World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

Merkel to meet Berlin attack survivors as anniversary puts failings in focus
Suspect arrested over death of British diplomat in Beirut
Battle to lead ANC and set South Africa's future course too close to call
$300m French chateau bought by Saudi prince linked to Da Vinci purchase – report
Conservative rebels urge May to build cross-party alliance for soft Brexit
Ex-mayor called traitor says Catalan referendum has ruptured society
Sebastián Piñera wins Chile's presidential election
Saudi Arabia told by UK minister to stop blocking Yemen aid
Turkey hopes to open embassy in East Jerusalem, says Erdoğan
Refugee advocates blockade Melbourne port in protest at offshore detention
Trump says he is not planning to fire Mueller as Republican attacks increase
Putin-Trump call: leaders hail US-Russian efforts to foil Isis bomb plot
Ryanair pilots suspend one-day strike in week before Christmas
US soldier killed in Niger ambush was not captured, military report finds
‘There’s no life here’: a journey into Britain’s precarious future
Put safety ahead of cost-cutting, urges Grenfell Tower building report
Thousands protest as far-right ministers enter government in Austria
'The future is very dark': Central African Republic's relentless cycle of suffering
Trump will drop climate change from US National Security Strategy
Call for fresh Honduras election after president Juan Orlando Hernandez wins
Thousands in China watch as 10 people sentenced to death in sport stadium
Gold Coast woman jailed for nine years for fatally striking her four-year-old son
Flights in and out of Atlanta airport grounded due to power cut – video
Deadly suicide attack on Christian church in Pakistan – video report

Merkel to meet Berlin attack survivors as anniversary puts failings in focus

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 10:00 PM PST

Relatives of those killed in truck attack on Christmas market have accused chancellor of failing to acknowledge their suffering

Angela Merkel is to meet bereaved relatives and survivors of last year's Berlin Christmas market attack for the first time, two weeks after they sent her an angry letter accusing her of political inaction and failing to acknowledge their suffering.

The German chancellor will meet the group in her office in Berlin on Monday, a day before the anniversary of the attack.

Suspect arrested over death of British diplomat in Beirut

Posted: 18 Dec 2017 12:04 AM PST

Person detained on Monday after the body of Rebecca Dykes was found by a motorway over the weekend

A suspect has been arrested over the death of a British diplomat in Beirut, a judicial source has told the Guardian.

The body of Rebecca Dykes was reportedly found on the side of a motorway in the early hours of Saturday morning. The circumstances surrounding her death were unclear, but local police officials suggested she had been strangled.

Battle to lead ANC and set South Africa's future course too close to call

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 06:53 AM PST

African National Congress begins voting between party's deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa and Nkoszana Dlamini-Zuma

The battle to lead South Africa's ruling party remains on a knife edge as almost 5,000 delegates began voting in an election that is likely to determine the country's next president and the trajectory of the "rainbow nation" for decades to come.

On the third day of the African National Congress's 54th elective conference, the deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, appeared to holda slight advantage over his rival Nkoszana Dlamini-Zuma, a veteran minister and party stalwart.

$300m French chateau bought by Saudi prince linked to Da Vinci purchase – report

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 05:02 PM PST

Vast property west of Paris is a new-build that looks like a 17th century palace and boasts a cinema, deluxe swimming pool and glass-bottomed moat

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been revealed as the owner of a French chateau described as the world's most expensive home.

The purchase of the vast property west of Paris for $300m (€275m) would be the latest in a string of extravagant purchases by the powerful prince, who has been waging a sweeping anti-corruption campaign.

Conservative rebels urge May to build cross-party alliance for soft Brexit

Posted: 18 Dec 2017 01:14 AM PST

Backbenchers who defeated government last week believe PM should reach out to Labour MPs and face down hard Brexiters

Conservative backbench rebels who defeated the government last week are urging Theresa May to reach out to Labour MPs and form a cross-party alliance for a soft Brexit.

As May's Brexit team prepares to debate Britain's future relationship with the EU on Monday before a full meeting of her divided cabinet on Tuesday, the dissident MPs believe last week's vote should embolden her to face down hardline Brexiters.

Ex-mayor called traitor says Catalan referendum has ruptured society

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 02:32 PM PST

Jordi Ballart, who quit as mayor of Terrassa last month, says he was labelled a quisling and coward for not backing independence

The former mayor of a Catalan city who was labelled a quisling for his stance on the independence referendum has said society is deeply divided as the region prepares for a second vote in three months.

