The London-listed mining company Gemfields said it had temporarily halted its ruby mining operation in Mozambique after groups “took advantage” of political unrest to set fire and attempt to invade its site, resulting in two deaths. Gemfields, one of the world’s largest miners of coloured gemstones, said more than 200 people associated with illegal ruby…
The number of UK retailers on the brink of collapse soared by a quarter in the final three months of the year, driven by a combination of rising business costs and weak consumer confidence, according to a report. The proportion of retail businesses classed as being in “critical” financial distress jumped 25% to 2,124 in…
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Han Duck-soo who was appointed prime minister by Yoon Suk Yeol. He became acting president after South Korea’s National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon, a conservative, about two weeks ago over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3. Han’s…
A major fall in the number of days National Disability Insurance Scheme participants are staying in hospital is saving the public health system “hundreds of millions of dollars”, the federal government said. NDIS participants who were medically cleared to leave hospital had previously been waiting an average of 160 days to be discharged due to…
It looks like a giant erect penis, stinks to high heaven and warms up to about the temperature of a human body. This is the inflorescence of the titan arum, Amorphophallus titanum, a plant with a phallus-shaped spike called a spadix that stands up to three metres tall, warms up to 36C at night and…
South Korea’s spy agency has confirmed Ukrainian reports that an injured North Korean soldier has been captured by Ukrainian forces, in what could be the first capture of its kind since Pyongyang had sent combat forces to bolster Russian forces in the war in Ukraine. The South Korean National Intelligence Service said in a statement…
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol’s legal team are set to attend court on Friday as the constitutional court begins hearings into his impeachment by parliament over his short-lived imposition of martial law, The court has 180 days to decide whether to reinstate Yoon or remove him. In the latter scenario, a new presidential election…
The United Nations chief has denounced the “escalation” in hostilities between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Israel, calling IDF strikes on targets including at the airport in Sana’a “especially alarming” after it came under attack while the head of the World Health Organization was about to board a plane. Israel struck multiple targets linked to the…
Labour ministers have backed plans for a £15m fund to redistribute food from farms that otherwise go to waste, particularly around Christmas. Grants starting from £20,000 will be handed to the not-for-profit food redistribution sector in England to repackage farm food and deliver it to homeless shelters, food banks and charities. The pledge was first…
The body of a woman has been found in a property on the outskirts of Norwich after a house fire, police said. Officers were called to assist the fire service at 4.22am on Boxing Day after reports of the blaze at a residential property to the north of the East Anglia city. Police attended the…
