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C of E to challenge Tommy Robinson ‘put Christ back into Christmas’ message

The Church of England is to launch a poster campaign aimed at challenging the anti-migrant message of Tommy Robinson, whose “Unite the Kingdom” movement has urged its supporters to join a carols event next weekend to “put the Christ back into Christmas”. The posters, which will go on display at bus stops, say “Christ has always been in Christmas” and “Outsiders welcome”. They will also be available for local churches to download and display over the festive period. The C of E’s decision to challenge Robinson’s extreme rightwing stance comes amid growing unease among church leaders about the rise of Christian nationalism and the appropriation of Christian symbols to bolster the views of his supporters. At a march organised by Unite the Kingdom in September there was a significant presence of Christian symbols, including wooden crosses and flags bearing Christian slogans, as well as chants of “Christ is king” and calls to defend “God, faith, family, homeland”. Last week, Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, announced next weekend’s Christmas carol event at an undisclosed outdoor venue in central London. It would mark the beginning of “a new Christian revival in the UK – a moment to reclaim and celebrate our heritage, culture and Christian identity”. Some Christian activists are planning a counter-event to protest at the far-right views of those organising the carol service. The C of E posters are part of a wider response to Robinson and Unite the Kingdom from a number of churches. The Joint Public Issues Team, a partnership between the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist church and the United Reformed church is offering a “rapid response resource” for local churches trying to “navigate the complexities” of Christian nationalism and the “co-option of Christian language and symbols – including Christmas – for a nationalist agenda”. The Rev Arun Arora, bishop of Kirkstall and co-lead bishop on racial justice for the C of E, said: “We must confront and resist the capture of Christian language and symbols by populist forces seeking to exploit the faith for their own political ends.” He said that Robinson’s conversion to Christianity in prison was welcome but did not give him “the right to subvert the faith so that it serves his purposes rather than the other way round”. A church that failed to act in response would be diminished, Arora added. “Whether in the warnings of the prophets or the teaching of Jesus, there is an unambiguous call to ensure justice for the weakest and most vulnerable. “As we approach Christmas and recall the Holy Family’s own flight as refugees, we reaffirm our commitment to stand alongside others in working for an asylum system that is fair, compassionate, and rooted in the dignity of being human.” After September’s Unite the Kingdom march, Christian leaders published an open letter saying that “any co-opting or corrupting of the Christian faith to exclude others is unacceptable”. Among the signatories were seven C of E bishops and senior leaders in the Methodist, Baptist and Pentecostal churches, the Church of Scotland, the Salvation Army and the Catholic social action network Caritas.

