Questions raised over influence after 1,261 business and industry delegates registered for biodiversity summit in Colombia

Record numbers of business representatives and lobbyists had access to the UN’s latest biodiversity talks, analysis shows.

In total 1,261 business and industry delegates registered for Cop16 in Cali, Colombia, which ended in disarray and without significant progress on a number of key issues including nature funding, monitoring biodiversity loss and work on reducing environmentally harmful business subsidies.

When he woke up with chest pains, his wife, Lucille, called 999, expecting help to arrive in minutes. But as he drifted in and out of consciousness, their wait continued ...

On the evening of 15 March 2022, Lucille and Dave Strachan had supper in their north Wales home, watched their favourite TV show, Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly, then went upstairs to bed. Apart from one bout of food poisoning in the 1970s, Dave had never been ill before. But at about 11.20pm he woke up and told Lucille he had chest pains and difficulty breathing.

Lucille called their daughter Hilary, a doctor, before dialling 999 and asking for an ambulance. Was Dave breathing, the call operator asked. Yes, but he has chest pains and he’s cold, said Lucille. The call operator asked her to monitor Dave, to tell them every time he took a breath, information which was then fed into a computer.

After decades among the hidden homeless, Dominic Van Allen dug himself a bunker beneath a public park. But his life would get even more precarious. By Tom Lamont

It is not enough for the NSW child protection system to claim it has good policies; we need to see those policies implemented effectively

Our fight for our children is ongoing. I’ve fought for years, both inside the system and out of it, trying to keep our kids at home. I am a proud Gomeroi woman and the matriarch of my family, and this struggle has been fought by my people for generations. This struggle for our kids to stay safe with their families is not just a burst of activism; it is a generational battle that demands our unwavering commitment. In the words of the late US civil rights activist John Lewis, “Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes.”

A report released today shows why our fight for our children must be ongoing. The Aboriginal Legal Service, AbSec, the Justice and Equity Centre, and Jumbunna Institute have found that, five years on from an independent review in 2019, only 12 out of 126 recommendations have been fully implemented by the NSW government.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

Beloved by Toni Morrison, Normal People by Sally Rooney, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, among books pulled

Florida’s department of education has released a list of more than 700 books that were “removed or discontinued” from schools across the state after changes to a state law last year that allows parents and residents to challenge the content of library books.

This year’s list, which has doubled in size from last year, includes titles such as Beloved by Toni Morrison, Normal People by Sally Rooney, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

Justin Welby’s resignation dominates the headlines as calls grow for others to resign and the archbishop not to be a ‘sacrificial lamb’

UK papers on Wednesday focused on the archbishop of Canterbury’s decision to resign amid mounting pressure from victims and members of the clergy over his handling of one of the church’s worst abuse scandals. The fallout continues as other church figures also face calls to step down.

The Guardian leads with Justin Welby’s “sorrow” at the abuse scandal, quoting him as saying his resignation was “in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honoured to serve”.

Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton and Tony Abbott defend suitability of former PM after Dan Scavino social media post, despite Rudd’s past criticism of president-elect

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

A senior adviser to US president-elect Donald Trump has fuelled speculation about the future of Australia’s ambassador to Washington, former prime minister Kevin Rudd, by reposting Rudd’s congratulatory statement to Trump on social media with a gif of an hourglass.

The provocative time-is-running-out post by former Trump deputy chief of staff for communications Dan Scavino reignited suggestions that the incoming president may prefer another Australian representative in Washington when he takes office in January.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Musk and ex-presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to head up Department of Government Efficiency (Doge)

Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, Donald Trump said on Tuesday.

Despite the name, the department will not be a government agency. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before.” He added that the move would shock government systems.

Der Spiegel journalist Regina Steffens and author John Kampfner explain how Germany’s traffic light coalition came to an end, and the profound problems facing whichever government comes next

As Germans processed the news of Donald Trump’s re-election on Wednesday, they were soon hit by a story much closer to home – their coalition government was about to collapse.

As Der Spiegel journalist Regina Steffens explains to Helen Pidd, though the divisions within the government were well-known, it still came as a shock. This, after all, is a country that values political stability and has not seen a government collapse in more than 40 years.

World’s richest man has been an enthusiastic cost-cutter – but he may find the public sector an entirely different beast

Donald Trump, president-elect of the US, announced on Tuesday that he has selected Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, with plans to reduce bureaucracy in the federal government by roughly a third.

Musk had pushed for a government efficiency department and has since relentlessly promoted it, emphasizing the acronym for the agency: Doge, a reference to a meme of an expressive Shiba Inu. Trump said the agency will be conducting a “complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government, and making recommendations for drastic reforms”.

Immigration minister Marc Miller’s comments come as country braces for migrant rise when Trump takes office

• US politics – live updates

Canada’s immigration minister has said “not everyone is welcome” in the country as officials brace for an increase of migrants when Donald Trump returns to the White House with a pledge to carry out mass deportations.

The minister’s warning, seven years after Justin Trudeau promised that “Canadians will welcome” asylum seekers, reflects a stark shift in tone amid waning support for immigration and refugee resettlement in the country, according to migration experts.

Antony Blinken on flying visit to Brussels; majority of Ukrainians still oppose land-for-peace deal. What we know on day 994

Despite nations’ pledges at Cop28 a year ago, the burning of coal, oil and gas continued to rise in 2024

There is “no sign” of the transition away from burning fossil fuels that was pledged by the world’s nations a year ago, with 2024 on track to set another new record for global carbon emissions.

