World news | The Guardian

Environment watchdog says water corporation is responsible for ensuring it doesn't pollute our beautiful beaches'

Duterte, 80, is accused of crimes against humanity over an anti-drugs crackdown in which thousands of people were killed in south-east Asian countryThe pre-trial hearing for former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte for his alleged role in a deadly drug war" is set to begin at the international criminal court on Monday, despite his refusal to attend the proceedings.Duterte, 80, who was arrested in Manila and flown to The Hague last year, is accused of crimes against humanity over an anti-drugs crackdown in which thousands of people were killed. Continue reading...

Death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, one of world's most wanted drug traffickers, sets off wave of disorder across several Mexican states

Karoline Vitto, Phoebe English and Sinead Gorey include wide range of body shapes on catwalksBody diversity has made a comeback at London fashion week despite a wider shift towards ultra-thinness in the fashion industry.Emerging designers including Karoline Vitto, Phoebe English and Sinead Gorey included a wide range of body shapes on catwalks over the past four days. Sizes have ranged from a UK size 10-16, a category referred to as mid-size in the industry, to plus-size, also known as curve models, which measures from a UK size 18 upwards. Sample size, often referred to as straight models, ranges from a UK 4-8. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader flew to the Maldives for a day despite not having permit to visit nearby archipelagoNigel Farage has been accused of performing Maga stunts" after claiming the British government stopped him from travelling to the Chagos Islands on a humanitarian mission.The Reform UK leader said he had flown to the Maldives to join a delegation bringing aid to four Chagossians who are trying to establish a settlement on one of the archipelago's islands to protest against Britain's plans to transfer control of the territory to Mauritius. Continue reading...

Moscow continues to invest in strikes more than diplomacy,' says Zelenskyy, as logistics and energy facilities targetedRussia has fired scores of missiles and drones at targets across Ukraine, flattening a residential house in the capital, two days before the fourth anniversary of Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion.Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Kremlin had launched 297 drones and nearly 50 missiles on Sunday, in the latest in a wave of overnight strikes. He said a significant proportion" had been shot down as he called on allies to strengthen the country's air defences against enemy attacks. Continue reading...

Emma Webber, mother of Barnaby Webber, expects shocking' failures into care of triple killer Valdo Calacone to emerge at inquiry starting on MondayThe mother of a student who was killed in the 2023 Nottingham attacks has said she will fight to the bitter end" to get to the truth of how Valdo Calocane was free to attack, before the beginning of a public inquiry into the incident.Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, 19-year-old students, and 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates were fatally stabbed by Calocane on 13 June 2023 in a frenzied attack. Early the next day, Calocane drove a van into pedestrians Wayne Birkett, Sharon Miller and Marcin Gawronski, leaving all three with severe and life-changing injuries. Continue reading...

Welsh Rugby Union is to cut number of professional teams from four to three, with Ospreys the likely choiceFor Ian Gough, a lock forward who had been dropped by the Wales national rugby union team, signing with Swansea's Ospreys in 2007 was life-changing: he credits his time at the club with resurrecting his international career.It was great fun playing for the Ospreys," he said. They did it the hard way, ground their way up, and the supporters embraced that identity and went with them on that journey to becoming a good side. Continue reading...

Intelligence-based, selective operations' carried out against Pakistani Taliban camps, says information ministryPakistan launched multiple airstrikes on Saturday night targeting militants in neighbouring Afghanistan, where the government reported children were among dozens of people killed and wounded.Islamabad did not say precisely where the strikes were carried out or provide other details. Continue reading...

White paper proposes changing criteria under which schools get funding to support the most disadvantaged studentsPlans to halve the attainment gap between the poorest pupils in England and their more affluent peers will be set out by the government on Monday.The schools white paper will detail proposals to change the criteria under which schools receive funding to support the most disadvantaged students. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Irish author, who feared her books being withdrawn from UK, says proscription had been extreme assault' on rights and freedomsSally Rooney has hailed the high court's decision that it was unlawful to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws as a victory for civil liberties in Britain.Ministers suffered a humiliating legal defeat a week ago when three senior judges ruled that proscription of the direct action group, which targets organisations it considers complicit in arming Israel, was disproportionate and unlawful. Continue reading...

