The Guardian - December 07, 2024

In this issue

December 07, 2024

Rape trials collapse due to record court delays

Justice system backlog sees doubling of victims pulling out of cases

4 mins

Romanian presidential election to be rerun after court ruling

A top Romanian court annulled the first round of the country's presidential election yesterday, days after declassified intelligence alleged Russia had run a coordinated online campaign to promote the far-right outsider who won the first round.

2 mins

Sale of the Observer to Tortoise Media agreed in principle

The sale of the Observer, the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, to Tortoise Media has been agreed in principle.

2 mins

Welby sorry for resignation jokes in final Lords speech

The archbishop of Canterbury has apologised after being accused of making light-hearted comments over his resignation following serious safeguarding failures in the Church of England.

1 min

'Nuisance' fines by councils rose 42% last year, report finds

\"Busybody\" fines - on-the-spot penalties issued for offences including swearing, shouting, idling, loitering and begging - jumped 42% in 2023, according to a report.

1 min

'Rape speak': Knightley decries intimidation at start of career

The actor Keira Knightley has spoken out about the intimidation and intrusion she experienced at the start of her career, when she was \"stalked by men\" who blamed her for their aggressive interest.

3 mins

Trump among leaders at reopening of Notre Dame as France faces crisis

The restored Gothic spire of Notre Dame is to provide a dramatic backdrop for Donald Trump's return to the geopolitical stage this weekend, as the president-elect makes his first visit to Europe since the US election to mingle with world leaders at an official reopening ceremony in Paris today.

3 mins

Radio malfunction blamed for rush-hour rail disruption

A nationwide fault with railway communication systems caused disruption yesterday morning, with the worst of the delays hitting rush-hour services in the south-east.

1 min

'Danger-to-life' winds forecast for Wales and west of England

A red warning for wind, signalling \"danger to life\", has been issued by the Met Office for parts of Wales and south-west England today as Storm Darragh hits the UK.

1 min

Fertility watchdog endorses extending the 14-day deadline for embryo research

The 14-day limit for human embryo research should be extended to 28 days, the fertility regulator has recommended in a move that could pave the way for breakthroughs in understanding the causes of miscarriage and heart defects.

2 mins

'Will this ever end?' Abuse survivors on how the long wait for justice prolonged their anguish

It took more than 40 years before Alison Ruby felt able to tell police about the man who had peeled off her school tights and stolen her childhood. She told detectives that, from the age of 12, an antiques dealer named Richard Craig had regularly enticed her into his home during the school day to rape her in his bed.

6 mins

Over 400 chemicals in everyday plastics linked to breast cancer

More than 400 chemicals regularly used in everyday plastic products are linked to breast cancer, and the dangerous compounds could be a driver of elevated cancer rates in young women, new research in the US finds.

1 min

'He sleeps totally still' Guide to odd world of the Rees-Moggs

Jacob Rees-Mogg's reality show may sound as appealing as flushing your head down a toilet yet Meet the Rees-Moggs (on Discovery+) is such bewildering television that it may well come up in conversation over the next few weeks.

2 mins

Denier cri: Vibrantly coloured tights are the new black

Black opaque tights have been a winter staple for women for many years, but this party season they are being shunted to the bottom of the sock drawer.

2 mins

'Slapping therapy' healer jailed over death of woman at Wiltshire workshop

An alternative healer who promoted a \"slapping therapy\" taken up by millions of people across the world was jailed yesterday for the gross negligence manslaughter of a woman who died at one of his workshops in Wiltshire.

2 mins

Stout fans face dry December as Guinness rations supplies

Forget Dry January, it could be Dry December for Guinness fans after pub landlords were caught out by soaring demand for the stout due to a new-found popularity with Gen Z, who like to pose on social media pint in hand.

