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Hanukah stabbings: five hurt in Monsey, New York state
Inside the Chinese jail behind the Christmas card scandal
Victoria bushfires: thousands told to evacuate vast east Gippsland fire threat zone
BBC put presenter on a plane to interview Greta Thunberg
Seven bodies found on suspected North Korean fishing boat in Japan
Geert Wilders revives contest for cartoons that mock Muhammad
2019 saw most mass killings on record, US database reveals
Cyclone Sarai: one dead, thousands evacuated in Fiji
Costa del Sol: hotel insists pool not to blame for deaths
Kelly Fraser, Inuit singer-songwriter, dies at 26
Drugs, dancing, cabaret: Babylon Berlin returns for season three
Rowan Williams warns against scrapping overseas aid office
The power behind the thrones: 10 political movers and shakers who will shape 2020
I’m home for Christmas – but hardship has sucked the spirit out of Zimbabwe
'Sad day for women': Queensland LNP leader under fire for 'Princess Palaszczuk' comments
How do you sign chicken and chips? Pakistan's cafe run by and for the deaf
Fraud fighters and bamboo bikes: the African innovators driving change
Hong Kong police use pepper spray against people in 'shopping protest' – video
Aftermath of fatal truck bomb explosion in Mogadishu – video

Hanukah stabbings: five hurt in Monsey, New York state

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 11:32 PM PST

Attack takes place during festivities at rabbi's home, say authorities, with suspect and getaway car later found

An attacker has stabbed five people during Hanukah festivities at a rabbi's home in New York state.

The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council said an attacker wearing a scarf fled after stabbing the victims at a house in Monsey, Rockland county, about 30 miles north of New York City, on Saturday night.

Inside the Chinese jail behind the Christmas card scandal

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 11:00 AM PST

Former inmates at the prison where a plea was smuggled out in festive cards for Tesco say they faced forced labour and torture

For over three years, Leo spent his days at the Qingpu prison in Shanghai silently packaging sticky notes, face masks, gift bags and labels while guards kept close watch. If he refused, he would be punished – barred from reducing his prison sentence, making phone calls home, or worse.

This Christmas, a cry for help from Leo and other foreign inmates of Qingpu was smuggled out, hidden in a Tesco greetings card. China has called the card and allegations of forced labour by foreign prisoners a "farce".

Victoria bushfires: thousands told to evacuate vast east Gippsland fire threat zone

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 08:33 PM PST

Visitors and residents told to 'get out of' an area half the size of Belgium immediately, in the face of historic fire threat day on Monday

Victorian authorities have told thousands of visitors and residents in East Gippsland – an area half the size of Belgium – to leave immediately as a bushfire threat looms.

The emergency management commissioner, Andrew Crisp, issued the order on Sunday ahead of what the Bureau of Meteorology has called one of the "significant fire weather days in Victoria's history".

BBC put presenter on a plane to interview Greta Thunberg

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 03:38 PM PST

Sarah Sands, editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, admits it 'felt awkward'

Putting a presenter on a flight to Sweden to meet climate activist Greta Thunberg "felt awkward", the editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme has admitted.

The 16-year-old campaigner, who was a guest editor on a special edition of the show, avoids air travel because of its environmental impact.

Seven bodies found on suspected North Korean fishing boat in Japan

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 11:59 PM PST

Experts say vessel was possibly travelling far out to sea for bigger catches

Seven badly decomposed bodies were found in a suspected North Korean fishing boat that washed up on a Japanese island, a coast guard official.

The remains were found on Saturday in a broken vessel on the shore of Sado Island, which lies around 900km from North Korea across the Sea of Japan.

Geert Wilders revives contest for cartoons that mock Muhammad

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 02:55 PM PST

Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker reveals his plans despite fears the move could spark attacks

Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders has revived his plan to hold a contest for cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad, more than a year after cancelling such an event out of fear for attacks in the Netherlands.

