World news | The Guardian

PM's attendance at European Political Community meeting in Yerevan signals effort to build new ties after US ruptureCanada is to become the first non-European country to attend a meeting of the European Political Community when the prime minister, Mark Carney, joins Monday's summit of the 48-plus nation grouping in Yerevan, Armenia.Carney has said he is determined to build a new network of trade and diplomatic alliances after the loss of US markets under Donald Trump. His presence will also represent a show of western support for Armenia in its efforts to distance itself from Russia at a time when the US's approach to Moscow's opponents, such as Ukraine, is at best ambiguous. Canadian diplomats have rejected suggestions Ottawa might seek EU membership. Continue reading...

Billionaire's role as honorary chair and main source of funding has led to boycotts and criticism event has lost its cachetThe Met Gala in New York is the grandest and ritziest event in the fashion calendar, and an indicator of the growing ties between designers, celebrity and power. But with tech billionaires now joining the cohort, this year's party may be its most controversial yet.All eyes are on the guest list - and their outfits - to launch the fashion exhibition Costume Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. Beyonce, Venus Williams and Nicole Kidman are chairing the event with Vogue's Anna Wintour, and tickets cost about $100,000 (73,500). But in a plot twist worthy of the new Devil Wears Prada film, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos, the Met Gala's new honorary chairs, will be joining the 450 guests on the museum steps on Monday. Continue reading...

Israeli court extends detention of two men who were among 175 people intercepted near Crete on ThursdaySpain's foreign ministry has demanded the immediate release of a Spanish national it said was being held illegally" by Israel after the interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla, hours after an Israeli court moved to extend his detention by two days.Saif Abu Keshek, who lives in Barcelona, and Thiago Avila, from Brazil, appeared in court in Ashkelon on Sunday, days after Israeli forces intercepted at least 22 boats from a flotilla that was attempting to break Israel's maritime blockade of the devastated Palestinian territory to deliver aid. Continue reading...

US attorney says we can establish' pellet from defendant's gunshot was intertwined with fiber of vest' of federal agentThe US government has evidence that a federal agent was shot by the suspect during an alleged recent attempt to assassinate Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, the US attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said on Sunday.We now can establish that a pellet that came from the buckshot from the defendant's Mossberg pump-action shotgun was intertwined with the fiber of the vest of the Secret Service officer," Pirro said on CNN. Continue reading...

Airport seeks deal with BA owner, Virgin and billionaire local landowner, who has own expansion plan, over cost and service issuesHeathrow's new chair has opened talks with airlines and the billionaire local landowner Surinder Arora to defuse a row that threatens to further delay the 49bn plan to build a third runway at Europe's busiest airport.Philip Jansen, who was appointed at the start of the year, is understood to have held meetings with the airport's carriers and with Arora, who has been promoting his own 25bn expansion scheme, in the hope of finding the middle ground in a row over cost and service issues. Continue reading...

US announced withdrawal of 5,000 soldiers last week after German chancellor said US was being humiliated' by IranDonald Trump has threatened to withdraw more US troops from Germany after stunning European leaders and some senior members of his own party by last week announcing the withdrawal of 5,000 soldiers from Germany.The move left 30,000 US troops still in the country, according to CNN. But Trump threatened on Saturday that more cuts were coming. We are going to cut way down, and we're cutting a lot further than 5,000," he told reporters on Saturday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Varun Chandra's talks with Google, Meta, Apple and others raise fears of lobbying behind closed doors'An influential government adviser close to Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves held 16 undisclosed meetings with top US tech executives, the Guardian can reveal.The No 10 business aide Varun Chandra discussed regulatory changes, AI and Donald Trump's second administration with tech corporations during confidential meetings between October 2024 and October 2025. In one meeting he offered to help a top executive meet the prime minister directly. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Scale model found in Christo's studio leads to London realisation of internally lit Air Package on a CeilingChristo once wrapped up the Reichstag, suspended a curtain across a Colorado valley and covered up the Pont Neuf in Paris. Now, six years after the artist's death, a London gallery is to create a monumental installation he designed in 1968, using a detailed scale model and drawings that had been presumed lost until their chance discovery.Christo had imagined a vast, internally illuminated suspended form, like a cloud, but technical constraints meant the plan was never brought to fruition. Continue reading...