Hostile powers sending spies to west’s universities, says former security chief

Hostile spy agencies are now as focused on infiltrating western universities and companies as they are on doing so to governments, according to the former head of Canada’s intelligence service. David Vigneault warned that a recent “industrial-scale” attempt by China to steal new technologies showed the need for increased vigilance from academics. “The frontline has moved, from being focused on government information to private sector innovation, research innovation and universities,” he told the Guardian in his first interview since leaving the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), which is part of the “Five Eyes” intelligence sharing alliance with the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Vigneault highlighted Beijing as the main culprit, saying it was using a combination of cyber-attacks, infiltrated agents and recruitment among university staff to acquire sensitive technologies. “The system is built to … in a very systematic way strip out the military applications of these new innovations to then put them into production for the People’s Liberation Army,” he said in the interview on the sidelines of an intelligence conference in The Hague this week. Vigneault said China’s leadership had been on a long programme of military regeneration after being horrified by how swiftly the US army took over Iraq in 2003. Beijing decided to invest in “asymmetric capabilities” and steal as much technical knowledge as possible from the west. “Being an organisation that doesn’t have to worry about the election cycle every four years, they had the ability to look at it from a very long perspective,” he said. The CSIS concluded that China meddled in two Canadian elections, in 2019 and 2021, conclusions which led to a political scandal over whether or not the agency had adequately warned politicians. But when it came to stealing research, Vigneault said all of society, not just politicians, needed to come together to fight the threat. Vigneault left the CSIS in July last year after seven years there and now works for the US company Strider, which advises organisations on potential espionage threats. He said he said seen “the full spectrum” of approaches – from cyber-attacks to “people who are infiltrated into programmes, get the information and bring it back”. University staff were recruited by foreign powers based on either naivety, ideology or greed, he said. He claimed these threats justified the decision to require national security evaluations for university programmes in sensitive areas that received government funding. He dismissed criticism from some researchers that the rules were too restrictive and could stymie academic excellence and openness. “You cannot imagine that you work in isolation. You’re not living on an island and doing pure research for the good of humanity,” he said. Vigneault conceded that focusing on China could lead to a problematic sense of racial profiling among students and faculty in universities and other sectors. “It’s an absolutely critical point – we are not far from potentially being accused, wrongly or rightly, of racism,” he said. “What I’ve tried to do is always make the distinction that the problem is not China or the Chinese people, the problem is the Chinese Communist party.” He added that some espionage cases linked to China involved people with no Chinese heritage. Vigneault said his seven years in charge of Canada’s intelligence service had been marked by an “evolution from the focus on terrorism to big power politics”. He was in charge during the run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when Canada had access to almost everything collected by US and UK agencies on Vladimir Putin’s plans. Vigneault described that intelligence as “exquisite” and said he had had little doubt that Russia would invade for several weeks before it did. He suggested that, as well as lacking the same detailed intelligence, the failure of European security services to anticipate the attack was at least partly down to dependence on Russian oil and gas. The fear of the “political cost or the economic cost of trying to diversify before an invasion” made it easier to hope the invasion would not take place. “We saw it with Germany, which later had to reorient a large part of their energy,” he said. “That has an impact on decision-making, that has an impact on how you assess information.” Although Canada is dealing with the hostile rhetoric and high tariffs imposed by its erstwhile closest ally, the US, Vigneault called for a pragmatic approach. This meant identifying areas where cooperation was crucial and “building sovereign capabilities” where it might be preferable not to rely on an increasingly erratic ally. He added: “In the world we are in now, and the world we foresee for the future, data is going to be absolutely critical. So how do you make sure that you know you have a level of sovereignty over your data to protect your citizens, your national securities? “Developing sovereign cloud capabilities … allows you to control your information, and not be at the mercy of a company that may have legal requirements to share this information back to the US.”

Tourists among at least 25 killed in Goa nightclub fire

At least 25 people have been killed in a fire at a nightclub in Goa, an Indian state popular for its nightlife and tourism. Several tourists were among the 25 dead in the fire, which broke out at about midnight at Birch by Romeo Lane, a popular restaurant, cocktail bar and club in Arpora, a district north Goa. “Today is a very painful day for all of us in Goa,” said the chief minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant. “I visited the incident site and have ordered an inquiry into this incident,. Those found responsible will face most stringent action under the law – any negligence will be dealt with firmly.” It appeared that the fire that started on the first floor and then engulfed the rest of the building. A preliminary inquiry by police suggested most of those who died were trapped in the basement area of the club and suffocated. Firefighters worked through the night to suppress the fire and rescue those trapped. Images from the scene showed vast flames ripping through the building as it was reduced to a blackened shell and investigators combed the wreckage on Sunday morning. Most of the dead were the club’s workers who had been in the basement at the time of the fire, said officials. Sawant told journalists at the scene that “three to four” tourists had died but the process of identifying the dead was ongoing. Speaking to the Indian Express, a Goa police official said that many of the guests had been gathered on the first floor for a DJ set when a fire started at about 11.45pm He said: “In the ensuing panic and chaos, many guests ran towards the exit and reached safety. The staff members working in the basement were effectively trapped because it lacked an exit and was engulfed in smoke. Some guests also seem to have rushed towards the basement and got trapped.” The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, described the fire as “deeply saddening”. Goa, a former Portuguese colony on the shores of the Arabian Sea, lures millions of both Indian and international tourists every year with its nightlife, sandy beaches and laidback coastal atmosphere. According to government data, about 5.5 million tourists visited Goa in the first half of this year, with 270,000 visiting from abroad. Goa politician Michael Lobo called for a fire safety audit of all the clubs. “Tourists have always considered Goa a very safe destination. The fire incident is quite disturbing, and such incidents should not happen in the future,” he said. Fires are common in India due to poor building practices, overcrowding and a lack of adherence to safety regulations. In May at least 17 people died after a fire ripped through a three-storey building in the Indian city of Hyderabad. A month before that a fierce blaze broke out in a hotel in Kolkata, killing at least 15 people. Some people clambered out of windows and on to the roof to escape. In 2024 at least 24 people died after a fire broke out at a packed amusement park arcade in the western state of Gujarat.