In a tweet late on Saturday, Wilders called on people to send in their Muhammad cartoons.

2019 saw most mass killings on record, US database reveals

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 09:00 AM PST

Thirty-three of 41 incidents involved firearms, research shows, even as overall number of homicides fell

This year saw the highest number of mass killings on record, database records show, with 41 incidents claiming 211 lives in 2019 even as the overall US homicide rated dropped.

According to the database complied by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University, 33 of the incidents, defined as when four or more people are killed excluding the perpetrator, involved firearms.

Cyclone Sarai: one dead, thousands evacuated in Fiji

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 08:35 PM PST

Storm and flood warnings issued as category two cyclone moves east towards Tonga

One person was killed in Fiji and one was missing as tropical cyclone Sarai battered the country with strong wind and heavy rain, authorities said.

The Fiji National Disaster Management Office said one person was in intensive care and more than 2,500 people had been moved to 70 evacuation centres.

Costa del Sol: hotel insists pool not to blame for deaths

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 10:44 AM PST

Resort owner says Olubunmi Diya's claims 'at odds' with the police report into drownings

The operator of the Costa del Sol hotel where a British pastor and two of his children drowned has dismissed suggestions that there may have been a problem with the swimming pool in which they died.

Gabriel Diya, 52, Comfort Diya, nine, and Praise-Emmanuel Diya, 16, died on Christmas Eve at the Club La Costa World holiday resort in Fuengirola, Spain.

Kelly Fraser, Inuit singer-songwriter, dies at 26

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 06:50 PM PST

Fraser, from Canada, gained attention for Inuit-language cover of Rihanna's Diamonds and advocacy for indigenous culture

Kelly Fraser, a Canadian pop artist who gained attention for an Inuit-language cover of Rihanna's Diamonds, part of her advocacy efforts for her indigenous culture, has died. She was 26.

Thor Simonsen, Fraser's friend and producer, said he was told the day after Christmas by the singer-songwriter's family that she had died. The family declined to release details, including the cause of death, Simonsen said.

Drugs, dancing, cabaret: Babylon Berlin returns for season three

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 11:55 PM PST

Weimar-era detective show has sold to 100 countries, firmly establishing Germany as a serious player in blockbuster series

It has been sold to 100 countries, spawned international interest in the fashions of 1920s Berlin and, in 2020, German's first TV blockbuster of the streaming era returns for its third season, promising more murder and mystery in the turbulent days of the Weimar era.

Based on the bestselling detective novels by Volker Kutscher, Babylon Berlin is the most expensive non-English language screen production ever. Its cast is a who's who of Germany's best actors, headed by Liv Lisa Fries, playing the impoverished stenographer and aspiring detective Charlotte Ritter, and Volker Bruch, who plays her superior, chief inspector Gereon Rath.

Rowan Williams warns against scrapping overseas aid office

Posted: 29 Dec 2019 01:13 AM PST

Former archbishop and leading charities say Whitehall department is crucial to help world's poorest

Abolishing the international development department would undermine Britain's reputation as a leader in overseas aid, Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has warned.

In the latest sign of concern over the future of the Department for International Development (DfID), Williams said that reducing its work to "a subdivision of general foreign policy", which used foreign aid to assist Britain's security aims, would be a "damagingly short-term" decision. It comes amid continuing rumours in Whitehall that Boris Johnson will fold DfID back into the foreign office - something he advocated during his time as foreign secretary.

The power behind the thrones: 10 political movers and shakers who will shape 2020

Posted: 29 Dec 2019 12:05 AM PST

Some are trusted aides, others are fixers who work in the shadows. Often unelected and unaccountable, they all have the ear of national leaders

The role of Dominic Cummings in plotting and facilitating Boris Johnson's drive for power has focused attention on the influence exerted by behind-the-scenes advisers and confidants who have the ear of prominent politicians.

Powerful men and women around the world all have personal counsellors, trusted aides and backroom mentors. Then there are the "insiders" – string-pullers, fixers and manipulators with ambitions of their own. Few become well-known, although Cummings's notoriety is by no means exceptional.

