The Guardian

Total of 25 people shot in early morning Pretoria attack, with victims including 12-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl Gunmen have stormed into a hostel in South Africa’s capital and killed at least 11 people, including a three-year-old child, and injured more than a dozen others. “I can confirm that a total of 25 people were shot,” police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said of the early morning atta…

Exclusive: Research prompts warning that authorities rely on companies to carry out basic functions The scale of the reliance of London councils on private consultancy and outsourcing firms is laid bare in a report that shows the local authorities paid them more than half a billion pounds last year. The report by the Autonomy Institute and the CADA Network has prompted warnings that councils have…

The Trump administration released a policy paper on Friday that made explicit Washington’s support for Europe’s nationalist far-right parties Overnight Russian missile and drone strikes left parts of Ukraine without power on Saturday morning, Ukraine’s energy ministry said on Telegram . The strikes hit energy infrastructure in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Lviv, Odesa, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv…

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here Russia and India will reshape their defence ties to take account of New Delhi’s push for self-reliance, the two countries said in a joint statement after a summit between president Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi . “In response to India’s aspirations for self-reliance, the partnership is currently being reoriented toward …

Power blackouts, public chaos and loss of communication with space were all thrown at troops in seven days Russia and China were barely mentioned, but they were the threats in everyone’s minds in Tallinn this week, where Nato hosted its largest ever cyber war game. The goal of the war game, conducted 130 miles from the Russian border in Estonia, was to test the alliance’s readiness for a rolling …

Exclusive: First minister mounts robust defence of diversity as SNP prepares campaign for Holyrood election in May Scotland needs immigration to bolster the size of its working-age population, the country’s first minister has said, mounting a forceful defence of diversity in the face of rising support for Reform ahead of next May’s Holyrood elections. John Swinney was speaking at the end of a yea…

Moscow ‘continuously reinforcing’ its presence in the region, says Swedish chief of operations Capt Marko Petkovic The Swedish navy encounters Russian submarines in the Baltic Sea on an “almost weekly” basis, its chief of operations has said, and is preparing for a further increase in the event of ceasefire or armistice in the Ukraine war. Capt Marko Petkovic said Moscow was “continuously reinfor…

James Graham’s play Punch touches on gang culture, restorative justice and masculinity in crisis, and for the playwright the true story was a privilege to tell When thousands of schoolchildren came to see James Graham’s play Punch in the West End, the playwright, actors and producers were struck by one thing. Despite fears about social media eroding attention spans, the pupils were engrossed for …

Millions of real trees are sold each year, and costs vary widely – we ask experts how to find good deals For many Britons, putting up their tree is the ritual that marks the official start of Christmas , with the second week of December a popular time to deck the halls. While surveys suggest that about two-thirds of the population will opt for an artificial tree, millions of real ones will be sol…

Crafters, artisans and others told to declare income if above £1,000 trading allowance in tax year This is a busy time of year for the thousands of people who earn a bit of extra income from a festive side hustle such as running a stall at a Christmas market or selling items online. The UK’s army of crafters, artisans and designers are being urged to check if they need to tell HM Revenue and Cust…

Drone attack that Ukraine blamed on Russia blew hole in painstakingly erected €1.5bn shield meant to allow for final clean-up of 1986 meltdown site The protective shield over the Chornobyl disaster nuclear reactor in Ukraine, which was hit by a drone in February, can no longer perform its main function of blocking radiation, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has announced. In February…

The term ceasefire ‘risks creating a dangerous illusion life is returning to normal’ for Palestinians squeezed into the remaining 42% of their land behind Israel’s ‘yellow line’ When Jumaa and Fadi Abu Assi went to look for firewood their parents thought they would be safe. They were just young boys, aged nine and 10 and, after all, a ceasefire had been declared in Gaza. Their mother, Hala Abu As…

Narendra Modi says energy security is ‘pillar of the India-Russia partnership’ as two leaders meet in Delhi Vladimir Putin has told the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, that Russia is ready to continue “uninterrupted” shipments of oil to India, signalling a defiant stance to the US as the two leaders met in Delhi and affirmed that their ties were “resilient to external pressure”. The stateme…

Settlement one of US’s largest and comes after officer killed Konoa Wilson, who was running from teen shooting at him The city of San Diego has agreed to pay a $30m settlement to the family of Konoa Wilson, the 16-year-old boy fatally shot in the back by a police officer while running away after narrowly missing another shooting by an unknown third party at a train station. The payout is the resu…

Move from CDC advisers mirrors Trump team’s regressive approach to longstanding vaccine guidance Who’s allowed to get the hepatitis B vaccine in the US now? Vaccine advisers for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted on Friday morning to limit hepatitis B vaccines in a major move signaling the Trump administration ’s regressive approach to vaccines that have been given safe…