CATEGORIES

A win for Ankara How Erdogan's balancing act has paid off for Turkey

Less than a week after the deposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow, Turkish officials raised their flag over the embassy in Damascus.

Syria HTS leader says rebel groups to be 'disbanded'

Syria's rebel factions will be \"disbanded\", the head of the group that led the ousting of Bashar al-Assad has pledged, as he seeks to reassure minorities at home and abroad that the country's interim leaders will protect all Syrians, as well as state institutions.

Hopes rise that ceasefire-for-hostages deal in Gaza could be done within days

The pace of talks aimed at securing a ceasefire-for-hostages agreement in Gaza appear to be accelerating, amid claims that a deal may be within reach, perhaps within days.

Removal of low traffic area in London legal, judge finds

Road safety campaigners in east London have lost a high court challenge against the mayor of Tower Hamlets over his decision to remove three low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in Bethnal Green.

I have not changed my mind over Letby's guilt, insists expert witness

A doctor yesterday said claims that he had changed his mind over the causes of death for three of Lucy Letby's victims were \"unsubstantiated\" and \"inaccurate\".

Young suspects may avoid court under terror laws shake-up

Young terrorism suspects could avoid prosecution if they agree to a diversion scheme under plans to tackle a post-lockdown surge in violent extremism.

Police missed warning signs about far right before riots, report finds

Police intelligence missed clues about dangers posed by the far right before the summer riots that ravaged England, a policing chief has said.

Parliament MPs call for electronic voting in the Commons

The House of Commons should consider moving to electronic voting, a group of more than 60 backbenchers have said, with the current system of filing physically through voting lobbies taking up to a fifth of an MP's working day.

Scotland Yousaf to quit frontline politics at Holyrood elections

Humza Yousaf, Scotland's former first minister, has announced he is to quit frontline politics at the next Scottish elections as he criticised Elon Musk's interference in the US election and his potential role in the next UK election.

Training up UK workers may not cut immigration, Starmer is warned

Keir Starmer's plan to bring down UK net immigration by improving domestic training and skills is not guaranteed to work, the government's independent advisers have concluded.

Avanti West Coast train staff to strike on New Year's Eve

Rail workers on Avanti West Coast will go on strike on New Year's Eve after rejecting a deal designed to resolve an ongoing dispute.

Anonymous winner takes third-largest lottery prize

A UK ticket-holder has become the third biggest national lottery winner after receiving a £177m jackpot.

Theatre review Dazzling, heady musical version of Tolstoy saga is terrific fun

The pithy, one-line character summaries in the opening song of Dave Malloy's compressed musical of War and Peace take some serious creative liberties with Leo Tolstoy's four-volume, 15-book doorstop of a story about love, friendship and life in the Napoleonic wars.

Air pollution linked to greater risk of hospital admission for mental illness

Exposure to air pollution is linked to an increased risk of hospital admission for mental illness, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind.

Doctors' groups urge ban on physician associates seeing patients one-to-one

The NHS should slow or scrap the recruitment of physician associates (PAs), and ban them from seeing patients one-to-one, medical groups have told ministers.

MI5 Agency's 'interference alert' is lawful, judges rule

A lawyer who was accused of improperly trying to influence MPs and peers on behalf of China has lost a legal challenge against MI5, who said nearly three years ago that she was trying to interfere in British democracy.

Audit of UK relations with China delayed until after Reeves Visit

A review of UK-China relations has been delayed until after the chancellor makes her first trip to Beijing next month, the Guardian has learned, amid a row over an alleged spy who befriended Prince Andrew.

Prince Andrew Call for inquiry into 'opaque' finances

Getting information from government departments about the Duke of York's past business dealings is like playing \"whack-a-mole\", a researcher has claimed, as fallout over the alleged Chinese spy controversy continues, with China saying it was an attempt to \"smear\" it.

Historic England Tomb linked to Tintin among newest protected places

listering barnacles! Thundering typhoons! Who knew there was a 300-year-old tomb in Essex linked to Tintin's boozy best friend, Captain Haddock?

Aircraft took off without pilot and flew over North Sea

A small but gutsy aircraft took off by itself from a grass strip north of Newcastle and flew to freedom over the North Sea earlier this year, according to the UK's air accident agency.

Pope reveals UK spies thwarted two attempts to blow him up on Iraq trip

The pope has said he escaped two suicide bombs in Iraq when the attempts on his life were foiled by British intelligence and Iraqi police.

Education Home school parents need oversight, says judge

The judge who jailed the killers of Sara Sharif has said the 10-year-old's murder \"starkly illustrates the dangers\" of parents automatically being able to home school their children.

No 10 denies rift with Mauritian PM over Chagos handover deal

Downing Street has denied that a deal with Mauritius to hand over control of the Chagos Islands is in peril after the island's new prime minister said it was not beneficial to his country.

'We target the specialists' Death in Moscow suburb cements SBU's reputation for swift, brutal revenge

It was a gruesome morning scene. Two bodies lay sprawled in front of a shattered apartment block.

Analysis Toxic agent evidence is growing

Gasping - choking - on Ukraine's frontline, the country's soldiers report what statistics show: a persistent use of chemical weapons, mostly teargas, whose deployment on the battlefield is illegal.

'I dared to dream big': Hodgkinson takes BBC sports personality prize

No one could stop Keely Hodgkinson on the track in 2024 - or, as it turned out, the battle for public opinion as the Olympic 800m champion lifted the BBC's sports personality of the year award.

Surveillance 'This involves some of the biggest state organisations'

After a tribunal ruled that the investigative journalists, Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, were unlawfully spied on to find out their sources, the pair were at pains to stress that they considered what was uncovered to be just the tip of the iceberg.

Police illegally spied on journalists investigating Troubles massacre

Police officers unlawfully spied on two investigative journalists, a tribunal found yesterday in a landmark judgment.

Sara Sharif's mother says murderers are 'sadists'

The mother of Sara Sharif yesterday called her daughter's murderers \"sadists and executioners\" as they were jailed for life.

Moscow blast kills Russian chemical weapons chief

A senior Russian general died yesterday after an explosive device hidden in an electric scooter detonated outside an apartment building in Moscow in an attack by Ukraine that marks one of the boldest assassinations of a senior military official since Russia's invasion of the country began.