World news | The Guardian

NT police commissioner says investigators believe the body to be that of missing girl. Follow today's news live

The Pitch Perfect star is being sued for defamation by Charlotte MacInnes, the lead actor of Wilson's directorial debut, The Deb

Pair apologise in court after being accused of defrauding buyers including some of New York's most prominent fine art auction housesA father and daughter in New Jersey have pleaded guilty to running a years-long counterfeiting scheme to trick art galleries and auction houses into buying forged paintings of works by prominent artists such as Andy Warhol, Banksy and Pablo Picasso.Federal prosecutors said Erwin Bankowski, 50, and Karolina Bankowska, 26, commissioned an artist in Poland to create at least 200 of the fakes and ultimately defrauded buyers of at least $2m. Continue reading...

Australian white supremacist who murdered 51 Muslims said poor mental health made him admit to crimesThe Australian white supremacist who murdered 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch in 2019 has been prevented from appealing against his guilty pleas, after one of New Zealand's highest courts said his bid was utterly devoid of merit".Brenton Tarrant, who is responsible for the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's history, asked the court of appeal in February to allow him to appeal against his guilty pleas, claiming harsh prison conditions had affected his mental health and compelled him to admit to the crimes. Continue reading...

Interim report contains 14 recommendations, after inquiry examined agencies' actions before the attack in which 15 people were killed

This live blog is now closed.

Claudio Neves Valente, who killed himself after deadly attack, began planning for violence in 2022, authorities sayThe gunman behind a deadly shooting at Brown University in December appeared to have been aggrieved by personal failures and sought retribution against those he deemed responsible, federal authorities said on Wednesday.More than four months after Claudio Manuel Neves Valente opened fire on the Ivy League campus, killing two students and injuring nine others, officials with the FBI's Boston division announced they had concluded a significant portion of their investigation into the shooter. Continue reading...

Treasurer tells Commonwealth Bank podcast that he aims to recognise the decisions that people have taken in the past'

Painting by self-taught artist was chosen by Art Gallery of NSW staff who hang finalists for exhibition, ahead of main prize announcement on 8 May

Indictment accuses high-level officials in Sinaloa of offences such as drug trafficking, weapons offences and kidnappingThe US justice department has charged the governor of Sinaloa and nine other current and former officials for alleged ties to the Sinaloa cartel, accusing them of aiding in the massive importation of illicit narcotics into the United States .Some officials were members of Mexico's progressive ruling party, Morena, posing a political conundrum for Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum as she seeks to offset mounting pressures from the Trump administration. Continue reading...

Human rights commissioner says alleged jailing highlights the growing risks of transnational repression' in Australia

US president's threat comes after Germany's Friedrich Merz suggests Trump team is being outplayed in its negotiations with IranThe US may reduce its number of troops deployed in Germany, Donald Trump has announced, days after the country's chancellor said America was being humiliated" by Iran.In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president said his administration was studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time". Continue reading...

Actor and presenter broke his hip, right leg, pelvis and ribs when he gave a talk at CogX festival at O2 Arena in 2023Stephen Fry is suing two companies that organised a tech conference where he was injured in 2023 after falling off the stage, high court documents show.The actor and presenter broke his hip and had multiple breaks in his right leg, pelvis and ribs when he attended the CogX festival at the O2 Arena, where he delivered a talk on artificial intelligence on 14 September 2023. Continue reading...

HAYI has taken responsibility for a string of incidents targeting Jewish sites, but investigators say the latest claim may be opportunistic rather than state-backed

People with meniscus tears who underwent surgery had poorer knee function and worse osteoarthritis after 10 years than those who did notA common knee surgery for cartilage damage does not benefit patients and may lead to worse outcomes, a 10-year trial suggests.The study tracked outcomes for patients treated for a meniscus tear, who were given a partial meniscectomy, one of the most common orthopaedic surgeries. Their trajectories were compared with patients who had randomly been assigned to receive sham surgery", in which no procedure was carried out. Continue reading...

Decision gives mapmakers in Republican states power to crack districts into pieces and dilute votes into oblivionThe Voting Rights Act was a political peace compact written in John Lewis's blood.The Callais v Landry decision by the US supreme court, which set aside much of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, whitewashed that blood from history, along with that of thousands of other Americans who fought segregationist white supremacists at lunch counters and bus stations and courthouses for political equality. Continue reading...

Chair planned to exit after inquiry into building renovations but will now oversee remaining steps in the process'

As defense secretary testifies before House, Trump posts AI-generated image of himself with weapon and caption: NO MORE MR. NICE GUY'

Russian president welcomed decision to extend Iran ceasefire in what US president said was a very good conversation'Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump discussed the war in Iran and floated a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine in a phone call on Wednesday.In the call, which lasted more than 90 minutes, the Russian president said Moscow viewed the prospect of a US ground operation in Iran as dangerous, while welcoming Trump's decision to extend a ceasefire in the region, according to Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy adviser. Continue reading...

