General news

• Ministers urged to help schools with Covid measures after call for routine tests rejected

  09-08-2020 19:15
  
  Ministers urged to help schools with Covid measures after call for routine tests rejectedLabour calls for extra resources after Nick Gibb insists only those showing symptoms will be tested in England* Coronavirus – latest updates* See all our coronavirus coverage
  
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• BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2025 – live

  18-12-2025 21:26 via theguardian.com
  Updates from the ceremony in Salford, 7pm GMT startOur Anti-Spoty 2025 | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail NiallAnd here are recent Guardian interviews with that trio of elite athletes. Get reading!Two more contenders for tonight’s big prize have arrived in Salford: Chloe Kelly and Rory McIlroy! Continue reading...
  
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• Democrats release more images from Jeffrey Epstein estate, including photos of writing on woman’s body – live

  18-12-2025 21:15 via theguardian.com
  Latest image drop comes as pressure mounts on Trump’s justice department to release filesFull report – Democrats release new Epstein photosWhat we know so far about the Epstein filesDemocratic lawmakers will release more photographs from evidence gathered from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein if the Department of Justice fails to meet the Friday deadline to disclose investigative documents, Congressman Robert Garcia told CNN yesterday.Speaking to Erin Burnett, Garcia said a petition to
  
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• Trump signs order reclassifying marijuana as less dangerous

  18-12-2025 21:02 via theguardian.com
  Change will loosen limits on research and certain regulations but stops short of making marijuana legalDonald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to move cannabis out of the most restrictive drug category, a change that would loosen limits on research and certain regulations but stop short of making marijuana legal nationwide.“I’m pleased to announce that I will be signing an Executive Order to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with
  
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• Farage avoids police investigation over alleged electoral law breach

  18-12-2025 20:56 via theguardian.com
  Essex force says report is outside time limit for prosecution, while Electoral Commission says it has not found any undeclared spendingNigel Farage has avoided investigation over claims his general election campaign breached electoral law last year – in part because too much time has passed since the alleged offences.The Reform UK leader was told on Thursday that Essex police could not open an investigation because it was now time-barred, more than a year having passed since any alleged of
  
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• MPs to question Vodafone on ‘unjust’ treatment of store franchise owners

  18-12-2025 20:51 via theguardian.com
  Parliamentary scrutiny follows claims that commercial agreements put the mental health of shopkeepers at riskVodafone executives will next month meet MPs scrutinising the company’s treatment of scores of business owners running its stores.The move follows claims reported by the Guardian last week of suicide and attempted suicide by people who had agreed deals to run outlets for the £18bn telecoms company. The report led to suggestions that the government might consider new laws to co
  
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• Minister says government not mistreating Palestine Action activists on hunger strike

  18-12-2025 20:46 via theguardian.com
  Commons leader denies allegation and says government ‘not trying to break bodies’ after doctor said prisoners were dyingThe government is “not trying to break the bodies” of Palestine Action protesters on hunger strike, a minister has said, after a doctor said eight of the activists were dying.The prisoners on hunger strike are facing charges related to alleged break-ins or criminal damage on behalf of Palestine Action before the group was banned under terrorism legislati
  
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• Charlotte Dujardin ‘very emotional’ at warm reception after horse-whipping ban

  18-12-2025 20:37 via theguardian.com
  British rider returns to high-level competition in LondonTriple Olympic champion speaks of ‘real buzz to be back’Charlotte Dujardin has admitted feeling “very emotional” at the warm reception received from supporters in the former Olympic dressage champion’s first major event after serving a one-year ban from the sport following a horse-whipping controversy.The 40-year-old is competing at the two-day FEI Dressage World Cup in London, her biggest event since she was
  
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• Keir as Eliot Ness, Radon Liz on YouTube – a great year of Westminster psychodrama

  18-12-2025 20:26 via theguardian.com
  With the Christmas recess slowing the political havoc, it’s time to hand out the Guardian’s parliamentarian of the year awardsYou can hear the sighs of relief. Not from the MPs who are packing up to slope back to their constituencies for the Christmas recess, but from the rest of the country. Finally, the year is coming to an end and there will be few chances for our politicians to do any further damage before they return to Westminster in January.The psychodrama is finally done. We
  
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• UK’s first military barracks housing asylum seekers closes after six years

  18-12-2025 20:21 via theguardian.com
  Napier barracks in Folkestone faced multiple problems, from far-right protests to damning ruling over safeguarding issuesThe UK’s first and most longstanding military barracks used to accommodate asylum seekers is closing its doors on Thursday after almost six years.The closure of the controversial Napier barracks in Folkestone comes at a time when the government has pledged to expand its use of this form of accommodation as an alternative to expensive hotels, which anti-migrant and far-ri
  
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• Denmark says Russia was behind two ‘destructive and disruptive’ cyber-attacks

