General news

• The reality facing England's busiest A&E unit as flu wave hits - BBC

  11-12-2025 01:01 via news.google.com
  The reality facing England's busiest A&E unit as flu wave hits  BBCBBC spends the day in A&E as winter pressures rise  BBCHospital emergency department 'exceptionally busy' as flu cases surge  Telegraph and Argus'Stay home' flu and cold warning issued by 'extremely busy' Huddersfield and Halifax hospitals  Yahoo News UK'Only attend if it's urgent' plea from Halifax A&E doctors as people turn up with coughs and colds  Halifax Courier
  
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• Reddit launches high court challenge to Australia’s under-16s social media ban

  12-12-2025 05:21 via theguardian.com
  Platform fighting world-leading ban on grounds it contravenes implied freedom of political communication in constitutionWill Australia’s social media ban survive a high court challenge?Reddit has filed a challenge against Australia’s under-16s social media ban in the high court, lodging its case two days after implementing age restrictions on its website.
  The company said in a Reddit post on Friday that while it agreed with protecting people under 16, the law “has the unfortuna
  
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• ‘Charismatic, self-assured, formidable’: Lara Croft returns with two new Tomb Raider games

  12-12-2025 03:45 via theguardian.com
  An all-new Croft adventure, Tomb Raider Catalyst, will be released in 2027 – and a remake of the action heroine’s first adventure arrives next yearAfter a long break for Lara Croft, a couple of fresh Tomb Raider adventures are on their way. They will be the first new games in the series since 2018, and both will be published by Amazon.Announced at the Game Awards in LA, Tomb Raider Catalyst stars the “charismatic, self-assured, formidable Lara Croft” from the original 199
  
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• Trump news at a glance: president ‘sick of meetings’ as Ukraine-Russia peace deal talks drag on

  12-12-2025 03:08 via theguardian.com
  Trump’s press secretary suggested Trump was growing weary of process as Ukraine’s president under immense pressure to sign US deal – key US politics stories from 11 December 2025When it comes to Ukraine peace talks, Donald Trump is “sick of meetings just for the sake of meetings”, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday.Leavitt added that the White House may send a representative to meet with European and Ukrainian officials this week
  
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• Dozens killed in hospital strike in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state

  12-12-2025 03:07 via theguardian.com
  Conflict monitors say the junta has increased airstrikes year-on-year since the start of Myanmar’s civil warDozens have been killed in a military strike on a hospital in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, according to an aid worker, a rebel group, a witness and local media reports, as the junta wages a withering offensive ahead of elections beginning this month.“The situation is very terrible,” said on-site aid worker Wai Hun Aung. “As for now, we can confirm there ar
  
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• The Reject Shop faces a legal threat from a UK artist over a flamingo egg cup. Does it have a leg to stand on?

  12-12-2025 03:04 via theguardian.com
  Australian retailer tells ceramic artist Hannah Turner it won’t restock the product amid debate over copyrightGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastUK artist Hannah Turner was shocked by the image of a ceramic flamingo-shaped egg cup that showed up on her screen.She took in its green eyes, the pattern of the feathers, its thin pink legs and its overall shape. She felt recognition. Continue reading...
  
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• Trump expands Venezuela sanctions as Maduro decries new ‘era of piracy’

  12-12-2025 02:43 via theguardian.com
  Six more oil supertankers added to sanctions list, as well as members of Maduro’s extended family, amid rising tensions following tanker seizureDonald Trump has exerted more pressure on Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro, expanding sanctions and issuing fresh threats to strike land targets in Venezuela, as the South American dictator accused the US president of ushering in a new “era of criminal naval piracy” in the Caribbean.Late on Thursday, the US imposed curb
  
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• Changes to polar bear DNA could help them adapt to global heating, study finds

  12-12-2025 02:00 via theguardian.com
  Scientists say bears in southern Greenland differ genetically to those in the north, suggesting they could adjustChanges in polar bear DNA that could help the animals adapt to warmer climates have been detected by researchers, in a study thought to be the first time a statistically significant link has been found between rising temperatures and changing DNA in a wild mammal species.Climate breakdown is threatening the survival of polar bears. Two-thirds of them are expected to have disappeared b
  
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• Papua New Guinea grapples with HIV epidemic as it battles stigma and US aid cuts

  12-12-2025 01:47 via theguardian.com
  Papua New Guinea has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the Asia-Pacific region, with many unaware they have the virusAfter battling illness for years, Nancy Karipa tested positive for HIV in 1999. She had just given birth to her first child. “It was a crossroads moment for me, with the fear of denial, but I chose action,” Karipa, who is now in her 50s, said at an Aids awareness event in Papua New Guinea’s capital Port Moresby in December. She and the baby received tre
  
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• Liam Neeson denies anti-vax views after narrating Covid documentary

  12-12-2025 01:23 via theguardian.com
  Taken star lends his voice to a film that questions the legitimacy of vaccines and includes interview with RFK JrLiam Neeson has lent his voice to a new documentary that questions the legitimacy of vaccines and praises Donald Trump’s health and human services secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.The film, called Plague of Corruption, is narrated by the Taken actor and based on a bestselling book co-authored by Judy Mikovits, a disgraced former scientist who gained notoriety during the Covid pand
  
