The Guardian

Bashar al-Assad’s supporters scramble to respond to sudden losses to Islamist insurgents in northern SyriaMiddle East crisis – live updatesIran’s top diplomat is expected to go to Damascus in a show of support to the Syrian regime as it attempts to repel the strongest challenge to its authority in years, after a sudden advance by Islamist insurgents in which it seized control of Aleppo.The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told reporters he would travel on Sunday to Syria to convey the strength of Tehran’s backing for Bashar al-Assad and his rule. Araghchi is expected in the Turkish capital, Ankara, the

Bishop of Newcastle says fellow bishops have stayed silent because they want to be new archbishop of CanterburyA Church of England bishop has accused fellow bishops of “careerism” over their failure to condemn a church cover-up of abuse, claiming they have stayed silent because they want to be the new archbishop of Canterbury.After the publication of the Makin review last month into the church’s failure to stop serial abuser John Smyth, the bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, called for Justin Welby to quit over the scandal days before his resignation as archbishop. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/01/c-of-e-bishops-accused-of-careerism-over-failure-to-condemn-abuse-cover-up Author :

Pat McFadden defends government handling of transport secretary’s departure, saying it did not ‘drag on for weeks’Decisions over Louise Haigh’s future were “dealt with very quickly”and marked a “big contrast” to how issues were handled under Conservative governments, a cabinet minister has said.Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, refused to accept suggestions that the transport secretary’s resignation and the controversy over freebies made the Labour government look “chaotic” because it was not “something that dragged on for weeks”. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/dec/01/louise-haigh-transport-secretary-exit-pat-mcfadden Author : Aletha Adu Political correspondent Publish date : 2024-12-01 11:29:28 Copyright for

Kaja Kallas’s visit comes on her first day in office with the new head of the European council, António Costa, also making the trip to UkraineThe Russian defence ministry has said its forces have gained control over two settlements – Illinka and Petrivka – in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. We have not yet independently verified this claim.Russian forces hold a little less than 20% of Ukraine’s territory and have advanced through Donetsk region over the past two months at their fastest rate since March 2022, according to open source data. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/dec/01/russia-ukraine-war-live-kaja-kallas-antonio-costa-eu-chiefs-kyiv-visit Author : Yohannes Lowe

Award-winning actor, who turns 90 next week, says ‘everyone should have a parrot’ like her African grey SweetieShe has been hailed as a national treasure, the queen of stage and screen with a damehood to match. But Dame Judi Dench has revealed that her pet parrot has a rather less polite name for her: “Slut”.The Academy Award-winning actor, who turns 90 next week, said everyone should have a bird like her rescue African grey parrot, Sweetie, despite their indecorous language. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/dec/01/judi-dench-parrot-pet-name Author : Josh Halliday Publish date : 2024-12-01 09:17:42 Copyright for syndicated content belongs

Directed by a woman with a cast of female leads, the film is the latest to be centred around female experiences and prove a box office success in ChinaThe recent box office success of Her Story, a Chinese comedy directed by a woman with a cast of female leads, has led commentators to dub the movie China’s answer to Barbie.The second feature film by Chinese director Shao Yihui, Her Story revolves around a newly unemployed single mother with a daughter and their young female neighbour, as they explore their experiences and struggles as women in Shanghai. Continue reading... Source link

Melbourne south regional distribution centre to reopen to ‘improve availability of food and essential grocery items such as nappies, toilet paper and drinks’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWoolworths will reopen a key distribution centre in Melbourne on Monday in a bid to keep essential items on shelves amid ongoing industrial action.Up to 1,500 employees began rolling 24-hour strikes on 21 November in warehouses in New South Wales and Victoria, seeking improved wages and safety. One of the major issues is a new system used at the warehouse that tracks workers down to the minute and

Lai Ching-te’s US stopover on trip to Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau – three diplomatic allies of the self-governed island – prompts Beijing’s protestsThe Taiwanese president, Lai Ching-te, has begun a two-day US stopover in Hawaii as part of a Pacific tour after declaring his democratically governed island a key force for promoting global peace and stability.The trip has sparked fury from China, which views Taiwan as its own territory and opposes any foreign interactions or visits by the island’s leaders. China’s foreign ministry said on Sunday it had lodged “serious protests” with the US. Continue reading... Source link :

