World news | The Guardian

Australian blockchain entrepreneur urges followers to continue the journey' with him in a video recorded days after he was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud

Jake Sullivan says there will be more steps in American response to Jordan drone attack that killed three soldiers

More than 127 reportedly killed in bombings, including in Rafah where over 1 million people are sheltering

Esther Ghey says she does not blame Scarlett Jenkinson's mother and calls for children to be barred from social media appsBrianna Ghey's mother has said she would be open to meeting the mother of her daughter's killer to tell her she does not blame her for what her child has done".The 16-year-old transgender girl was stabbed to death in a Warrington park last year by two teenagers who watched torture videos on the dark web. Continue reading...

Arrest of pro-west politician Nikola Sandulovi, who dared to apologise over Kosovo crimes, exposes tensions still festering in the BalkansBed-bound in the gargantuan brick and marble villa that is his home, Nikola Sandulovi recounts the attack that has, he says, left him paralysed on his right side and unable to walk.It was 3 January at 3.20pm when three vehicles carrying agents from Serbia's BIA secret service screeched to a halt outside his home in Belgrade's plush Senjak area. Bundled into a black van - its tinted windows shielding what would happen next - the masked men soon told him why they had come: the former entrepreneur and one-time opposition politician had dared to apologise for crimes committed by Serbs when inter-ethnic conflict convulsed Kosovo in the late 1990s after the violent break-up of Yugoslavia. Continue reading...

Exclusive: use of controversial church's repetitive drills led to patients becoming shattered' or paranoid, witnesses say Read more: My mind had been shattered into a million pieces': inside the Scientology-linked rehab centreAn unregulated rehab centre linked to the Church of Scientology put mentally ill people through intense psychological drills that allegedly left them traumatised" and in trance-like" states, an investigation by the Observer can reveal.Former patients and staff at Narconon UK say vulnerable people seeking help for addiction were expected to complete mental exercises, similar to methods used in Scientology's controversial auditing" process, at a secluded compound in rural Sussex. Continue reading...

Police arrest 15-year-old boy over death of man, 58, following incident in ElginA bus driver has died after being attacked at a station in Elgin, in northern Scotland. The man, 58, died at a nearby hospital on Friday night.Police Scotland said a 15-year-old boy had been arrested. Continue reading...

Michelle O'Neill has taken the top job but Irish unity is unlikely to be within touching distance'The elevation of Michelle O'Neill as Northern Ireland's first minister is a historic moment that breathes new life into the republican slogan tiocfaidh ar la" - our day will come".The Sinn Fein deputy leader, a working-class republican, has taken charge of a state that was designed in 1921 to enshrine a unionist majority in perpetuity, and that the IRA vowed to destroy. Continue reading...

Exclusive: then Cabinet Office minister had phone call with Unispace, which weeks later got the first of 680m worth of dealsMichael Gove was lobbied by the firm that became the single biggest recipient of PPE contracts through the VIP lane in 2020 in the weeks before it was awarded the first of a series of deals worth 680m, new emails reveal.Emails released by the government show Gove, then a Cabinet Office minister, had a phone call with a founder of Unispace, an office interior design firm, on 24 March 2020 - the day after the first national lockdown was announced. Continue reading...

Met had previously refused to allow expected 300,000 demonstrators to hold rally on Whitehall on Saturday

Theatrical adaptation of the sitcom, opening at the Apollo theatre in May, will combine three episodes including The GermansTorquay's hapless hotelier Basil Fawlty is to make his West End debut, almost 50 years after his first appearance on television.John Cleese has adapted and combined three Fawlty Towers episodes for a new two-hour play which will open at the Apollo theatre in London in May. It brings together the plots of The Hotel Inspector, The Germans and Communication Problems from the 1970s sitcom. Continue reading...

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Boys aged 15 and 16 charged with murders of Mason Rist and Max Dixon, while two men charged with assisting an offenderFour more people have been charged in connection with the murders of teenagers Mason Rist and Max Dixon in Bristol on Saturday, Avon and Somerset police said.Mason, 15, and Max, 16, were stabbed in Knowle West, a neighbourhood in the south of the city, on Saturday night. Continue reading...