  18-12-2025 20:19 via theguardian.com
  Intelligence service says attacks were work of groups connected to Russian state in ‘clear evidence’ of hybrid warThe Danish government has accused Russia of being behind two “destructive and disruptive” cyber-attacks in what it describes as “very clear evidence” of a hybrid war.The Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS) announced on Thursday that Moscow was behind a cyber-attack on a Danish water utility in 2024 and a series of distributed denial-of-servi
  
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• UK government strategy to protect women and girls from violence ‘seriously underfunded’

  18-12-2025 20:05 via theguardian.com
  Campaigners welcome plans but say poor funding means Labour’s ambitions unlikely to be metA landmark strategy to protect women and girls from violence and abuse “falls seriously short” of the funding required to realise the government’s ambitions, campaigners have said.The government’s strategy to combat violence against women and girls (VAWG) was hailed as a “milestone” by women’s organisations. It will focus on prevention and tackling harmful beh
  
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• Long waits and ‘unacceptable’ lack of data at NHS gender clinics in England, review finds

  18-12-2025 20:04 via theguardian.com
  Impossible to judge safety or effectiveness as adult clinics not systematically recording outcomes, Dr David Levy findsDoctors treating vulnerable patients with gender dysphoria have no way of assessing whether the NHS treatment provided has worked because outcomes are not systematically recorded, a damning official inquiry into the clinics has found.Waiting times for a first appointment at NHS adult gender dysphoria clinics (GDCs) in England are projected to reach 15 years unless there are impr
  
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• Angela Rayner to publish memoir amid talk of potential Labour leadership challenge

  18-12-2025 20:04 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Book to detail life from child poverty and teenage pregnancy to unions and Labour deputy leadership before fall from graceUK politics live – latest updatesAngela Rayner is writing a memoir about her rise to become deputy prime minister and her subsequent fall from grace, the Guardian can confirm, in a move that will be seen as an attempt to set the narrative ahead of any leadership contest.The book, which will detail the Labour politician’s life story from her impoverished
  
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• England in talks to replace controversial Snicko with new technology for fourth Ashes Test

  18-12-2025 20:00 via theguardian.com
  ECB and Cricket Australia could bring in UltraEdgeSnicko hit by more bad decisions on day two in AdelaideThe England and Wales Cricket Board has held talks with Cricket Australia about the possibility of replacing the decision review system (DRS) technology Snicko with an alternative UltraEdge for the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne after controversy on the opening two days of the Adelaide Test.In bilateral series, DRS technology is the responsibility of the home board, which in practice is passed
  
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• Journalists condemn surprise shake-up of No 10 lobby briefings

  18-12-2025 19:57 via theguardian.com
  Scrapping of afternoon press conferences could limit scrutiny and transparency, say reportersSweeping changes to Downing Street’s press lobby system have been criticised by journalists.No 10 normally holds two briefings on most days that parliament sits to allow the lobby – political journalists that cover Westminster – to question the prime minister’s official spokesperson. Continue reading...
  
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• Trump administration unveils plans to end gender-affirming care for minors

  18-12-2025 19:52 via theguardian.com
  Proposal would prohibit Medicaid funds from being used to cover puberty blockers, hormone treatments or surgical proceduresUS politics live – latest updatesThe Trump administration unveiled new actions aimed at eliminating transition-related medical care for minors across the US on Thursday, referring to such treatments as “sex-rejecting procedures”, a term used by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).As part of the effort, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Ser
  
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• Keir Starmer appoints career diplomat Christian Turner as US ambassador

  18-12-2025 19:45 via theguardian.com
  Turner, appointed ambassador to UN in May, now replaces Peter Mandelson who was sacked over Epstein linksKeir Starmer has appointed the career diplomat Christian Turner as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, replacing Peter Mandelson who was sacked over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.Turner, who was appointed ambassador to the UN in May, had previously been political director at the Foreign Office and had brokered a close relationship with the new Labour administration before taking up his UN
  
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• PPE company linked to ex-Tory peer Michelle Mone goes into liquidation

  18-12-2025 19:35 via theguardian.com
  PPE Medpro owes government £148m for supplying unusable personal protective equipment during Covid-19 pandemicThe company linked to the former Conservative peer Michelle Mone, which owes the government almost £150m for supplying unusable personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic, has been put into liquidation.The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) applied for PPE Medpro to be wound up at a high court hearing on Thursday, arguing that the company was “h
  
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• The Guardian view on reducing violence against women: ministers must follow through on a bold promise | Editorial

  18-12-2025 19:30 via theguardian.com
  Labour’s delayed strategy stresses prevention. Big changes in policing and the courts are needed tooLabour set itself a mammoth task when it pledged, before last year’s election, to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in 10 years. While many forms of crime have decreased over the past decade, sexual assault has not. In the year to March 2025, 1.9% of people in England and Wales experienced it, and 82% of victims were female. The prevalence of image-related offence
  