Congress members write to Kristi Noem to express grave concern' over detention of Georgia barber Rodney TaylorRepresentative Pramila Jayapal and 20 members of Congress are seeking the release of Rodney Taylor from Stewart detention center in Georgia, several weeks after the one-year anniversary of when agents seized the double amputee outside his suburban home in Loganville, about 40 miles north-east of Atlanta.The representatives sent a two-page letter on 17 February to Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, and Todd Lyons, the acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), drawing extensively from the Guardian's reporting and quoting several stories in detail with grave concern" due to Taylor's extreme hardship in detention and [because] his health is continuing to deteriorate". Continue reading...

US president vows to enact 10% global baseline tariff after calling the supreme court justices a disgrace to the nation'

Officers being asked to consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard' may be relevant to review of Epstein filesScotland Yard has announced it is expanding its inquiry into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor by approaching all his former protection officers and reviewing records of flights at London's airports to see if they were used for human trafficking.The disclosure by the Metropolitan police is separate to the inquiry that led to the former prince's arrest on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, but underlines the complex nature of the multiple investigations now focused on King Charles's brother. Continue reading...

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been released under investigation after police questioned the former prince in relation to allegations he shared confidential material with Jeffrey Epstein. Officers searched Mountbatten-Windsor's Sandringham residence as well as his former home at the Royal Lodge in Great Windsor Park after arresting him on Thursday. The former prince has denied any wrongdoing. But what were the police searching for and what could happen next? Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian's police and crime correspondent, Vikram Dodd - watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Democrats cry foul at change to airport closest to Mar-a-Lago days after president's lawyers trademarked new nameDemocrats in Florida have condemned Republican colleagues in the state legislature who approved the renaming of the airport in West Palm Beach the President Donald J Trump International Airport", less than a week after lawyers for Trump sought to trademark the name.Only the signature of Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, now stands before a renaming ceremony at the airport less than six miles from the US president's waterfront Mar-a-Lago mansion and private resort club in Palm Beach. Continue reading...

Record public finances accompany stronger retail sales and business activity but some analysts express cautionThe economic backdrop to Rachel Reeves's upcoming spring statement appeared to brighten on Friday after a trio of reports painted a better-than-expected picture of the UK economy.Record monthly public finances, a surge in retail spending and accelerating business activity offered the most coherent picture of recovery since last autumn, economists said, and provided the chancellor with a more positive narrative before her 3 March statement. Continue reading...

Dozens of the animals in Chiang Mai region first began to show signs of illness earlier this monthA highly contagious virus is believed to have caused the deaths of 72 captive tigers in northern Thailand this month, with officials racing to contain the outbreak.Teams are urgently disinfecting enclosures and preparing to vaccinate surviving animals. Continue reading...

Andrew Alty thought O2 bill was a mistake, but daughter's TikTok use allowed massive uncapped charges to accrueA small business owner was left facing a 42,000 bill that he said nearly bankrupted him after his daughter racked up data roaming charges while the family were on holiday in Morocco.Andrew Alty, who owns a curtains business, was in Marrakech when he received a bill for 22,000 from network provider O2, but at first he assumed it was a mistake. Continue reading...

Police say UK entrepreneur Quentin Griffiths fell from 17th floor of an 18-floor condominium on 9 FebruaryQuentin Griffiths, the co-founder of the online fashion retailer Asos, has died after falling from an apartment building in the Thai seaside resort city of Pattaya.Police told Reuters that the 58-year-old had fallen from the 17th floor of an 18-storey condominium on 9 February. Continue reading...

Expert review will consider whether children and teenagers should be able to carry passengers

Ex-state MP has pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing boy in 2017 with defence barrister claiming Amon did not know boy's age

Exit of Devyani Saltzman, described as Barbican's driving force', announced a few weeks after arrival of new CEOSalman Rushdie, John Akomfrah and Pankaj Mishra are among more than 170 cultural figures who have signed an open letter to the Barbican expressing concern over the departure of its arts director, Devyani Saltzman.Saltzman, who became director of arts and participation at the Barbican in February 2024, is leaving the institution amid a significant leadership change a few weeks after its new CEO joined. Continue reading...

Girl, 15, and boy, 17, found dead at Little Eden holiday park in suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, police sayTwo teenagers have died at a holiday park on the Yorkshire coast in a suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.A 15-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy were found dead inside a rental property at Little Eden holiday park in Bridlington on Wednesday, police said. Continue reading...

