Top World News

Dec 2, 2025 - World

Christie’s says the sale price is the highest for a Fabergé, beating a £8.9m auction in 2007A vintage jewel-studded Fabergé egg that belonged to the mother of Russia’s last emperor has been sold for a record £22.9m in London.The Winter egg was commissioned in 1913 by Emperor Nicholas II as an Easter gift for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, and is described as one of the most lavish of Fabergé’s imperial creations. Continue reading...

Dec 2, 2025 - World

Australia’s under-16s social media ban might take weeks to work but all platforms are on notice, government saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastYouTube will comply with the federal government’s under-16s social media ban, but its parent company Google has warned the laws “won’t keep teens safer online” and “fundamentally misunderstands” how children use the internet.Guardian Australia can also reveal that Lemon8, a newer social media app which has experienced a surge in interest recently because it is not included in the ban, will restrict its users to over-16s from next week. The eSafety Commission had previously warned it was closely monitoring the app for possible inclusion in the ban. Continue reading...

Dec 2, 2025 - World

Former political staffer was seeking to overturn 2024 ruling by federal court judge which found on the balance of probabilities he raped colleague Brittany HigginsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBruce Lehrmann has lost his appeal against the judgement in his defamation claim against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson.Justice Michael Wigney said the primary judge did not err in his determination that Higgins’s claims Lehrmann had raped her inside Parliament House were established to the civil standard, and that the judgment was not unfair to Lehrmann. Continue reading...

Dec 2, 2025 - World

Julie Inman Grant says Australia’s Online Safety Act ‘does not impinge upon Americans’ freedom of speech’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s online safety regulator has rejected assertions from a key US Republican congressman that she is a “zealot for global takedowns”, as the eSafety commissioner faced questions from the Australian parliament on a Guardian investigation into Roblox.Julie Inman Grant was asked by US Republican chair of the House judiciary committee, Jim Jordan, to speak before the committee last month. Continue reading...

Dec 2, 2025 - World

Agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins threatens to pull funds unless states turn over recipient data to US governmentThe Trump administration has threatened to suspend Snap food assistance to several Democratic-led states unless they turn over recipient data to the federal government.The agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, said on Tuesday that the USDA could begin blocking funds as early as next week if Democratic-led states continue to reject federal requests for Snap recipient data – information that includes immigration status and social security numbers. Continue reading...