Labour declares deal ‘dead in the water’, as hopes of further talks on backstop disappear

Theresa May has come home from Brussels empty-handed and without hope of further negotiations over the Irish backstop, with the failure to achieve any kind of breakthrough leaving her brutally exposed.

Plans to work over Christmas on a legal guarantee over the temporary nature of the backstop had run into a brick wall, EU officials said, despite May’s claim that she would be holding further talks “in the coming days”.

Slow progress on 2015 Paris agreement comes as scientists warn of need to get on track

Negotiators at the climate conference in Poland have inched closer to an outcome, as the official deadline for finishing a deal ran out.

The conference was meant to approve a rulebook which would govern how nations put into action the goals set in the landmark Paris agreement of 2015, when the world resolved to hold global warming to no more than 2C above pre-industrial levels, with an aspiration to limit temperature rises to no more than 1.5C.

• Mulvaney to succeed John Kelly as Trump’s third chief of staff
• Trump says budget director has ‘done an outstanding job’

Donald Trump has named his budget director, Mick Mulvaney, as acting chief of staff after what became a tortuous search to fill what was once one of Washington’s most coveted jobs.

Related: Now hiring for 'the worst job in government': Trump's chief of staff

Sarah Rose Summers, who made fun of contestants not knowing English, said she ‘would never intend to hurt another’

The woman who holds the Miss USA 2018 title has apologized after she was captured on video mocking two of her fellow competitors for their English-speaking skills.

In a video posted to Instagram, Sarah Rose Summers made light of Nat Rern, Miss Cambodia and H’Hen Nie, Miss Vietnam. In the video, she said of Nie: “She’s so cute and she pretends to know so much English and then you ask her a question after having a whole conversation with her and she goes …” she said before mimicking a confused nod and smile.

Police look into whether Chérif Chekatt, who killed four, had accomplices, as one of the victims of the attack is buried

French authorities are working to clarify why the suspect in the Strasbourg Christmas market attack was not stopped before he could act, Emmanuel Macron has said, as police investigate whether there were any accomplices.

Chérif Chekatt killed four people and wounded several others in Tuesday’s attack, after police had tried and failed to arrest him earlier in the day. The 29-year-old had been known to police for theft and violence dating back to the age of 10 and had been on a French intelligence watchlist for radicalism.

Susie Goodall, the only woman in the Golden Globe Race, is unfazed despite being rescued in the Southern Ocean

A British yachtswoman, who was rescued after her boat capsized during a solo, round-the-world race, has said she would do it again “in a heartbeat”.

Susie Goodall’s comments were made after arriving on dry land in Chile, in the southern city of Punta Arenas on Friday, where she was met by her mother and brother. The family smiled and hugged before they joined her in an ambulance for a medical check-up in the port city.

Concentration of noisy events over festive period poses particular risk, says charity

Wham!’s Last Christmas and other festive hits blasting through speakers could damage your hearing, according to a charity which is urging people to wear earplugs at festive events.

Action on Hearing Loss says people should take steps to minimise the risk of tinnitus and hearing loss when flocking to pubs, bars or concerts, warning that the concentration of events during the Christmas party season poses a particular risk.

Prime minister Scott Morrison plans for embassy to leave Tel Aviv when Jerusalem’s status is finalised

Australia has become one of the few countries to formally recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but says it will not move its embassy from Tel Aviv until a peace settlement is reached.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said the government will also recognise a future state of Palestine with its capital in East Jerusalem after a settlement has been reached on a two-state solution.

Met Office issues amber weather alert for widespread treacherous conditions

Christmas shoppers have been warned to take extra care on Saturday, with widespread heavy freezing rain expected to create hazardous conditions on the UK’s roads.

The Met Office issued an amber weather warning for parts of England and Scotland, highlighting the risk of rapidly forming ice on roads and pavements, while high ground in Scotland could face up to 40cm of snow.

Firefighters rule building in Hastings structurally unsafe after rockfall hits building and breaks through wall

A giant boulder weighing several tons has smashed through the wall of a man’s bedroom.

Firefighters were called to the home in White Rock on the seafront in Hastings, East Sussex, at about 3pm on Thursday after reports the structure of the building was dangerous.