World news | The Guardian

Foreign ministry spokesman's statement follows Trump's threats to escalate bombing if Iran doesn't agree deal and IRGC suggestions the strait of Hormuz could reopenThe UK work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, has warned that job losses could happen" in Britain due to the economic impacts of the Iran war.He said the UK economy was going in the right direction" at the start of the year and unemployment figures for February showed a decline. He added that interest rates were expected to come down and the markets were pricing in cuts during the course of the year. Continue reading...

Mamata Banerjee says Narendra Modi's party forcefully captured' election that ended her party's 15 years in powerA political showdown is taking place in the Indian state of West Bengal as the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee - India's most powerful female politician - has dramatically refused to resign after she lost elections to the prime minister's party this week.On Monday, Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) won an overwhelming victory in the state elections in West Bengal, where Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress party (TMC) have been in power for 15 years. Continue reading...

Howard Lutnick has acknowledged he visited Epstein's island with his family in 2012 after earlier claiming he severed ties in 2005

New owner Modella Capital, which rebranded shops to TG Jones, blames weak consumer spendingDozens of former WH Smith stores are likely to close, putting thousands of jobs at risk under a radical restructuring plan by their new owner, which had rebranded the shops to TG Jones,The investment company Modella Capital, which bought WH Smith's chain of 480 high street stores for 76m last year, blamed weak consumer spending" as it set out the plan to landlords on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy has announced the strait of Hormuz could reopen following the end of threats from aggressors'Job vacancies in the UK bounced back in March but remained near a five-year low, and openings for graduates slumped more than a third.UK job vacancies showed signs of recovery in March, rising 3.74% month-on-month to 752,711 - the second monthly increase after an extended period of decline, according to the job matching platform Adzuna. Yet despite this tentative rebound, the overall picture remains tough for job seekers. Vacancies are still 13.60% lower than in March 2025, and the market remains near its weakest level since 2021.Like BP last week, these are unearned windfall profits driven by Trump's war with Iran.Equinor now wants to cash in even more by developing the Rosebank oil field, which would be a terrible deal for the UK. This government must put the needs of the British public - for affordable energy and a safe climate - ahead of this Norwegian oil giant's relentless pursuit of profit. Continue reading...

Profits jump to 122m at ticketing retailer but it expects flat or declining revenues over the coming year

National park closes areas near Old Faithful after attack by one or more bears, with incident under investigationTwo hikers were injured in a bear attack on Monday on a trail in Yellowstone national park, park officials said.The National Park Service said in a statement on Tuesday that the hikers sustained injuries on Monday by one or more bears" on the Mystic Falls trail near Old Faithful in Yellowstone national park. Officials did not specify which species of bear. Continue reading...

Leading newspaper La Nacion calls US's barring of board members indirect attack on press freedom'The US state department has cancelled tourist visas for more than half of the board members of Costa Rica's leading national newspaper, La Nacion, which has been a critical voice against the country's president, Rodrigo Chaves, an ally of Donald Trump.During Chaves's 2022 presidential campaign, La Nacion published several articles documenting allegations of sexual harassment against him that had forced him out of his job at the World Bank. The paper also reported on allegations of illegal campaign financing, which Chaves denied. Continue reading...

Green leader also apologised for misrepresenting his work with the Red Cross, and defended party policy on drugsLabour has criticised Zack Polanski for saying he was concerned about how the suspect in the Golders Green stabbings was treated when he was arrested by the police.Referring to what Polanski said about this in his Today interview this morning (see 9.33am), a Labour party spokesperson said:Our brave police ran towards a suspected terrorist and tackled him while he was still carrying a knife and before they could handcuff him.The fact that Zack Polanski is still sympathising with this individual is utterly astounding. For the Green party leader to be litigating the case for the defence against the police shows whose side he is truly on.The latest unemployment figures for February showed a fall, interest rates were expected to come down, the markets were pricing in a couple of cuts during the course of the year.The truth is, with the effect of the Iran war, we can't count on any of that at the moment. There is likely to be an effect on prices, which feeds through from energy costs, and there may well be labour market implications. Continue reading...

Biologists had guessed coyote paddled a shorter distance to former prison in the San Francisco Bay earlier this yearA lone coyote stunned biologists and others when earlier this year it paddled its way to the remote Alcatraz Island, a former federal prison in the San Francisco Bay surrounded by swift, choppy waters notorious for thwarting prisoners' escapes.At the time, biologists guessed the coyote swam from San Francisco, which is a little over 1 mile (1.6km) from the fortress. But it turns out the male coyote actually made an even longer swim from nearby Angel Island, 2 miles (3.2km) away. Continue reading...