Information campaign directed at diplomatic missions expected after court cases highlighted ‘slave-like’ working conditions for domestic workersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government has restricted foreign diplomats bringing domestic workers into the country, a UN anti-slavery expert has reported, after two recent federal court cases exposed systemic exploitation a judge described as “slave-like working conditions”.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/01/australia-restricting-number-of-domestic-workers-foreign-diplomats-can-bring-into-the-country-un-official-says Author : Ben Doherty Publish date : 2024-12-01 04:12:03 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Allan Chiem, 31, will remain in custody after allegedly murdering his father, 69, and mother, 68 Follow our Australia politics live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA 31-year-old man has been charged with allegedly murdering his parents at their shop in western Sydney.Allan Chiem appeared in Parramatta local court on Sunday morning after he was arrested just after midnight at a home in Canley Heights in the city’s west and charged with two counts of domestic violence murder.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/01/man-charged-with-after-man-and-woman-found-dead-at-sydney-shop-ntwnfb Author

PM overruled negotiations between environment minister and the Greens after speaking with WA premier last weekFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese insists Labor’s plans to establish a national environmental watchdog are still on the table after he quashed a deal with the Greens in parliament’s final sitting week.Last-minute negotiations between the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, and the Greens senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, were overruled by the prime minister on Tuesday after he spoke with the Western Australian premier, Roger Cook.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Edan Alexander, who was taken prisoner on 7 Oct, asked Donald Trump to secure his freedom in a Hamas video condemned by the White HouseThe White House has condemned a Hamas-issued propaganda video of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander urging president-elect Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a deal to free remaining hostages in Gaza, calling it “a cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own”.In the video, titled “Soon … Time is running out” and posted on Saturday on the Telegram channel of Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, Alexander calls

Without a subsidy, patients could pay $750 a year to treat the condition which has no cure and can last decadesFollow our Australia politics live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore than one million Australians living with endometriosis will have access to a treatment subsidised by the federal government for the first time in three decades.The health minister, Mark Butler, announced on Sunday that a daily tablet will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/01/endometriosis-treatment-to-be-subsided-by-federal-government-as-health-minister-says-women-are-suffering-unnecessarily Author : Australian

Sightings over three airbases in East Anglia could relate to foreign powers’ concerns about possible nuclear weaponsA British former UFO hunter has said he does not “rule out” recent drone incursions over RAF bases in England being connected to Russia and China and nuclear weapons.Unidentified drones were spotted in November over three airbases in the east of England that are used by the US air force (USAF). Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/30/ufo-expert-not-ruling-out-russia-or-china-links-to-drones-seen-at-raf-bases Author : Daniel Lavelle Publish date : 2024-11-30 23:11:08 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Harry Seager's unique sweet treat provoked interest from thousands of members of the Dull Men’s Facebook page A man who became an internet sensation after sharing his Mars bar without the ripple was handed £2 in compensation.Harry Seager’s picture of his smooth Mars confectionery bar inspired interest from thousands of members of the Dull Men’s Club Facebook page. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/nov/30/smooth-mars-bar-wins-aylesbury-man-2-compensation-and-internet-fame Author : Daniel Lavelle Publish date : 2024-11-30 20:50:36 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

At about 12.30am today, police arrested a 31-year-old man at a home at Canley Heights. Follow today’s news live.Major funds boost for mental health, addiction servicesChildren, pregnant women and people with mental health conditions will receive better support for alcohol and drug issues in a major funding boost, AAP reports.The programs we are investing in will ensure that people with complex needs receive wrap-around support and care to help people recover and rebuild their lives in the community. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2024/dec/01/australia-news-live-man-charged-two-bodies-sydney-west-major-funding-mental-health-nsw-vic-qld-weather Author : Henry Belot Publish date : 2024-11-30 21:47:47 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the

Prime minister becomes first G7 leader to visit president-elect amid concerns over tariff threatDonald Trump said he had a “productive” meeting with Justin Trudeau after the Canadian prime minister paid a surprise trip to his Mar-a-Lago estate amid fears about Trump’s promised tariffs.Trudeau became the first G7 leader to meet with Trump before his second term amid widespread fears in Canada and many other parts of the world that Trump’s trade policy will cause widespread economic chaos. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/30/justin-trudeau-donald-trump-mar-a-lago Author : Edward Helmore Publish date : 2024-11-30 20:25:10 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked

Under-resourced army has job of ensuring Hezbollah’s compliance with truce while defending national territoryMohammed Bzeeh spent the first hours of the ceasefire cleaning. After the Hezbollah-Israel agreement brought 13 months of fighting to a close last Wednesday, Bzeeh and his family arrived at their village of Zibqin in southern Lebanon to find their home ruined by an Israeli airstrike.Bzeeh immediately set to work, the wiry 18-year-old hefting piles of concrete and metal scrap off his driveway using a rusty shovel. His family watched as he worked, overlooking the street that they had left two months earlier, now lined by the

Woman who complained about MasterChef presenter says lack of action shows there is ‘no satisfactory means of reporting sexual harassment and bullying within the TV industry’A letter containing multiple allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Gregg Wallace was sent to the BBC in 2022, but did not prompt further investigation at the time, the Observer can reveal.The letter described a “pattern of behaviour” by the MasterChef presenter which “clearly fails to meet the sexual harassment and bullying standards that prohibit ‘Unwelcome sexual advances and sexual innuendo’”. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/nov/30/gregg-wallace-behaviour-letter-bbc-2022-masterchef-presenter Author : Rachael Healy Publish date : 2024-11-30 18:32:59

Cooper’s whereabouts after he jumped from a plane with $200,000 stumped investigators. Has the case been solved?It is one of the biggest mysteries in US criminal history: just what happened to DB Cooper, the man who hijacked an airplane before leaping out in mid-air with $200,000 in cash?Now, more than 50 years later, the infamous crime may have been solved, after a pair of siblings came forward to claim they had found the parachute used in the hijacking, in their mother’s shed, and that Cooper was their father. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/30/db-cooper-plane-hijacking Author : Adam Gabbatt Publish date

Palestinian news agency reports that three employees of World Central Kitchen were killed in Israeli strike on vehicle in Khan YounisThe Israeli military has killed a charity worker employed by the World Central Kitchen in Gaza, saying the person targeted in the attack was a Hamas militant involved in the 7 October attacks.The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that three employees of World Central Kitchen were killed when an Israeli strike targeted a civilian vehicle in southern Gaza. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/30/israel-strikes-hezbollah-weapons-sites-on-lebanons-border-with-syria Author : Associated Press Publish date : 2024-11-30 17:02:06 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to

The granular detail of Kim Leadbeater’s bill for England and Wales is yet to be agreed, and some MPs want reassurances before finally backing itAs a few low murmurs broke out in a respectfully reflective House of Commons chamber after its historic vote on assisted dying in England and Wales, one figure in the public gallery had a special interest in the result.Back in 2015, Rob Marris, the former Labour MP for Wolverhampton South West, had tabled the previous attempt to pass a bill changing the law. It was comprehensively defeated. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/nov/30/assisted-dying-uk-law-kim-leadbeater-parliament Author : Michael

Cash from dictatorships and shell companies is entering the political system via legal loopholesLoopholes in the law are allowing “dark money” to infiltrate UK politics, with almost £1 in every £10 donated to parties and politicians coming from unknown or dubious sources, analysis reveals.Cash from companies that have never turned a profit, from unincorporated associations that do not have to declare their funders, and banned donations from overseas donors via intermediaries are all entering the system, according to research by Transparency International (TI). Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/nov/30/uk-political-donations-dark-money Author : Shanti Das Publish date : 2024-11-30 14:59:19 Copyright for

Cycle chaos on streets has made the south-west London area a ‘scrapyard’, threatening pedestrians’ safety, say householdersAnyone popping into Harrods for a lobster roll at lunch or to pick up a new Jimmy Choo handbag in advance of the Christmas rush may have to watch their step on nearby pavements in case they walk into a haphazardly parked e-bike.The streets surrounding the historic department store have become the unlikely latest front in the problem of e-bikes being dumped on thoroughfares, blocking pedestrians and causing disruption to disabled people, who are trying to navigate the already densely populated paths. Residents in

Findings highlight how built environment in low-income neighborhoods presents multiple PFAS exposure routesNew research aimed at identifying which US neighborhoods face increased exposure to toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” found those living near “superfund” sites and other major industrial polluters, or in areas with limited access to fresh food, generally have higher levels of the dangerous compounds in their blood.The study looked at hundreds of people living in southern California and found those who do not live within a half mile of a grocery store have 14% higher levels of PFOA and PFOS – two common PFAS compounds – in their