Two were found dead in the early hours of Sunday in boat carrying about 82 people, several of whom were injuredTwo female Sudanese asylum seekers have died trying to cross the Channel in the early hours of Sunday morning, off the coast of Boulogne.According to some reports, one was a teenager aged 16 and the other a woman in her 20s. They were found dead in the boat, which had run aground on the beach of Neufchatel-Hardelot, according to Christophe Marx, the secretary general of the Pas-de-Calais Prefecture. Continue reading...

Search and rescue operation launched after service members reported missing near south-western city of Tan TanTwo US service members are missing in south-western Morocco after taking part in annual multinational military exercises in the North African country, the United States Africa Command (Africom) said Sunday.The US, Morocco and other countries participating in the African Lion exercise have launched a search and rescue operation, Africom said. Continue reading...

House panel divided on whether Trump should pardon Maxwell so she can cooperate with Epstein investigationThe possibility of clemency for Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, however unlikely, has long outraged survivors and their advocates who view the former British socialite's lengthy jail sentence as giving them some justice in the long-running saga.Recent reporting that a pardon for Maxwell is now being discussed supportively in some circles, however, has highlighted how Epstein and Maxwell remain a political minefield for Republicans and Donald Trump - while presenting yet another blow to survivors' fight for transparency. Continue reading...

Green leader has apologised for retweeting post suggesting police used excessive force when arresting Golders Green suspectLabour's deputy leader has warned there will be no magic bullet" to solve Labour's problems - or major challenges facing the country - as its MPs grapple with how to navigate the fallout out from the local elections.Lucy Powell told the Guardian she understood there was huge anger and despondency" from Labour MPs in the aftermath of the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal, but said the prime minister would not make a similar mistake again. Continue reading...

US president to review Iranian proposal but signals scepticism amid deadlock and fears of renewed strikesDonald Trump has said he is reviewing the latest peace proposal from Tehran, but cast doubt on the prospect of a diplomatic breakthrough by claiming Iran had not yet paid a big enough price" for its past wrongs.Trump's remarks came amid growing speculation over the possibility of another round of US strikes against Iran aimed at forcing concessions, including a halt to the country's nuclear programme. Continue reading...

Green party leader says specifically outlawing controversial phrase would restrict freedom of speechZack Polanski has said he would discourage pro-Palestine protesters from using the chant globalise the intifada", but the Green party leader warned against specifically outlawing the phrase or banning a protest planned in London later this month.Speaking earlier in the weekend, Keir Starmer called for tougher action" against marchers using the chant after last week's attack on Jewish people in Golders Green, saying pro-Gaza marches risked having a cumulative effect of being intimidating. Continue reading...

Avon and Somerset police declare major incident and say cause is being treated as suspiciousTwo people have died after a suspicious" explosion at a house in Bristol.Avon and Somerset police have declared a major incident after the explosion, which happened at about 6.30am on Sunday. The families of those involved had been informed, police said. Continue reading...

Deputy leader plays down leadership talk and says party must focus on long-term challenges rather than personnelLabour's deputy leader has warned there will be no magic bullet" to solve Labour's problems - or major challenges facing the country - as its MPs grapple with how to navigate the fallout out from the local elections.Lucy Powell told the Guardian she understood there was huge anger and despondency" from Labour MPs in the aftermath of the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal, but said the prime minister would not make a similar mistake again. Continue reading...

Councillors in Leicestershire support move in efforts to reduce flooding as Reform faces divisions on nature policyA Reform UK council has backed the release of wild beavers into the countryside, despite the party's opposition to rewilding.The Reform-led Leicestershire county council has backed the release of the rodents as part of efforts to reduce flooding. Continue reading...