Researchers say 481-metre wave in fjord was triggered by rockslide linked to climate crisisA mega tsunami in Alaska last year in a fjord visited by cruise ships is a stark warning of the risks of coastal rockslides and glacier retreat fueled by the climate crisis, a new study warns.Scientists recorded the world's second-tallest tsunami after it struck the Tracy Arm fjord in south-east Alaska last August after a massive rockslide around the toe of a glacier. The tsunami reached 481 metres (1,578ft) in height; by comparison the Eiffel Tower is 330 metres (1082ft). Continue reading...

Polls suggest Reform could win most seats in Senedd election but party is unlikely to be able to form government

Team of 100 extra officers is aimed at providing more consistent model of protection' for Jewish communities

Shabana Mahmood has announced plan to cut leave to remain to 30 months, to concern of UN's refugee agencyTwo Sudanese asylum seekers are challenging a key element of Labour's plans to strip refugees of basic rights, rejecting the home secretary's accusation that they are asylum shoppers".Shabana Mahmood has announced plans to halve refugees' leave to remain in the UK from five years to 30 months, while refugees will have to wait 20 years before being eligible for permanent stay in the UK. Previously, people could apply for permanent settlement after five years. Continue reading...

With most major European cities well-served by trains and buses, bringing US transit up to par would cost $4.6tnThe only train station in Houston, the US's fourth-largest city and one of the fastest-growing conurbations in the country, is a diminished, morose sight. Intercity trains arrive at this squat, shed-like Amtrak building, which cringes in the shadows of roaring highways, just three times a week.That such a meager train station could ostensibly serve a metropolitan area of about 7 million people is a stark symbol of how the sprawling, car-dominated US has fallen behind cities around the world where people can rely on extensive, high-quality public transport to get around. Continue reading...

Owner of Japan nightclub says This is a response to a year of insults directed at us - as a country - by the United States'A Mexico City nightclub has gone viral for charging Americans a nearly $300 cover charge, while citizens from any other country pay just $20 for access, and Mexicans and other Latin Americans pay only $14.The Instagram announcement from the nightclub Japan in the Roma Norte neighborhood has been liked over 26,000 times and received more than 200 comments, mostly supporting the policy as part of a broader revolt in the capital against what many see as a US takeover. Continue reading...

Green party leader also accuses rightwing media of politically motivated attacks as popularity grows

The third day of hearings of the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion heard further evidence from Jewish Australians

Janine Roebuck, from London, says she no longer considers herself deaf after double cochlear implants restored hearingAn opera singer who hid her deafness for more than 30 years has described life-changing" surgery that has the potential to become the norm for thousands of NHS patients.Janine Roebuck, 72, from London, had double cochlear implants fitted to restore her hearing, a method now being trialled nationwide to see whether it can transform the lives of thousands more people. Continue reading...

Home affairs minister Tony Burke says government continues to refuse to help the group of 13

Nigel Farage's party sees local elections as showcase for a sleeker approach borrowing from an unlikely sourceNigel Farage was midway through his walkabout of Waltham Abbey when a hunting horn loudly sounded on the Essex market town's pedestrianised high street. Oi oiii!" exclaimed the owner of Ouch Tattoos, Rob Chillingworth, putting down the instrument and reaching out a welcoming hand to the approaching Reform UK leader.For Farage, this was the latest stop in a midweek tour of half a dozen towns in Essex, where more than 1m county council votes are up for grabs. Barring breakthroughs in Wales and Scotland, going from having a single councillor here to taking power would be one of Reform's biggest achievements in Thursday's polls. Continue reading...

Tent where twins were born up to a 15-minute walk away from nearest public toilets or running water

Spain says MV Hondius will be received in Canary Islands and passengers and crew treated before repatriation

Scores of women have told how they were affected by placenta accreta spectrum for an awareness campaignWomen have had to undergo major emergency surgery, including a hysterectomy, when medical staff failed to detect they had a rare but potentially fatal complication of pregnancy.Scores of women have come forward to tell their stories of how they were affected by placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) since the launch in February of a campaign to raise awareness among NHS staff and mothers-to-be of the dangers it poses. Continue reading...

Objection after museum removes word Palestine' from list of countries of ancient Levant and Egypt and from some explanatory panelsThe Palestinian ambassador to the UK has called for Foreign Office intervention after the British Museum removed references to Palestine from its exhibits.The UK recognised the state of Palestine in September 2025, but the same year the museum removed the name Palestine" from a panel listing the present-day countries encompassed by the ancient Levant, and replaced it with Gaza and the West Bank. Continue reading...

Wastewater from nearly 40,000 people and businesses pumped straight into sea as island still has no treatment plantRaw sewage from nearly 40,000 people and businesses is being pumped straight into the sea because the British overseas territory of Gibraltar does not have, and has never had, a wastewater treatment plant.For decades, untreated sewage has poured into the Mediterranean from the southern tip of the peninsula at Europa Point, where the government of Gibraltar says there are high levels of natural dispersion". Continue reading...

