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More than 9,000 children in Gaza hospitalised for acute malnutrition in October, UN says

Malnutrition continues to take a toll among Gaza’s young despite a ceasefire declared two months ago, with more than 9,000 children hospitalised for acute malnutrition in October alone, according to the latest UN figures. While the immediate threat of famine has receded for most of the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza after the ceasefire announcement on 10 October, the UN and other aid agencies report continuing Israeli restrictions on their humanitarian aid shipments, which they say fall well below the needs of a population weakened and traumatised by two years of war, homelessness and living in flimsy shelters. Tess Ingram, a spokesperson for the UN child protection agency Unicef, said: “In Gaza’s hospitals I have met several newborns who weighed less than one kilogramme, their tiny chests heaving with the effort of staying alive.” According to Unicef figures, 9,300 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition in October. That is significantly less than the peak of 14,000 children in August, but much more than the child malnutrition rate during the previous ceasefire in February and March of this year. “It’s still a shockingly high number,” Ingram said, briefing journalists by video from Gaza. In October, about 8,300 pregnant and breastfeeding women were also hospitalised for acute malnutrition. “This pattern is a grave warning and it will likely result in low birthweight babies being born in the Gaza Strip for months to come,” Ingram added. “This is not over. Generations of families, including those being born now into this ceasefire, have been forever altered by what was inflicted upon them.” Unicef and other UN agencies say that aid deliveries crossing into Gaza have increased since the height of the war, but are still completely inadequate in relation to the humanitarian needs. An average of 140 aid trucks a day have crossed so far in December, in convoys organised by the UN and the International Organisation for Migration. That is well below the target of 600 trucks a day set as part of the ceasefire. Those figures do not include bilateral aid donations and commercial shipments, which have increased more sharply than UN-coordinated deliveries under the ceasefire. They have brought down market prices for many commodities, but they remain beyond the reach of the overwhelming majority of people in Gaza who have had no income for more than two years and who have depleted their savings. Since the ceasefire, aid has been coordinated through a multinational hub called the Civil-Military Coordination Centre led by the US and Israel and involving representatives of other countries supporting the ceasefire. However, diplomats and aid officials say that the Israeli army still has the final say in what is allowed in to Gaza. The UN reported that out of eight humanitarian convoys coordinated with Israeli authorities on Sunday, only four had been facilitated.

Ukraine and Europe will be ready to present ‘refined’ peace plan to US ‘in near future’, Zelenskyy says – as it happened

… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today! Donald Trump has hinted he could walk away from supporting Ukraine as he doubled down on his administration’s recent criticism of Europe, describing it as “weak” and “decaying” and claiming it was “destroying itself” through immigration (12:36, 12:44,) Trump also said that there was “no question” that Russia was in a stronger negotiating position in talks over ending the Ukraine war (13:11), saying Ukraine’s Zelenskyy will “have to get on the ball and start accepting things” (13:13). Trump also pointedly criticised EU leaders to “taking too much,” but “not producing,” as “the war just keeps going on” (13:17). His latest tirade – in an interview with Politico after named ‘the most powerful person shaping Europe’ – will make an already complicated relationship even more awkward (13:22). Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz has criticised parts of US narrative in recent days, saying it was “unacceptable” from the European point of view (11:43), with the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas (11:27, 11:53) and the European Council president António Costa (15:36) also expressing their frustration with the tone coming from Washington. In other news, 71-year-old controversial billionaire and Trump fan Andrej Babiš has been appointed the next Czech prime minister, two months on from the parliamentary election in October (9:49, 10:14, 10:27, 10:31). Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has continued his Europe tour meeting Pope Leo (10:53, 12:23) and Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni (9:57, 14:46, 16:40, 17:05) as he seeks to consolidate the European support for Ukraine. Lithuania has declared a state of emergency and asked parliament to authorise military support for police and border guards after a wave of smuggler balloons from Belarus repeatedly disrupted air traffic in recent months (13:57). And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today. If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com. I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.