Ukraine war briefing: With no Miami breakthrough, Zelenskyy turns to European allies

Three days of talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami, Florida produced no evident breakthrough by the end of Saturday. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he joined his negotiators for a “very substantive and constructive” call with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. “Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram, adding that the parties agreed on the next steps and a format for talks. Zelenskyy will next turn to European allies when he visits London on Monday for an in-person meeting with leaders Keir Starmer of Britain, Emmanuel Macron of France and Friedrich Merz of Germany. Macron said the group would “take stock” of peace negotiations. The four leaders took part in a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing” about two weeks ago, where they discussed plans to put a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Macron, the French president, slammed what he called Russia’s “escalatory path”, adding: “We will continue these efforts with the Americans to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, without which no robust and lasting peace will be possible. We must continue to exert pressure on Russia to compel it to choose peace.” Russian forces over Saturday night launched a combined air strike on infrastructure in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, causing power and water outages in some areas, said its mayor, Vitalii Maletskyi, on Sunday. Located on the Dnipro River, Kremenchuk is a major industrial hub and home to one of Ukraine’s biggest oil refineries. A 2022 strike on a crowded shopping mall in Kremenchuk killed at least 21 people. Maletskyi said city services were working to restore electricity, water and heating. A damage assessment would be carried out on Sunday. “We will restore everything.” Russia launched more than 700 drones and missiles at Ukraine over Friday night, targeting critical infrastructure, such as energy sites and railways, and triggering heating and water outages for thousands of households. “The main targets of these strikes, once again, were energy facilities,” Zelenskyy said. “Russia’s aim is to inflict suffering on millions of Ukrainians.” The protective shield over the Chornobyl disaster nuclear reactor in Ukraine, which was hit by a drone in February, can no longer perform its main function of blocking radiation, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has announced. In February a drone strike blew a hole in the “new safe confinement”, which was painstakingly built at a cost of €1.5bn ($1.75bn) next to the destroyed reactor and then hauled into place on tracks, with the work completed in 2019 by a Europe-led initiative. The IAEA said an inspection last week of the steel confinement structure found the drone impact had degraded the structure. Hungary’s rightwing, Putin-friendly prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has announced he is sending a business delegation to Russia in preparation for the end of the Ukraine war – claiming he was in discussion with both Washington and Moscow and could not “share every detail”. “If God helps us and the war ends without us being dragged into it, and if the American president succeeds in reintegrating Russia into the global economy and the sanctions are dismantled, we will find ourselves in a different economic landscape.” According to media in Hungary, its MOL oil and gas firm is considering acquiring refineries and petrol stations in Europe owned by Russian groups Lukoil and Gazprom, both of which are subject to US sanctions. Under Orbán’s leadership, Hungary has remained dependent on Russian oil and gas, flouting decisions of the European Union whose other countries have diversified their imports away from Russia since the February 2022 invasion. Bulgaria has denounced the towing of a crippled tanker, the Kairos, into its waters just over a week after the ship was hit in a drone attack claimed by Ukraine. A Turkish ship towed it there and returned to Turkey, said Rumen Nikolov, director general of Bulgarian maritime rescue and relief operations. “This is not normal,” Rumen said, adding that an explanation was sought “through diplomatic channels”. Ten crew members on board had requested evacuation but the weather was too bad at the moment, said the Bulgarian transport ministry. The Kairos and another Gambian-flagged tankers, the Virat, were attacked on 28 November in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast. Both are under western sanctions for belonging to the “shadow fleet” that illicitly and unsafely continues to export Russian oil. They had been heading for the Russian port of Novorossiysk. Ukraine confirmed at the time that it had targeted vessels “covertly transporting Russian oil”.

