The Guardian

Minister says ‘any individual’ at low risk from hack, while Sun reports Chinese cyber gang responsible for breach The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was hacked in October, the minister Chris Bryant has said. Bryant, a trade minister in Keir Starmer’s government, told Sky News there was a low risk to “any individual” from the cyber-attack. Continue reading...

Home affairs minister would not say whether specific phrases such as ‘globalise the intifada’ would be banned under proposed laws Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, says new hate speech laws will be drafted to the limits of the constitution to capture the “completely dehumanisin…

ONS figures show public sector net borrowing was £11.7bn – £1.9bn less than in same month last year The UK government borrowed more than expected in November, official figures show, amid pressure on the economy before chancellor Rachel Reeves’s autumn budget. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed public sector net borrowing – the difference between spending and income – was…

Drone footage shows huge circle of swimmers and surfers in the ocean in latest outpouring of grief Victims of Bondi beach shooting Ten minutes of terror: how the Bondi mass shooting unfolded in real time – video Follow the latest live updates As the sun rose over Bondi beach on Friday, splashes and cheers echoed as thousands formed a circle in the ocean to honour the victims of Sunday’s terrorist…

Ukrainian president expresses gratitude to European leaders for loan plan despite their failure to take up proposal to use frozen Russian funds EU leaders agree €90bn loan for Ukraine but without use of frozen Russian assets The EU agreement to provide Kyiv with an €90bn interest-free loan will cover most of Ukraine’s needs but be secured against EU borrowing rather than Russian assets. As Jennif…

Exclusive: Labour says Nigel Farage’s party should swiftly condemn Chris Parry after further comments emerge A Reform UK mayoral candidate who said David Lammy should “go home to the Caribbean” has suggested that at least eight other politicians from minority ethnic backgrounds do not have a primary loyalty towards the UK. Nigel Farage’s party has so far refused to condemn Chris Parry, a retired …

Exclusive Guardian investigation finds companies set up by people sanctioned by US hired Colombian fighters for Rapid Support Forces, widely suspected of war crimes in Sudan Close to Tottenham Hotspur’s shiny football stadium in London is a squat, nondescript block of flats. It holds a grim secret beyond the unremarkable beige brickwork – a cramped, second-floor apartment in the British capital, …

Productivity Commission recommends waiting three years to establish review into technology after furious response from creative industries Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Productivity Commission has abandoned a proposal to allow tech companies to mine copyrighted material to train artificial intelligence model…

Party says US government’s explicit support for far-right nationalist parties in Europe amounts to outside interference An inquiry into interference by hostile foreign states in the UK should be extended to cover the actions of Donald Trump’s US, the Liberal Democrats have said. In a letter to the communities secretary, Steve Reed, whose department is leading on the independent review, the Lib De…

House of Lords report says tools such as raising pension age and increasing immigration will not be adequate Young people will suffer most from the government’s failure to take seriously the unsustainable pressure on public finances and living standards created by the UK’s ageing population, according to the findings of a House of Lords inquiry. The report, Preparing for an Ageing Society, by the…

Transport groups warn of unprecedented congestion as commuters, shoppers and holidaymakers travel at once Britain’s roads and runways will take a festive pounding on Friday as traffic peaks before Christmas and record numbers head to the skies. Motoring organisations are forecasting exceptionally busy roads, with getaways expected to peak on Saturday and Christmas Eve. However, they say the mix o…

Analysis suggests consumption at Northumberland site could be 50 times higher than US operator QTS estimates The UK’s largest proposed datacentre is understating the scale of its planned water use, according to an analysis. The first phase of construction for the hyperscale campus in Cambois in Northumberland has been given the go-ahead by the local council. The US operator QTS, which is developi…

Meetings in Gibraltar are the latest twist in worldwide campaign that is enriching the US president’s family One Friday in November, armed police blocked off the road that runs beside Gibraltar’s medieval city walls to clear the way for a convoy of blacked-out BMWs. The vehicles pulled up at the offices of Hassans, a law firm. The British enclave in the Mediterranean is a hub for the internationa…

Medical professionals and some in conservative circles feel argument of Lee Jae Myung may be a bit thin South Korean president Lee Jae Myung has instructed his government to consider extending public health insurance to cover hair-loss treatments, arguing that baldness has become a “matter of survival” rather than a cosmetic concern for young people. The proposal, which has since faced a backlash…

Chris Minns says state ‘can’t risk another mass demonstration on that scale in NSW [because] the implications can be seen, in my view, on Sunday’ The New South Wales premier wants parliament to grant his government “extraordinary powers” to effectively ban protests for three months, with Chris Minns claiming the “implications” of pro-Palestine rallies could be seen in the weekend’s Bondi terror a…