Oslo appearance by Nobel peace prize winner María Corina Machado cancelled

A press conference in Oslo with the Nobel peace prize laureate María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader in hiding, has been cancelled, the Norwegian Nobel Institute has said, adding that it was “in the dark” as to her whereabouts. Machado last appeared in public on 9 January at a demonstration in Caracas protesting against the inauguration of Nicolás Maduro for his third term as president. The press conference, traditionally held by the Nobel laureate on the eve of the award ceremony, had been expected to be the 58-year-old’s first public appearance in 11 months. It was postponed hours before it was due to start, however, and a few hours later it was cancelled. A spokesperson for the Nobel institute said: “The press conference is cancelled for today and we have no further information about how and when she is coming.” Asked whether it might be rescheduled for Wednesday, they said: “I don’t think so, you never know … We are also in the dark.” The institute said in a statement: “María Corina Machado has herself stated in interviews how challenging the journey to Oslo, Norway will be. We therefore cannot at this point provide any further information about when and how she will arrive for the Nobel peace prize ceremony.” Machado’s team did not respond to a request for comment. Machado’s family had arrived in the Norwegian capital for Wednesday’s ceremony, but journalists accredited to attend the event received messages marked “urgent” from the committee’s head of media and communication an hour and a half before the scheduled time of access. Machado was announced as the winner of this year’s peace prize in October for her dogged struggle to rescue Venezuela from its fate as a “brutal, authoritarian state”. A conservative often described as Venezuela’s Iron Lady, she dedicated the prize in a post on X to “the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!” The US president has ordered a major naval buildup off Venezuela’s Caribbean coast and threatened land strikes against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers after a more than three-month military campaign against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. Machado’s mother, Corina Parisca de Machado, arrived at Oslo airport on Monday. The 84-year-old has not seen her daughter in a year. “Every day I pray the rosary, I ask God the Father, the Virgin, both together, that we may have María Corina tomorrow,” she told Agence France-Presse. “And if we don’t have her tomorrow, it is because that is God’s will.” After the postponement of the press conference, she told the Norwegian broadcaster NRK that she was very emotional. “I am doing well, but there are a lot of emotions now,” she said. Machado’s two sons and her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, who reportedly arrived at the Grand Hotel in Oslo on Monday night, were also due to attend. “When we see each other, I’m sure there will be tears and joy and hugs,” Sosa told NRK earlier this month. “I miss hugging her. I miss smelling her and seeing her in person. We’re going to make the most of the time we have with each other.” Machado’s location is not publicly known but some reports say she has made it to Europe and there are suggestions that she may have received help from the US to be smuggled out of Venezuela via Puerto Rico. Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, said last month that Machado had been accused of “acts of conspiracy, incitement of hatred, terrorism” and would be considered a “fugitive” if she travelled to Norway to accept the prize. “By being outside Venezuela and having numerous criminal investigations, she is considered a fugitive,” Saab told AFP. Maduro refused to accept he lost to Machado’s ally Edmundo González in a presidential election in July 2024 and launched a political crackdown that forced González into exile and Machado underground. Not since 2012, when the EU was awarded the peace prize, have so many heads of state planned to attend the ceremony. Among those expected to attend are the presidents of Argentina, Panama, Ecuador and Paraguay. The Norwegian Nobel Institute shared a video of the moment its director, Kristian Berg Harpviken, woke Machado with the news by phone that she had been awarded the peace prize. “Oh my God!” she said. “I have no words … But I hope you understand that … I am just one person, I certainly don’t deserve this.”

Why has ceasefire collapsed between Thailand and Cambodia?

A long-running border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has erupted in fierce clashes for the second time this year, despite a peace deal brokered by Donald Trump. Seven civilians have been killed in Cambodia and 20 wounded, while Thailand has confirmed three soldiers’ deaths in the latest fighting, which began with skirmishes on Sunday night. Both sides accuse the other of breaking a ceasefire, and have vowed to continue defending their territory. What is the dispute about? The competing territorial claims date back more than a century, to when France, which occupied Cambodia until 1953, mapped the land border stretching more than 508 miles (817km) between the two countries. Skirmishes have repeatedly broken out in the years since, fanned by nationalist sentiment. One of the most fiercely contested sites is the 11th-century Hindu temple Preah Vihear, or Khao Phra Viharn in Thailand, which both countries claim. In 1962, the international court of justice (ICJ) awarded the temple to Cambodia. However, Thailand continues to claim the surrounding land. The dispute escalated into clashes in 2008 after Cambodia sought to list Preah Vihear as a Unesco world heritage site. Why did tensions escalate this year? Various political factors have led to the escalation. In Thailand, nationalist sentiments were fanned by a government plan to negotiate with Cambodia to jointly explore energy resources, which critics perceived as a threat to Thai territory. Tensions also escalated when Cambodia referred disputes over temples in four areas to the ICJ. A breakdown in relations between Hun Sen and Thaksin Shinawatra, former leaders of Cambodia and Thailand, complicated matters further. The powerful political figures were once close friends, but fell out. Hun Sen released a full recording of a private phone call he had with Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, then prime minister, in which they discussed the border issue. The recording triggered a political crisis that brought down her government. Paetongtarn has since been replaced as prime minister by Anutin Charnvirakul, who has promised to hold elections next year. With nationalist sentiment running high, he will probably want to show a tough stance on the border issue. What role has Trump played? And why did the peace deal collapse? Trump put pressure on both sides to stop fighting in July, saying he would not negotiate a trade deal with either until the fighting stopped, at a time when both Thailand and Cambodia were facing a 36% US tariff. Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an “immediate and unconditional” ceasefire days later after talks in Malaysia, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc. An enhanced ceasefire agreement, which included more detail on de-escalation measures, was officially signed six weeks ago in Trump’s presence. However, the ceasefire arrangements have been precarious, and both sides have accused the other of violations. On 10 November, a Thai soldier was wounded by a landmine, causing Thailand to suspend commitments in the agreement. Thailand alleged the landmine had been newly laid by Cambodia, which Cambodia has denied. What happened in May and July? Troops briefly exchanged fire at a contested area, killing a Cambodian soldier. This led to a series of tit-for-tat actions by both governments: Thailand imposed border restrictions on Cambodia, while Cambodia banned imports of fruit and vegetables, broadcasts of Thai films, and cut internet bandwidth from Thailand, among other measures. When five Thai military personnel were injured by landmines while on patrol in July, both sides withdrew ambassadors and conflict erupted along the border. The fighting lasted five days, killing 48 people and forcing 300,000 from their homes.

