Top World News

Dec 2, 2025 - World

Research shows perpetrators use methods such as stopping mothers accessing bank accounts and child benefitsAlmost 4 million children in the UK are suffering the impact of economic abuse in their families, with some having pocket or birthday money stolen by the perpetrators, a charity has found.Data from charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) showed that over the past year 27% of mothers with children under 18 had experienced behaviour considered to be economic abuse, where a current or former partner has controlled the family’s money. Continue reading...

Dec 2, 2025 - World

Residents claim raw sewage and poorly treated effluent as result of Thames Water’s failings are threat to healthCommunities across south-east England are filing the first coordinated legal complaints that sewage pollution by Thames Water negatively affects their lives.Thames Water failed to complete upgrades to 98 treatment plants and pumping stations which have the worst records for sewage pollution into the environment, despite a promise to invest in them over the last five years. Continue reading...

Dec 2, 2025 - World

Many uncertain about the future after losing everything in the country’s deadliest natural disaster for yearsWhen the rains began, Layani Rasika Niroshani was not worried. The 36-year-old mother of two was used to the heavy monsoon showers that drench Sri Lanka’s hilly central region of Badulla every year. But as it kept pounding down without stopping, the family started to feel jittery.Some relocated to a relative’s house, but her brother and his wife decided to stay behind to collect the valuables. As they were inside, a landslide hit the family home. Continue reading...

Dec 2, 2025 - World

Justice secretary expected to announce plans to tackle backlog of cases as he says system has been pushed to brink of collapse A “courts emergency” that will surpass 100,000 outstanding cases without radical reforms is leaving victims waiting years for justice, David Lammy has said as he prepares to face MPs over plans to drop thousands of jury trials.The justice secretary proposed last week to reduce the 78,000 outstanding cases in England and Wales by allowing jury trials only for serious crimes such as murder, rape and manslaughter. Continue reading...

Dec 1, 2025 - World

Meta platform allows users under 16 in Australia to change their date of birth – but only after clearing a ‘video selfie’ or providing government IDFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastInstagram’s process for determining whether a user is over 16 is relatively quick and painless if you’re clearly an adult – but how does it work if a 13-year-old tries to change their account’s date of birth to make them appear grown up?Meta in November began notifying Instagram and Facebook users whose date of birth is set as under 16 – or who the platform understands to be under 16 – that their accounts will be deactivated as part of Australia’s social media ban for children. The ban takes effect on 10 December, but Meta has said it will start removing access to users under 16 from 4 December. Continue reading...