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• ‘It’s not going to end’: Thai evacuees fear for future after fresh clashes with Cambodia

  12-12-2025 01:05 via theguardian.com
  Displaced people in Thailand voice doubts that Donald Trump can stop the fighting as violence flares on the borderHalf a million flee as deadly Cambodia-Thailand border clashes escalateRangsan Angda and many of his neighbours in border areas of Thailand had already packed their bags, fearing that a ceasefire with neighbouring Cambodia would soon collapse.The ceasefire deal – brokered by Donald Trump, who proclaimed himself “President of PEACE” after he helped end five days of d
  
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• Into the Woods review – Brothers Grimm gloriously mashed up by Sondheim

  12-12-2025 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Bridge theatre, LondonStephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s fairytale adventure follows its archetypal characters into real-world emotion, brilliantly drawn and sung
  Can Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s eternally imaginative Grimm brothers mashup ever disappoint, when its book is so clever and it is driven by the most gorgeous (if tricky) music? Jordan Fein’s production shimmers and shines with all the humour and pathos of these errant fairytale characters who misadventure int
  
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• Littler lights up Ally Pally opening night as prize money raises stakes

  12-12-2025 00:50 via theguardian.com
  The PDC world darts championship is back, but could the new £1m winners’ cheque make this show too big?A team of assistant referees walks into the Twelve Pins in Finsbury Park carrying linesmen’s flags and whistles. It’s 3pm on a Thursday, you think, they’ve probably just been reffing a local game. Then, you think, there isn’t a football pitch around here. And why haven’t they changed and showered? Then more referees walk in, more linesmen, one
  
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• London venue ‘appalled’ after antisemitic imagery allegedly screened at Primal Scream gig

  11-12-2025 23:58 via theguardian.com
  Roundhouse apologises after animation projected behind band appears to show Star of David entwined with swastikaA music venue in London has apologised after antisemitic imagery was allegedly displayed on stage during a Primal Scream gig.A video appearing to show the Star of David entwined with a swastika was said to be screened during the Scottish band’s show at the Roundhouse in Camden on Monday. Continue reading...
  
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• Labour to create up to 60,000 spaces for children with Send in English schools

  11-12-2025 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Bridget Phillipson says £3bn scheme focussed on local state schools will ‘transform lives’, after rise in parent appealsThe government is to invest £3bn in creating bespoke places within local state schools for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), a crucial part of its efforts to grapple with England’s rising numbers of children facing social and mental health problems.The plan announced by Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, to cr
  
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• Classy Tielemans seals win in Basel to keep Aston Villa on march in Europe

  11-12-2025 23:02 via theguardian.com
  Roger Federer, an ardent Basel supporter, was up in the stands, in the posh seats to be precise, but even he could surely ignore his allegiances and appreciate the grace with which Youri Tielemans clinched victory for Aston Villa.Unai Emery turned to Tielemans at half-time and the midfielder delivered within eight minutes, his classy first-time finish regaining the lead, after Evann Guessand’s early strike was cancelled out. This represented a 14th victory in their past 16 matches and it f
  
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• Crystal Palace climb Conference League table as Uche sparks Shelbourne stroll

  11-12-2025 23:00 via theguardian.com
  This might be Crystal Palace’s first European campaign but they are learning very quickly. Having arrived in Dublin missing some of their big-hitters including star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta and the marauding wing-back Daniel Muñoz, they left with a comfortable victory that virtually assured them of a place in the Conference League playoffs.Oliver Glasner has already said that he will play a weakened team against Finnish side KuPS in their final group stage match next week despit
  
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• Ferguson’s double for Roma piles misery on Celtic in Nancy’s European debut

  11-12-2025 22:59 via theguardian.com
  Two matches is not an adequate window in which to judge a manager. Nonetheless, these are worrying times for Wilfried Nancy and Celtic. Seriously worrying, in truth.Back-to-back losses since the Frenchman’s arrival would be bad enough without the rampant manner in which Roma ensured six points from six in visits to Glasgow during this season’s Europa League. What a canter this proved from minute one. Continue reading...
  
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• Key whistleblower contradicts part of phone hacking case against Daily Mail

  11-12-2025 21:30 via theguardian.com
  Private investigator Jonathan Rees denies telling Doreen Lawrence he was involved in bugging herA key whistleblower supporting a legal claim headed by Prince Harry and Doreen Lawrence against the publisher of the Daily Mail appears to have dealt a last-minute blow to the case against the media group.Just weeks before a high court trial, Jonathan Rees, a private investigator who has supported claims of unlawful news gathering at Associated Newspapers, has contradicted a central allegation in the
  
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• Editor of Times and Sunday Times in Scotland is charged over ‘indecent communications’

  11-12-2025 21:29 via theguardian.com
  David McCann, 43, was arrested after police searched his flat in EdinburghThe editor of the Times and Sunday Times in Scotland has been suspended and charged over “indecent online communications”.News UK, which owns the newspapers, announced that David McCann had been suspended after he was “made the subject of a criminal investigation unrelated to his work”. Continue reading...
  