If the political and economic consequences of the Catalonia crisis are easy to quantify – a deposed regional government, a former president in self-imposed Belgian exile, a former vice-president in a prison cell, more than 2,500 companies moving their headquarters out of the region and tourism down nearly 5% – its social impact is harder to gauge.

Sebastián Piñera wins Chile's presidential election

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 03:34 PM PST

Conservative former president takes 54.47% of the runoff vote to defeat centre-left opponent Alejandro Guillier, in a wider margin than expected

Sebastián Piñera won Chile's presidency on Sunday, with his centre-left opponent Alejandro Guillier conceding the election as Chile followed other South American nations in a political turn to the right.

With 98.44% of the ballots counted, the billionaire conservative, 68, had won 54.57% in the runoff vote, to 45.43% for senator Guillier, a wider than expected margin in a race that pollsters had predicted would be tight.

Saudi Arabia told by UK minister to stop blocking Yemen aid

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 04:01 PM PST

The international development secretary, Penny Mordaunt, commits aid to help tackle 'the world's worst humanitarian crisis'

Saudi Arabia has "no excuse" for blocking aid to Yemen, the international development secretary, Penny Mordaunt, said as she warned that "using starvation as a weapon" was a breach of humanitarian law.

The UK is set to provide an emergency £50m aid package to help feed millions of Yemeni people caught in what she called "the world's worst humanitarian crisis".

Turkey hopes to open embassy in East Jerusalem, says Erdoğan

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 07:32 AM PST

Turkish president announces intention days after leading calls for area to be recognised as capital of a Palestinian state

Turkey intends to open an embassy in East Jerusalem, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, days after leading calls at a summit of Muslim leaders for the world to recognise it as the capital of a Palestinian state.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit was a response to the US president, Donald Trump's decision earlier this month to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. His move broke with decades of US policy and international consensus that the city's status must be left to Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

Refugee advocates blockade Melbourne port in protest at offshore detention

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 03:27 PM PST

Protesters call for sanctions on Australia 'until the people on Manus are free' as blockade causes significant traffic delays

Protesters have blockaded Melbourne's container port in opposition to Australia's offshore immigration detention regime.

The port – Australia's busiest – was blockaded at three entrances on Monday morning, with protesters blocking road entrances and unveiling a banner that read: "All refugees in detention are political prisoners."

Trump says he is not planning to fire Mueller as Republican attacks increase

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 02:51 PM PST

Congressmen and rightwing media ramp up claims of anti-Trump bias
Opinion: What is the Republican playbook for the Mueller investigation?

Donald Trump said on Sunday he was not planning to fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating alleged collusion between Trump aides and Russia during the 2016 election.

Putin-Trump call: leaders hail US-Russian efforts to foil Isis bomb plot

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 01:03 PM PST

White House says Trump 'appreciated' conversation with Russian president
Sunday phone call followed separate call about the economy on Thursday

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke for the second time in four days on Sunday, the White House said, and agreed that a CIA tip which helped Russia prevent bombings in St Petersburg was "an example of the positive things that can occur when our countries work together".

Ryanair pilots suspend one-day strike in week before Christmas

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 01:43 PM PST

Impact, the union representing Ireland-based pilots, has agreed to meet the low-cost carrier's management and rescind strike action set for Wednesday

Ryanair pilots have suspended a pre-Christmas one-day strike, according to the union Impact which represents its Ireland-based pilots.

The union, which says the dispute is about winning independent representation for pilots in the company, has agreed to meet the low-cost carrier's management on Tuesday evening ahead of the planned strike on Wednesday.

US soldier killed in Niger ambush was not captured, military report finds

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 10:59 AM PST

Investigation determines La David Johnson, whose death led to a political squabble involving Donald Trump, was killed by enemy fire as he fled the attack

An American soldier who was killed in an ambush in Niger with three comrades but whose body was only recovered days later was not captured alive by the enemy or executed at close range, the Associated Press has learned, based on the conclusion of a military investigation.

‘There’s no life here’: a journey into Britain’s precarious future

Posted: 16 Dec 2017 02:30 PM PST

Author James Bloodworth spent six months investigating our changing economy. In Ebbw Vale, he finds the human cost of the end of heavy industry and asks what the next upheaval will bring

At the Ebbw Vale steelworks in the south Wales valleys, thousands of men once laboured to produce the steel that helped to drive Britain's industrial revolution. The steelworks closed for good 15 years ago, and today a familiar fare decorates the town's mournful high street: pound shops, arcades, bookies. On the brief walk from one end to the other, I count three pawnbrokers.

