The Guardian

Analysis finds those from most deprived backgrounds almost twice as likely to be admitted to hospital for respiratory conditions People from the poorest backgrounds in England with serious lung conditions are more likely to be admitted to hospital for emergency care than their more affluent counterparts, according to research. Analysis of NHS admissions data for November by Asthma + Lung UK found…

Met Office says temperatures are tracking ahead of 2022 after year of heatwaves and drought, though late cold spell could yet intervene Forecasters say 2025 is “more likely than not” to break the record for the hottest year in the UK since records began, after a summer of heatwaves and drought followed by a mild autumn. According to the Met Office, the official forecaster, the mean temperature fo…

The National Socialist Network member was originally refused bail in November Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A member of an Australian neo-Nazi group has again been refused bail, after he was charged over an alleged threatening message targeting independent federal MP Allegra Spender. Joel Davis, 30, was taken in…

City of Canterbury Bankstown issues a ‘cease use’, alleging building housing Al Madina centre was never approved to be a prayer hall Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A western Sydney council has moved to close an “illegal” Islamic prayer hall associated with the controversial cleric Wisam Haddad, which has come und…

Those under-25 to receive help while a pilot will trial paid internships in NHS and a guaranteed interview scheme Young people leaving care in England will receive free prescriptions, and dental and eye services up to their 25th birthday, the government has said. A pilot to trial paid internships for care leavers in the NHS and a guaranteed interview scheme for NHS roles also forms part of a pack…

Decision comes amid growing public support for Guan Heng – who secretly filmed detention facilities in China – after he illegally entered US by boat The Department of Homeland Security has dropped its plan to deport a Chinese national who entered the country illegally, two rights activists have said, after his plight raised public concerns that if deported the man would be punished by Beijing for…

Under the new rules, parliamentarians will only be able to claim travel expenses for their partners between their home and Canberra Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The prime minister has announced travel entitlements for the families of parliamentarians will be wound back, after the government sought advice from t…

Trump again called for Venezuela’s president to leave power and said the US would keep or sell the oil it had seized China and Russia have expressed support for Venezuela as it confronts a US blockade of sanctioned oil tankers, while Donald Trump continues to ramp up his pressure campaign on the South American country’s president, Nicolás Maduro. Amid reports of slowing activity at Venezuelan por…

In his first comments since the release, the president expressed sympathy for high-profiles figures, including Bill Clinton, who have come under scrutiny Donald Trump has broken his silence on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, complaining that people who “innocently met” the convicted paedophile could have their reputations destroyed. In his first comments since the justice department beg…

Pro-Palestine and Indigenous activist groups say Minns government ‘trying to strip away the right to peacefully protest for everyone’ in wake of Bondi attack Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Three groups who regularly organise protests in Sydney will launch a constitutional challenge against the Minns Labor governm…

Church leaders and members detained as government tightens controls on underground Christian gatherings The knocks came at 2am. Hiding out at a friend’s house in a Beijing suburb, Gao Yingjia and his wife, Geng Pengpeng, rushed downstairs to meet the group of plain-clothed men who said they were police officers. Their son, nearly six, was sleeping upstairs, and Gao and Geng wanted to minimise the…

Food and Drug Administration’s approval hands drugmaker Novo Nordisk an edge in the race to market an obesity pill US regulators on Monday gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity. The US Food and Drug Administration’s approval handed drugmaker Novo Nordisk an edge over rival Eli Lilly in the race to market…

Financier will assume the role on 15 February, ahead of US free trade negotiations, says prime minister Mark Carney Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, announced that financier Mark Wiseman will serve as the country’s next ambassador to the US, an appointment that comes at a critical time in relations between the two major trading partners. Wiseman will assume the role on 15 February and will b…

Scheme members will also receive lump sums averaging £5,500 after government hands over £2.3bn reserve Some former mineworkers who are receiving a £100-a-week boost to their pensions after a hard-fought battle say they will now no longer need to worry about money. The Guardian had reported that people were “dying in abject poverty” and unable to “afford to bury themselves” after the government ra…

President says the ships will be bigger, faster and a hundred times more powerful than any previous US-built warship Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water. Donald Trump has announced plans for the US navy to build a new generation of warships – known as “Trump-class”. The ships will be bigger, faster and a hundred times more powerful than any previous US-built warship, the pre…