Database could be used to regulate opponents, from shutting off bank accounts' to healthcare, official warnsDonald Trump is attempting to select his own citizenry and control who can vote by gathering the personal details of all Americans, Arizona's top election official has warned.Adrian Fontes, Arizona's Democratic secretary of state, fears that the Trump administration's active efforts to forcibly extract voter files from 30 states including Fontes's own are part of a bigger plan to gather vital information on all US citizens into a centralised database. Trump is trying to amass a master list that will allow him to declare someone an enemy of the state," he said. Continue reading...

Carriers examining which flights can be cancelled with least disruption under plans to avoid summer travel chaosUK airlines will be able to cancel or consolidate flights this summer under new plans to conserve jet fuel as the war in the Middle East continues to disrupt supplies.The measures are being taken to avoid major disruption as Britons jet off on their summer holidays. Airlines are looking carefully at their timetables to see which flights can be cancelled in advance and cause the least delays. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Brainchild of Dominic Cummings, Aria is aimed at funding crazy' scientific projects to benefit the UKBritain's invention agency" has pledged 50m of UK taxpayer money to US tech companies and venture capital projects.Dreamed up by Dominic Cummings to fund crazy" ideas, the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) is meant to restore Britain's place as a scientific superpower". Continue reading...

Man, 32, due to appear in court on Monday over incident at Rosemeadow in early hours of Sunday morning

Antwerp port is stepping up scanning of goods amid warnings country risks becoming a narco-stateSara Van Cotthem takes a safety knife and precisely slices open the side of a cardboard box to unpack its contents, an aluminium stepladder made in China. Working under harsh fluorescent lights at the border inspection post at the port of Antwerp, Van Cotthem checks the paperwork and taps the ladder with a magnet to check if it really is aluminium and not another metal.It is an everyday operation for customs officers at Antwerp, one of Europe's main commercial gateways, which handled the equivalent of 13.6m 20ft-long (6 metres) containers last year. Everything is in order and the lorry, jam-packed with identical boxed ladders, can get on its way to Germany. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Resistance to equity, diversity and inclusion drives affects hiring chances of people with convictions, says charityMore than a third of HR decision-makers in the UK said they have faced pushback against equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives over the past year, according to new research.The new YouGov poll, carried out for the national employment charity Working Chance, surveyed 565 HR decision-makers and found that resistance towards EDI was on the rise. Continue reading...

Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson and Robert Jenrick, among others, have sung the praises of the JCB PotHole ProReform UK's leading figures have repeatedly promoted a new pothole-fixing machine by the construction company JCB, while the party received 200,000 from the British digger maker, the Guardian can reveal.Several Reform politicians including Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson, Robert Jenrick, Zia Yusuf and Richard Tice have sung the praises of the JCB PotHole Pro machine. Continue reading...

Warlpiri girl went missing on Saturday 25 April from a town camp and was found dead five days later

From legitimate scrutiny to lurid scare stories, the Green party's rise has brought a sudden spike in attentionIt is the lot of smaller parties that grow rapidly that they tend to endure something of a trial by the media in the UK. The attention from some of the newspapers and broadcasters to the Green party before this week's elections has occasionally borne an unlikely resemblance to the height of Clegg-mania in the spring of 2010, when the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, was rewarded for his positive polling with the unlikely Daily Mail headline Clegg in Nazi slur on Britain".All manner of colourful tales have emerged about Green policies and personnel as the party has risen up the national opinion polls, making them something of a target for news editors and reporters. That attention has ranged from legitimate questions over the views of members to more eccentric warnings of a dire future for everyone in Britain from exotic animals to members of the clergy. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Two intimate conversations' held with writers, directors and producers, with a third due in JuneNato is holding closed-door meetings with film and TV screenwriters, directors and producers across Europe and the US, the Guardian can reveal, prompting accusations the alliance is seeking to use the arts to generate propaganda" for the bloc.The alliance has held three meetings with film and TV professionals in Los Angeles, Brussels and Paris and is due to continue its series of intimate conservations" next month in London, meeting with screenwriter members of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), which represents professional writers in the UK. Continue reading...