Glyphosate is currently sprayed on cereal and pulse crops to dessicate them and make them easier to harvestA new trade deal with the EU could lead to restrictions on the use of the controversial weedkiller glyphosate on UK food crops.The full-spectrum herbicide, which kills almost every plant it touches, is often sprayed on wheat, oats and other cereal and pulse crops immediately before harvest to desiccate them and make them easier to handle. Continue reading...

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Without offering details or evidence, US Southern Command describes the people killed as narco-terrorists'The US military said on Tuesday it had struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing three people, in the latest such attack that rights groups label as extrajudicial killings" and Washington describes as targeting narco-terrorists".US Southern Command posted about the strike on social media Tuesday evening, alleging that the vessel struck on Tuesday was operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations" that it did not identify. Continue reading...

Party's incumbents had resisted Trump's bruising campaign to pressure them into redrawing congressional districtsA majority of Indiana Republican legislators whose opponents were backed by Donald Trump lost their primaries on Tuesday, giving the president wins in a deep-red state just months after lawmakers there rejected his redistricting plan.Of the seven Trump-endorsed challengers to state senate candidates, at least five won. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. Our full report is here: Trump puts Project Freedom' on hold, saying he hopes to finalise a deal with IranIran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, is travelling to Beijing later today for talks with his Chinese counterpart on bilateral relations and regional and international developments", his ministry said on its Telegram account.While Beijing condemned the initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran which started the war in late February, China has largely adopted a posture of neutrality ever since and has urged for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. Continue reading...

Police suspend extensive' six-day air and ground search in Nova Scotia, citing no new information'Teams in eastern Canada have called off an extensive" six-day air and ground search of a rugged park for a missing Australian hiker.The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said this week it had suspended operations after an effort involving dogs, 100 people, aircraft and ground crews yielded no new information" in the whereabouts of Denise Ann Willams. Continue reading...

Ohio's Senate seat is one Democrats have prioritized in the party's bid to retake control of the chamber

Conflict appears to have reached impasse, but leaders in Tehran and Washington seem to think victory is nearThe month-old ceasefire between Iran and the US appeared to be in new peril on Tuesday with a fresh barrage of Iranian missiles reported to have targeted the United Arab Emirates as US naval forces pressed ahead with efforts to reopen the strait of Hormuz.The Iranian strike on the UAE was the second in 48 hours, and came shortly after the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, insisted the shaky truce which has paused the war in the Middle East was intact, despite the new increase in violence. Continue reading...

US secretary of state says US is better off than other countries hit by disruption in oil suppliesMarco Rubio has argued the US is in a very fortunate" position as fuel prices continue to climb nationwide amid disruption sparked by the US-Israel war on Iran.With average US fuel prices now approaching $4.50 a gallon - their highest level in four years - the US secretary of state was asked on Tuesday how long Americans should accept them at such levels. Continue reading...

Serious side-effects from vaccines were rare, scientists found in studies funded by US taxpayer moneyThe US Food and Drug Administration has blocked the publication of several studies that found Covid-19 and shingles vaccines to be safe, according to a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Human Services.Agency scientists conducted the studies by analyzing millions of patient records and found that serious side-effects from the vaccines were rare, the spokesperson confirmed. The studies - funded by taxpayer money and costing several million dollars - included research examining the safety of Covid-19 vaccines in 2023 and 2024. Continue reading...

Green party leader also accused of incorrectly stating he was a full member of the National Council of HypnotherapyZack Polanski falsely claimed to be a spokesperson for the British Red Cross while campaigning for the Green party leadership, the charity has said.The claim was also mentioned on his personal website in 2020, where he said he was really proud of the work we do". Continue reading...

US president directs fresh criticism at pontiff days before secretary of state Marco Rubio's visit to Vatican

Pledge ahead of local elections dismissed as not a serious policy' and profoundly un-British'Coming just days before millions go to the polls, Zia Yusuf's announcement that a Reform government would prioritise' the citing of migrant detention centres in areas with Green MPs or councils was certainly eye-catching.That means areas like right here in Brighton," Reform's shadow home secretary said with barely concealed relish in a video in which he paced the beachfront at the constituency which elected Britain's first Green MP. Continue reading...

New immigration enforcement package could fund security of $400m East Wing modernization project'Senate Republicans have released a new immigration enforcement funding package that includes a proposed $1bn that could go to security measures related to the $400m ballroom that is part of Donald Trump's East Wing modernization project".Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who chairs the Senate judiciary committee, released the funding plan on Monday, as part of a wider bill the Republican party plans to pass along party lines to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies involved in the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts. Continue reading...