"It ain't worth looking for any work up here," Rob Smyth, a youth worker tells me. "I tell you what – I'm glad I'm old because if I was young now I'd be struggling, you know? I know people who've got degrees and all the rest of it, and they can't get work. You've got to settle somewhere else and make a life for yourself. There's no life up here, no life at all. I only live here because it's cheap, and it's close to where I work."

Put safety ahead of cost-cutting, urges Grenfell Tower building report

Posted: 18 Dec 2017 01:47 AM PST

Dame Judith Hackitt's interim report into construction also recommends simplifying thousands of pages of guidance

A review of building regulations ordered in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire has called for an overhaul of the construction industry to put safety ahead of cutting costs.

Dame Judith Hackitt's interim report into building safety recommends simplifying the regulations and thousands of pages of accompanying guidance.

Thousands protest as far-right ministers enter government in Austria

Posted: 18 Dec 2017 02:10 AM PST

Nine marches planned in Vienna as new president, Sebastian Kurz, swears in his Freedom party coalition partners

Austria's president will swear in a new government this morning amid protests against the far right's prominent role in the new cabinet.

At the weekend, the new chancellor, Sebastian Kurz of the Austrian People's party (ÖVP) struck a deal with the Freedom party, a nationalist outfit founded after the second world war by former members of the Nazi party, now headed by Heinz-Christian Strache.

'The future is very dark': Central African Republic's relentless cycle of suffering

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 11:00 PM PST

When ruthless armed fighters descended on her district, Rosen Moseba lost everything. Now unable to support herself or her surviving children, she is among the countless victims of a crisis that may yet culminate in genocide

Four days before Christmas, armed Seleka rebels went door to door in Rosen Moseba's* neighbourhood. She gathered her three children and, together with her brother, they ran for their lives.

It was 2013, and Central African Republic's capital, Bangui, was in the grip of violent chaos. The Seleka, a coalition consisting predominantly of Muslim fighters, had overthrown the government in March that year, prompting Christian vigilante groups – the anti-balaka – to retaliate. Amid killing and looting, communities on both sides were terrorised.

Trump will drop climate change from US National Security Strategy

Posted: 18 Dec 2017 02:00 AM PST

President to outline new approach in unprecedented White House speech
Obama administration added climate to list of threats to US interests

The Trump administration will drop climate change from a list of global threats in a new National Security Strategy the president is due to unveil on Monday.

Call for fresh Honduras election after president Juan Orlando Hernandez wins

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 09:44 PM PST

Electoral observer OAS voices doubts about 'low-quality' election process that does little to clear up critics' doubts

The Organization of American States has called for fresh elections in Honduras, hours after President Juan Orlando Hernandez was declared the winner on Sunday.

Luis Almagro, the secretary general of the OAS, said the electoral process was plagued by irregularities, had "very low technical quality" and lacked integrity.

Thousands in China watch as 10 people sentenced to death in sport stadium

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 08:34 PM PST

Residents in Guangdong invited to see group sentenced before they are taken away for summary execution in wake of drugs crackdown

A court in China has sentenced 10 people to death, mostly for drug-related crimes, in front of thousands of onlookers before taking them away for execution.

The 10 people were executed immediately after the sentencing in Lufeng in southern Guangdong province, just 160km (100 miles) from Hong Kong, according to state-run media.

Gold Coast woman jailed for nine years for fatally striking her four-year-old son

Posted: 18 Dec 2017 01:22 AM PST

Judge describes case of Tyrell Cobb's death as only "the tip of an iceberg of child abuse" in Australia

A Gold Coast mother has been jailed for nine years for fatally striking her four-year-old son Tyrell Cobb.

Tyrell died on 24 May 2009 after two separate blows to his abdomen caused internal bleeding and the leaking of his stomach contents, leading to peritonitis.

Flights in and out of Atlanta airport grounded due to power cut – video

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 08:03 PM PST

Power has been cut to the world's busiest airport. All flights coming into and going out of Atlanta were halted, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.

Deadly suicide attack on Christian church in Pakistan – video report

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 08:45 AM PST

At least nine people were killed and many more injured when two suicide bombers targeted a Christian church in the Pakistani city of Quetta. The Baluchistan police chief, who oversees the province that includes Quetta, said one of the bombers had blown himself up when he was unable to get into the building, and the other had been shot by security services