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• The Guardian view on the EU and Ukraine: a moment of truth for Brussels and Kyiv | Editorial

  18-12-2025 19:27 via theguardian.com
  The plan to mobilise Russia’s frozen assets is morally compelling and ingenious. The problem is that its enemies will never see it that wayMorally, the decision facing the European Council in Brussels this week has been a no-brainer. Russia invaded Ukraine illegally and unilaterally. Moscow shows no sign of wanting peace. It actively threatens other countries too, including Britain. Ukraine is running out of money. Yet £184bn worth of Russian assets remain frozen in Europe, notably i
  
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• Facebook tests charging users to share links in potential blow for news outlets

  18-12-2025 19:14 via theguardian.com
  News organisations fear move could hit newsrooms and other media publishers by stopping users sharing their contentFacebook is testing a system that charges users for sharing web links, in a move that could prove to be a further blow to news outlets and other publishers.Meta, the social media platform’s owner, said it is carrying out a “limited test” in which those without a paid Meta Verified subscription, costing at least £9.99 a month, can only post two external links
  
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• Beau Greaves: ‘I started beating better players and the penny dropped: I can be good enough to do this full-time’

  18-12-2025 19:00 via theguardian.com
  Back at the PDC world championship for the first time since 2022, the women’s world champion means business, starting on Friday against the world No 22“When I was younger, they thought I was a mute,” Beau Greaves says with a wry smile, thinking about all the ways darts has changed her. “Never said owt in school, really shy. Didn’t really know what to say half the time. I suppose playing darts just brought me out of my shell. When you get popular, people want to meet
  
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• BP opts for culture shock with new CEO appointment, but the timing is odd

  18-12-2025 18:55 via theguardian.com
  The decision to replace Murray Auchincloss with Woodside’s Meg O’Neill is puzzling on at least two countsHere we go again. Just when you thought BP was trying to generate less drama, the new chair has decided a new chief executive is needed. Say goodbye to Murray Auchincloss, who junked the green-ish transition strategy of his predecessor as recently as February. Meg O’Neill, the American boss of the Australian group Woodside Energy, becomes BP’s first outside hire as chi
  
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• Afghanistan’s historic Ariana cinema torn down by Taliban – in pictures

  18-12-2025 18:48 via theguardian.com
  A renowned Kabul cinema that for decades attracted the city’s film fans is being demolished to make way for a shopping mall Continue reading...
  
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• Ben Jennings on plans to tackle misogyny in English schools – cartoon

  18-12-2025 18:47 via theguardian.com
  Discover and buy more of Ben’s cartoons hereOrder your own print of this cartoon from the Guardian Print Shop Continue reading...
  
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• Boxing was the original attention economy – Paul v Joshua is old logic in a louder digital age

  18-12-2025 18:42 via theguardian.com
  Millions will tune in to watch the brash YouTuber get his comeuppance – the fight will likely go on as long as Joshua decides to let itAn undersized loudmouth disruptor arrives in Miami for a no-hope fight with one of history’s most destructive heavyweights, exploiting every available lever of new media to amplify his delusions of grandeur to mass audiences. There are mounting concerns for his mental and physical wellbeing, with doctors, commentators and former fighters openly questi
  
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• ‘We’ve future-proofed’: how UK’s biggest car factory upgraded for EV revolution

  18-12-2025 18:41 via theguardian.com
  Nissan builds in capability to go fully electric at Sunderland plant amid scaling back of transition targets across EuropeCar bodies suspended from overhead rails move through Nissan’s factory in Sunderland, with workers stepping in to fit parts at different stations. At the newly installed battery “marriage station”, lifting machines push the most crucial component up into the body. Robots fit and tighten 16 bolts in under a minute – quick enough to ensure the constant f
  
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• Stay at home if you have flu symptoms, experts urge amid fears of second surge

  18-12-2025 18:38 via theguardian.com
  NHS England on high alert as admissions reach all-time high for this time of yearPeople should stay home over the Christmas period if they have symptoms of flu or Covid, experts have warned amid fears flu cases could see a second surge in the New Year.Flu levels appear to be plateauing, but it is too soon to say whether they have peaked, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). As a result, experts are urging people to wash their hands regularly, make sure indoor spaces are well venti
  
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• ‘Money today or blood tomorrow’: EU leaders race to secure deal for Ukraine

  18-12-2025 18:38 via theguardian.com
  Summit divided on idea of loan secured against Russian assets, as Belgium seeks guarantees if scheme goes wrongBelgian politicians and finance bosses targeted by Russian intelligence over seized assetsEU leaders are racing to secure a funding deal for Ukraine that has been cast as a choice between “money today or blood tomorrow”, but Belgium continues to oppose a loan secured against Russia’s frozen assets.At a summit billed as make or break, EU leaders are discussing an unprec
  
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