Top World News

Dec 8, 2025 - World

Exclusive: Ministers face pushback over potential changes to asylum seekers’ rights before Council of Europe meetingHuman rights groups have warned UK ministers against weakening protections against torture or other mistreatment for asylum seekers before a crucial European summit this week on how to respond to migration.David Lammy, the justice secretary, is expected to help lead arguments at the Council of Europe meeting on Wednesday on how the European convention on human rights (ECHR) could be reinterpreted to limit the scope of rights under article 3, which prohibits torture and “inhuman or degrading treatment”. Continue reading...

Dec 8, 2025 - World

Backlog delaying ‘shovel-ready’ ventures will be cleared with aim of building virtually zero-carbon power system by 2030Britain’s energy system operator is pulling the plug on hundreds of electricity generation projects to clear a huge backlog that is stopping “shovel-ready” schemes from connecting to the power grid.Developers will be told on Monday whether their plans will be dismissed by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) – or whether they will be prioritised to connect by either the end of the decade or 2035. Continue reading...

Dec 8, 2025 - World

Former Nationals leader and ex-deputy prime minister confirms long-awaited move on MondayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBarnaby Joyce says he is “philosophically aligned” with One Nation after finalising his long-anticipated move to Pauline Hanson’s rightwing party.Joyce completed his defection from the Nationals on Monday, appearing with “fellow traveller” Hanson to confirm he would sit as a One Nation MP for the remainder of the term. He would lead the party’s New South Wales Senate ticket at the next federal election. Continue reading...

Dec 8, 2025 - World

More than 1,000 words used as far back as 325BC to be collected for insight into past linguistic landscapeIt is not likely to be a hefty volume because the vast majority of the material has been lost in the mists of time. But the remnants of a language spoken in parts of the UK and Ireland 2,000 years ago are being collected for what is being billed as the first complete dictionary of ancient Celtic.The dictionary will not be huge because relatively few words survive, but experts from Aberystwyth University say they expect they will end up with more than 1,000 words. Continue reading...

Dec 8, 2025 - World

While country’s return to global stage has filled many Syrians with pride, domestically old grievances threaten efforts to rebuild the stateLying in bed recovering after his latest surgery, Ayman Ali retells the story of Syria’s revolution through his wounds. His right eye, lost in an attack on a rebel observation post he was manning in 2012, is covered by yellow medical tape. Propped against the wall is a cane he uses to walk, after a rocket attack in 2014 left him with a limp.For 14 years, Ali dreamed of freedom and of justice. A year after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, he has his freedom but not his justice. The man he was dreaming of holding accountable – a member of his extended family who was a part of an Assad militia – had already fled the country by the time Ali returned to his home in Damascus. Continue reading...