UN committee to consider claim by prominent Māori leader Tureiti Moxon that alleges government policies have harmed Indigenous people
The United Nations has agreed to hear an urgent complaint against New Zealand’s coalition government alleging it is responsible for significant and persistent discrimination against Māori.
Prominent Māori leader, Lady Tureiti Moxon, has filed the complaint to the UN’s committee for the convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD).
Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, which was looted by the Nazis and nearly destroyed in a fire during the second world war, sells at Sotheby’s auction
A painting by Gustav Klimt has sold for a record-breaking $236.4m (£179.7m, A$364m) with fees, making it the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction and the most expensive work of modern art sold at auction.
The six-foot-tall painting, titled Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, was painted by the Austrian painter between 1914 and 1916 and shows Lederer, a young heiress and daughter of Klimt’s patrons, draped in a Chinese robe.
Ukraine plans to seek nearly $44bn from Russia for the damage linked to an increase in climate-warming emissions from the ongoing war, a government minister told Reuters. The move marks the first time a country is claiming damages for such an increase in emissions, including from the fossil fuels, cement and steel used in fighting the war, and from the destruction of trees through resultant fires. “A lot of damage was caused to water, to land, to forests,” said Pavlo Kartashov, the country’s deputy minister for economy, environment, and agriculture. “We have huge amounts of additional CO2 emissions and greenhouse gases,” Kartashov said in an interview on the sidelines of the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil.
A Russian missile strike wounded at least 32 people in Ukraine’s Kharkiv overnight, its governor said early Wednesday, the third such attack on the eastern region in three days. Moscow has been intensifying its daily drone and missile barrages in recent months, targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and hitting a number of civilian sites ahead of winter. Kharkiv governor Oleg Synegubov said at least 32 people were wounded in the latest overnight attack, including two children and an 18-year-old girl.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will head to Turkey on Wednesday seeking to revive the United States’ involvement in diplomatic efforts to end the Russian invasion. Zelenskyy said he wanted to reinvigorate frozen peace talks, which have faltered after several rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul this year failed to yield a breakthrough. Moscow has not agreed to a ceasefire and instead kept advancing on the front and bombarding Ukrainian cities. Zelenskyy will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Wednesday, he told reporters at a press conference in Madrid on Tuesday.
The United States on Tuesday approved a $105m sale to Ukraine to upgrade and sustain Patriot missile defences, as Russia keeps pummelling its smaller neighbour. The state department said it informed Congress of the deal for parts, training and services on the Patriots, which Ukraine relies on to shoot down incoming missiles. “The proposed sale will improve Ukraine’s ability to meet current and future threats,” a state department statement said.
Poland has identified two people responsible for an explosion on a railway route to Ukraine, prime minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday, claiming that they were Ukrainians who collaborated with Russian intelligence and that they had fled to Belarus. The blast on the Warsaw-Lublin line, which connects the Polish capital to the Ukrainian border, followed a wave of arson, sabotage and cyber-attacks in Poland and other European countries since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Spain will provide Ukraine with a fresh military aid package worth 615m euros ($710m) to support its fight against Russia’s invasion, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Tuesday. Speaking at a Madrid press conference alongside visiting Zelenskyy, Sanchez said that around 300m euros of the package would be allocated to “new defence equipment”. “Your fight is ours,” Sanchez said, adding that Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “neo-imperialism” seeks to “weaken the European project and everything it stands for”.
During his trip to Spain Zelenskyy made also took the opportunity to view Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica”, a move laden with symbolism. Among the last century’s most famous paintings, “Guernica” depicts the horrors of war – specifically the bombardment of civilian targets. The enormous, black-grey-and-white painting features screaming women, flailing horses and a gored bull. Picasso used them to represent the bombing by Nazi and fascist Italian war planes of the town named Guernica in 1937, during Spain’s Civil War.
Public accounts committee finds Labour’s progress ‘appears to have stalled’ despite billions of pounds in investment
The NHS has failed to cut waiting times as promised in its recovery plan despite billions of pounds in investment, the public accounts committee (PAC) has warned.
The influential parliamentary committee’s verdict raises serious doubts over whether Labour can fulfil its key pledge to voters to “fix the NHS” by ensuring that patients can once again get hospital care within 18 weeks by 2029.
Key NHS targets to improve access to both planned care and diagnostic tests by last spring “were missed”.
NHS England had spent £3.24bn setting up community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs but had not achieved the aim of reducing delays.
In July, 192,000 people had been waiting at least a year for care, despite a pledge to eradicate that practice altogether by March 2025.
22% of patients were having to wait more than six weeks for a diagnostic test, even though that was due to be cut to 5% by March.
Nearly two-thirds of ‘prevention of future deaths’ reports by coroners are not acted upon, say researchers at King’s College London
The advice given by coroners in England and Wales to help prevent maternal deaths is not being acted upon, research suggests.
Academics at King’s College London looked at prevention of future deaths (PFD) reports issued by coroners in cases of pregnant women and new mothers who died between 2013 and 2023. They found these reports were not being “systematically used nationally”.
