8 h. ago The Guardian view on Gaza’s winter: the world must take heed as Palestinian suffering deepens again | Editorial

Families are struggling to survive amid the devastation. Israel’s ban on international NGOs will worsen this disasterAs Gaza enters the bleakest period of winter, children are dying of hypothermia, drowning in flooded camps and burning to death as their families try to cook in flimsy tents. Israel destroyed nine out of 10 homes over more than two years of war. Camped amid the ruins, Palestinians struggle against strong winds, heavy rain and freezing temperatures. Aid deliveries resumed following the ceasefire, staving off the famine that had taken hold in parts of the territory, but remain wholly insufficient: 1.6 million people face acute food insecurity. The sanitation infrastructure has collapsed.The UK, Canada, Japan, France and six other nations have jointly warned that the situation is catastrophic. Yet Israel is now deepening one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. On Tuesday, it announced that it is deregistering 37 NGOs active in Gaza. They must cease all operations t...

Politics

16 h. ago Venezuela’s Maduro ready for ‘serious talks’ with US on drug trafficking

Nicolas Maduro has described Venezuela as a "brother country" to the United States and a friendly government

Events

24 h. ago Maduro open to US talks on drug trafficking, but silent on CIA strike

Venezuela is open to reaching an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking, according to President Nicolás Maduro

Events

33 h. ago The Guardian view on mRNA vaccines: they are the future – with or without Donald Trump | Editorial

Over the holiday period, the Guardian leader column is looking ahead at the themes of 2026. Today we examine how the White House’s war on vaccines has left the future of a key technology uncertain and up for grabsThe late scientist and thinker Donald Braben argued that 20th-century breakthroughs arose from scientists being free to pursue bold ideas without pressure for quick results or rigid peer review. The rapid development of Covid-19 vaccines seemed to validate his claim: emergency conditions sped up trials, relaxed regulatory sequencing and encouraged scientists to share findings before peer review. Out of that sprang one of the great scientific success stories of our age: mRNA vaccines. These use synthetic genetic code to train the immune system to defend itself against viruses. Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, whose work enabled the mRNA Covid vaccine, went on to win the Nobel prize. Their breakthrough suggests that loosening traditional constraints could...

Politics

49 h. ago US strikes three more narco boats as 3 people killed and others leap overboard to escape

TRUMP's military has struck three more alleged narco-boats, killing at least three people, while others jumped overboard. The boats were seen travelling in close proximity to each other in a video posted to social media. According to the military, the boats were in a convoy, travelling along a well known narco-trafficking route, and "had transferred...

Events

55 h. ago Venezuelan security forces have detained several Americans since Trump began military campaign: report

State Department is considering designating two Americans as wrongfully detained while others face real criminal charges, according to U.S. official

Events

58 h. ago Wreckage from Trump's Venezuela boat strike reveals it was smuggling drugs the president calls 'tremendously positive'

Wreckage from US strikes on drug boats in the Caribbean have allegedly washed up on shore and reveal contents of the vessel may not have been as deadly as Trump's team has said.

Politics

3 d. ago Trump’s shadow war in Venezuela grows, but country’s strongman leader still clings to power

Report of a drone attack on a port facility signals new phase in US military campaign against Nicolás MaduroUS wargames played out scenarios for Maduro’s fall. None of them ended well for VenezuelaNearly a week after Donald Trump first announced what he said was the first US ground strike in a four-month-long military pressure campaign against Venezuela, details remain very thin on the ground.CNN and the New York Times reported late on Monday that they had confirmed the CIA had used a drone to target a “port facility” allegedly used by the Tren de Aragua street gang. No casualties were reported, but the date, time and location of the attack remain unknown. Venezuela’s strongman leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his government have remained silent. If confirmed, the first strike on land would mark a new phase in a campaign that since August has involved the deployment of a massive US naval fleet, airstrikes that have so far killed 107 people, a “total blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers, t...

Politics

3 d. ago The Guardian view on the new Monroe doctrine: Trump’s forceful approach to the western hemisphere comes at a cost | Editorial

Over the holiday period, the Guardian leader column is looking ahead at the themes of 2026. Today, how US foreign policy has dramatically – and alarmingly – turned towards Latin America and the CaribbeanDonald Trump is not generally noted as a student of history. Yet over the past year, his decisive reorientation of US foreign policy towards the Americas has revived a playbook dating back two centuries, to the fifth president, James Monroe. Now the 47th is doubling down. An anti-interventionist is having second thoughts. Remarks that sounded at first like bad jokes or random outbursts from the presidential id have become more sinister through repetition or accompanying actions. Only a fool would take all of Mr Trump’s comments literally – but they should certainly be taken seriously.He has refused to rule out using military force to take control of Greenland and repeatedly floated the idea of making Canada the 51st state. He threatened to seize the Panama canal. He has imposed swing...

Politics

3 d. ago CIA carries out first drone strike on Venezuelan soil in latest escalation of Trump admin’s attacks on ‘narco terrorists’

US targeted alleged drug traffickers in first-known land attack inside the country

Events

3 d. ago Two killed in latest US military strike directed by Hegseth on alleged drug boat

The strikes have killed more than 100 people in attacks that critics allege are war crimes

Events

3 d. ago CIA 'carries out drone strike' on Venezuelan port as Trump says boat 'loaded with drugs'

The strike marks the first known US attack on a target inside Venezuela, with no casualties reported - Trump described it as a 'major explosion' in the overseas dock

Events

3 d. ago CIA 'carries out drone strike' on Venezuelan drug port in first US land attack inside the country

The CIA drone strike was carried out on a remote dock on the coast of Venezuela believed to used by the Tren de Aragua gang to stockpile and transfer drugs.

Events

4 d. ago US military strikes another boat it claims was carrying drugs as Trump works to increase pressure on Venezuela

The strikes have killed more than 100 people in attacks that critics allege are war crimes

Events

4 d. ago Trump confirms US carried out strike on ‘dock area’ in Venezuela

President claims attack hit boats at drug loading terminal without providing further details

Politics

4 d. ago The Guardian view on antibiotics: recent breakthroughs are great news, but humanity is losing the bigger race | Editorial

Our magic bullets are increasingly rare and ineffective. The golden age of discovery is over and the way we develop and use drugs needs to changeDuring her tenure as director general of the World Health Organization, Dr Margaret Chan used to say that all of the “easy” antibiotics had already been found. Her point was that in responding to the urgent threat of antibiotic-resistant infections, we would struggle to find new medicines – or preserve the ones we have – if we didn’t find new ways of working. She was right.Since 2017, just 16 antibiotics have gained widespread regulatory approval – mostly close relatives of medicines already in use and so unlikely to evade resistance for long. The development of new ones is a slow and unprofitable business, curative medicines being less lucrative than ones treating longer-term conditions. And the scientific outlook remains bleak.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to s...

Politics

4 d. ago Trump says military struck ‘big facility’ in Venezuela in possible biggest escalation of conflict so far

‘Two nights ago we knocked that out, so we hit them very hard,’ the president said on Friday

Events

4 d. ago US struck ‘big facility’ in Venezuela, Trump claimed without offering details

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...

Politics

4 d. ago Donald Trump confirms first US hits on Venezuelan territory with direct strike

The US has targeted a 'big facility' in Venezuela, President Donald Trump has said. 'Two nights ago, we knocked that out,' Trump said adding the US 'hit them very hard'

Events

4 d. ago Trump casually confirms first land strike on plant in Venezuela: 'We knocked that out'

Donald Trump appeared to give nonchalant confirmation of the first US land strike in Venezuela during a call on December 26.

Politics