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• US wants Ukraine to withdraw from Donbas and create ‘free economic zone’, says Zelenskyy

  11-12-2025 21:20 via theguardian.com
  Ukrainian president says plan would not be fair without guarantees that Russia would not simply take over zoneThe US wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donbas region, and Washington would then create a “free economic zone” in the parts Kyiv currently controls, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.Previously, the US had suggested Kyiv should hand over the parts of Donbas it still controlled to Russia, but the Ukrainian president said on Thursday that Washington had now suggested a
  
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• Inquiry to be held into north-east England NHS trust after patient deaths

  11-12-2025 21:12 via theguardian.com
  Health secretary announces investigation into Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys trust that has seen young patients take their own livesA public inquiry will be held into the failures of a north-east NHS foundation after the deaths of several patients, Wes Streeting has confirmed.The health secretary made the announcement in Darlington, speaking to the families of patients who died while receiving treatment from hospitals run by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS foundation trust, which is headquartered in
  
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• NHS bracing for worst ever winter crisis in next fortnight amid rising flu cases

  11-12-2025 21:02 via theguardian.com
  Hospitals treating record numbers of flu patients but worst is yet to come as medical bosses urge people to get vaccinatedThe NHS is bracing for its worst ever winter crisis in the next fortnight because of a worsening “flu-nami” that has left hospitals, GP surgeries and ambulances services under intense strain.Hospitals are already treating record numbers of people seriously ill because of flu for the time of year. But things will get worse in the days ahead, NHS leaders said, as me
  
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• Treasure Island review – swashbuckling musical is shipshape and Bristol fashion

  11-12-2025 21:00 via theguardian.com
  Bristol Old Vic
  An inventive production crammed full of puppets, sword fights and rousing melodies shrieks with lifeIt’s all aboard this Christmas with Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary’s musical version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, starting at a storytelling festival in a Bristol pub. Comedian Jayde Adams, as the landlady, welcomes us with the familiar jesting of her standup sets: “Alright, let’s get to know the room …” Eventually, the tale takes hol
  
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• Met officers must tell bosses if they are Freemasons, force announces

  11-12-2025 20:35 via theguardian.com
  Move comes amid fears that requirement for Freemasons to ‘protect each other’ could lead to corruptionMetropolitan police officers must tell their bosses if they are Freemasons, the force has announced, amid fears membership could be linked to corruption.Britain’s largest force said anyone who was part or had been a member of a “hierarchical organisation that require members to support and protect each other” must declare it. Continue reading...
  
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• Drax plans to convert part of its North Yorkshire power plant into datacentre

  11-12-2025 20:22 via theguardian.com
  Plans are response to surge in demand for AI capability and come after government signalled it would curb subsidiesDrax has revealed plans to convert part of its power plant in North Yorkshire into a datacentre as soon as 2027 in response to the increase in demand for AI capability.The FTSE 250 company behind Britain’s biggest power plant told investors on Thursday that it had applied for planning permission to build a 100-megawatt datacentre at its site near Selby. Continue reading...
  
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• Britain threatened to cut off ICC funding over Netanyahu arrest warrant, claims prosecutor

  11-12-2025 20:08 via theguardian.com
  Karim Khan makes allegation in court submission while defending move to prosecute Israeli prime minister in 2024The British government threatened to defund the international criminal court and leave the Rome statute that set it up if it pressed ahead with plans to issue an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu, the ICC’s prosecutor, has claimed.Karim Khan made the allegation in a submission to the court defending his decision to prosecute Israel’s prime minister. Continue reading
  
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• Dulwich college head responds to claims of teenage racism by Nigel Farage

  11-12-2025 20:07 via theguardian.com
  Robert Milne says he fully recognises the ‘seriousness of the behaviours described in the media’ Dulwich college’s headteacher has responded to allegations of teenage racism by Nigel Farage by saying he recognised the “seriousness of the behaviours described in the media”.Robert Milne, who joined the school as its “master” this summer, said the alleged behaviour was “at odds” with the modern-day school in a letter in which he said he understo
  
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• UK MPs face rise in phishing attacks on messaging apps

  11-12-2025 19:58 via theguardian.com
  Hackers include Russia-based actors targeting WhatsApp and Signal accounts, parliamentary authorities warnMPs are facing rising numbers of phishing attacks and Russia-based actors are actively targeting the WhatsApp and Signal accounts of politicians and officials, UK parliamentary authorities have warned.MPs, peers and officials are being asked to step up their cybersecurity after a continued rise in attacks that have involved messages pretending to be from the app’s support team, asking
  
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• The UK’s pharma deal was vital – but the GSK boss is right about US dominance | Nils Pratley

  11-12-2025 19:57 via theguardian.com
  It would be absurd to claim the UK has suddenly become a life-sciences leader thanks to the new pricing and tariffs pactThat’s gratitude, eh? It’s not even a fortnight since the government agreed to raise the prices the NHS pays for new medicines and here comes the boss of GSK, Britain’s second largest pharma firm, to extol the virtues of doing business in the US.The US is “still the leading market in the world in terms of the launches of new drugs and vaccines”, sa
  
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