World news | The Guardian

Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma was arrested in a Johannesburg suburb after an international manhuntA man has been charged with murdering his wife and two young daughters after being arrested in South Africa following an international manhunt.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had authorised three counts of murder against Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, 45, after he was arrested on Friday in Kensington, a suburb of Johannesburg. Continue reading...

Habitat destruction strongest driver of species loss, with legislation keeping 99% of listed species from going extinctThe Trump administration repealed a crucial part of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Friday, finalizing a new rule that will open habitats of imperiled wildlife to development, logging, mining and other uses.For the last 50 years, the landmark environmental law included a broader understanding of the word harm", which ensured that not just the plants and animals themselves were protected but also the places that are critical to their survival. The inclusion of habitat in the harm" definition was upheld by the supreme court in 1995, which ruled in support of old-growth forest protections relied on by endangered spotted owls. Continue reading...

Paperwork ends Democratic campaign laden with scandals, including most recently accusations of sexual assaultGraham Platner, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine, officially withdrew his candidacy on Friday afternoon, ending a campaign laden with scandals.Maine's secretary of state confirmed Platner had filed the paperwork to remove his name from the November ballot, two days after Platner publicly said he planned to exit the race. Continue reading...

Venture between two Pennsylvania senators stokes speculation about Fetterman's future in Democratic partyThe Democratic senator John Fetterman, who has faced mounting political challenges, is joining forces with the Republican senator Dave McCormick to launch a new joint fundraising committee, a move that is likely to fuel additional questions about Fetterman's increasingly rightward lurch.Pennsylvania's two US senators have established a shared fundraising committee that will collect donations benefiting both of their campaigns in an unusual bipartisan arrangement. Continue reading...

Crowd of more than 22,000 people - and the musician himself - filled Hyde Park with the largest gathering of people wearing bald caps'A tight plastic cap is not an attractive option for protective headwear in 30C (86F) heat. Yet 22,141 people opted for just that - along with a white shirt, black tie and aviator sunglasses - in Hyde Park, London, on Friday afternoon. It was both a homage to the rapper Pitbull, the night's headliner at the BST festival, and part of setting a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people wearing bald caps".I'm speechless. Who would have thought a first-generation Cuban would be record-breaking and record-making?" said the rapper, accepting the award in an all-black suit. Continue reading...

Rule from Mamdani administration bans companies from trapping customers into paying recurring charges and junk fees'New York City has adopted a new rule that bans companies from using deceptive subscriptions to trap customers into paying for gym memberships, streaming services and other recurring charges, the city's consumer protection office said.The new rule, which will start on 1 October, promises hefty fines and aggressive enforcement for violators. Companies that do not provide a simple way to cancel could pay $525 per user subscription, back fees and additional fines. Continue reading...

Advocacy group calls on acting attorney general to lead thorough, transparent federal investigation'The deaths in recent days of two Black men in Tennessee, one in the custody of police and the other at the hands of national guard troops, has prompted the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to demand the suspension of the so-called Memphis Safe Task Force, Donald Trump's anti-crime alliance of federal, state and local law enforcement.In a letter to the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, on Friday, the NAACP also demanded a thorough, transparent federal investigation" into the actions of the taskforce, which it said has surged federal and military officers into Memphis with insufficient training for civilian policing. Continue reading...

Governor Mike Kehoe urges people to follow guidelines with more heavy rain expected through the weekendMissouri has declared a state of emergency in response to severe storms and flash flooding affecting the state's central, south-central, and south-eastern regions.In a news release, Governor Mike Kehoe said that under the order, the Missouri state emergency operations plan has been activated, allowing state agencies to coordinate directly with local jurisdictions to expedite emergency assistance. Continue reading...

Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet believed to have had private reunion with kingKing Charles has enjoyed a private reunion with the grandchildren he has not seen for four years, it is understood.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, were hosted by Charles and Queen Camilla at the king's private residence, Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, on Friday afternoon. Continue reading...