Study from University of Oxford looks into evolutionary origins of kissing and its role in relations between species
From Galápagos albatrosses to polar bears, chimpanzees to orangutans, certain species appear to kiss. Now researchers suggest Neanderthals did it too – and might even have locked lips with modern humans.
It is not the first time scientists have suggested Neanderthals and early modern humans were intimately acquainted. Among previous studies, researchers have found humans and their thick-browed cousins shared the same mouth microbe for hundreds of thousands of years after the two species split, suggesting they swapped saliva.
Keir Starmer accused of failing to adequately strategise while in opposition, leading to uncoordinated policymaking
Keir Starmer is failing to make major improvements to public services partly because he did not plan properly while in opposition, according to a report from the Institute for Government (IfG).
The prime minister went into government without a clear idea about how to achieve his targets, the IfG found, resulting in haphazard attempts to reform various sectors, from the health service to the courts.
Eight-time world champion accepts season-long WSL wildcard
In her absence a new generation of surfers has emerged
Stephanie Gilmore may have achieved more than any other woman in surfing, and has spent recent years on sponsor-funded wave odysseys, playing guitar at gigs to adoring crowds, developing apparel collabs and launching her own tequila, but she will turn back the clock in 2026.
The 37-year-old, who turns 38 in January, will return to full-time competition on the elite tour after accepting a season-long wildcard to surf the World Surf League’s Championship Tour.
Bosnia led for an hour but have to settle for playoffs
Spain and Switzerland held but qualify, as do Belgium
Austria qualified for the 2026 World Cup after snatching a 77th-minute equaliser through Michael Gregoritsch against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Vienna to earn a 1-1 draw and top Group H. It will be Austria’s first appearance at a World Cup finals tournament since 1998.
Bosnia finished second in the group, two points behind on 17, and go into a playoff in March for a spot at the finals tournament, which will be co-hosted next year by Mexico, the US and Canada.
Hampden Park has hosted seismic occasions in a storied history dating back to 1903. Add this one to the list. Scotland’s long, long wait is over. You yearn for almost three decades to return to the men’s World Cup and do so with an overhead kick, a 22-yard stunner and a goal from the halfway line.
Steve Clarke, Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay, John McGinn; you shall go to the ball. So too Kieran Tierney, whose magnificent strike in stoppage time would have made all the headlines before Kenny McLean notched Scotland’s fourth. McLean broke forward, spotted Kasper Schmeichel in a state of desperation, and floated the ball over him. McLean was in the middle of the pitch when he shot. Cue bedlam. Cue wonderful bedlam.
Four people also rescued alive at popular Torres del Paine reserve in Patagonia amid heavy snowfall and strong winds
A British woman and four other foreign tourists have been killed in a blizzard at a nature reserve in southern Chile.
Nine people went missing on Monday in the Torres del Paine reserve in Patagonia, a popular tourist destination, amid heavy snowfall and winds reaching up to 120mph.
Young humpback whale was found washed ashore and individuals had rallied together to try to help
A humpback whale stranded off the coast of Oregon was euthanized on Monday following a failed rescue attempt from several organizations and agencies.
On Saturday, the young whale was found washed ashore near San Marine state park, KOMO News reported. Over the weekend, individuals rallied together to try to help the mammal, who appeared to be caught in a fishing net, but were unsuccessful.
Wales saved their best until last, securing the best available berth in the World Cup playoffs with an emphatic demolition of North Macedonia that should worry any visitor to Cardiff next March. The performance and result understandably left Craig Bellamy reaching for superlatives.
“I said to the players at the end, I am not a perfect person, I haven’t come across anyone who is,” the Wales head coach said. “But maybe I take a little bit of that back because that was as close to a perfect performance as I’ve seen. That was incredible.” He was not exaggerating.
Challenge to Meta could have forced it to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp, but judge ruled company did not hold social networking monopoly
Meta defeated a major challenge to its business on Tuesday when a US judge ruled that the company does not hold a monopoly in social networking.
The case, brought by the US Federal Trade Commission, could have forced the tech giant to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp, with the former FTC chair accusing the company of operating a “buy or bury” scheme against nascent competitors. The tech giant bought WhatsApp for $19bn in 2014. Losing either the image-based social network, which generates an estimated half of Meta’s revenue, or the world’s most popular messaging app could have done existential damage to Meta’s empire.
US president also claims Mohammed bin Salman ‘knew nothing’ about murder of journalist
Donald Trump has shrugged off the Saudi regime’s 2018 murder of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the journalist was “extremely controversial” and unpopular, dismissing the killing by observing “things happen”.
The US president made the remarks at the White House on Tuesday while welcoming Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the first time since Khashoggi’s murder and dismemberment in Istanbul by Saudi state operatives.
Jamal Khashoggi’s plight and murder was a warning sign for the US, of the impending loss of freedom and censorship that would sweep the country
The first time I ever used the words “alhumdulilah”, which translates to praise be to God in Arabic, was the night of 16 November 2018. A Friday night news alert came through on my phone: “CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination.” I collapsed into my couch, repeating the words.
I am not Muslim. But Jamal, in life and death, has taught me a lot about faith and looking for hope in all the wrong places. As a writer with a history of criticizing America’s meddling in weaker countries, in normal circumstances, I should have been loath to celebrate the CIA.