I’m home for Christmas – but hardship has sucked the spirit out of Zimbabwe

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 10:29 PM PST

After years in exile, my hopes for a joyous family reunion were dashed by the country's miserable economic situation

My brothers and I leapt out of bed at the first glimmer of dawn on Christmas morning – and there they were. Every Christmas of my childhood that I can remember, the shiny black school shoes were neatly lined up by the door. A new pair for all of us. Then came the new clothes proudly presented by my parents – the fruit of long hours of labour. And then, in our new finery, off we went to church. The long sunny hours of Christmas Day, usually with a brief but refreshing afternoon thunderstorm, were spent at huge family gatherings, feasting on chicken and rice, washed down with an array of brightly-coloured soft drinks – cherry plum, cream soda and Fanta orange.

As the years went by and independence came to Zimbabwe, many things changed. But Christmas traditions remained much the same, with big gatherings to which people travelled many miles, new clothes, lots to eat and drink.

'Sad day for women': Queensland LNP leader under fire for 'Princess Palaszczuk' comments

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 11:03 PM PST

Deb Frecklington said she had 'no choice but to remain grounded' because she had children, and said the premier's fashion choices were 'too much'

Federal and state Labor MPs have rounded on the Queensland LNP leader, Deb Frecklington, after she criticised Annastacia Palaszczuk for her fashion choices and said she had "no choice but to remain grounded" because she had children.

In an interview with the Sunday Mail, Frecklington said Palaszczuk had "deliberately changed her image – the whole 'Princess Palaszczuk' is pretty obvious – but I haven't changed mine".

How do you sign chicken and chips? Pakistan's cafe run by and for the deaf

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 11:00 PM PST

Menus in sign language and jobs for the hearing impaired are challenging discrimination against those with disabilities

It's not just the bright yellow walls that make the Abey Khao cafe in Islamabad's Mughal Market stand out. The menu is in sign language, as is the English alphabet painted on the walls, along with the signs for "yes", "no", and "thank you". Customers are encouraged to place their orders using sign language.

The Abey Khao - which means "Hey Eat" – cafe is the believed to the only fast food cafe in Pakistan set up and run by deaf people.

Fraud fighters and bamboo bikes: the African innovators driving change

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 01:00 AM PST

Software for fighting cybercrime in Ghana and tools for speeding up cervical cancer diagnosis in Uganda are among innovations recognised by the judges of this year's Africa prize

The Royal Academy of Engineering's Africa prize, now in its sixth year, is the continent's biggest award for engineering innovation. Sixteen African inventors from six countries – including, for the first time, Malawi – have been shortlisted to receive funding, training and mentoring for projects intended to revolutionise sectors ranging from agriculture and banking to women's health. The winner will be awarded £25,000 and the three runners-up will receive £10,000 each.

This year's inventions include facial recognition software to prevent financial fraud, a low-cost digital microscope to speed up cervical cancer diagnosis, and two separate innovations made from water hyacinth plants. Four inventors spoke to the Guardian about their innovations and their plans to change Africa for the better.

Hong Kong police use pepper spray against people in 'shopping protest' – video

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 08:58 AM PST

Police used pepper spray and batons against protesters in a village on the border with mainland China and arrested dozens of people. More than 100 protesters marched through a shopping centre in rural Sheung Shui, part of a series of demonstrations intended to disrupt business that have been taking place since Christmas Eve

Aftermath of fatal truck bomb explosion in Mogadishu – video

Posted: 28 Dec 2019 03:06 AM PST

Dozens of people were killed, including many students, when a truck bomb exploded at a busy checkpoint in Somalia's capital on Saturday. Responsibility for the attack, one of the deadliest in the city's recent history, has not been claimed. Al-Shabaab often carries out such attacks, but the al-Qaida-linked group was pushed out of Mogadishu several years ago