Middle East crisis: Israel will not differentiate between Lebanon and Hezbollah if ceasefire collapses, defence minister Katz says – as it happened

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Israel Katz says Israel will no longer offer Lebanon an exemption and will enforce ‘maximum impact and zero tolerance’

Israeli media reports that the cabinet is set to meet in the coastal city of Nahariya on Tuesday, a symbolic show of renewed security in the north after the ceasefire deal with Lebanon came into effect.

The move has received some criticism, however, with Hebrew news site Ynet reporting that the heads of local authorities in the north of Israel are angry that they have not been invited to participate.

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Unknown disease kills 143 people in south-west DRC, local authorities say

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Infected people described as having flu-like symptoms including high fever and severe headaches

An unknown disease killed 143 people in a south-west province of Democratic Republic of the Congo in November, local authorities told Reuters.

Infected people had flu-like symptoms including high fever and severe headaches, Remy Saki, the deputy governor of Kwango province, and Apollinaire Yumba, the provincial minister of health, said on Monday.

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Health services across Idlib ‘no longer functioning’, say Syrian doctors

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Airstrikes on the city’s hospitals have led to death of at least two patients as well as the evacuation of medics and those being treated

Health services are no longer functioning in the Syrian city of Idlib after a series of airstrikes on key hospitals damaged intensive care units and specialised services, doctors said.

At least two intensive care patients have died because of power and oxygen shortages caused by the airstrikes, according to the rescue group White Helmets, and hospitals have had to evacuate patients or move them into basements.

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More than 90% of people caught with small amounts of illicit drugs criminalised in NSW despite diversion reforms

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Exclusive: Police used discretion to divert just 6.9% of people caught with personal use quantities of drugs from criminal justice system, data shows

A New South Wales government program that gives police discretion to divert people found with small quantities of illicit drugs away from the courts has only been extended to 6.9% of people caught, including just 2.6% of those who are Indigenous.

The major reform by the Minns government came into effect in February this year and was flagged by the attorney general, Michael Daley, as a way to treat drug use as a health issue rather than a criminal one. Yet data obtained from NSW police under freedom of information shows the vast majority of those caught with illegal drugs continue to be criminalised.

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Nuclear energy debate draws stark gender split in Australia ahead of next year’s election

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Survey finds 25 percentage point gender gap across all age brackets on whether nuclear power would be positive for the country, with majority of men saying it would

New data points to a stark gender split in attitudes towards nuclear energy, with women much more likely to say they don’t support it or think the risks are too great.

Research company DemosAu surveyed 6,000 people on behalf of the Australian Conservation Foundation and found 26% of women thought nuclear energy would be good for Australia, compared with 51% of men.

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On the Grenadian island of Carriacou, even the dead are now climate victims

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As ICJ hears landmark climate case, Grenada’s PM says vulnerable nations expect a long, hard fight for aid

It’s a macabre picture: tombs, headstones and wreaths, lovingly selected by family members, floating into the oblivion of the ocean, and with them the remains of loved ones uprooted from their final resting place. Some are dragged back to land, washed up on beaches on the Grenadian island of Carriacou, transforming the beautiful Caribbean shoreline into a chaotic graveyard.

This disturbing reality, says Grenada’s prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, is a poignant example of the gravity of the climate crisis and its impact on his country.

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Some of Australia’s largest disability service providers failing to meet quality standards

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First report card on 88 providers in government program finds seven needing improvement and five failing on effectiveness

A handful of major employment service providers have failed to adequately support Australians with disabilities in the job market as the federal government hands down its first public report card on the industry.

Of the 88 providers assessed on the disability employment services program in July, 92% were meeting quality expectations while 90% exceeded or met effectiveness expectations.

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Confidence in federal Labor at Morrison 2022 election loss levels, poll shows

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ANU study finds Albanese ‘significantly’ more favourable as PM than Dutton and more women undecided on voting intention than men

Just 38% of Australian voters have confidence in the federal government, a level approaching the lows before Scott Morrison was voted out of office in May 2022.

That is one of the key results of an Australian National University study, which nevertheless found the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, had “significantly higher” favourability than Peter Dutton leading into the 2025 election.

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Pro-brumby activists racially vilified head of Indigenous group, Victorian tribunal finds

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Exclusive: Yorta Yorta woman targeted in campaign by Barmah Brumby Preservation Group that included posters with racist slogans, Vcat finds

A pro-brumby activist organisation racially vilified the then head of an Indigenous group in Victoria through posters and social media posts showing her face and racist slogans, the state’s civil and administrative tribunal has found.

The Barmah Brumby Preservation Group displayed public posters showing the face of Monica Morgan, a Yorta Yorta woman, and racist slogans. Morgan argued at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Vcat) the posters, along with social media posts and comments between 2020 and 2023, incited hatred of her and Yorta Yorta people on the basis of race.

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BBC pulls two MasterChef Christmas specials amid Gregg Wallace scandal

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Change in festive schedule comes after Wallace stepped away from hosting cookery show amid allegations about his behaviour

Two MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials have been pulled from the BBC’s schedule after Gregg Wallace stepped away from hosting the cookery show, a BBC spokesperson said.

The broadcaster had previously announced a Celebrity MasterChef Cook-Off and a Strictly Festive Extravaganza as part of its festive schedule, both billed as hour-long programmes for BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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China’s share of global electric car market rises to 76%

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Market share increases after strong demand within country offsets risks from western tariffs on Chinese-made EVs

China’s share of the global electric vehicle market reached 76% in October, the country’s automotive trade body said, reflecting strong demand for EVs in the country even as western tariffs risk hobbling exports.

Between January and October, sales of EVs reached 14.1m units, according to the China Passenger Car Association, with 69% of those sales in China. In October, China’s share surpassed three-quarters.

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