Gunmen kill at least 12 people including three-year-old in hostel in South Africa

Gunmen have stormed into a hostel in South Africa’s capital and killed at least 12 people, including a three-year-old child, and injured more than a dozen others. Police said they had launched a “manhunt” for three people and were investigating whether the killings were linked to a bar within the hostel that may have been selling alcohol illegally. The attack is the latest in a series of mass shootings in the country of 63 million people, which has one of the highest murder rates in the world. “I can confirm that a total of 25 people were shot,” said a police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, of the early morning attack in Saulsville township, 11 miles (18km) west of Pretoria. She said the armed men had shot indiscriminately. Ten had died at the scene while two died in hospital, she said. The twelfth victim succumbed to injuries on Saturday afternoon. The victims included a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. South African police have been grappling with violence linked to illegal bars, known as shebeens, which often sell home-brewed drinks. With high levels of gun ownership in the country, shootings linked to organised crime are common and police say they are often fuelled by alcohol. “These illegal shebeens are really giving us a problem as the police,” Mathe told the 24-hour eNCA news broadcaster. “Because a lot of murders are being reported at these illegal establishments.” Forensic and ballistic experts and investigators were at the scene. “So we are on a manhunt. For now, we are looking for three suspects,” Mathe said. Between April and September, more than 60 people were killed each day in South Africa, according to police data. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

Zelenskyy to meet Starmer at Downing Street to discuss US draft peace deal

Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Downing Street on Monday for an in-person meeting with Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz in a show of support for Ukraine. Starmer will use the meeting with the leaders from Ukraine, France and Germany to discuss the continuing talks between US and Ukrainian officials aimed at finding an agreement on guaranteeing Ukraine’s postwar security. The four leaders took part in a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing” about two weeks ago, where they discussed plans to provide a European peacekeeping force that could be deployed to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. In a statement about the meeting released by the European Council, the trio expressed full support for “President Trump’s comments that the current line of contact must be the starting point for any talks”. The draft peace deal, quietly brokered between US and Russian officials, has been criticised for leaving Ukraine in a weak and vulnerable position. The initial draft plan, which was reportedly developed by Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Kremlin adviser Kirill Dmitriev, would have forced draconian measures on Ukraine that would have given Russia unprecedented control over the country’s military and political sovereignty, conditions that were seen as a surrender by Kyiv. The peace plan was significantly amended by Ukraine last month, removing some of Russia’s maximalist demands. Though for now, the conflict continues. On Friday night, Russia launched a drone and missile attack on Ukraine’s power and transport infrastructure. The Ukrainian military said Russia had launched 653 drones and 51 missiles on Ukraine overnight. Ukrainian forces downed 585 drones and 30 missiles, the military said. Zelensky has said Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was the main target for hundreds of Russian drones and about 50 missiles, with Ukrainian officials accusing Moscow of seeking to “weaponise” the cold by denying civilians access to heat and power. Meanwhile, US and Ukrainian officials will conduct a third day of talks in Florida as Trump’s administration pushes Kyiv to accept an American-backed peace plan. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has already rejected some parts of the plan, with Ukraine’s territorial integrity and measures to deter future Russian attacks proving big sticking points for Moscow. Starmer has repeatedly stressed that Ukraine must determine its own future, and said the coalition of the willing’s peacekeeping force would play a “vital role” in guaranteeing the country’s security. In its new national security strategy, published overnight on Saturday, the White House said it was committed to Ukraine’s survival as a “viable state”. But the strategy also prioritised improving relations with Moscow, stating that ending the war is a core US interest to “re-establish strategic stability with Russia”. On Saturday evening, Zelenskyy said he had held a “very substantive and constructive” call with the US envoys Witkoff and Jared Kushner. “Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram. “We agreed on the next steps and the format of the talks with America.” Zelenskyy, who was in Kyiv, joined the call with the senior Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov, and Andriy Gnatov, the chief of staff of Kyiv’s armed forces, both of whom were in Miami for the talks with the US side. The two Americans – Witkoff and Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law – had been in talks with Umerov and Gnatov since Thursday. Zelenskyy said the call with Witkoff and Kushner “focused on many aspects and quickly discussed key issues that could guarantee an end to the bloodshed and remove the threat of a third Russian invasion, as well as the threat of Russia failing to fulfil its promises, as has happened many times in the past”. He said he was waiting a “detailed report” from Umerov and Gnatov.

