The Guardian·Friday, December 19, 2025

The Guardian - Friday, December 19, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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US plan for $1.6m hepatitis B vaccine study in Africa called ‘highly unethical’

Experts decry ‘neocolonialist’ Guinea-Bissau study after Trump administration changed advice for US babies The Trump administration has indicated that it will fund a $1.6m study on hepatitis B vaccination of newborns in the west African country of Guinea-Bissau, where nearly one in five adults live with the virus – a move that researchers call “highly unethical” and “extremely risky”. The news follows an official change in recommendations on hepatitis B vaccines at birth from the US Centers for

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Colombian mercenaries in Sudan ‘recruited by UK-registered firms’

Exclusive Guardian investigation finds companies set up by people sanctioned by US hired Colombian fighters for Rapid Support Forces, widely suspected of war crimes in Sudan Close to Tottenham Hotspur’s shiny football stadium in London is a squat, nondescript block of flats. It holds a grim secret beyond the unremarkable beige brickwork – a cramped, second-floor apartment in the British capital, linked to murderous atrocities unfolding 3,000 miles south. The one-bedroom flat off north London’s C

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Morocco accused of ‘horrific’ abuse of detained gen Z protesters

As country prepares to host Africa Cup of Nations, families and rights groups tell of police brutality, with hundreds still held The arbitrary detention of hundreds of gen Z protesters in Morocco and alleged “horrific” beatings have been condemned by human rights groups, as the country prepares to host the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday. A wave of youth-led demonstrations swept across Morocco in late September and early October – the biggest since the 2011 Arab spring – in protest at underfunde

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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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Trump and top aides refuse to rule out war with Venezuela

President Nicolás Maduro orders Venezuelan navy to escort oil tankers after seizure by US forces What action is Trump taking against Venezuela’s oil industry? Donald Trump and his top advisers have refused to rule out the potential for open conflict with Venezuela as Nicolás Maduro urged his navy to escort oil tankers defying the largest US fleet deployed in the region in decades. In an interview broadcast on Friday morning, Donald Trump told NBC News that going to war with Maduro’s regime rem

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Santas and elves rob Montreal grocery store to ‘give food to the needy’

Group called Robins des Ruelles later said in statement stunt was intended to highlight cost of living crisis Dressed in red suits and backed by masked elves, a group of Santas marched into a Montreal supermarket, loaded their bags with thousands of dollars worth of groceries and disappeared into the night. The bandit Santas later released a statement saying the food would be distributed to the needy, and saying the Robin Hood-style stunt was intended to highlight the spiralling cost of living

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Seven Colombian soldiers killed in rebel drone attack on base near Venezuela

Colombia’s ELN guerrilla group used drones and explosives in Thursday night attack that also injured at least 30 soldiers Colombia’s ELN guerrilla group has attacked a military base near Venezuela with drones and explosives, killing seven soldiers and wounding 30. Founded in 1964 and inspired by the Cuban revolution, the ELN is the oldest surviving guerrilla group in the Americas, and controls key drug-producing regions of Colombia. Efforts to negotiate a peace settlement have repeatedly stalled

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‘I can’t think of a place more pristine’: 133,000 hectares of Chilean Patagonia preserved after local fundraising

Exclusive: Ancient forests and turquoise rivers of the Cochamó Valley protected from logging, damming and development A wild valley in Chilean Patagonia has been preserved for future generations and protected from logging, damming and unbridled development after a remarkable fundraising effort by local groups, the Guardian can reveal. The 133,000 hectares (328,000 acres) of pristine wilderness in the Cochamó Valley was bought for $63m (£47m) after a grassroots campaign led by the NGO Puelo Patag

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Brazilian president vows to veto bill cutting Jair Bolsonaro’s prison term

Lula acknowledges his decision to uphold 27-year sentence could be overridden by conservative lawmakers Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has promised to veto a bill passed by congress to reduce the prison term of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president who was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for masterminding an attempted coup to overturn the 2022 elections. Lawmakers passed the bill late on Wednesday after it was approved last week by the lower house. On Thursday, Brazil’s

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