World news | The Guardian

More than 35,000 people from about 600 groups made their way from Hyde Park Corner to Whitehall via PiccadillyTens of thousands of people marched through central London for the annual LGBT+ Pride parade.Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, joined the crowd as they proceeded through the capital on Saturday afternoon. Continue reading...

El Obeid becomes key battleground in war between Sudan's armed forces and their paramilitary enemies, the RSFFatima has lost count of the number of drone attacks on the besieged city of El Obeid in Sudan, but said the attacks this past weekend were the most violent so far.The drones hit schools and fuel stations, killing more than 20 people, including students, she said. Over the past few months, seeing 40 or 45 drones is the norm. You can literally count them," said the aid volunteer, whose name has been changed for fear of retribution. Continue reading...

Guardian analysis of X feed shows how keen world's richest person was to air his views and interfere' in British politicsElon Musk posted about race and immigration in the UK on his social media network X twice as often as he did about SpaceX, which he also owns, in the run-up to the aerospace and AI company's initial public offering.A Guardian analysis of Musk's posts, replies and reposts between 31 May and 12 June has shown the extent to which the social media activity of the world's richest person, who lives primarily in the US, has focused on UK politics. Continue reading...

Officers found body of 34-year-old man in luxury rental home in Pattaya area, local media saysA 21-year-old British woman has been arrested in Thailand after allegedly fatally stabbing her boyfriend, according to local media reports.The Bangkok Post reported that on Thursday morning local time, officers found the body of a 34-year-old man, who operated a cannabis farm, in a luxury rental home in the Pattaya area, a beachside region two hours from Bangkok known for its large expat population and nightlife. Continue reading...

Voters disillusioned with Starmer's Labour were tempted by the Greens - but Polanski's party fears the affable, left-leaning Burnham could win them backThe shift was notable. A week after Keir Starmer said he would resign, YouGov polling showed Labour up two points and the Greens down by the same amount. Might an Andy Burnham premiership mean a rethink for Zack Polanski's party?The short answer is it is too early to know, particularly in an era of unprecedented political volatility and the seesawing poll numbers that come with it. This year alone, a five-point Labour lead over the Greens has become a similar margin in favour of the Greens, and then a seven-point advantage for Labour. Continue reading...

Heat health alerts in place in most regions of England from Sunday to Saturday with mercury also rising in WalesAnother heatwave is on the way across parts of the UK with peak temperatures of 34C forecast.Temperatures in the south of England could reach 28C on Saturday, according to the Met Office. Continue reading...

Deputy Labour leader says No 10 needs to become more meritocratic and has asked Burnham to commit to 50/50 gender split for ministers and staffAndy Burnham will change a boys club" culture of factional briefings at No 10 which silenced critics, according to the deputy leader of the Labour party.Lucy Powell said she had experienced unpleasant" briefings in Downing Street, which left people afraid to speak out or challenge Downing Street's position. Continue reading...

Up to 30 million people expected to attend delayed events for Ali Khamenei, killed at start of war with US and IsraelHuge crowds have gathered at the funeral of the former Iranian supreme leader after the gates of the sprawling Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran let in thousands of mourners who had been waiting through the night to enter the grounds.Iran is staging mass funeral processions for Ali Khamenei - whose 37-year reign was brought to an end in February by the first airstrike of the war launched by the US and Israel. By 5.30am, the Tehran streets surrounding the mosque were already filling up as Iranians, some travelling for hours and many carrying flags or posters of Khamenei, made their way to an event designed to emphasise the country's sense of loss at the killing of the supreme leader and desire for revenge. Emotions filled the air as the crowds chanted Death to America and Israel. Continue reading...

Boy who was allegedly thrown into the area at a Cambridgeshire zoo has undergone five surgeriesA three-year-old boy left seriously injured after being allegedly thrown into a crocodile enclosure has undergone five surgeries and faces a long rehabilitation journey".His family, who provided the update, also thanked donors who had raised more than 25,000. His parents said they had been living at the hospital" since the incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst farm and zoo, in Cambridgeshire, on 18 June. Continue reading...

Former worker at Metropolitan on Park Lane in London says he had to share tips with managers and other staffA Mayfair casino is facing legal action from a former waiter who says he was not given a fair share of tips.The former worker at the Metropolitan Mayfair - part of the Metropolitan Casinos group owned by the US investment firm Silver Point Capital, which operates seven casinos in the UK and four in Egypt - has filed a complaint with the employment tribunal in London over his share of cash tips given directly to him, which he says he was forced to share with managers and other staff. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Analysis finds lower reading fluency than children from other ethnic backgrounds and richer peersA third of disadvantaged white pupils in England leave their primary school unable to read well enough to access the secondary curriculum, leading to disengagement and school absence, according to new research.The findings were published days after an independent inquiry into white working-class educational outcomes concluded the current education system was not set up to serve white working-class children and families". Continue reading...