David Farley says net overseas migration of 306,000 probably not' too much despite party policy to cap migrants at 130,000 per year

Investigators find explosives in car, which crashed into Multnomah Athletic Club shortly before 3am SaturdayA person was found dead after a vehicle plowed into a health club in downtown Portland, Oregon, early Saturday morning, police said. Investigators later found explosives inside the car.Portland police and the Portland fire and rescue department responded to the Multnomah Athletic Club shortly before 3am after the vehicle crashed through the front entrance and caught fire. Once the blaze was brought under control, a person was found dead inside the vehicle, police said in a statement. Continue reading...

Arena in Birmingham cleared after report of suspicious bag, with comedian pulled from stage mid-performanceA man has been charged over a bomb hoax after a live show by comedian Peter Kay in Birmingham was stopped when a potentially suspicious bag" was found around the venue.The Utilita Arena Birmingham was evacuated and a 19-year-old man was taken into custody, West Midlands police said on Friday evening. Continue reading...

Republicans blame Biden administration block on JetBlue deal; Democrats point to fuel price surge amid Iran war

Senator Roger Wicker and representative Mike Rogers say move risks undermining deterrence and sending wrong signal to Putin

Orange county resident Tommi Jo Mejer's son was illegally riding e-motorcycle when he ran into 81-year-old

German government calls redeployment of 5,000 troops anticipated' and reminder of Europe's need to invest in its own defence

Four people are in hospital, with one 25-year-old man facing life-threatening injuriesA drive-by shooting in Brixton which left four people in hospital on Saturday has been called an act of indiscriminate violence" by police.Shots were fired in the early hours on Coldharbour Lane in the south London area, leaving one 25-year-old man in hospital with life-threatening injuries. Continue reading...

PM says there are instances in which he would support bans but organisers say this would strike at root of free speech'Organisers of pro-Palestine marches have said Keir Starmer's threat to ban some demonstrations opposing Israel's actions in the Middle East will strike at the root of free assembly and free speech" in the UK.On Saturday morning, the prime minister told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there are instances" in which he would support stopping some pro-Palestine protests altogether. Continue reading...

Tory leader says she did not sign off on video attacking Labour's Troubles legacy proposalsKemi Badenoch has apologised after footage from Bloody Sunday was used in social media posts criticising a bill on legacy issues in Northern Ireland.The Conservative leader said on Saturday that she did not sign off on the use of a clip from the massacre, in which British soldiers opened fire on unarmed civil rights demonstrators in Derry, and that it was distributed by very young people". Continue reading...

Anthony Marsh appears to be in commanding position in significant boost to opposition leader Jess WilsonThe Liberals have claimed victory in a key Victorian byelection seen as a preview of what to expect when the rest of the state hits the polls in November.As counting continued in the Mornington peninsula seat of Nepean, the Liberal candidate, Anthony Marsh, appeared to be in a commanding position in a significant boost to opposition leader Jess Wilson. Continue reading...

From Virginia to New York, the bugs drain vines, cut yields and leave growers resorting to one simple fix: squash themAround grape harvest time about three years ago, an employee at Zephaniah Farm Vineyard in Leesburg, Virginia, noticed bugs, about 1in long with gray and black wings and a bright red underwing, atop some trees.While the insects were pretty, they were there for the grapevines and not welcome guests at the vineyard, which sits atop a farm that the Zephaniah family has run since 1949. Continue reading...

GB News owner's son, who wants Channel to be mined to stop migrants, is latest to have a go at transatlantic rightwing commentaryOn a Los Angeles stage in 2011 Winston Marshall, then the banjo player for the folk rock band Mumford & Sons, could scarcely believe what was happening. Not only was he playing at the Grammys, he was playing alongside Bob Dylan, legendary composer of social justice anthems and one of his heroes.About 15 years later, Marshall once again found himself stateside, this time on a very different stage. Appearing on Fox News in his new guise as a conservative YouTuber, Marshall advocated what he admitted was an outlandish idea" to stop small boat crossings in the Channel. Continue reading...

