World

UK on brink of warmest year on record as 2025 tracks above 2022 benchmark, Met Office says The UK could be set to log its warmest year on record, with 2025 currently tracking to overtake the previous high set in 2022, according to the Met Office. Forecasters said the provisional annual mean temperature so far stands at 10.05C, edging ahead of the 10.03C recorded in 2022. A forecast cold spell over Christmas means the final figure is not yet confirmed, but scientists say the trend is unmistakable. “At this stage it looks more…

LONDON — Six British men have been charged with more than 60 sexual offenses against a single woman over a 13-year period, UK prosecutors said, in a case Wiltshire Police described as a “complex and extensive” investigation. The Crown Prosecution Service said Philip Young, 49, faces 56 charges, including multiple counts of rape, administering a substance with intent to stupefy or overpower to allow sexual activity, and voyeurism. He is also charged with possession of indecent images of children and other extreme images.…

Japan’s Niigata prefectural assembly on Tuesday approved a plan to allow the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station—the world’s largest—to resume operations, marking a pivotal step in the country’s return to nuclear energy nearly 15 years after the Fukushima disaster. The vote advances Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s first nuclear restart since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled its Fukushima Daiichi plant and led to a nationwide shutdown of 54 reactors. Since then, Japan has permanently retired some units and restarted…

Major incident as 50-meter sinkhole breaches Shropshire Union Canal in Whitchurch; more than 10 rescued, no injuries reported Emergency services in Shropshire declared a major incident early Monday after a sinkhole about 50 meters long opened in the Shropshire Union Canal, breaching the bank and draining large volumes of water onto surrounding land in the Chemistry area of Whitchurch. West Mercia Police said officers were called at 4:20 a.m. to reports of the canal bank collapse. “There are currently no reports of any…

Justice Department denies shielding Trump as fury grows over redacted Epstein files The U.S. Justice Department denied it redacted Jeffrey Epstein files to protect President Donald Trump as criticism mounted over a partial, heavily censored release of documents that has angered victims and prompted bipartisan demands for full disclosure. Victims of the late sex offender said the newly released cache — with many pages blacked out and images blurred — fell far short of what Congress ordered under a law compelling publication…

Miami — U.S., European and Ukrainian officials wrapped three days of talks in Florida aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine with what Washington called “productive” progress toward a common position and a path to formal security guarantees for Kyiv. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said the Miami discussions were focused on aligning the parties around a U.S.-drafted, 20-point plan for ending the conflict and on mapping “timelines” and “sequencing of next steps.” The sessions are part of an accelerated push by President…

JOHANNESBURG — Nine people were killed and 10 wounded when gunmen opened fire at a tavern in Bekkersdal, a township in South Africa’s gold mining belt about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, authorities said. It is the second mass shooting at a drinking spot in the country this month. Deputy provincial police commissioner Maj. Gen. Fred Kekana said most of the attackers carried pistols and one had an AK-47 rifle. Three people were shot inside the bar and others were killed as they tried to flee, he told…

Australian police say two suspects in the Bondi Beach shooting trained with firearms in the countryside before allegedly targeting a Hanukkah event that left 15 people dead, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged tougher laws against hate speech and extremism and New South Wales moved on sweeping gun reforms. Father and son Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, are accused of carrying out the nation’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades. Court documents released Monday allege the pair conducted “firearms…

A drone strike on a crowded market in Sudan’s North Darfur killed 10 people over the weekend, first responders said, as fighting intensified across the country and aid agencies pulled staff from a besieged, famine-hit city in the south. The North Darfur Emergency Rooms Council, a volunteer network coordinating relief, said a drone hit Al-Harra market in the Rapid Support Forces-controlled town of Malha, igniting fires in shops and causing extensive damage. The council did not identify who carried out the strike. There was no…

Nigerian state police say more children abducted last month from a Catholic school in Niger state have been released, adding to a partial liberation earlier in December but leaving key details unclear. Sister Mary T. Barron, the superior general of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles, which manages St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary schools in Papiri, said she learned of the development in the evening. She said details were not immediately clear and that more information was expected in the morning. The…