The new data, released at the UN’s Cop29 climate conference in Azerbaijan, indicates that the planet-heating emissions from coal, oil and gas will rise by 0.8% in 2024. In stark contrast, emissions have to fall by 43% by 2030 for the world to have any chance of keeping to the 1.5C temperature target and limiting “increasingly dramatic” climate impacts on people around the globe.

• Priestman is banned by Fifa after alleged use of drone
• Head coach was removed from Olympic Games in Paris

The departure of the Canada women’s national team head coach, Bev Priestman, has been confirmed by Canada Soccer, following an independent review into the drone spying scandal that rocked the team’s Olympics campaign.

The Englishwoman Priestman was removed from the Olympic Games in Paris and received a one-year ban from football by the world’s governing body Fifa in July, after a drone was allegedly used to spy on a training session of one of their opponents, New Zealand. The analyst Joseph Lombardi and the Canada assistant coach Jasmine Mander were also banned after the allegations, and on Tuesday a statement from Canada Soccer said: “The three individuals currently suspended by Fifa will not be returning. The search for a new head coach for the women’s national team will commence shortly.”

Killing of Antônio Vinicius Lopes Gritzbach, 38, former First Capital Command member, spawns number of theories

Police investigating a brazen murder at the arrivals area of Brazil’s main airport are pursuing at least three lines of inquiry in their attempt to track down the killers – and the possible masterminds of the shocking crime.

Antônio Vinicius Lopes Gritzbach, 38, was leaving São Paulo international airport on Friday afternoon when two hooded men jumped out of a car and fired a hail of bullets. The brazen attack, captured on security cameras, marked a dramatic escalation of criminal violence in the country.

The British author’s novel about astronauts on the International Space Station was chosen unanimously as the winner, says judging chair Edmund de Waal

• ‘This is a book we need now’: Sara Collins on choosing this year’s Booker winner

Orbital by Samantha Harvey, the only British writer shortlisted this year, has won the 2024 Booker prize, the UK’s most prestigious prize for fiction.

Harvey’s tale of six fictional astronauts on the International Space Station was “unanimously” chosen as the winner after a “proper day” considering the six-strong shortlist, according to judging chair, the artist and author Edmund de Waal. “Our unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition. It reflects Harvey’s extraordinary intensity of attention to the precious and precarious world we share”.

After reading more than 150 books over seven months, the judges voted unanimously in favour of Samantha Harvey’s Orbital – which pulled them as far away as possible from our planet

In January, a box of books was delivered to my house, the first of many to arrive, with a steadiness that would at times feel overwhelming. I was about to spend the year as a Booker judge.

All my life I have dreamed of having swathes of time filled with nothing but reading. Yet as I stared at that first tranche of books, my overriding feeling was apprehension. Awarding a prize with the power to transform literary history, as well as the winner’s career, isn’t a task to take lightly. Plus, I’d been warned that each judge would be required to read more than 150 books over seven months; a diet, it seemed to me, with a high chance of leaving me feeling force-fed and unable to stomach reading a novel ever again.

• UKA chief executive says cost would be too high
• Focus is on bid to host World Championships

UK Athletics has rejected the chance to be involved in Michael Johnson’s $30m (£23.5m) new Grand Slam Track competition because it fears it is too much of a financial risk. Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium and the London Stadium were rumoured to be among candidates to host one of the four events, which launches in Jamaica in April 2025. Los Angeles will be involved along with Miami, with the final venue to be announced this week.

Many elite athletes, including the four-times US Olympic gold medallist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Britain’s Olympic 1500m silver medallist Josh Kerr have signed up for the series, which is modelled on the four tennis grand slams and has a prize fund of $12.6m.

British Columbia teen had no underlying health conditions and had been exposed to dogs, cats and reptiles, officials say

A teenager is in critical condition in a British Columbia children’s hospital, in what is believed to be Canada’s first human case of bird flu.

“This was a healthy teenager prior to this, so no underlying conditions,” said the provincial health officer Bonnie Henry in a news conference on Tuesday.

Massachusetts air national guard member admitted leaking classified military documents about Ukraine over Discord

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Massachusetts air national guard member to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine.

Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act following his arrest in the most consequential national security case in years. He was brought into court in an orange jumpsuit and showed no visible reaction as he was sentenced by the US district judge Indira Talwani.

Move by US authorities comes after plane was shot at on Monday, injuring attendant and forcing airport shutdown

The US Federal Aviation Administration has banned civilian flights into Haiti for 30 days after a jetliner was shot at on approach to Port-au-Prince.

Bullets hit the Spirit Airlines plane when it was about to land on Monday, injuring a flight attendant and forcing the airport to shut down.

World super lightweight champion reflects on her rematch with Amanda Serrano being the main support to the controversial bout

When Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano were locked in battle during the last round of their first fight at Madison Square Garden, on a fevered night in April 2022, I could not help myself. Alongside an entire row of ringside reporters, I stood up to watch the final minute of a riveting contest. Suddenly oblivious to the march of our urgent deadlines and the etiquette of remaining above such raw human emotion, we were swept away by the courage and determination of both women in one of the greatest fights ever staged at the Garden.

“It was only afterwards, when you’re looking back and hearing people’s reactions that you think: ‘Gosh, that was a huge moment for women in boxing’,” Taylor says now. “You’re hearing stories of young girls being inspired by that night and how people are calling it historic. It’s then that you just say: ‘Wow, that was an amazing night.’