South Africa accuses Israel of genocide in case launched at UN's top court

A delegation of high-level Hamas leaders is due to visit Egypt for talks aimed at bringing the devastating war in Gaza to an end, even as the Israeli military pushes deeper into the centre and south of the strip, displacing tens of thousands of people.

Has the world finally reached the beginning of the end for fossil fuels?

Climate scientists hail 2023 as 'tipping point' but warn that emissions must still fall 9% a year

Kale, jail and mud Guest editors on Today create an eclectic listen

Radio 4's Today programme has always had its idiosyncrasies. Where else do you find spiritual guidance - Thought for the Day - closely followed by horse racing tips?

Unlocking the past Brand new chapter for'hidden' library

It is arguably one of Manchester's most overlooked establishments: an atmospheric 217-year-old library on top of a city centre pub in a building that resembles an ancient Greek temple.

'Astounding' Poor Things confirms Emma Stone's star status

It’s not going out on a limb to say you have never seen a performance quite like Emma Stone’s in Poor Things.

Banksy pays tribute to late comic who trained Dismaland workers

Banksy has paid tribute to a late comedian who trained 100 teenagers to be \"the most surly and incompetent employees in the history of hospitality\" for his 2015 Dismaland exhibition in Somerset.

Barbie gains rizz and AI sparks hallucinations in Guardian's words of 2023

Hallucination, Barbenheimer and acabó were among the new and breakthrough words of 2023, according to an analysis of the Guardian archive. And do you have “rizz”?

'You can't be weak' MPs tell of hidden toll on mental health of a career in Commons

A year after they were made a minister the MP had the second breakdown of their political career, and realised they simply had no idea what to do next:

Glastonbury founder Eavis and TikTok organist recognised for work in world of arts and culture

The co-founder of the Glastonbury festival, a bestselling novelist and an organ-playing TikTok sensation are among the recipients of New Year honours from the world of arts and culture.

Shirley Bassey and Mary Earps among those receiving new year honours

The singer Shirley Bassey, the England goalkeeper Mary Earps, Glastonbury festival's founder Michael Eavis and the Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke are among those recognised in the new year honours list, while the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, leads those rewarded for their work on the coronation of King Charles III.

Rise in flu and Covid admissions adds to NHS 'storm of pressure'

A surge in the number of flu and Covid admissions to hospitals in England is adding to a \"storm of pressure\" facing the health service, NHS leaders have said.

Activist flees Hong Kong for UK over 'immense pressure' from police

One of the youngest people to be jailed under Hong Kong's national security law has fled to the UK, where he claimed asylum in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Supreme court urged to rule on states' decisions to bar Trump from ballot

Pressure is mounting on the US Supreme Court to swiftly rule on whether Donald Trump should be on state ballot sheets after Maine became the second state to rule that the former president was blocked from running again for the White House under a constitutional provision preventing insurrectionists from holding office.

Défi de janvier: French doctors urge politicians to defy alcohol lobby and back dry January

Dry January is at the centre of a political row in France after more than 45 professors of addiction studies signed a letter urging the state to promote a month of abstinence from alcohol.

Climate disasters of 2023 reveal a failure to stem crisis, experts say

The hottest year in recorded history casts doubts on humanity's ability to deal with a climate crisis of its own making, senior scientists have said.

Polish airspace breached during huge Russian strikes on Ukraine

Russia launched a massive wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, including the capital, yesterday in one of the biggest attacks on the country since the start of the war.

Courts and NHS 'will not recover until 2030s'

IPPR study says next government will inherit huge challenge to restore public services

Injury set to force Tuilagi to miss start of Six Nations

Manu Tuilagi faces being ruled out of the start of England's Six Nations campaign with a groin injury.

Mavropanos seals win to dent Arsenal's title hopes

This was not the reunion that Arsenal envisaged.

Spurs late to the party after Estupiñán provides the fizz

The strange thing was that Roberto De Zerbi, always such a livewire in his technical area, barely flinched. The Brighton manager had seen Pervis Estupiñán, on as a substitute, sculpt a masterpiece from long range to put his team 3-0 up just after the hour.

Mud larks Nature takes root in New Zealand's schools

Ashton Wilcox, eight, points to a dead hedgehog snagged in the rocks of a stream at Battle Hill, a farm 45 minutes north of New Zealand's capital city, Wellington. \"Look, its insides are moving,\" he says with alarm, examining the quills now colonised by maggots.

US and Mexican officials hail success of talks aiming to control record migration

US and Mexican officials have hailed the success of talks held on Wednesday aimed at curbing historically high unauthorized immigration across their shared 2,000-mile border that risks becoming a humanitarian disaster and an election-year political crisis for the US president, Joe Biden.

'Move with the world' How oldest newspaper is using AI

On 7 October 1779 a letter appeared in Berrow's Worcester Journal. A disgruntled reader wrote:

Father seeks judicial review of Home Office move to block his return to UK

A man who remains stuck in Turkey a year after he was barred from returning to the UK with his British son has applied for a judicial review of the Home Office's handling of his case.

Trump denies claims he bullied his way' into Home Alone 2 cameo

Donald Trump has denied claims made by the director Chris Columbus that he had \"bullied his way into\" appearing in the film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

Iraq conflict Campbell wanted to set lawyers on BBC over its war coverage

The former No 10 spin doctor Alastair Campbell suggested setting lawyers on the BBC, while Tony Blair was warned to expect a \"magisterial rebuke\" from senior figures at the broadcaster as the row over its coverage of the war in Iraq intensified in the early 2000s, government papers show.

Ulez 'averting more pollution than produced by airports'

More toxic air pollution has been averted by London's ultra-low emission zones (Ulez) than is produced by the capital's airports or its river and rail transport combined, according to an analysis of the scheme.

Willoughby to return as presenter of Dancing on Ice alongside new co-host

Holly Willoughby is to return to ITV to present Dancing On Ice, the broadcaster has announced.

'It was agony' The women giving birth in Gaza without medical care

When Hanan went into labour earlier this month, she was caught between the fear of facing childbirth without medical help and the terror of Israeli airstrikes and snipers if she tried to reach hospital.

Time is running out to avoid war with Hezbollah, Israel warns as clashes escalate

Israeli officials have hinted that the \"diplomatic hourglass\" is running out to reach a negotiated solution to the escalating fighting on the boundary with Lebanon, even as the war in Gaza continues at a ferocious pace.