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Hughes fire near Castaic Lake broke out on Wednesday and led to evacuation orders or warnings for more than 50,000Firefighters fought to maintain the upper hand on a huge and rapidly moving wildfire that swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and resulted in more than 50,000 people being put under evacuation orders or warnings.The Hughes fire broke out late Wednesday morning and...

Announcement comes day before Donald Trump will visit fire-torn areas and amid criticism around state water supplyGavin Newsom has signed a $2.5bn relief package to help areas of Los Angeles recover from the devastating fires that have been burning for nearly two weeks. The funds were announced during a press conference on Thursday in Pasadena, just outside of Altadena, the town hit hardest by...

Ras Baraka and other state lawmakers express outrage as sanctuary cities nationwide brace for similar Ice actionsThe mayor of Newark, New Jersey, said an immigration raid in the city was done without a warrant, and led to the detainment of undocumented residents as well as citizens.Newark mayor Ras Baraka said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) had raided a local establishment. “Newark will not...

Serge Atlaoui is expected to be transferred after an agreement was reached with the government in Paris, Yusril Ihza Mahendra saysA French man who has been on death row in Indonesia since 2007 for alleged drug offences is expected to return home in weeks after an Indonesian minister said an agreement would be signed on Friday to allow his transfer.Serge Atlaoui is expected to...

General Osama Najim was released on a technicality and repatriated by Italy without any prior consultation, says international criminal courtItaly’s interior minister said on Thursday a Libyan man detained under an international war crimes arrest warrant and then unexpectedly released had been swiftly repatriated because of his “social dangerousness“.Osama Najim, also known as Almasri, was detained on Sunday in Turin under an arrest warrant...

Spanish Town brought to standstill amid gunfire on streets after police kill Othneil ‘Thickman’ LobbanSchools and businesses in a Jamaican city have been closed and taxis and buses stopped running after the police shooting of a powerful gang boss prompted a violent backlash.Gunfire echoed throughout Spanish Town on Thursday and at least one business was burned hours after police shot dead Othneil “Thickman” Lobban,...

Federal government appeals against law critics say disproportionately affects hijab-wearing Muslim womenCanada’s top court has agreed to hear a challenge to Quebec’s controversial secularism law, paving the way for a fierce debate over provincial powers and the fundamental rights of ethnic and religious minorities.The supreme court signaled on Thursday that it would grant leave to appeal against the 2019 law which prohibits certain public...

Israeli assault enters its third day as army says it is targeting militants to prevent them ‘from regrouping’Hundreds of people have fled the Jenin refugee camp and surrounding areas as an Israeli assault on the West Bank city enters its third day, amid a deepening crackdown across the occupied Palestinian territory.“Most of the camp’s residents were forced out, and I was made to leave...

Reasonable grounds to believe crimes against humanity are being committed against women and girls in Afghanistan, application saysThe international criminal court’s chief prosecutor has requested arrest warrants for the Taliban’s supreme leader and Afghanistan’s chief justice on the grounds that their persecution of women and girls in Afghanistan is a crime against humanity.It marks the first time the prosecutor has built a case around...

Fianna Fáil leader officially elected as taoiseach a day after chaotic scenes in Dáil, as thoughts turn to future and TrumpIreland’s newly appointed leader, Micheál Martin, has vowed to protect the country “at a moment of real threat” just days after Donald Trump threatened to wipe out its tax advantage and repatriate American jobs.He was speaking moments after he was officially appointed as taoiseach,...

In leaked memo to culture minister, Laurence des Cars sounds alarm over state of Paris art galleryVisiting the Louvre has become a “physical ordeal” as the throngs of tourists, leaks and substandard catering take a toll on the world’s most-visited museum, its director has said in a leaked memo.The document, written by Laurence des Cars for the French culture minister, Rachida Dati, but leaked...