1 min

Addicted to love? Renton, Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie back for Trainspotting sequel

'My books tend to be a bit dark and twisted, but I wanted to show the beauty of love and romance' Irvine Welsh on Men in Love

3 mins

'A spirit of defiance' Why our appeal this year is focusing on victims of conflict

Why our appeal this year is focusing on victims of conflict

3 mins

We can't give up on a million children'

The charity taking psychological first aid to Gaza

4 mins

Silk roads Chanel hits lavish new heights to lure back Chinese sales

Coco Chanel was an ambitious woman, but even she could not have imagined the scale on which the house she founded now operates.

4 mins

Mounjaro What is the 'King Kong' of weight loss drugs?

Mounjaro, known as the \"King Kong of weight-loss drugs\", will be available to patients on the NHS in England, but this week it was announced it would be prioritised to people with the highest needs, with the rollout expected to extend over a 12-year period.

2 mins

Mayor of London expected to be knighted in new year honours

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (pictured), is understood to be in line to receive a knighthood in the new year honours, with other senior politicians also receiving awards.

1 min

Agency that recruited indebted farmworkers has licence revoked

A British recruitment agency that brought to the UK Indonesian farmworkers who had debts of thousands of pounds to foreign brokers has had its licence revoked by the labour exploitation watchdog.

2 mins

Union boss hits out at Starmer's 'insulting' criticism of civil service

The senior civil servants' union boss has written to Keir Starmer urging him to rethink his \"frankly insulting\" criticism of Whitehall for being comfortable with falling standards.

3 mins

Tories Donor stripped of CBE over series of controversies

A top Tory donor and peer has been stripped of his CBE after a string of controversies, including harassing a journalist and making derogatory comments about Pakistanis.

2 mins

'Positive step' Refugees get extra time to find homes

Charities and politicians have welcomed a Home Office trial that will double the time refugees have to find a home before being evicted from asylum accommodation.

1 min

Labour reset PM gives Whitehall 'a shake' amid frustration at progress

It was a reset designed to invigorate Keir Starmer's premiership in the wake of flagging opinion polls, a scandal over the former transport secretary and worries about the economy.

3 mins

Murderers face longer in jail for strangling or killing ex-partners

Murderers in England and Wales who kill their former partners or use strangulation will face longer prison sentences, ministers have said.

2 mins

'Watch this space' Musk interest in British politics could have profound consequences

Elon Musk appears to have many obsessions. The world's richest man is evangelical about electric vehicles, space travel and Donald Trump.

5 mins

Party like its 1899 Why some young powerful women still want to be debutantes

The event began with an opening dance, then the \"debutantes lined up for a waltz with their fathers\" before being \"passed on to their cavaliers\". \"Family and other guests sat at tables in golden chairs and took it all in, as the chandelier ceiling dripped with decadence.\"

3 mins

Ethnic minorities 'less likely to survive' UK stem cell transplant

Black and Asian cancer patients are less likely to survive in the five years after a donor stem cell transplant than their white counterparts, according to the largest study of its kind.

1 min

Stage review: An engaging Mowgli takes us on a lively adventure

Here is a startling piece of transformative stagecraft towards the start of Sarah Punshon's production of the Rudyard Kipling favourite.

1 min

Jolly king returns but we are subject to charmless shades of fashion queen

A man dies on the sidewalk at the hands of a masked gunman, and much of the commentary around it is unsympathetic.

4 mins

Gaelic noir Primetime gamble pays off for BBC's Irish-language murder mystery

Its setting is remote, desolate, and windy. Its protagonist is a mercurial policeman struggling with his own personal demons. Its subject: a long-lost body found in a mountain bog.

2 mins

Pride - and criticism: reactions across the Pacific to Moana 2

Audiences across the Pacific have welcomed Moana 2 and cheered seeing aspects of their culture on the big screen, but Disney's portrayal of the demigod character Maui has drawn some criticism for reinforcing stereotypes.

3 mins

Syrian rebels close in on Homs as advance on Damascus gathers pace

Syrian insurgents yesterday entered towns north of Homs, the country's third largest city, sweeping along a road that eventually leads to the capital, Damascus, in a lightning-fast advance that has shaken the Middle East.

3 mins

Grief, joy and confusion Loved ones seek hope after rebels' jail release

Oammar Ali has been searching for his older brother for 39 years.

