The Guardian

Attorney general’s office also says 10 people received prison terms from 463 to 958 years amid crackdown on gangs under state of emergency El Salvador has announced prison sentences for hundreds of gang members, with some of the convicted receiving terms of hundreds of years. The attorney general’s office posted on X that 248 members of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) street gang had recei…

Coalition MPs also, without evidence, link government’s decision to recognise Palestinian state to Bondi terror attack at extraordinary press conference Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Sussan Ley and other senior Coalition politicians have linked the Labor government’s recognition of Palestine to the antisemitic B…

Six absurdist signs resembling official city council information boards have popped up across New Zealand’s second-largest city Outside an abandoned building in New Zealand’s second-biggest city, a sign reads “slightly haunted but manageable”. In the middle of a busy shopping strip, pedestrians are warned to keep to a 2.83km/h walking speed. In another part of the Christchurch, one piece of signa…

Regulator says ex-customers allegedly affected by Centrepay scandal were already ‘likely experiencing economic vulnerability’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Origin Energy will face court for allegedly overcharging thousands of former customers on Centrelink by a combined $2.5m and breaching laws more than 77,000 …

Chris Bowen announces long-awaited policy aimed at lowering energy prices on Australia’s east coast Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The country’s three major LNG companies will be forced to set aside as much as a quarter of their gas for domestic use, as part of the government’s long-awaited gas reservation policy…

NSW Nationals to oppose gun law reforms introduced in wake of Bondi attack, as Greens say protest laws are ‘draconian’ and may be unconstitutional Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Gun laws will be significantly tightened and protests restricted for up to three months in New South Wales at the behest of the police c…

Tenures end for mission chiefs in at least 29 countries, including 13 in Africa, as US reshapes its diplomatic posture The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior embassy posts as it moves to reshape the US diplomatic posture abroad with personnel deemed fully supportive of Donald Trump ’s “America first” priorities. The chiefs of mission i…

Business lobby survey finds firms ‘put brakes on key spending decisions’ before autumn budget Heather Ste wart: Four reasons to be cheerful about UK plc in 2026 Wes Streeting urges closer EU trading ties to grow economy UK failure to seal EU tax exemption hands firms pile of paperwork Business leaders have warned that Britain is entering 2026 amid a sharp economic downturn in the private sector, …

Fantasy, mystery and psychological thriller series dominate book sales, as adult colouring also makes a comeback Fantasy, mystery and psychological thriller series dominate the UK’s bestsellers list for 2025, topped by Richard Osman’s The Impossible Fortune. The fifth book in his Thursday Murder Club series secured the top position at 391,429 hardback sales. Adult colouring also had a resurgence …

Vilma Palacios, 22, tells local outlet ‘I want my freedom back’ as she may be forced to return to Honduras A recent graduate of the LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing has been held in an ICE processing center in Basile, Louisiana , for the past six months following her arrest by immigration agents over the summer. Vilma Palacios had just recently accepted a position at Touro Infirmary when …

TV host who came under pressure from Trump government will say: ‘From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year’ The US comedian whose late-night show was briefly cancelled after pressure from Donald Trump’s government is to urge UK audiences to stand up for free speech. In a defiant alternative Christmas message on Channel 4, Jimmy Kimmel will liken the first year of Trump’s secon…

LA medical examiner reports Ransone, who played Chester ‘Ziggy’ Sobotka in the HBO crime drama, died by suicide James Ransone, the American actor best known for his work in 12 episodes of The Wire , has died in Los Angeles . Information from the Los Angeles medical examiner indicated Ransone, 46, died on Friday from suicide. Continue reading...

Figures at event include Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Trump Jr as cohesion of political right shows signs of stress The stars of the Maga conservatism converged for the four-day AmericaFest conference in Phoenix this weekend amid reports that the coherence of the political-religious right, a year into Donald Trump’s second presidential term, is showing signs of stress. The sold-out Turning Po…

Presidential spokesperson says all those abducted from a Catholic school in Niger state last month are now free Nigerian authorities say they have secured the release of a further 130 schoolchildren kidnapped from a Catholic school in November, after 100 were freed earlier this month . “Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity,” presidential spokesperson Sunday Dar…

Follow the latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The National Farmers Federation has called for the rush to introduce gun reforms to be slowed, saying there has been “limited engagement with the farm sector, despite acknowledgement that agriculture requires firearms”. The National Farmers’ Federation president, Hamish McIntyre, said: We support sensible refor…