High court case demands inquiry into 1985 Cradock Four killings and ‘constitutional damages’ worth £7.3mLukhanyo Calata’s first memory of his father was the funeral. His mother sobbing, the earth beneath his feet shaking from the number of people gathered at the graveside, and the fear he felt aged three as the red box holding his father, Fort, was lowered into the ground.Fort Calata was...

‘Moment of truth’ for UK foreign secretary over Alaa Abd El Fattah, who is still being held in a Cairo prisonThe family of the jailed British-Egyptian writer Alaa Abd El Fattah have urged the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, to prioritise the dissident’s release above trade deals during his visit to Egypt.Fattah remains in a Cairo jail even though his sentence for dissent has...

Leaked documents shed light on how Israel integrated the US tech giant into its war effort to meet growing demand for cloud and AI toolsThe Israeli military’s reliance on Microsoft’s cloud technology and artificial intelligence systems surged during the most intensive phase of its bombardment of Gaza, leaked documents reveal.The files offer an inside view of how Microsoft deepened its relationship with Israel’s defence...

Chaotic scenes in the Dáil on Wednesday as parliamentarians clashed over appointing MartinDonald Trump should be wary of giving Vladimir Putin too much prominence by agreeing to an early summit on Ukraine, Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski argued in Davos.Here is his argument in full:President Trump has started well by recognising that it is Putin who needs to shift his position, not Ukraine.If I...

Housing minister shoots down idea floated by Maroš Šefčovič designed to help reset UK-EU discussionsGood morning. The government is obsessed with finding any levers it can that might generate growth. At Davos yesterday Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, was asked if growth was even more important than promoting net zero, and she replied: “Well, if [growth is] the number one mission, it’s obviously the most...

Maroš Šefčovič says ‘the ball is in the UK’s court’ as British ministers reportedly consult businessesBusiness live – latest updatesThe EU’s new trade chief has said the bloc could consider including the UK in a pan-European trade agreement, but emphasised that “the ball is in the UK’s court”.While the UK’s Labour government has ruled out returning to the single market and customs union after...

US president says his predecessor gave ‘everybody pardons’ but says it is a ‘sad thing’ he didn’t give himself oneTrump defends January 6 pardonsNato secretary-general, Mark Rutte, on Thursday called for the US to continue supplying Ukraine and said Europe would pay the bill, reports Reuters.Speaking at an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Rutte said the alliance must invest more in...

Data based on recorded deaths raises concerns around under-diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorderMen with a diagnosis of ADHD die seven years sooner, on average, than similar people without, while for women the life expectancy gap is almost nine years, the first study of its kind has revealed.Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can cause difficulties in concentration and problems with impulsiveness, although people with ADHD...

Fashion chain loses market share as rivals M&S and Next increase sales due to online shoppingBusiness live – latest updatesSales at Primark have fallen for the first time since the pandemic forced all shops in the UK to close, as mild weather and low consumer confidence hit sales.Associated British Foods (ABF), which owns the fashion retailer, said sales at Primark’s established stores fell 6%...

Policy pitched as incentive for businesses to spend more at local venues amounts to using taxpayer money ‘to shout your boss steak tartare’, government saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Labor government has ridiculed the Coalition’s plan to allow small businesses to claim tax deductions on meals and entertainment, saying it...

But climate change and energy minister says government will not announce its 2035 emissions target before electionGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, is “not giving up” on the Paris climate agreement despite the US president, Donald Trump, moving to pull the world’s second-largest polluter out of the global accord.Bowen made the comments...

Constable, 25, battling ‘serious head injuries’ in Sydney hospital after alleged late-night assault on Enmore RoadFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo men have been arrested as police investigate an alleged attack that left two off-duty police officers in hospital in Sydney.Police said the officers, both 25-year-old male constables, had been walking...

Exclusive: Office for National Statistics to spend £8m in deal with employment agency Randstad to recruit hiresThe government’s statistics agency is spending £8m to hire an army of low-paid temporary workers amid efforts to fix its “virtually unusable” data on employment in Britain.Under pressure over the quality of its data, the Office for National Statistics last month agreed the multimillion-pound deal with the employment...