Syria interim president accuses Israel of fighting ‘ghosts’ and exporting crises

Syria’s interim president has accused Israel of fighting “ghosts” and exporting its crises to other countries after the war in Gaza. President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s comments come amid persistent airstrikes and incursions by the Israeli military into southern Syria. Sharaa told an international conference in Doha on Saturday that Syria had insisted on respecting a 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel that had “held for over 50 years – in one way or another it is a successful agreement”. Tampering with the deal “and seeking other agreements such as a demilitarised zone ... could lead us to a dangerous place with unknown consequences”. Israel’s forces pushed into a UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights after the fall of Bashar al-Assad a year ago and conduct regular incursions deeper into Syria. The level of insecurity for Syrians in the region south of Damascus is increasing. Since he took power a year ago, Sharaa insisted he had been sending “positive messages to Israel regarding regional peace and stability”. He also said Israel “extrapolates” its conflict with Hamas militants and justifies aggression in the name of security. “Israel has become a country that is in a fight against ghosts,” he said. “They justify everything using their security concerns and they take 7 October and extrapolate it to everything that has happened around them.” Israel had become a country that exports crises, he added. Sharaa said: “Israel responded to Syria with extreme violence, launching more than 1,000 airstrikes and carrying out 400 incursions into its territory. The latest of these attacks was the massacre it committed in the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, which claimed dozens of lives.” He said that Syria was working with “influential” countries to pressure Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories. “There are negotiations with Israel, and the US is involved with us in these negotiations, and all countries support our demand for its withdrawal to the pre-8 December borders.” Donald Trump issued a warning last week to Israel to co-operate with the Syrian president, suggesting he does not welcome the Israeli incursions inside Syria. Sharaa said the demand for a demilitarised zone raised many questions for Syria, chiefly, “who will protect this zone if there is no presence of the Syrian army?” Israel says it fears terrorist groups linked to Hamas or that Sharaa will invade Israel unless there is a firm buffer zone. Israel has seized the 400 sq km (155 sq miles) of demilitarised buffer zone in southern Syria. Sharaa, who has spent time in US jails inside Iraq, was given a rock-star welcome at the conference. He stressed that “any agreement must guarantee Syria’s interests, as it is Syria that is subjected to Israeli attacks”. Sharaa insisted: “Syria is a developed country”, pointing to the recent People’s Assembly elections. The polls have been criticised as biased in favour of the country’s interim leaders. Sharaa said the polls had been conducted “in a manner that is appropriate for the transitional phase”, adding, “the people choosing who governs them is a fundamental principle”. “We do not link the building of Syria to individuals but to institutions, and this is the biggest challenge in the transitional phase that we are going through.” He promised full elections in four years and said women had nothing to fear in Syria. It was the men that needed to worry, he said.

EU says US ‘still our biggest ally’ despite release of policy paper supporting Europe’s far-right – as it happened

Overnight Russian missile and drone strikes left parts of Ukraine without power on Saturday morning, Ukraine’s energy ministry said. The Russian defense ministry confirmed that Russian forces attacked energy facilities that supported the Ukrainian military and port infrastructure used by Ukrainian forces, saying that the strike was in response to what it called Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant temporarily lost all off-site power overnight, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Saturday, marking the 11th time the facility temporarily lost power during the war. Ukraine peace plan talks continue between Trump advisers and Ukrainian officials, with the parties involved saying on Friday that they will meet for a third day of talks. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas responded to the US National Security Strategy, a policy paper released by the Trump administration on Friday that made explicit Washington’s support for Europe’s nationalist far-right parties. “US is still our biggest ally,” Kallas said Saturday.