Guardian reports after the disaster told of 5,000 deaths, much of the capital being razed, and doubts about Mexico hosting the finalsMexico last hosted the World Cup in 1986, but the competition was almost cancelled several months before the start when an earthquake struck the capital, Mexico City, leaving at least 5,000 people dead, 30,000 homeless and much of the city flattened, in one of the worst earthquakes to hit the country.To this day, the death toll remains disputed, with some estimates putting it as high as 40,000. Continue reading...

Prime minister holds no personal animosity' toward likely successor and stresses he has a platform to build onKeir Starmer has said Labour should go on to win the next election" under his likely successor, Andy Burnham, based on what the prime minister had already achieved.In his first interview since he announced he would stand down, Starmer also said he held no personal animosity" toward Burnham, who is expected to succeed him. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Anger at union's decision to put 200 of its 600 staff in England at risk of redundancyThe British Medical Association is threatening to axe up to a third of its entire workforce to help it tackle a significant cash crisis.The doctors' union has placed 200 of its 600 staff in England at risk of redundancy. That has triggered anxiety and fury among staff, who have accused the BMA of appalling behaviour and hypocrisy". Continue reading...

Group, whose constituencies have derelict or at-risk pools, are campaigning to make outdoor swimming available for allCooling, blue expanses of water have been a lifesaver for many lucky enough to live near a lido during the recent UK heatwave.Now, a group of 20 MPs, along with the Fabian Society, are calling for this relief to be made accessible for all by getting water companies to fund the reopening of the country's lost lidos. Continue reading...

The programme, aimed at keeping 1m girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, withdrawn after aid cutsA leading higher education programme, aimed at keeping 1 million girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, has been axed by the British government just two years after it was announced.The scheme, Strengthening higher education for female empowerment (SHEFE), which was unveiled with some fanfare two years ago by the outgoing Conservative government, had a 45m budget to increase access to higher education for 1 million students worldwide. It has now had its tender withdrawn, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said. Continue reading...

Annie's lawyers argue that prosecution was so badly executed it breached her human rightsAt her kitchen table, in a village in southern England, Annie* sits with a blue folder stuffed with court documents, witness statements and correspondence relating to the trial of her stepfather, whom she had reported to police for alleged childhood abuse.As she prepared to tell her story for the first time, she was flooded with emotion when a photograph fell from the folder. The square Polaroid showed a young girl standing in a field beside a pony, dressed in jodhpurs and a riding hat. Continue reading...

Popular national pastimes of drinking and football will make post-Mexico Monday a day of sore heads and sleepy childrenEngland are through to the round of 16 in the World Cup and, as is customary in the run-up to a major international footballing fixture, the country may be losing its mind.Because piled on top of the 60 years of hurt for the men's team, England fans have another obstacle to overcome with the forthcoming fixture: a gruelling kick-off time of 1am BST. Continue reading...

Home fee' qualification ends in 2028, leaving those hoping to study in UK not now eligible for British loansBritish teenagers living in the EU could be priced out of UK universities in two years' time as a Brexit rule change means they face the double whammy of paying costlier international fees, while losing access to student finance.British passport holders living in the EU still qualify for home fee" status at UK universities. But this will no longer be the case when the grace period ends in 2028, meaning the first wave to be affected are starting their A-levels, or equivalent, this autumn. Continue reading...

Politicians brace for constitutional turmoil if Nigel Farage's party end up in government - or even as a strong oppositionThe rise of Nigel Farage has prompted political leaders across Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to game the unthinkable: the breakup of the United Kingdom.Unionists who wish to save the union and nationalists who wish to end it are bracing for constitutional turmoil if Reform UK emerges triumphant - with Farage as prime minister or official leader of the opposition - after the next election. Continue reading...

The gap between America and Britain has grown economically as Trump asserts the UK is dying'. Culturally, however, it's a different storyOn 1 June 1785 John Adams travelled to London to become the first US ambassador to Britain, in which capacity he was to meet George III. By his own admission, Adams trembled at the encounter. After all, it had been less than a decade since he helped Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence denouncing the king as an absolute tyrant" who had plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people".A trepidatious Adams trudged through the London drizzle to St James's Palace, where he presented his credentials to King George. He bowed three times, then declared he would be the happiest of men if I can be instrumental in recommending my country more and more to your Majesty's royal benevolence". Continue reading...

