The Guardian·Wednesday, December 17, 2025

The Guardian - Wednesday, December 17, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Five key moments in the assault on the rights of women and girls in 2025

Since Trump’s second term began in January, global healthcare, especially for sexual and reproductive health, has been under constant attack This time last year, women’s rights organisations were bracing themselves for a second Trump term. Few were prepared for the chaos that would be unleashed in January. The volume and speed of executive orders coming out of the White House were seen as a deliberate tactic to overwhelm and create panic. In many ways it worked – there was confusion, anger and e

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South Africa in talks with Russia over men ‘tricked’ into fighting in Ukraine

Government says it received distress calls, as daughter of ex-president Jacob Zuma accused of luring men to frontline South Africa’s government is in talks with Russia to bring home 17 South African men fighting for Russia in Ukraine, after the men were allegedly tricked on to the frontlines of the war by a daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma. Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has been accused in multiple lawsuits of luring the 17 South African and two Botswanan men to Russia in July, by

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Libya looks to its past to build a new future as national museum reopens

It is hoped the institution can help foster new bonds in a fractured nation, but such optimism will be a stretch for some It was a night at the museum like no other. As the staccato sound of firecrackers and explosions rang out across Martyr’s Square in the heart of Tripoli, for once it was not Libya’s militias battling it out for a larger stake in the country’s oil economy, but a huge firework display celebrating the reopening of one of the finest museums in the Mediterranean. The National Muse

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Ghanaian students at UK universities face deportation amid funding crisis

Group asks Keir Starmer for help to persuade Ghanaian government to pay backlog of tuition fees and living allowances Students from Ghana at UK universities say they are in danger of being deported after being stranded by their own government without promised scholarships or tuition fee payments. The group representing more than 100 doctoral students has petitioned Downing Street and Keir Starmer asking for help to persuade the Ghanaian government to pay the backlog of tuition fees and living al

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Little Foot hominin fossil may be new species of human ancestor

Australian researchers think the skeleton found in South Africa is not the same species as two found in the same South Africa cave system Little Foot, one of the world’s most complete hominin fossils, may be a new species of human ancestor, according to research that raises questions about our evolutionary past. Publicly unveiled in 2017, Little Foot is the most complete Australopithecus skeleton ever found. The foot bones that lend the fossil its name were first discovered in South Africa 1994

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Canada sees large drop in population amid international students crackdown

Population fell by 0.2% in third quarter – and the only other quarterly decline on record was attributed to Covid limits Canada experienced one of its largest drops in population in the most recent quarter, the result of a crackdown on international students. The drop marks dramatic turnaround for a country that has long pegged its economic growth to immigration. New estimates released on Wednesday by Statistics Canada showed that Canada’s population fell by 0.2% in the third quarter to stand at

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Scientists log rare case of female polar bear adopting cub: ‘They’re really good moms’

Canadian researchers tracking bear known as X33991 noticed she had gained a second cub who likely needed help Scientists in Canada have documented a rare case of female polar bear adopting a new cub, in an episode of “curious behaviour” that highlights the complex relationships among the apex Arctic predators. Polar Bears International, a non-profit conservation group, said on Wednesday that when they first placed a GPS collar on a female polar bear in the spring, she had one young cub. But when

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What action is Trump taking against Venezuela’s oil industry?

The US president wants a blockade of oil tankers under sanctions to stop them entering and leaving Venezuela Analysis: Maduro says the real reason for Trump’s fixation is oil – is he right? Donald Trump has intensified pressure on Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, and his government in a major escalation aimed at the country’s main source of income: the oil industry. The White House called for a blockade on all Venezuelan oil exports one week after the US seized an oil tanker off the the

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British baker outrages Mexicans with attack on their ‘ugly’ bread

Food bloggers liken Richard Hart to Christopher Columbus for ‘stomping’ on a country that has welcomed him A noted British baker has provoked a furore in Mexico by saying on a podcast the country does not “really have much of a bread culture”. Richard Hart, who opened the Green Rhino bakery in Mexico City in June, also said the country’s wheat was “not good … completely highly processed, full of additives” and its sandwiches – tortas – were made “on these white ugly rolls that are pretty cheap a

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Trump orders blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela

Move comes amid escalating campaign against Maduro as Venezuelan government condemns ‘grotesque threat’ Donald Trump has ordered “a total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro. The move comes amid an escalating campaign by the Trump administration against Maduro that has included a ramped-up military presence in the region and more than two dozen military strikes on vessels in

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