3 mins

We could see significant gains for insurgents this weekend, but don't expect a clear outcome

Analysts have described Bashar al-Assad's military as hollowed out by poor morale, defections and corruption

2 mins

K-pop and autocrats Jolt to democracy lays bare the two sides of South Korea

In the global battle for soft-power supremacy, a winner has emerged in recent years: South Korea. Spearheaded by the boyband phenomenon BTS, the Korean Wave has turned a country few knew much about into a cultural behemoth.

4 mins

Three climbers missing on New Zealand's highest peak believed dead

Three climbers - two from the US and one from Canada - missing for five days on Aoraki, New Zealand's highest mountain, are believed to have died in a fall.

1 min

Pom-poms for all Austria's first male and non-binary cheerleaders subvert gender stereotypes

Dressed in short shorts and tight T-shirts, they bounded onto the gymnasium floor. After the female roller derby teams had pushed, pounded and smashed into each other, the men and their pom-poms were now on the same court in Vienna, ready to offer up the exact opposite: a hip-shaking, acrobatic-laced half-time show.

3 mins

Risk on both sides Could Trump help end the Ukraine war?

Nobody knows when the talks will happen, or in what city. It is unclear who might be sitting at the table, or what format the discussion will take. But at some point in the coming months, the incoming US administration will probably attempt to negotiate an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

5 mins

Trump set to have richest cabinet in US history again, worth £270bn

Enough billionaires and multi-millionaires have been assembled by Donald Trump to fill key roles in his administration to form a football team.

1 min

Search for suspect of New York shooting 'on right track', mayor says

New York's mayor said the hunt for the man believed to have shot a top health insurance executive was \"on the right track\" as the investigation continued into a third day yesterday.

2 mins

Golden age Why saving older animals is vital to species' survival

It's not just humans who get wiser as they age - animals do too, according to a growing body of research.

3 mins

'They get blinded' How underwater noise pollution is posing a threat to Norway's whales

From the moment that the biologist Dr Heike Vester presses play, sounds of static from the fjord fill the room. First comes the constant, steady rumbling of a boat engine. Then, every eight seconds, like a foreboding bass drum, comes the explosion of seismic airguns - extremely loud blasts used in oil and gas exploration that can travel vast distances underwater. And finally, dancing above it all - and at times drowned out by it - are the soaring vocalisations of whales.

4 mins

A 'Brexit problem': fears over safety of tap water after closure of test labs

The safety of tap water in the UK could be at risk because water companies are unable to use products to clean it, industry insiders have said, as all the laboratories that test and certify these chemicals have shut down.

3 mins

Thames Water receives £5bn buyout offer from Covalis

Embattled Thames Water has received a £5bn bid from Covalis Capital that would result in France's Suez Group being brought in to manage a restructure of the UK's largest water company.

1 min

Direct Line accepts improved takeover Offer from rival Aviva

The insurance company Direct Line has accepted an improved offer from its rival Aviva in a deal valuing the business at £3.6bn.

2 mins

Property prices hit another record high, says Britain's biggest lender

The average price of a house in the UK has hit a record high after a fifth successive month of increases in the value of properties, Britain's biggest mortgage lender has said.

1 min

Supermarket Christmas veg price war 'comes at a cost' for British growers

Ten years ago, marketing executives at Britain's biggest supermarket had a brainwave: might slashing the price of basic vegetables tempt people to do their Christmas shop with them?

2 mins

Czech Sphinx Business dealings of tycoon close to takeover of Royal Mail

On a cool June day in 2016, as Britain reeled from the Brexit vote, a private jet soared into the skies from RAF Northolt, charting a course for Moscow.

4 mins

Christmas How to pick the greenest tree at the best price

Our comprehensive guide to finding the perfect tree, whether real, potted, rental or artificial. Amy Sedghi measures up the options

7 mins

Insurance Make sure you have cover in case presents are pilfered

Burglaries soar during the festive season, with new smartphones, jewellery, bikes and other gifts offering rich pickings for thieves.

2 mins

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