Karen Attiah is a writer and educator whose work focuses on race, global culture and human rights
Countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Pacific and Europe plead for transition to be central outcome of talks
More than 80 countries have joined a call for a roadmap to phasing out fossil fuels, in a dramatic intervention into stuck negotiations at the UN Cop30 climate summit.
Countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific joined with EU member states and the UK to make an impassioned plea for the “transition away from fossil fuels” to be a central outcome of the talks, despite stiff opposition from petrostates and some other major economies.
Philadelphia Union sporting director Ernst Tanner denies the allegations, which prompted a recently-concluded MLS investigation that could not corroborate them
From a box above the field at PayPal Park in San Jose, Ernst Tanner looked on. It was 10 June 2023, and his Union team were losing a physical match 2-1 to the San Jose Earthquakes. Jamiro Monteiro, a player Tanner had brought to the Union in 2019 before trading him to San Jose, was being substituted. Monteiro, clearly exhausted, trudged to the Earthquakes’ bench as referee Nima Saghafi extended his arm and ushered him along, briefly making contact.
It wasn’t the first time Saghafi had touched the midfielder. In the first half, with Monteiro on the ground after being sent flying by a tackle, Saghafi placed his hand on Monteiro’s back, a small gesture meant to show concern.
Made multiple misogynistic comments, including saying “women don’t belong in men’s soccer” about a female MLS referee and telling a gathering of academy players that they “should never worry about a referee, unless she’s a woman.”
Spoke about Black players “like they were subhuman” and suggested that Black referees “lack intelligence and capability.”
Touched a co-worker inappropriately “numerous times,” an allegation for which he was reported to the Union’s HR department.
Hired an underqualified coach who was allegedly abusive toward players on the Philadelphia Union II, the club’s reserve team that is used as a proving ground for young players from its thriving academy.
New maps that added five Republican districts in Texas hit a legal roadblock on Tuesday, with a federal judge saying the state cannot use the 2025 maps because they are probably “racially gerrymandered”.
The decision is likely to be appealed, given the push for more Republican-friendly congressional maps nationwide and Donald Trump’s full-court press on his party to make them. Some states have followed suit, and some Democratic states have retaliated, pushing to add more blue seats to counteract Republicans.
The puffy, artificial look is rising in popularity - thanks to Maga elite such as Kristi Noem and Matt Gaetz
Picture a plastic surgeon’s office. You might imagine a sleek Los Angeles practice, with discreet entrances meant to conceal celebrities from the paparazzi. Maybe a Dallas high-rise, where monied housewives spend on postpartum “mommy makeovers”. Or a Miami location, where influencers and OnlyFans stars film TikToks of their BBLs. One city you might not think of is Washington DC. But its buttoned-up reputation belies a newly buzzing industry.
Much has been made of the so-called “Mar-a-Lago face”, or the uncannily smooth and artificially voluminous features seen on the likes of Maga elite such as Kristi Noem, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Laura Loomer and Matt Gaetz. The bee-sting puffy lips, frozen brows and taut necks have been compared to Real Housewives stars, sleep paralysis demons and – ironically, considering the Republican party’s anti-LGBTQ+ culture war – drag queens (minus the campy fun).
All through the halls of the UN climate talks, civil society activists are wearing badges that read “Bam!”. They are not showing their fandom for old superhero comics but rather indicating their support for the Belém Action Mechanism (Bam), a proposal for states to drive action on a just transition towards a low-carbon economy.
Securing the Bam is a top priority for climate justice advocates at Cop30. Proponents say that if a just transition is not a priority, climate action will unintentionally leave workers and communities behind.
Scotland qualified for the World Cup after beating Denmark in a wild match full of sensational goals
This piece by Scott Murray is 13 years old, yet it’s somehow timeless.
There’s no need to be raking over the ashes of the 1978 campaign again, other than to recall one of the great press conferences, poor Ally MacLeod bending down to stroke a stray dog in attempt to dodge the brickbats aimed at his noggin in the wake of Scotland’s miserable draw with Iran. “At least this wee fella loves me,” he simpered, nanoseconds before the cur sank its gnashers into the hand of the Souness-shunning sadsack.
President says ‘I don’t care when the Senate passes the House Bill’ after it agrees to unanimous consent request to pass act as soon as legislation arrives from House
The Harvard professor and economist Larry Summers said he would be stepping back from public life after documents released by the House oversight committee revealed email exchanges between Summers and the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who called himself Summers’ “wing man”.
Politico reported on Monday that Summers, a former treasury secretary, expressed deep regret for past messages with Epstein.
Defender was injured playing for Brazil against Senegal
Havertz has ‘minor relapse’ in recovery from knee injury
Arsenal fear that Gabriel Magalhães could be out of action for at least a month after he sustained a thigh injury on international duty last week, with the Brazil defender expected to miss a crucial part of the season for the Premier League leaders.
Gabriel limped off during Brazil’s 2-0 win against Senegal in a friendly at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday and returned to the club for more tests this week after it was confirmed he had sustained a muscle injury in his right thigh.
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