Essen's Folkwang University took issue with the American artist's support of a letter against apartheid' by Palestinian artistsThe artist, musician and film director Laurie Anderson has withdrawn from a guest professorship at a university in Germany after officials took issue with her support for a 2021 statement by Palestinian artists titled Letter Against Apartheid.The decision, announced days before Anderson is due to receive a lifetime achievement award at this year's Grammys, adds to the wave of cultural events that have been scrapped in Germany after artists expressed views deemed by officials to be anti-Israel. Continue reading...

After years of punching above his weight on the international stage, Hungary's far-right leader may be seeing the limits of his influenceViktor Orban is one of Europe's most experienced politicians - but he may be beginning to overplay his hand.For years, the far-right populist Hungarian leader - prime minister from 1998 to 2002 and again since 2010 - has sought to punch above his weight in international politics. He has nurtured relationships with autocrats across the globe, funded projects abroad, and repeatedly used Budapest's power to veto significant EU decisions as a bargaining chip. Continue reading...

Alex Henry says he was jailed for associating with bad company' and, like many others, is hoping for reform to the lawAlex Henry was out shopping in west London when he ran to help friends who had got into a fight with four strangers. In the 47-second scuffle that ensued, Henry threw a punch and threw a mobile phone at the men and ran off. But one of Henry's friends had a knife concealed in a carrier bag, which he used to kill one man and wound another.Cameron Ferguson confessed to the stabbing but more than a decade later Henry is one of three men in prison for the 2013 murder of Taqui Khezihi. Continue reading...

German bank becomes latest global lender to target staff in post-pandemic cost reductionsDeutsche Bank is to cut 3,500 jobs, making it the latest global lender to target employees as part of post-pandemic cost reductions, amid a drop in profits.The German bank said that while it had made progress on a 2.5bn (2.1bn) cost-cutting programme that it first announced in 2022, it still needed to save 1.6bn of that total, meaning thousands of staff had to go. Continue reading...

Research suggests risk of a mental health condition is up to five times higher than for cisgender peopleTransgender people in England are much more likely to have a long-term mental health condition, the first study of its kind shows, with some facing a risk five times higher than cisgender people.Research previously suggested a higher risk of conditions such as depression and anxiety among transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse people. However, this was based on small studies that cannot be generalised to the full population. Continue reading...

Thieves haul off taxidermy animal from resort hotel in northern Alberta that had previously lost two stuffed raccoonsAs temperatures in western Canada recently plunged to -30C (-22F), most residents retreated indoors to wait out the blistering cold snap. But one group of thieves saw opportunity.On one of the coldest nights of the winter, they gained access to a hotel north of Edmonton, where security patrols had been cancelled because of the weather. Continue reading...

The actor, dancer and singer starred in musicals including West Side Story and ChicagoChita Rivera, one of Broadway's most illustrious stars, has died at the age of 91. A consummate triple-threat" entertainer, she was celebrated for her singing, acting and dancing in classic musicals including West Side Story and Chicago. She won Tony awards for best actress in a musical for Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Rink and was given a lifetime Tony award in 2018.A statement was made on Tuesday by her friend and publicist, Merle Frimark, who said: It is with great sadness that Lisa Mordente, the daughter of Chita Rivera, announces the death of her beloved mother who died peacefully in New York after a brief illness. Continue reading...

Denial comes after Palestinian Red Crescent Society says hospital in Khan Younis is under attack; White House declines to give further details of responseThe Wafa Palestinian news agency reports that dozens of Palestinian civilians" have been killed today by Israeli airstrikes, including intense and fierce airstrikes at the city of Rafah", which is in the south of the Gaza Strip and is one of the areas Israel's military has repeatedly told Palestinians to flee to for safety.Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Rafah for Al Jazeera, said the strike in Rafah caused a great deal of panic and concern as people believe the military operation is expanding step by step". He said a house was destroyed and a number of people were reported dead, as the Israeli military continues bombing, killing and maiming Palestinians across Gaza". Continue reading...