Fulton county is trying to fend off federal prosecutor's demand for information on 2020 election workersFulton county, Georgia, is trying to fend off a subpoena from a federal prosecutor in North Carolina seeking contact information for thousands of poll workers from the 2020 election.The subpoena, issued in April by Dan Bishop, the interim US attorney of North Carolina's middle district, demands the county provide rosters of election staff members who served in the November 2020 election, including their identification by name, position, residential and email address and personal telephone number. Continue reading...

Disclosure made at preliminary hearing for civil case in which four women accuse the influencer and his brother of rapeAndrew Tate sought written assurances from prosecutors that he would not be arrested if he returned to the UK for a civil case in which he is accused of rape, a court has heard.Lawyers for the influencer and self-described misogynist, who has been charged with 10 criminal offences and is under investigation by various forces, made the submission last year. Continue reading...

Agreements with Microsoft, Google DeepMind and xAI focus largely on recognizing cybersecurity, biosecurity and chemical weapons risksThe US government has struck deals with Google DeepMind, Microsoft and xAI to review early versions of their new AI models before they are released to the public.The Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), part of the US Department of Commerce, announced the agreements on Tuesday, saying the review process would be key to understanding the capabilities of new and powerful AI models as well as to protecting US national security. These collaborations will help the federal government scale (its) work in the public interest at a critical moment", the agency said in a press release. Continue reading...

Staff told to prosecute as quickly as they can, rather than waiting to gather all evidence, to tackle climate of fear' felt by Jewish communityProsecutors in England and Wales have been told to fast-track" hate crime prosecutions after a spate of antisemitic attacks that the prime minister on Tuesday called a crisis for all of us".Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, issued guidance to his staff on Tuesday telling them to bring forward prosecutions against any sort of hate crime as quickly as they could, rather than waiting until they had gathered all possible evidence. Continue reading...

Jonathan Pollard, who served 30 years for selling US military secrets, advocates forcible removal' of PalestiniansJonathan Pollard, a former US navy intelligence analyst jailed for 30 years for spying for Israel, has said he will stand for election to the Knesset this year on a platform of ethnic cleansing.Speaking to Channel 13 television, Pollard said: I personally prefer the forcible removal of all current residents of Gaza, and the annexation of Gaza and its repopulation by us." Continue reading...

Plan promotes deprescribing' as psychiatrists warn crisis stems from lack of access to care, not overuseThe federal health department will begin a series of steps intended to curb antidepressant use in the US, Robert F Kennedy Jr announced this week.Antidepressants, specifically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, have long been a target for Kennedy, the Trump administration's health secretary, who talked about the plans at an event on Monday hosted by the Make America Healthy Again Institute, an organization focused on advancing the Maha agenda. He has claimed without evidence that the drugs are linked to a rise in school shootings and has expressed concerns about weaning off the medications and withdrawal symptoms. Continue reading...

Tom Watson, who had role in attempted coup against Tony Blair in 2006, said move would go down extremely badly with votersLabour MPs have been urged to stop plotting to remove Keir Starmer by Tom Watson, who as a junior minister spearheaded the last attempted coup against a Labour prime minister, when Tony Blair faced a revolt in 2006.Watson's warning came as Steve Reed, the housing and communities secretary, and a key Starmer loyalist, said Labour would risk annihilation" if it decided to try to change leaders. Continue reading...

Russian pavilion to stay closed as outcry over Israel's inclusion also grows - but nesting seagull provides some light reliefThe 61st Venice Biennale vernissage began on Tuesday under grey clouds and rain showers, as political tension, parties and protest dominated proceedings at one of the art world's biggest events.Lubaina Himid, the British entrant, who has spent a career creating work that picks at her country's colonial past, took over the UK's pavilion with her large-scale paintings and sound collage that recalls a perfect British summer's day". Continue reading...

John Andrew Spillman was part of an external screening security detail for the PGA Championship, which Trump is attendingA US Secret Service officer has been placed on administrative leave after being arrested for allegedly exposing and fondling himself in a public area of a Miami hotel.Local sheriff's office deputies say they arrested John Andrew Spillman, 33, on Sunday after he was found naked while off duty on the sixth floor of the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel Miami airport & convention center, according to a sworn law enforcement statement reviewed by the Guardian. Continue reading...

Kyiv lambasts Moscow's request for ceasefire while carrying out missile and drone strikes every single day leading up to it'Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the Kremlin of utter cynicism" for seeking a truce so it can stage a military parade in Moscow as 23 people were killed in attacks on Ukraine.At least 12 people were killed on Tuesday in a strike on southern city of Zaporizhzhia, the regional governor said. Russia ended the life of 12 people," Ivan Fedorov posted on Telegram. Five people were killed in a Russian attack on the eastern city of Kramatorsk in Donetsk, which Zelenskyy said hit right in the city centre, targeting civilians". Continue reading...