At least 13 people killed and 98 injured in train derailment in Mexico 29. December 2025 (19:48) Train accident in Oaxaca is likely to raise criticisms about public works projects from the previous administration At least 13 people were killed when a train derailed in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, in an accident which is likely to revive opposition criticisms of the speed and dealings with which the country’s government builds its flagship public works projects.The incident took place on the Interoceanic Train, which was built to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across the narrowest part of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, creating an alternative rail cargo route to the Panama canal intended to drive development in the region. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Abd el-Fattah citizenship row shows shift on questions of national identity 29. December 2025 (19:47) Activist was entitled to UK passport but for a rising number of voters Britishness is something you are born withNumber of people who say Britons must be born in UK is rising, study showsWhat does it mean to be British? That question is increasingly at the heart of our national political debate. And it has become a more urgent one this week as the Conservatives and Reform UK call for the British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah to be stripped of his UK citizenship over racist and offensive tweets he published 10 to 15 years ago.Abd el-Fattah’s social media activity was thrust into the spotlight after he was finally allowed to arrive in the UK last week after a decade spent as a political prisoner in Egypt. The tweets unearthed were vile: they included calls to “kill all Zionists” and to burn down Downing Street during the 2011 riots. Abd el-Fattah has apologised for those remarks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Number of people who say Britons must be born in UK is rising, study shows 29. December 2025 (19:00) Exclusive: Research finds ‘worrying’ surge in support for hard-right narratives on national identityThe number of people who believe “Britishness” is something you are born with has almost doubled in two years, according to research that warns of a rising tide of ethno-nationalism in Britain.Although a majority of the public still believe being British is rooted in shared values, a growing proportion see it as a product of ethnicity, birthplace and ancestry, according to analysis carried out by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and shared with the Guardian. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
More than 3,000 migrants died trying to reach Spain in 2025 29. December 2025 (18:31) Tighter border controls caused arrivals to decline sharply but forced people on to more dangerous routes, activists sayMore than 3,000 people died trying to reach Spain by sea over the past year, a sharp fall from the previous 12 months.However, activists cautioned that the drop reflected tighter border controls that have forced migrants to take increasingly dangerous routes. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US struck ‘big facility’ in Venezuela, Trump claimed without offering details 29. December 2025 (18:30) Trump alleged that US forces hit ‘very hard’ in what would mark his team’s first land strike on Venezuela if confirmedDonald Trump has claimed that US forces struck a “big facility” in Venezuela last week – but the president did not specify what it was, or where, and the White House has not commented further.“We just knocked out – I don’t know if you read or you saw – they have a big plant, or a big facility, where the ships come from. Two nights ago, we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard,” Trump told Republican donor and New York supermarket owner John Catsimatidis on Friday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
From Adolescence to the manosphere: has 2025 been the year of the boy? 29. December 2025 (18:00) Much attention was paid to the problem of misogyny, but focus was also placed on issues such as paternity leave and mental healthThe prime minister said it was a “really hard watch”, while a British police force said it should be a “wake-up call for parents”. The Netflix drama Adolescence – which tells the story of a 13-year-old boy arrested for killing a female classmate – was hailed from the school gates to the Houses of Parliament for shedding a spotlight on the toxic influence of the manosphere.But the national conversation did not end with the final episode of the much-discussed drama. A series of high-profile campaigns, conversations, policy shifts and research have resulted in a sense that 2025 has been the year of the boy. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cryptocurrency slump erases 2025 financial gains and Trump-inspired optimism 29. December 2025 (18:00) Last few months of the year have seen $1tn in value wiped from the market, despite all-time-high price of bitcoinAs 2025 comes to a close, Donald Trump’s favorable approach to cryptocurrency has not proven to be enough to sustain the industry’s gains, once the source of market-wide optimism and enthusiasm. The last few months of the year have seen $1tn in value wiped from the digital asset market, despite bitcoin hitting an all-time-high price of $126,000 on 6 October.The October price peak was short-lived. Bitcoin’s price tumbled just days later after Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on China sent shockwaves across the market on 12 October. The crypto market saw $19bn liquidated in 24 hours – the largest liquidation event on record. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, saw a 40% drop in price over the next month. Eric Trump’s own crypto company endured a similar drop in its value in December. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Germany’s far-right AfD invited to join Munich Security Conference 2026 29. December 2025 (17:25) Move comes after party’s exclusion for last two years was lambasted by JD Vance at this year’s event The Munich Security Conference (MSC) has invited lawmakers from Alternative für Deutschland to join its annual gathering of top international defence officials in February after shutting out the far-right party for the last two years.The reversal, which was confirmed by organisers, came after the US vice-president, JD Vance, lambasted the AfD’s exclusion in a blistering speech at this year’s event in which he accused Germany of stifling free speech by sidelining the anti-migrant, pro-Kremlin party. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Gaza ceasefire hinges on return of last Israeli hostage, Netanyahu expected to tell Trump 29. December 2025 (17:16) Israeli PM has been joined by family of the deceased hostage Ran Gvili on his trip to meet US president in Florida Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to tell Donald Trump on Monday that Hamas must return the remains of the last Israeli hostage left in Gaza before the next stages of the stalled ceasefire can be implemented, Israeli officials and analysts say.The Israeli prime minister, who is scheduled to meet Trump at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, is on his fifth visit to see Trump in the US this year. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Hundreds of Detroit home demolition sites may have been filled with toxic dirt 29. December 2025 (17:00) Toxic chemicals like lead and asbestos are likely in dirt used to backfill demolished structures in city, experts sayHundreds of Detroit home demolition sites were potentially backfilled with toxic construction debris from a demolished shopping mall and other sources, creating an unfolding public health threat in the city’s neighborhoods.Detroit, the nation’s lowest income big city, is in the US industrial heartland. It was left with tens of thousands of empty structures as industrial plants closed and people left the city in past decades – Detroit’s population dropped from nearly 2 million people around 1950 to fewer than 700,000 today. The city’s demolition program is widely considered the largest ever in the US. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