Amazon-MGM will release I Am: Celine Dion, a film that spans a year as the singer deals with rare neurological disorderA new documentary about Celine Dion aims to educate about stiff person syndrome, the neurological disorder the singer has been diagnosed with.Amazon-MGM will release I Am: Celine Dion, a film that spans a year in the life of the globally successful singer as she deals with the condition that affects her spinal cord and brain. Continue reading...

Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing facing criticism after months of battlefield losses, with an estimated two-thirds of the country gripped by conflictThree years after seizing power, Myanmar's junta appears to be struggling to assert control, with humiliating losses in recent months and growing criticism of its leader, Min Aung Hlaing, by pro-military figures.Images shared across social media show hauls of weapons seized from overrun military outposts in the north, exhausted soldiers surrendering en masse and even a military jet plunging from the sky after it was shot down. In one unprecedented image, brigadier general commanders are pictured raising a glass - apparently with their former enemies - after they were forced to concede defeat in the key town of Laukkai in northern Shan state, along with almost 2,400 men. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Business secretary who has told party rebels to stop stirring' and back PM is in group along with Michael GoveKemi Badenoch is a member of a Conservative WhatsApp group called Evil Plotters" despite telling party rebels to stop messing around" and get behind Rishi Sunak, the Guardian can reveal.The business secretary, who consistently comes out as the favourite cabinet minister in polls of Tory members, has criticised party colleagues for stirring" up suggestions that she could replace the prime minister. Continue reading...

Moussa Faki welcomes Giorgia Meloni's plan to strengthen relations but says we are not beggars'The chair of the African Union Commission has said we are not beggars" as the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, outlined a plan aimed at helping African countries to prosper in return for curbing illegal immigration.Speaking at the much anticipated Italy-Africa summit in Rome, Moussa Faki welcomed Italy's overtures for a mutually beneficial strengthening of relations with the African continent, but said: We cannot be satisfied with mere promises that can't be kept." Continue reading...

Gove said he was inclined to believe the then Scottish first minister was not acting maliciously

The group that claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on a US military base in Jordan is a loose coalition of Iranian-backed militias

European Commission president says this is moment of intense cooperation' at Italy-Africa summit as Meloni announces plansMoussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, said at the Italy-Africa summit today that partnership is based on liberty and consensus, with no side imposing anything.Africa engages in partnership based on mutual advantages, he added. Continue reading...

PropTrack report finds number of December listings 30.2% below past decade's monthly average as housing advocates say government policies are failing

The announcement of a business case budget is the latest development in the Albanese government's slow moving high speed rail projectThe Albanese government will spend $80m developing a business case for the Sydney-to-Newcastle stretch of its east coast high speed rail line, as the decades-long project inches further forward.The transport minister, Catherine King, said the allocation of $78.8m was part of Labor's $500m election commitment to the early stages of high speed rail, with the initial Sydney-Newcastle leg representing a crucial waypoint" on the project.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Labor's bid to skew package towards low- and middle-income earners given boost, as only 22% say it should go ahead unchanged

Assistant competition minister Andrew Leigh says it is often cheaper to fly from Darwin to Singapore than Sydney as Labor targets monopolies

Catherine, who is not expected to resume royal duties until after Easter, said to be making good progressThe Princess of Wales has left hospital and returned to her home in Windsor almost two weeks after abdominal surgery, Kensington Palace has said.She was admitted to the London Clinic - the same private hospital where King Charles has undergone treatment for an enlarged prostate - for a planned operation on 16 January. Continue reading...

Justin Tkachenko says they are in early stages of negotiation' with Beijing on its offer to assist with police and securityPapua New Guinea is in early talks with China on a potential security and policing deal, the country's foreign minister Justin Tkachenko has said, weeks after deadly riots in the country's capital.Amid jostling between Washington and Beijing for influence in the Pacific, the biggest Pacific Islands nation, Papua New Guinea (PNG), has previously said Australia and the United States are its security partners, while China is an important economic partner. Continue reading...