Sophie Corcoran challenging 10,000 Interns Foundation, which works with people from under-represented groupsAn influencer is taking a charity that organises internships for black and minority ethnic people to court because they do not organise schemes for white people.Sophie Corcoran, a GB News commentator, applied to a programme the 10,000 Interns Foundation was running with the Bar Council. She said she was shocked to discover that the scheme is restricted to applicants of a particular racial background". Continue reading...

Nine justices were hearing Trump administration that it has authority to strip immigrants' temporary protected statusThe US supreme court heard oral arguments on Wednesday over whether the Trump administration can strip the temporary protected status (TPS) of hundreds of thousands of immigrant Haitians and Syrians, under a program that has shielded them from deportation owing to safety concerns in their countries of origin.During the arguments, justices in the conservative-leaning majority appeared sympathetic to the Trump administration's attempts to strip humanitarian protections for the Syrians and Haitians in this case. Continue reading...

PM chairs Cobra meeting after condemning appalling antisemitic attack'; man with history of serious violence and mental health issues' arrestedSpecialist officers from Counter Terrorism Policing are leading the investigation and working with police to establish the full circumstances and any links to terrorism, the Met said in a statement.Head of counter terrorism policing Laurence Taylor said:Whilst I must stress this investigation is at an early stage, we are working quickly to understand exactly what happened.Thank you to those who were in the area at the time and supported the response to this terrible incident.Our thoughts are with the victims of this horrific attack. We are grateful to officers who swiftly Tasered and arrested the suspect before he could cause further harm.We are aware of the significant distress and concern this incident is likely to cause in the face of a number of incidents in the local area. A suspect is in custody, and investigators are considering all possible motives.An investigation is under way and a man has been arrested following a stabbing incident in Barnet.At 11:16hrs on Wednesday 29 April, officers responded following reports of people stabbed in Highfield Avenue. Continue reading...

Former FBI director indicted over social media post from last year of seashells arranged into 86 47'

Housing secretary and housing minister latest to criticise idea, which has also been ruled out by No 10Senior ministers have poured scorn on the idea of freezing private sector rents for a year, less than 48 hours after the Guardian revealed Rachel Reeves was considering it.Steve Reed, the housing secretary, and Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, became the latest government figures to criticise the idea, which has since been ruled out by No 10. Continue reading...

Blockade threat in vital strait and Trump's stance lift crude, pushing pump prices to highest level since 2022

England's higher education regulator must rebuild trust with troubled sector after series of blunders under previous leadershipIn its brief and unhappy life, England's Office for Students has been offered a series of challenges it has largely failed to meet. This week the latest and most embarrassing of those was unveiled when the high court decisively rejected the higher education watchdog's attempts to fine the University of Sussex more than 500,000 for regulatory failings relating to Kathleen Stock's time as an academic at Sussex.Stock quit Sussex in 2021, saying she felt ostracised and targeted for her views on gender identity and transgender rights. Here was the highest profile test case that the OfS had seen: a subject of enormous controversy and sensitivity, involving key issues of academic freedom and freedom of speech. But as we now know from Mrs Justice Lieven's ruling, in its rush to intervene, the OfS managed to tie together its own shoelaces. Continue reading...

Assailant reportedly hunting for anyone visibly Jewish' in suspected antisemitic attack in north LondonPolice are treating the stabbing of two men in Golders Green, north London as terrorism, with the suspect described as hunting for anyone visibly Jewish" to attack.The stabbings happened just after 11am on Wednesday with the violence coming after a series of arson attacks on Jewish targets in London since March, including two previous incidents in Golders Green. Continue reading...

Justices in unanimous decision revive federal suit brought by anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers' in the state

Angel Mateos Gonzalez due to play for CD Colunga, making him oldest player to take part in official matchAt an age when many veteran footballers might prefer to be regaling grandchildren, friends and assorted barflies with slightly embroidered tales of their former sporting prowess, 70-year-old Angel Mateos Gonzalez is heading back on to the pitch.The Spaniard, who retired from competitive football 27 years ago, is due to play in goal for the Asturian team CD Colunga in a fifth-tier match this Sunday. If all goes to plan and he pulls on his gloves, he will reportedly become the oldest player to take part in an official match in Spain. Continue reading...

Farage was given 5m by the Thai-based billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 general election

Justices rule in landmark decision Louisiana must redraw congressional map, largely killing major civil rights law

Fishing companies can also access subsidies in loosening of state aid rules to cover fuel and fertiliser price rises

About 500 officers deployed as part of operation at headquarters of Ahmadi Religion of Peace and LightPolice have raided the headquarters of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light following an investigation into allegations of serious sexual offences, modern slavery and forced marriage.About 500 officers drawn from across the north-west of England were on the ground on Wednesday morning. Police confirmed nine people had been arrested in relation to the investigation and were being held in custody. Continue reading...

The fuel crisis is seeing more voters keen to shift to renewable energy rather than stick with fossil fuels

Bank says it has withdrawn proceedings against former Telegraph owners Aidan and Howard Barclay at high courtThe former owners of the Telegraph have avoided bankruptcy after reaching an 11th-hour agreement with HSBC over more than 140m in overdue debts.At a high court hearing on Tuesday, a lawyer for Europe's biggest bank said it was seeking to dismiss the petitions against Aidan and Howard Barclay, whose family lost control of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph in 2023 over 1.16bn of unpaid debts owed to Lloyds Bank. Continue reading...

