality as part of a UK government scheme, but could have their benefits cut if they do not take up offers.Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, announced on Sunday that 350,000 new training or workplace opportunities would be offered to young people on universal credit, but added there would be sanctions" for claimants who did not engage. Continue reading...

Actor speaks out over controversy around American Eagle advert in the summer that critics say flirted with eugenicsThe actor Sydney Sweeney has said she should have addressed the controversy surrounding her American Eagle jeans advert, which was accused by critics of flirting with eugenics, saying not doing so widened the divide" between people.Sweeney, who made her name in HBO's Euphoria and has since become a leading Hollywood star, told People magazine she regretted staying silent during the row, in which Donald Trump at one point intervened. Continue reading...

PM gives clearest indication yet of comeback, calling former deputy the best social mobility story' the country has seen

National guard shooting prompts extraordinary outburst and targeting of people from startling range of countriesWhen the history of Donald Trump's second presidency is written, 26 November 2025 may well go down as a particular landmark.On the eve of Thanksgiving, a lone gunman shot two West Virginia national guards, Sarah Beckstrom, and Andrew Wolfe, as they were on patrol outside Washington DC's Farragut West metro station, a short walk from the White House - and thereby opened the floodgates to a wave of racist and anti-immigrant invective that seemed extreme even for Trump. Continue reading...

Canadian author discusses US under Donald Trump and says setting of dystopian novel has become much closer'Margaret Atwood has said the plot of her book The Handmaid's Tale, which tells a story of an authoritarian regime under which women are forced to reproduce, has become more and more plausible" in recent years.Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, Atwood said she believed the plot was bonkers" when she first developed the concept for the novel because the US was the democratic ideal" at the time. Continue reading...

Church leaders respond to far-right appropriation of Christian symbols with Outsiders welcome' messageThe Church of England is to launch a poster campaign aimed at challenging the anti-migrant message of Tommy Robinson, whose Unite the Kingdom" movement has urged its supporters to join a carols event next weekend to put the Christ back into Christmas".The posters, which will go on display at bus stops, say Christ has always been in Christmas" and Outsiders welcome". They will also be available for local churches to download and display over the festive period. Continue reading...

Powerful Christian figures are emerging in Britain but there are important differences from the US, where evangelism has fuelled TrumpAt recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the front row: the near-white locks of Danny Kruger, the party's head of policy, and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr, now a senior adviser to Nigel Farage.As well as guiding the policy programme for what could be the UK's next government, the pair have something else in common. Both are highly devout Christians who came to religion in adulthood and have trenchant views on social issues such as abortion and the family. Continue reading...

Canadian expert David Vigneault warns of China's industrial-strength' attempts to steal new technologiesHostile spy agencies are now as focused on infiltrating western universities and companies as they are on doing so to governments, according to the former head of Canada's intelligence service.David Vigneault warned that a recent industrial-scale" attempt by China to steal new technologies showed the need for increased vigilance from academics. Continue reading...

Specialist clinics and support groups call for government emergency support due to delays caused by new levy systemGambling addicts are at risk of missing out on life-saving" help unless the government provides emergency support, charities have warned, after an overhaul of funding left treatment providers facing a cash crunch.Until this year, money for problem gambling research, education and treatment had been provided on a voluntary basis by casinos and bookmakers who contributed about 0.1% of their takings. Continue reading...

As peace hopes falter, infantry soldiers face more long deployments risking their lives against Russian attacksFor almost all of their 62-day deployment on the frontline east of Pokrovske, Bohdan and Ivan hid - first in a village shop, then, after a deadly firefight with Russian soldiers, in a tiny basement where the infantrymen from Ukraine's 31st Brigade had to survive seven more weeks.Food, water, cigarettes and other supplies were airlifted in by a friendly drone, their toilet was their 3 sq metre room, their nearest comrades 200 metres or so away. Their only hope was to remain underground, because they knew if they were detected a Russian drone could kill them all. Continue reading...

Fire broke out at midnight in Arpora with victims mostly kitchen workers, according to state's chief ministerAt least 25 people have been killed in a fire at a nightclub in Goa, an Indian state popular for its nightlife and tourism.Several tourists were among the 25 dead in the fire, which broke out at about midnight at Birch by Romeo Lane, a popular restaurant, cocktail bar and club in Arpora, a district of north Goa. Continue reading...