Bureau of Meteorology says city's mean temperature reached 16.1C, surpassing the previous record of 15.7C set in 1991

The New South Wales premier warns of rising threat of Pauline Hanson's party as he addresses party conference

Darweish Mohamed was found critically wounded outside Craigieburn community hospital on Wednesday evening

Singer and fiance Travis Kelce have been coy but festivities are getting under way at Madison Square GardenThe streets of New York City and the first-class lounges of Heathrow and JFK airports were crawling on Friday with celebrities on their way to attend the wedding of the year.Taylor Swift had kept fans guessing about whether it was her nuptials that had caused the closure of 11 streets in midtown Manhattan and the endless deliveries of flowers, food and decorations to the huge Madison Square Garden arena. Continue reading...

Prime minister also speaks of his intensely personal decision' to step down in first interview since resigningKeir Starmer has warned his likely successor, Andy Burnham, that it will not be possible to spend less time focusing on international affairs.Speaking during a BBC interview, he also spoke of his intensely personal" decision to announce his resignation last month after two years as prime minister. Continue reading...

People gather outside Madison Square Garden despite security keeping them from seeing anything noteworthyTaylor Swift's fans gathered in the heat outside New York's Madison Square Garden on Friday for her wedding - or at least the celebration of it - to Travis Kelce, and the sense of being close to the superstar singer-songwriter and her NFL champion groom on their big day.Whether or not Swift and Kelce have already tied the knot, which has been at the center of contradictory reports, fans said they were thrilled at the union - and the location. Continue reading...

Judge says evidence indicates attack on Pouria Zeraati outside home was carried out on behalf of Tehran regimeTwo Romanians who took part in a targeted" knife attack on a television journalist in London on behalf of the Iranian state" have been jailed.Pouria Zeraati, who worked for the Persian-language channel Iran International, which is critical of the Tehran regime, was left bleeding in the street after being stabbed three times outside his home in Wimbledon. Continue reading...

Weekend's high temperatures and humidity virtually impossible' without climate crisis, researchers sayThe scorching heat blanketing much of the US this week would have been virtually impossible" if not for the climate crisis, researchers have found, warning that the high temperatures could threaten Independence Day celebrations and World Cup matches this weekend.The climate the country has today is fundamentally different to the one it had when the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence," said Theodore Keeping, extreme weather and wildfire researcher at Imperial College London, in a press release. Continue reading...

Party had justified plan to hang flags in Nottinghamshire on basis that local businesses would foot 75,000 billA 75,000 scheme by a Reform-led council to hang union flags at sites across the county, which the party said would not cost the taxpayer a single penny" as it would be sponsored by local businesses, has failed to attract a single sponsor, it has emerged.The plan to attach the flags to brackets on about 180 lamp-posts and other places was agreed in the autumn by Nottinghamshire's council, won by Nigel Farage's party in last year's May elections. Continue reading...

Zoe Watts and Amanda Stanhope launched network after being repeatedly assaulted by partners while unconsciousTwo women who were drugged and raped by their partners while they were unconscious have said hundreds of people - including about 80 in the UK - have come forward to an international support group for victims of the crime.Zoe Watts and Amanda Stanhope, who were both repeatedly assaulted by their partners while unconscious, are calling for tighter laws to stop men sharing images and videos of sexual assaults and rape online. Continue reading...

Port expansion and protections for whales part of BC and Alberta plan to expand country's presence overseasThe governments of Canada and the province of Alberta will move forward on a major new oil pipeline after the pair announced a plan to ease concerns of British Columbia and First Nations on the Pacific coast.Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, shuttled between British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday to announce more than C$150bn in new investments in both provinces, part of a broader project of reducing trade with the United States and expanding his country's presence in overseas markets. Continue reading...

McKee, 29, died after being hit by a bullet as she observed rioting in Derry in Northern Ireland in April 2019Three men from Derry have been found not guilty of murdering the journalist Lyra McKee in 2019.Her family said the verdict at Belfast crown court meant the justice system had completely failed" them and McKee. Continue reading...