Former Tory minister, who later joined Reform UK and became an unlikely celebrity, was found dead on ThursdayOn Wednesday, shortly after Nigel Farage announced he would stand down from his parliamentary seat in Clacton to trigger a byelection, Ann Widdecombe appeared by video link on Talk TV to praise his decision.This is a very decisive man," Widdecombe told the interviewer, speaking with the same forthright conviction that had defined her controversial political career and more eccentric parliamentary afterlife. Continue reading...

Sony Pictures and Paramount are said to also be among potential buyers for the film-focused social platformLetterboxd is reportedly in talks with potential buyers.The owners of the popular social platform for movies are discussing a sale with companies including Netflix, Sony Pictures and Paramount, according to the industry newsletter Puck. Continue reading...

Body of former MP, 78, found with serious injuries at her Dartmoor home on Thursday morningA man is being held on suspicion of the murder of the former MP Ann Widdecombe as political leaders across the spectrum express shock and horror at her alleged killing.Widdecombe's body was found with serious injuries" by the ambulance service at her home in Haytor, Devon, at 11.40am on Thursday, Devon and Cornwall police said. Continue reading...

Wildcard may have lost Wimbledon semi-final to the No 2 seed Alexander Zverev, but for fans he's an inspiration

Twenty-three people missing and four Britons thought to be among those who died trying to flee Almeria blaze

Duetting pair spend 16th week at No 1, a record for a British artist - but they'll need 19 weeks to beat Frankie Laine's all-time record from 1953Sam Fender and Olivia Dean have broken Wet Wet Wet's 32-year record for a British act's run at No 1 in the UK singles chart.Fender and Dean's duet Rein Me In has racked up its 16th week at No 1, beating Wet Wet Wet's Love is All Around, which spent 15 weeks at No 1 in the summer of 1994 after it appeared on the Four Weddings and a Funeral soundtrack. Unlike Wet Wet Wet's consecutive run, though, Fender and Dean's song has dropped in and out of the top spot since February. Continue reading...

Carmakers welcome ruling against suit claiming manufacturers including Nissan, Ford and Peugeot fitted devices to defeat emission testsCar manufacturers have welcomed a high court verdict that rejected most of the allegations in a dieselgate" claim brought on behalf of 1.6 million UK owners of polluting cars.In her judgment, Lady Justice Cockerill said that in the majority of instances, the court found that the relevant strategy did not constitute a prohibited defeat device" - software that enables the engine to behave differently in tests. Continue reading...

Range of potential measures announced by Ofcom include reducing risk of accounts being hijacked for scamsBig tech platforms will be required to ban scam advertisers in the UK under proposals to tackle online fraud.Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X and YouTube will have to block bad actors who post fraudulent ads and prevent them from creating new accounts in measures targeted at the biggest services. Continue reading...

President's dismemberment of Election Assistance Commission called a brazen attempt' to control elections

Thames Valley police reportedly wish to talk to Virginia Giuffre's brother and sister-in-law about her allegationsDetectives investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor are to travel to the US to speak with the family of his accuser Virginia Giuffre, it has been reported.Thames Valley police are believed to want to talk to Giuffre's brother and sister-in-law, Sky and Amanda Roberts, about their sister's allegations of sexual assault against the former Duke of York. The former prince has denied Giuffre's allegations. Giuffre, 41, took her own life in April last year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Records obtained by the Guardian show property owned by Catholic order used to house at least two brothers with horrific histories of child sexual abuse

The telco has long banked on its reputation as having the most stable, widest mobile telco coverage. That is now badly dented

Exclusive: Resignation comes after abuse survivor said she was devastated her father, who was jailed for 48 years, was interviewed for the Shadow of Doubt podcast

Innocent man lynched by mob in West Bengal as police killing of suspect further escalates tensionsProtests have engulfed the Indian state of West Bengal after the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, the subsequent lynching of an innocent man and the police killing of one of the accused.Outrage erupted on Sunday after the body of a missing girl was recovered from a pond in a town just outside the state capital, Kolkata. Continue reading...

Serbian man reportedly saved by wife hanging on to his legs after window shattered on journey from GreeceA passenger on a Ryanair flight was reportedly almost sucked out of a window after it shattered in mid-air during a journey from Greece.The man was said to have been sucked out of his seat into the plane's slipstream and hung headfirst out of the window after an engine failure resulted in parts smashing the acrylic window, according to local reports. Continue reading...

