Foreign Office cautioned against UK military action to overthrow Robert Mugabe 30. December 2025 (08:00) Archives reveal options considered by Tony Blair’s government for dealing with Zimbabwean dictator in 2004The Foreign Office cautioned against UK military intervention to overthrow the former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe in 2004, advising it was not a “serious option”, recently released documents show.Policy papers show Tony Blair’s government weighed up options on how best to handle the “depressingly healthy” 80-year-old dictator, who refused to step down while the country descended into violence and economic chaos. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Facebook slow to act on posts celebrating murder of Jews, anti-hate group says 30. December 2025 (08:00) Exclusive: CST highlights volume of IS-supporting accounts and says social media firms ‘putting all of us in danger’Facebook hosted terrorist propaganda that celebrated the murder of Jews and praised Islamic State, a leading anti-hate group has alleged.The posts included celebrations of the Bondi beach massacre that the Community Security Trust says Facebook has been too slow to take down. The posts were still on Facebook on 16 December, two days after the attack, and received shares and likes. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Saudi Arabia bombs Yemen over weapons shipment it claims UAE sent to separatists 30. December 2025 (07:27) Attack signals new escalation in tensions between the kingdom and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional CouncilSaudi Arabia bombed Yemen’s port city of Mukalla on Tuesday over what it described as a shipment of weapons for a separatist force there that arrived from the United Arab Emirates.The UAE did not immediately acknowledge the strike. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Plymouth had UK’s steepest rise in house prices in 2025 30. December 2025 (07:00) Average property price in city rose by 12.6%, while Stafford and Wigan also had double-digit growthUK house prices rose fastest in Plymouth this year as investment in shopping and amenities lured buyers to the south-west city, a survey of 2025 housing hotspots shows, as the central London market struggled with weaker demand.The average property price rose by 12.6% in Plymouth during 2025, the steepest rise anywhere in the country, taking the typical home price to £278,808. The data, from Lloyds Banking Group, showed Stafford and Wigan also had double-digit growth. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK consumers still reluctant to spend going into 2026, KPMG survey finds 30. December 2025 (07:00) Combination of concern about economy and household cost pressures will continue to limit spending, report suggestsUK consumers are reluctant to spend going into 2026 despite feeling almost as secure about their personal finances as they did at the beginning of the year, according to research.A study by the accountancy multinational KPMG found that concerns about the health of the UK economy were holding consumers back from spending, especially on eating out and big ticket items such as cars and furniture. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cabinet Office accused of covering up for royal family after blocking release of Andrew documents 30. December 2025 (06:00) Minutes of travel expenses of former Duke of York as UK trade envoy withheld from National ArchivesBlair pressured officials over case of UK soldiers accused of beating Iraqi man to death, files show‘Too complacent’: how Blair’s advisers misjudged his disastrous WI speechBrown’s allies could wreck Labour’s 2005 election hopes, Mandelson warnedThe Cabinet Office has been accused of covering up for the royal family after the release of documents including some relating to travel expenses for the former Duke of York as UK trade envoy were withheld at the last minute.Files released to the National Archives include documents relating to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and a grovelling apology from John Major’s office after an official birthday telegram to the Queen Mother was addressed in an “improper manner”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Blair pressured officials over case of UK soldiers accused of beating Iraqi man to death, files show 30. December 2025 (06:00) Then PM wrote on note from aide in 2005 that case ‘must not’ be dealt with in civil court, archives revealCabinet Office accused of covering up for royal family after blocking release of Andrew documents‘Too complacent’: how Blair’s advisers misjudged his disastrous WI speechBrown’s allies could wreck Labour’s 2005 election hopes, Mandelson warnedTony Blair put pressure on officials to ensure that British soldiers accused of beating an Iraqi man to death while in their custody would not be tried in civil courts, newly released files show.A senior aide wrote to the prime minster in July 2005 to tell him that the attorney general had met army prosecutors that afternoon to discuss the case against soldiers alleged to have beaten Baha Mousa to death. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump not worried by China’s simulated attack on Taiwan, he says, as live-fire drills enter second day 30. December 2025 (04:58) US president says Chinese leader didn’t notify him of the large-scale military drills, which continued with live missile launches into the Taiwan StraitDonald Trump has said he is not worried by China’s live-fire military drills surrounding Taiwan and that he has a great relationship with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who “hasn’t told me anything about it”.The US president made the comments one day into the surprise attack simulation launched by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Monday, and which continued into Tuesday with live missile launches into the Taiwan Strait. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australian cruise ship stuck off PNG ‘detained’ amid investigation into why it ran aground 30. December 2025 (04:41) Coral Adventurer, separately being investigated for allegedly leaving behind passenger who died on Lizard Island, ordered not to leave PNG watersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA cruise ship that ran aground off Papua New Guinea has been “detained” out of concern it’s unseaworthy “due to potential damage”, amid an investigation into how it became stuck on Saturday morning.The Coral Adventurer remained stuck on a reef off the north coast of Papua New Guinea, about 30km from PNG’s second-largest city, Lae, on Tuesday, as efforts to refloat it continue. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Khaleda Zia, first female Bangladesh prime minister, dies aged 80 30. December 2025 (03:13) Zia’s archrivalry with Sheikh Hasina defined the country’s politics for a generationFormer Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia, whose archrivalry with Sheikh Hasina defined the country’s politics for a generation, has died, her political party said on Tuesday. She was 80.“The BNP chairperson and former prime minister, the national leader Begum Khaleda Zia, passed away today at 6am, just after the Fajr (dawn) prayer,” the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) said in a statement. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