Industrial trends survey shows firms expecting to raise prices in coming months, with order books well below averageBritish manufacturing orders remain well below average and price pressure continues to persist, according to a closely watched survey.The CBI industrial trends survey found that manufacturers' orders for the month were below average in February, while most firms expected to raise their prices and for output to decline over the next three months. Continue reading...

Supreme court rules children in England who suffer serious injuries at birth can claim for future lost earningsThe NHS will have to spend more money settling lawsuits involving negligence during childbirth after a supreme court ruling that lawyers said puts right a historic injustice".The court ruled on Wednesday that children in England who suffer catastrophic injuries while they are being born can claim damages for future earnings they would otherwise have had. Continue reading...

US ambassador accused of interference after labelling inquiry into suspected illegal circumcisions antisemitic'A diplomatic row is escalating between Belgium and the US, with Donald Trump's ambassador refusing to apologise for accusing his host country of antisemitism and reportedly threatening to bar a socialist politician from travelling to the US.Bill White, a staunch ally of the president like many US ambassadors, on Monday demanded Belgium drop a ridiculous" and antisemitic" investigation into three Jewish men suspected of performing circumcisions without medical qualifications. Continue reading...

CEO of UK's biggest defence company says delay is holding back investment as BAE posts record salesThe boss of Britain's biggest defence company has urged ministers to publish a long-delayed blueprint for military spending as soon as possible, as it posted record sales driven by a global increase in demand after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.Charles Woodburn, the chief executive of BAE Systems, said companies want clarity on how the money would be spent, adding that the defence investment plan (DIP) - due in late 2025 - was holding back investment. Continue reading...

Lack of regulation leading to procedures being carried out in sheds, hotel rooms and public toilets, committee findsBrazilian butt lifts should be banned in the UK, MPs have said, as a report found a lack of regulation had led to a wild west" of cosmetic procedures being carried out in garden sheds, hotel rooms and public toilets.The women and equalities committee (WEC) said high risk procedures such as non-surgical buttock augmentation should be outlawed immediately, and a licensing system for lower risk treatments was urgently needed. People with no training can carry out potentially harmful procedures, putting the public at risk, the group of MPs added. Continue reading...

Yvette Cooper may think so, and use of epibatidine may seem exotic, but experts say situation is more ambiguousIt was a very particular choice of weapon, but experts say it remains unclear whether the dart frog toxin used to kill the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was intended to convey a message.Known as epibatidine, the poison is produced by wild dart frogs native to parts of South America - meaning Navalny could not have accidentally taken the poison. Continue reading...

PM says we need to step up' but sources clarify that is unlikely to mean spending 3% of GDP before next election

Labor chose a day when attention was focused on the opposition to slip out a handful of announcements

The trees morph into sand dunes to protect homes on the seafront against rising sea levels and serve as habitat for rare speciesBritain's fight against climate breakdown may usually look like windfarms or solar energy. But on miles of Lancashire coast the frontline is rather more festive.Tens of thousands of discarded Christmas trees have been partially buried on beaches south of Blackpool as a frontier against rising sea levels. Continue reading...

Chris Minns announces change for minimum of two years as Anzac Day falls on weekends this year and next

Mette Frederiksen tells Munich Security Conference that Denmark is willing to work with the US, but there are, of course, things that you cannot compromise on'Rubio insists that the US do not seek to separate, but to revitalise an old friendship."He says we do not want allies to rationalise the broken status quo rather than reckon with what is necessary to fix it."We do not want our allies to be weak, because that makes us weaker.We want allies who can defend themselves, so that no adversary will ever be tempted to test our collective strength. This is why we do not want our allies to be shackled by guilt and shame. Continue reading...

Concern grows over Narges Mohammadi's health, family says, after reports of life-threatening mistreatment'Iranian authorities have without prior warning transferred Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to a prison in the north of the country as concern grows over her health, her family said on Saturday.Mohammadi, who won the peace prize in 2023 in recognition for more than two decades of campaigning, was arrested on 12 December in the eastern city of Mashhad after speaking out against Iran's clerical authorities at a funeral ceremony. Continue reading...

Family pay tribute to Demi Edmunds, from Caldicot, saying she loved her friends, and she was loved by all'A 17-year-old girl who died in a collision involving three cars in Wales was funny, kind and caring", her brother said.