Actors Richard E Grant, Michael Sheen and Bella Ramsey among star-studded cast hoping for victory as BBC's hit spin-off series returns to screensConsidering the Traitors is a game of murderous treachery played out in a castle, the Shakespearean actors in the cast of the new celebrity spin-off series should be well set.Oscar-winner Richard E Grant, acclaimed actor Michael Sheen and The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey will be among the thespians vying for victory this year, all of who have the Bard on their CV. Continue reading...

Calf was transported by water-filled barge in operation deemed inadvisable' because of low chance of survivalRescuers have released a young humpback whale that became a national sensation after it was beached in shallow waters off the coast in Germany, although marine experts have said its chances of survival are low.The whale, variously nicknamed Timmy or Hope, was released into the North Sea off Denmark after being transported there in a water-filled barge by rescuers. Continue reading...

Figures for England and Wales prompt calls for more rigorous police investigations of casesOnly 3% of suicides related to domestic abuse in England and Wales in the past five years have resulted in any sort of prosecution, figures show.Between 2020 and 2025, 553 people took their own lives after suspected abuse in an intimate relationship, but only 17 posthumous charges were brought.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...

Government blocks RightsCon 2026 conference saying it did not align with national values'The world's largest conference on human rights and technology has been cancelled just days before it was due to start after the Zambian government told organisers it did not align with national values".Zambia's government had originally welcomed the RightsCon 2026 summit on human rights in the digital age", due to be held in the capital, Lusaka, on 5-8 May, but Thabo Kawana, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Information & Media, said last week that the conference would not go ahead to allow time to ensure the gathering aligns with Zambia's national values, policy priorities, and broader public interest considerations". Continue reading...

US president says we took over the cargo, took over the oil. It's a very profitable business'

The race to succeed Gavin Newsom has teetered wildly, and with Democrats in disarray, the Republican ex-Downing Street adviser is leading in the polls. Can he really pull it off?Few political aspirations have proved more futile over the past two decades than running as a Republican for statewide office in California. Yet Steve Hilton - transplanted Brit, erstwhile business entrepreneur, a former Downing Street adviser to David Cameron and a former Fox News host who says he is friends with half of Donald Trump's cabinet - is having a remarkably good time of it.With less than six weeks to go before a primary election that has proved to be both dramatic and wildly unpredictable, most polls put Hilton narrowly ahead of a fractured field of Democrats in the race to succeed Gavin Newsom as governor. It is an astonishing turn of events in a state where Democrats enjoy supermajorities in the state legislature and a two-to-one advantage over the Republicans in voter registration. Continue reading...

After correspondents' dinner shooting, administration has rushed to capitalize in pursuit of its political goalsLess than 72 hours after a man was arrested for trying to assassinate Donald Trump at the White House, the justice department rushed to court to make an extraordinary filing.The subject of the emergency was a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation seeking to halt the construction of a new White House ballroom. A federal judge ruled earlier this month that construction had to stop, though an appeals court later paused that ruling. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Contractor denies allegations including enforced disappearance' and will help locate unaccompanied minorsUS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has awarded a contract to a private security company that has faced accusations of torture" and enforced disappearance" to assist in tracking down undocumented immigrant children who arrived in the US alone, a contracting document shows.ICE has stepped up its work so much in pursuing these minors in the US that it has contracted out some of its mission to a third party to put boots on the ground" and locate immigrant children previously released from US government custody. Continue reading...

Spinosaurid fossil bought by Stuttgart institution in 1991 has been the subject of a long restitution campaignIt is a 113-million-year-old bone of contention.After Stuttgart's museum of natural history bought a fossilised dinosaur skull in 1991, researchers found it was the most complete spinosaurid skull known to date, belonging to a previously unknown genus of the huge meat-eating dinosaurs. Continue reading...

El Gamal family was released from detention and then re-arrested as US officials appeared to overstep judge's orderAn Egyptian mother and her children, previously jailed by immigration authorities, arrived back in their home in Colorado on Wednesday, after a days-long ordeal during which the Trump administration likely attempted to violate a federal judge's order.Their attorney, Eric Lee, claimed the US government's actions against the El Gamal family constituted kidnapping" after immigration officials re-arrested the family last week. Continue reading...