Ursula von der Leyen later due to meet new Hungarian leader who is seeking to unlock EU funds in return for reformsAFP is reporting that so far, officials in Brussels are hopeful that Peter Magyar - who once served under Viktor Orban, before turning on his former boss - will genuinely launch a new chapter in ties.But wary of celebrating too soon, they insist they need to see concrete moves and not just kind words.A huge mandate, a strong mandate, a great responsibility!We know our task: we will bring home the EU funds that Hungarians are entitled to. More soon." Continue reading...

Government request follows contingency planning to stop planes being grounded if Iran war supply shocks continue

Four years after president's pledge, his would-be successors are divided on how to tackle rising guerrilla attacksThe landmark 2016 peace deal between the Colombian government and the largest insurgent army in Latin America succeeded in some ways: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) agreed to lay down their weapons, and the violence that had racked the country was substantially reduced.But the deal alone could not end the decades-long armed conflict for good. Subsequent administrations slow-walked the implementation of the settlement, which was rejected by Farc dissidents and other rebel factions. Continue reading...

New lawsuits allege employees urged company to notify authorities months before deadly Tumbler Ridge attackFamilies of seven victims of a mass shooting at a secondary school in British Columbia are suing OpenAI and the company's CEO for negligence after it failed to alert authorities to the shooter's troubling conversations with ChatGPT.The lawsuits, filed on Wednesday in a federal court in San Francisco, allege that the violent intentions of the shooter, identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, were well-known to OpenAI. Employees at the company flagged the shooter's account eight months before the attack and determined that it posed a credible and specific threat of gun violence against real people", according to the lawsuit. Continue reading...

Leader mentions for first time lengths to which troops go to avoid falling into enemy hands while fighting for RussiaKim Jong-un has praised North Korean soldiers who blew themselves up with grenades in order to avoid capture while fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia's western Kursk region, confirming the existence of the extreme battlefield policy.Mounting evidence, including from intelligence reports and testimonies of defectors, has indicated North Korean soldiers are explicitly told to resort to self-detonation or other forms of suicide to avoid falling into enemy hands. Continue reading...

Bank expects its base case for GDP growth to be 0.5% this year, lower than IMF's 0.8% prediction for Britain

The Pitch Perfect actor is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, the lead actor of Wilson's directorial debut, The DebHollywood star Rebel Wilson has rejected an absolutely outrageous" accusation that she dumped her phone to avoid handing over key communications in a defamation case.The Pitch Perfect star is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, the 27-year-old lead actor of the musical comedy The Deb. Continue reading...

Washington facing long economic war or risky military action to reopen strait of Hormuz - which may now be more valuable to Iran than a nuclear weaponDonald Trump is learning first-hand about the perils of mission creep.The US-Israel war in Iran has just passed its eighth week - twice as long as the president predicted it would take when US warplanes launched their joint attack with Israeli forces to decapitate the Iranian leadership and paralyse its military. The military attacks were successful. The predictions about the political cause-and-effect to follow were not. Continue reading...

Teacher at Marist College Ashgrove claims she suffered serious psychiatric injury' after the schoolyard incident, as school claims matter has been dealt with

Remarks by US president likely to cause embarrassment for aides of UK monarch, who usually remains neutral

Programme of events announced on anniversary of Bristol bus boycott aimed at inspiring new social manifesto for cityBristol has long been a city of activists prepared to work for change, from followers of John Wesley in the 18th century to the 21st-century citizens who toppled the statue of slave trader Edward Colston.On Wednesday, a new campaign was launched - on the anniversary of the start of the groundbreaking 1963 Bristol bus boycott - aimed at making the city the UK's capital of civil rights. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed

Soaring oil prices and the blockade are preventing food, fuel and medicine being delivered to millions of people in desperate need, say NGOsThe volatility of global oil prices caused by the US and Israel's war on Iran is taking a toll on the most vulnerable people, by slowing or blocking food and medical aid from reaching them.Now aid organisations are calling for a humanitarian corridor" to be opened through the strait of Hormuz amid rocketing transportation costs. Continue reading...

Coleen Lamarre, 63, charged with perverting the course of justice in relation to trial over alleged murders of Luke Davies and Jesse Baird

Albanese defends plan forcing Meta, Google and TikTok to make deals with Australian news publishers through a levyThe Trump administration has described Australia's moves to make big tech companies pay for news online as extortion" but Anthony Albanese defended the plan by saying it was about protecting and rewarding media outlets for the work they produce.Labor's plan to encourage Meta, Google and TikTok to make deals with Australian news publishers, or face a 2.25% levy, is likely to be supported by the Coalition and Greens in parliament. But a bigger problem may be the ire of Donald Trump, who has strongly opposed extra regulation being imposed on US-based tech companies. A major tech industry lobby group on Wednesday urged the White House to consider retaliatory trade measures. Continue reading...