Speaking in Munich, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also called for a clear date for his country to be allowed to join the EUUkraine wants security guarantees for a minimum of 20 years from the US before it can sign a peace deal with dignity, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of talks with Russia and the US scheduled for next week.Speaking in Munich on Saturday, he also called for a clear date for Ukraine to be allowed to join the EU. Some EU officials have put the date as early as 2027. Continue reading...

At his official installation, Archbishop Richard Moth recognised the Catholic church's failures but insists it's a time of opportunity'The new leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales has said the church has failed vulnerable people, urging more work to be done to address the struggle of refugees and learn from victims of abuse.At a ceremony where he was officially installed in his new role as archbishop of Westminster, Richard Moth said: Here, I am most aware of every occasion on which members of the church, or the church as a whole, have failed - most especially when the vulnerable have been abused. Continue reading...

Social media account for Palmerston, who retired in 2020, announces death of Diplocat extraordinaire'Palmerston, a rescue cat who became the chief mouser of the Foreign Office, has died in Bermuda.The cat, adopted from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, retired in 2020 after four years of service in Whitehall. Continue reading...

Co-author George Cottrell is close aide to party leader Nigel Farage and served several months in US prisonAs a choice for a book title, How to Launder Money certainly caught the eye. But then again, its co-author George Cottrell claims to know what he's talking about.A close aide to Nigel Farage, Cottrell served several months in a US prison after being convicted there in 2017 for wire fraud - a chapter in his life he referred to at his book launch party on Thursday night. Continue reading...

Intelligence agencies say deadly toxin in skin of Ecuador dart frogs found in Navalny's body and highly likely resulted in his death

Senior policing source says tsunami' of claims expected after US release of papers relating to disgraced financierBritish police have set up a new national group to deal with allegations that Jeffrey Epstein's trafficking of women had ties to Britain, as well as claims against his associates, such as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.At least three British police forces are dealing with allegations triggered by the revelations about Epstein and his associates in documents released in the US, with more claims of wrongdoing expected by police officials. Continue reading...

The UK prime minister says stronger security relies on greater cooperation and integration across the continent

Huda Ammori calls for proscription to be lifted after high court finds it to be very serious interference with protest rightsThe co-founder of Palestine Action has said the ban on the group massively backfired" and called for its proscription to be suspended after the high court found it to be unlawful.Three senior judges ruled on Friday that the ban was disproportionate and constituted very serious interference with the rights to protest and free speech. Continue reading...

Pelicot says she wants to look Dominique Pelicot straight in the eye' over potential abuse of daughter and case of estate agent who was raped and murdered in 1991Gisele Pelicot has said she needs to visit prison to look her abusive ex-husband straight in the eye" after his conviction for drugging her and inviting dozens of men to rape her in a case that shocked France and the rest of the world.Pelicot, 73, said she needed answers" from Dominique Pelicot over the potential abuse of their daughter and the case of an estate agent who was raped and murdered in 1991, which he is under investigation for. Continue reading...

Rachel Reeves's inheritance tax changes encourage more people to invest in previously unloved productThe government's inheritance tax raid" on pensions has helped drive sales of retirement annuities to newhighs.Industry data this week revealed they enjoyed a record-breaking" 2025, with sales growing by 4% to 7.4bn and the average amount invested in an annuity surpassing 80,000 for the first time. Continue reading...

As calls for the former prince to cooperate with investigation become deafening, this may be the reckoning Andrew cannot escapeGordon Brown is a man who gets into the detail.In office, and since then, he has applied his forensic mind to the matters that concern him. Lately, he has been focused on the Epstein files. Continue reading...

For centuries in Ireland lifting huge boulders was a way to test strength and bond communities, says Instagram sensation Indiana StonesDavid Keohan surveyed the County Waterford beach and spotted a familiar mound half-buried in sand: an oval-shaped limestone boulder. It weighed about 115kg.He wedged it loose with a crowbar, wiped it dry with a cloth, dusted his hands with chalk and paused to gaze at the Irish Sea, as if summoning strength from the waves pounding ashore. Continue reading...

The Canadian prime minister told residents of Tumbler Ridge that the country is with you'Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has told residents of Tumbler Ridge that the country is with you, and we will always be with you", during a candlelight vigil for the eight victims of a mass shooting that has shattered the small mining town.The prime minister, holding hands with opposition leader Pierre Poilievre while flanked by First Nations chiefs and local officials, paid tribute to the families enduring the loss of loved ones, after the shooting at a local school that has become one of the most deadly attacks in Canadian history. Continue reading...