Legal action claims provider used market dominance to levy excessive prices for landlines

Police urge mother to come forward after baby found at Three Horse Shoes pub in Oulton on SundayA newborn baby girl has been found dead in the toilets of a pub in West Yorkshire, police have said. Officers have appealed for the baby's mother to contact them or seek medical help and stressed that her welfare and safety is a priority.If the mother does not want to talk to police then she should consider talking to health staff, a senior officer said on Monday. Continue reading...

Airline has been in a dispute with sites such as Lastminute and Opodo, which it describes as pirates'Ryanair has lowered the top end of its estimates for profits this year after a number of online travel agents abruptly removed flights from the Irish airline from their websites.The removal is part of a long-running spat between Ryanair and online travel agents such as Kiwi, Lastminute and Opodo, which the airline describes as pirates" because of alleged scamming" by charging customers higher fees. Continue reading...

Brussels' fury grows over Budapest's policy of blackmail' in continuing to hold up 50bn support package

Coroner in Matthew Wickes inquest raises concern over awareness and curiosity' of academic staff around mental healthA coroner has issued a warning to Southampton University over the awareness, understanding and curiosity" of academic staff around the mental health of students after a student killed himself on the day his exam results were due.Christopher Wilkinson, the senior area coroner for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton, said interruptions to academic work and to the rhythms of normal student life during and after the pandemic had had a significant impact on mental health.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...

Struggling fashion retailer looking at options including job cuts after reporting slide in sales

Health authorities issue urgent warning about the so-called MDMA tablets, which are orange or red with a red bull logo

Exclusive: testimonies describing malnourishment and disease to renew pressure on government to repatriate dozens of Britons, many of them childrenBritish mothers held in a prison camp in north-east Syria fear that they may die in detention after an alarming" deterioration in living conditions.Their testimony - revealed in a series of WhatsApp messages seen by the Guardian - will place fresh pressure on the UK government to repatriate them and their children. Continue reading...

Prosecutors allege Matthew James Markcrow had women tattooed as being his property

Low-income family with children in deficit of about $200 a week just trying to afford basics, Queensland Council of Social Service study finds

Helen Clark's call comes as Albanese government minister says halt in donations to refugee agency by more than 10 countries should be as short as possible'

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In today's newsletter: The head of the British army has hinted at a future citizen's army - so is Britain fighting fit? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.As Russia's war in Ukraine grinds on and the prospect of a Trump presidency becomes more likely, military leaders in the UK and across Europe have been warning that peacetime may be coming to an end.Councils | Angela Rayner has accused the Conservatives of cynically applying a sticking plaster" to council finances to get through the next election, as local authority leaders warn that more will go bust next year. The shadow communities secretary said Labour was under no illusions" about the financial mess it would inherit in local councils if it gained power.Policing | Officers in a police force that bungled the investigation into a suspected racist killing, allegedly went on holiday, dined and partied with suspects arrested over the attack, the Guardian has learned. The new claims come on the 25th anniversary of the death of Jay Abatan, 42, who was attacked outside a Brighton nightclub in January 1999.Labour | The former Conservative donor who chairs Iceland supermarket, Richard Walker, has publicly backed Keir Starmer to be the next prime minister, saying the Labour leader understands how the cost of living crisis has put an unbearable strain" on families.Middle East | Three US servicemen have been killed and more than 34 injured after a drone attack on a US service base on the border of Jordan and Syria. Joe Biden blamed Iranian backed militia mainly based in Iraq for the despicable" attack and vowed revenge.Vaping | Ministers are to ban disposable vapes as part of a UK-wide drive to curb youth vaping. The government is also seeking to make vaping less appealing to children by restricting sweet and fruity flavours, introducing plain packaging and making displays less visible in shops, under newly announced powers. Continue reading...

Police told not to pursue bike that 16-year-old Jai Wright was riding before he crashed into an unmarked car and died, inquest hears

Ban on recreational duck hunting recommended by Labor-led inquiry shot down after Jacinta Allan met with ministers

The group gained media and police attention but whatever success they claimed was not the success they planned on', extremism analysts believe