Nigerian troops held in Burkina Faso after ‘unfriendly’ emergency landing

Eleven Nigerian military personnel are being held in Burkina Faso after a Nigerian plane reportedly entered Burkinabé airspace without authorisation on Monday, the latest twist in a region enmeshed in multiple political and security crises. In a statement on Monday evening, the breakaway Alliance of Sahel States (AES), of which Burkina Faso is a member alongside Mali and Niger, said the C-130 transport aircraft had made an emergency landing in Bobo Dioulasso. In the statement, Assimi Goita, the Malian junta president and leader of the AES, called the landing an “unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law”. He directed the authorities in the member countries to act “to neutralise any aircraft that would violate the confederal space” in future. On Monday, Nigerian authorities said the aircraft had been en route to Portugal for a ferry mission before “a technical concern which necessitated a precautionary landing”. “[The] crew is safe and have received cordial treatment from the host authorities,” said Ehimen Ejodame, the Nigerian air force spokesperson who signed the statement. “Plans are ongoing to resume the mission as scheduled.” The incident unfolded less than 24 hours after Nigeria took part in an intervention in Benin, Burkina Faso’s south-eastern neighbour, after a group of soldiers seized control of the national television station in Cotonou and announced the ousting of the president, Patrice Talon. Authorities in Benin later said they had foiled the coup attempt and restored order, preventing what would have been the eighth successful coup in west Africa in five years. A statement from the Nigerian government said its airstrikes –targeting a military base in Cotonou where some of the coup planners were reportedly holed up – happened at the behest of Talon and were in compliance with the protocols of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). Ivorian aircraft were also seen hovering over Beninese airspace during the crisis, pointing to a coordinated response by countries aligned with the regional bloc. The states that make up the AES broke away from Ecowas, headquartered in Nigeria, after Ecowas threatened military intervention in Niger in 2023 to reinstate the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, after he was ousted in a coup. The AES states accuse Ecowas of breaching territorial integrity and being a puppet of the west and have also drawn closer to Russia.

Fatal Thailand-Cambodia clashes spread along contested border area

Deadly clashes have escalated along the disputed Thailand-Cambodia border as both sides blamed each other for the fighting and vowed to defend their territories. Seven civilians have been killed and 20 wounded in Cambodia and three Thai soldiers have been killed in the fiercest fighting since a five-day conflict in July. The two sides accused each other of violating a US-backed ceasefire deal signed in the presence of Donald Trump six weeks ago. On Tuesday morning, Cambodia’s senate president, Hun Sen, said that “after being patient for more than 24 hours” to respect the ceasefire deal and evacuate civilians, Cambodia had retaliated. “Cambodia needs peace but Cambodia is compelled to counterattack to defend our territory,” he said in a Facebook post, saying his country had strong bunkers and weapons that would give it an advantage. Hun Sen, who was prime minister for almost four decades, remains extremely powerful in Cambodia despite handing power to his son Hun Manet in 2023. Thailand’s defence ministry spokesperson R Adm Surasant Kongsiri told the media that Thailand was “determined to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity and therefore military measures must be taken as necessary”. The Thai prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, has previously vowed his government would do whatever necessary to protect its territory. “There will be no talks. If the fighting is to end, [Cambodia] must do what Thailand has set,” he said. On Tuesday the conflict spread further, with the Thai navy announcing it was taking action to expel Cambodian forces who it said were encroaching on Thai territory in Trat province. The Thai military said Cambodia was using rocket launchers, bomb-dropping drones and artillery on Thai positions, and that artillery shells had fallen on two civilian homes in Sa Kaeo province. No casualties were reported. Cambodia accused Thailand of firing into civilian areas and said “renewed aggression” by Thailand had “destroyed infrastructure, damaged temples, cultural property, human heritage and disrupted essential public services”. More than 125,000 people in Thailand are staying in temporary evacuation shelters across Ubon Ratchathani, Sisaket, Surin and Buri Ram provinces, according to the Thai military. In Cambodia, more than 21,000 people have been evacuated across Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey, Banteay Meanchey provinces. The dispute between Thailand and Cambodia dates back more than a century to when France, which occupied Cambodia until 1953, first mapped the land border. Conflict over the border, which stretches across more than 500 miles (800km), has erupted repeatedly over the years. Tensions rose in May and escalated into a five-day conflict in July when at least 48 people were killed and 300,000 displaced, before Trump brokered a ceasefire. The ceasefire deal has appeared precarious, with both sides repeatedly accusing each other of violations. Last month, Thailand said it was suspending the ceasefire deal, accusing Cambodia of laying fresh landmines along the border, including one mine that it said had wounded a Thai soldier. A Cambodian civilian was later killed and three wounded, according to the Cambodian prime minister, after each side accused the other of opening fire.