Trump administration urged to relist a species in very, very serious trouble' under Endangered Species ActClimate change is driving a gray whale catastrophic mortality event" in the Pacific Ocean as melting sea ice depletes food sources and the animals starve, environmental groups warn.Meanwhile, a range of other issues, like ship strikes, oil spills, microplastic pollution, algal blooms and Russian harvesting are also probably contributing to the die-off that has nearly halved the whales' estimated population. It fell from 20,000 in 2019 to fewer than 13,000 this year, and the deaths appear to be accelerating. Continue reading...

The One Nation leader is set to be interviewed by Tommy Robinson as part of a media strategy that seems designed to seek scandal - and reach millionsPauline Hanson's highly publicised meetings with controversial far-right figures in the UK will drive international eyeballs to her content and continue building the global brand - and that's by design, far-right experts say.The One Nation leader is visiting on a fact-finding mission" with her chief-of-staff, James Ashby, ticking off a number of the country's most divisive personalities. Continue reading...

Prominent Eurosceptic and social conservative described as force of nature' by Farage and formidable' by Badenoch

As UK swelters in another heatwave, 50-minute Chris Packham film outlines threats to security, economy and healthMPs are calling on the UK government to host a televised national climate emergency briefing in response to what has been described as the most insidious threat to our society".In November, in the first-of-its-kind, national emergency briefing", nine experts gave stark assessments in Westminster Hall of the scale of the changes needed to adapt the country to the rapidly changing climate and ecological landscape. Continue reading...

Disturbances linked to false claims spread online by bad actors tapping into fears within the community'Scottish police have warned people to factcheck online claims before going to protests, after crowds gathered outside two homes in Glasgow this week, in one case as a result of mistaken identity.Police Scotland said that several nights of disorder in Scotland's biggest city had clearly been orchestrated by individuals who are not from Glasgow". Continue reading...

Critics accuse president of fattening the wallets of his cronies' as working Americans face higher energy ratesThe Trump administration has directly spent $2.7bn of taxpayer money on its crusade against wind power while pouring $1.125bn into boosting coal, which critics say is pushing up Americans' bills.They say the moves are evidence that the president aims to serve fossil-fuel companies like those which donated record sums to his presidential campaign, rather than the working-class Americans to whom he pledged to lower energy bills and other costs. Continue reading...

Police say death of Layla Jeffery suspicious' after remains found in town of Donald in western Victoria

Crowd cheers as artwork depicting Norman conquest is unloaded at British Museum after cross-Channel voyageLike the man whose conquest of England almost a millennium ago it recounts, the Bayeux tapestry crossed the Channel in the dead of night, in as much secrecy as possible, landing on the country's south coast early the following day.The artefact's arrival on Friday marked the first time it has returned to England in nearly 1,000 years, and British Museum staff will begin to prepare it for exhibition during its year-long loan. Continue reading...

Eleven reported dead as flooding also brings danger of snakes, while buildings collapse in Mumbai amid heavy rainAs the first typhoon to make landfall in China for the 2026 season, Maysak has caused devastating damage in southern and central regions. The Guangxi region received intense downpours of up to 280mm in 12 hours, causing rivers to swell and dam walls to break. By Monday morning, flooding across the city of Nanning and surrounding areas had resulted in many people being stranded on rooftops.Flood waters pose additional threats in China because of the presence of wild and farmed snakes. On Thursday local media reported that hundreds of snakes, including cobras, had escaped from flooded breeding farms. Typhoon Maysak also aided the development of two destructive tornados that swept across central China later on Monday evening. This occurred when warm air from the south, brought up by Typhoon Maysak, collided with cold air in the north. Continue reading...

