Top World News

Dec 7, 2025 - World

Exclusive: Groups including British Cycling call for active travel strategy to be put on equal footing with road and railMore than 50 groups connected to transport and public health have urged the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, to set specific targets for levels of walking and cycling in England, warning that plans as they stand are too vague.A letter from groups including British Cycling, Cycling UK, the National Trust and the British Medical Association says the government’s proposals for active travel must “move from good intentions to a clear, long-term, fully deliverable national plan comparable to other strategic transport programmes”. Continue reading...

Dec 7, 2025 - World

Three men fled Opelousas jail after removing concrete blocks from wall in state’s second inmate escape of yearAuthorities on Sunday were hunting for the last of three inmates who escaped from a Louisiana jail after removing concrete blocks from a deteriorating wall.“We would prefer that he surrender himself peaceably,” St Landry parish sheriff Bobby J Guidroz said in a statement, “but we will not rest until he is captured.” Continue reading...

Dec 7, 2025 - World

Neil Couling said failings by individual claimants ‘at the heart’ of crisis, despite a report finding DWP shortcomings ‘unacceptable’ One of the most senior civil servants in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has placed the blame for the carer’s allowance benefits crisis on victims, many of whom have been left with life-changing debts.In an internal blogpost written for Whitehall colleagues, Neil Couling, the director general of DWP services, said individual failings by carers were “at the heart” of the issue that has been likened to the Post Office Horizon scandal. Continue reading...

Dec 7, 2025 - World

Israeli PM to discuss next steps with Donald Trump this month but timetable for lasting peace remains unclearBenjamin Netanyahu has said that the first phase of the UN-endorsed Gaza ceasefire plan is close to completion, and that the second phase must involve the disarmament of Hamas.The Israeli prime minister said he would discuss the next steps later this month in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were codified in a UN security council resolution on 17 November. Continue reading...

Dec 7, 2025 - World

Over 70,000 women are serving in Ukraine's armed forces in 2025, a 20 per cent increase since 2022, with more than 5,500 deployed directly to the front line.