Australia deporting refugee to Nauru may cause his ‘imminent’ and ‘preventable’ death, court hears

Lawyers for an Iranian refugee Australia wants to deport to Nauru say there is a “real risk he will die” there, setting the stage for a showdown against the federal government’s $2.5bn NZYQ deal. The case surrounding the Iranian refugee, known as TCXM, who was granted a 30-year visa for Nauru in February and subsequently placed back into immigration detention after being freed by the 2023 high court ruling, was heard in the high court on Tuesday. Lawyers for the man are appealing an earlier decision to dismiss his case in the federal court, arguing the original judge had accepted Nauru’s medical facilities were “inadequate” to treat his severe asthma but ruled in the government’s favour of deporting him. They said his removal to Nauru could result in his “imminent” and “preventable” death. The man’s legal team said his condition would worsen on Nauru due to his age, the weather conditions and “insufficient” facilities to manage his condition on an ongoing basis or treat a severe and potentially fatal asthma attack. The commonwealth’s lawyers argued government officials are duty-bound to deport non-citizens on a removal pathway, pointing to a 2003 court ruling that said it was required “even if it is virtually certain that he or she will be killed”. Sign up: AU Breaking News email Lawyers for TCXM also said he was not afforded procedural fairness under the interim arrangement with Nauru because he did not have a chance to state his case against it. According to a chronology submitted to the court, Australia and Nauru entered into the interim arrangement on 12 February 2025 for the three men, including TCXM, and the government applied for his visa – without his knowledge – two days later. TCXM was taken back into detention on 16 February when he was notified that Nauru had issued the long-term visa. He remains in detention while his high court case is heard. The government’s counsel said the Nauru deal was lawful and that TCXM was not afforded procedural fairness because it related to foreign affairs matters – namely, Australia’s dealings with Nauru. Lawyers for TCXM are seeking an injunction on his deportation to Nauru, which, if granted, could have broader implications for the government’s multi-billion-dollar deal. TCXM was one of more than 350 non-citizens released from indefinite detention in 2023 after the high court ruled in favour of a stateless Rohingya man known as NZYQ. The chief justice, Stephen Gaegler, in 2023 said the man’s indefinite detention was unlawful because there was “no real prospect of his removal from Australia becoming practicable in the reasonably foreseeable future”. TCXM arrived in Australia in 1990 and was granted a protection visa five years later. In 1999, he was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to 22 years in prison. His visa was cancelled in 2015 and once released from jail, he was placed in immigration detention indefinitely until his release under the 2023 ruling. The Australian government has recognised he is owed non-refoulement obligations and cannot be sent back to Iran. A deal signed with the Nauruan government in February this year allows the Albanese government to apply for 30-year visas on behalf of those within the NZYQ-affected cohort to offload them to the tiny Pacific island. The deal will cost at least $2.5bn over three decades and Guardian Australia is aware of at least five men removed to the island so far. In early September, the government passed amendments to the Migration Act to remove natural justice – access to a fair hearing and to a decision without bias – for non-citizens on a removal pathway. The changes also retrospectively validate government visa decisions made before the high court’s NZYQ ruling in November 2023 that could subsequently have been deemed unlawful. The government said the tweaks aim to speed up deportations by removing the cohort’s right to natural justice – and therefore further legal challenges – once the government decides to send them to Nauru, by preventing any legal “delay or uncertainty”. Lawyers for TCXM argued on Tuesday these changes were valid but not lawful.