Conservationists fear more nests may have been destroyed during work on Jarrow houses by council-appointed contractorSwift chicks are feared to have been thrown into a skip during house renovations in South Tyneside, despite rules that should stop the destruction of nests.The Northern Swifts Group (NSG) was alerted to the destruction of at least one nest on Tuesday, in a street in Jarrow where houses were being renovated by South Tyneside council. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed

Unesco report shows children lost out to servicing debt in 113 countries, with 18 spending five times more on loansMost developing countries spent less on education than they did repaying debt last year, according to the UN, at the same time as global aid to education is predicted to decline by up to 30%.More was spent on servicing foreign debt than on education in 113 developing countries in 2025, according to research by the UN's culture and education agency, Unesco. In sub-Saharan Africa, countries spent 3.6 times more on debt than education. Continue reading...

Airline's board minded to recommend deal - after accepting rival one from Castlelake earlier this week

Edmund Rice Education Australia does not consent to being made a defendant, in case that has high court written all over it', Victorian judge hears

Gigs by Gallagher brothers, Coldplay, Lana Del Rey and Beyonce gives 11bn boost to the economyBig name artists including Oasis with their highly anticipated reunion tour, Coldplay and Beyonce helped to attract a record number of fans to travel to watch live music last year, helped by a surge in overseas visitors at UK gigs.A report from the industry body UK Music estimated that 24.7 million music tourists" attended concerts and festivals last year, up 4.8% on 2024, leading to an unprecedented 11.2bn of spending across the UK economy. Continue reading...

Native greater crested tern - a common coastal bird - tests positive for disease after being discovered at Robe on SA's Limestone Coast

National Audit Office says system needs to be upgraded before it is extended to ease strain on overcrowded prisonsThe rapid expansion of electronic tagging to reduce pressure on prisons will put public safety at risk without robust improvements to a system already under significant strain, the UK's public spending watchdog has warned.The number of people in England and Wales being electronically monitored has doubled to 28,700 over five years, and is estimated to rise to 22,000 tagged each year from 2027 under government plans to combat the prison capacity crisis by managing more offenders in the community. Continue reading...

Military intelligence officer admits witnessing killing of woman believed to have left explosive device outside oligarch's homeThe case of a suspected bomber accused of targeting a Ukrainian oligarch has taken another murky turn, after details of her subsequent murder were revealed in court with evidence suggesting the involvement of Kyiv's intelligence agencies.French police last week named Anastasia Berezovska as the person captured on CCTV leaving a rucksack outside a Monaco apartment block. It blew up, injuring the Ukrainian businessman Vadym Iermolaiev as he emerged from the building with his partner and their 13-year-old child. Continue reading...

Media figure and former senator died overnight at home, with radio station 3AW leading tributes

Albanese has attended the Indigenous cultural festival every year since 2019 and committed to be here and engaged with you' each yeah he remains in office

Gillham claimed Melbourne concert in 2024 cancelled in attempt to silence him over stance on Israel attacks on Gaza

Hollywood actor signs recording deal with Decca after decades of composing pieces inspired by his Welsh childhoodAnthony Hopkins says he has achieved his first desire" of signing a record deal, with his debut single being released on Friday.The 88-year-old Hollywood actor's first album, Life Is a Dream, will be released next month by Decca Classics . It is a collection of pieces he has composed over six decades.Life Is a Dream will be released on 21 August Continue reading...

Ministers consider bringing e-cigarette laws in line with tobacco as data shows 20% of teenagers have tried vapingVapes could be sold in plain packaging as part of a range of proposals to stop them being marketed to children.The UK-wide plans also include limiting device colours to white, black or grey, and keeping vapes out of sight in shops, according to the Department of Health and Social Care. Continue reading...

Presenter, 77, says for now life goes on as normal and I continue to broadcast' as he shares diagnosis received in 2025The longtime radio and TV broadcaster Paul Gambaccini has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.The 77-year-old presenter, who has been a regular on the BBC since the 1970s and has one of the most recognisable voices on British radio, shared a statement revealing the diagnosis he received in 2025. Continue reading...

Iran responds by targeting US-allied Kuwait and Qatar and accusing US of striking near its sole nuclear power plantThe US has launched new airstrikes against Iran, hours after Donald Trump threatened to escalate the conflict unless Iran stopped attacking ships in the strait of Hormuz.Iran, which was burying its former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday, responded by targeting US-allied Kuwait and Qatar and accused the US of striking near its sole nuclear power plant. Continue reading...