Avoiding traditional questions and stilted broadcast clips, PM-in-waiting has evolved his style of media managementHe is due to become prime minister in just over a fortnight as parliament begins its six-week summer break. But at a marquee speech this week, he took precisely zero questions. So is Andy Burnham, as opposition leader Kemi Badenoch claims, dodging scrutiny? His allies say no: he is simply going about it in his own way.The former Greater Manchester mayor is very obviously a different type of communicator from Keir Starmer, and thus always likely to convey his message in methods beyond Starmer's traditional questions after a speech and the occasional stilted broadcast clip. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Data shows buyers are not rushing to get into the market, despite lower prices and less competition

Exclusive: Shabir Ahmed, jailed in 2012 for rape, abuse and trafficking of girls, was deemed three years ago to present high risk of sexual offending'The leader of the Rochdale grooming gang was deemed to pose a very high risk of serious harm" towards children just three years ago, the Guardian can reveal.Shabir Ahmed, 73, was freed from HMP Leeds on Thursday despite three failed attempts to secure parole, the most recent of which was in October 2024. One document, relating to a previous review in 2023, shows Ahmed was seen to present a high risk of sexual offending". Continue reading...

Anti-abortion policies may have appeal, but with one in three Australian churchgoers born overseas, talk of a monoculture may put them off

Fifty-six state branches want the laws reviewed, while gambling, Aukus and Palestine are also on the agenda

The government said it had to react to England's progression in the World Cup, which was only confirmed on WednesdayDowning Street said it would continue to use X after the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, announced she would stop using the social media platform.Nandy said yesterday the culture and media department will also stop using X because the site now favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate".It is for individual departments to decide what is right for them in this regard.Our full focus remains on making sure X is following the law, cleaning up its act and ensuring it is safe for women, girls, children and people right across the country." Continue reading...

Suspect seen in Germany after attack apparently targeting tycoon Vadym IermolaievThe main suspect in a Monaco bomb attack this week that seriously injured a Ukraine-born business tycoon and two of his family members is a Ukrainian woman living in Germany who disguised herself as a man, authorities have said.Interpol, the international police organisation, on Friday issued a red notice for Anastasiia Berezovska, aged 39, describing her as German-speaking with dark hair and a tattoo, possibly of a snake, on her right arm from the shoulder to the elbow. Continue reading...

Reports of stampede' for stays near water amid concerns over cancelled flights, higher air fares and EU border delaysSummer bookings at Britain's hotels and holiday parks have jumped, compared with last year, as fears about flight cancellations and long delays at EU borders have prompted many UK holidaymakers to stay closer to home this year.There has been a surge in last-minute bookings for UK holidays amid warnings that airlines will have to raise their fares because of higher jet fuel bills that have resulted from the war in the Middle East. Continue reading...

The London-based fintech says restructuring is necessary to reduce duplicate' roles

Late announcement' means forces will have to adapt plans and move officers away from communities, say chiefs

Visitors can get free peek at works by one of UK's most significant 20th-century artists and one of his successorsSwifts screech overhead, hares lope along the grassy paths and butterflies flutter in the woodland fringe. There is an orchard; there are chickens, beehives. It seems simply a lovely, if conventional, slice of English countryside - until you happen upon striking sculptures fashioned out of chunks of reclaimed steel or machinery parts salvaged from factories, shipyards and farms.The pieces are the stars of a show called Heavy Metal, which brings together work by one of the UK's most significant 20th-century artists, Anthony Caro, and one of his successors, James Capper. Continue reading...

UK provisional peak of 37.7C shatters previous record by huge margin, while Germany hits all-time high of 41.7CLast week's heatwave across western Europe shattered national June records and set new all-time highs.The UK recorded a provisional high of 37.7C at Lingwood in Norfolk on Friday 27 June, smashing the previous June record of 35.6C, set in 1976. Such a margin is exceptionally rare: temperature records are typically broken by 0.1C or 0.2C, not a remarkable 2.1C. Continue reading...

Exclusive: As well as citing personal reasons, Ridley says she is making way for a successor to work alongside new leader'Hollie Ridley, Labour's general secretary, is to step down this autumn after two years in the job, she has announced to party staff.Ridley, an ally of Keir Starmer who ran Labour's field operations in the 2024 general win election, said in an internal email she would stand down after the party's annual conference in September. Continue reading...

Huge scale of funeral for supreme leader across five cities is intended to relay message of resistance to rest of the worldIn the small hours of Friday the police roadblocks, stalls, posters and army vans were starting to appear across Tehran as millions of Iranians prepared to attend the long-delayed six-day funeral ceremony for Ali Khamenei's, Iran's supreme leader for 36 turbulent years.Khamenei was killed in the opening salvo of the US-Israeli attack on the country in February, and the funeral is intended to be an epic display of personal mourning, national power, resilience and social cohesion. Small groups of mourners carrying flags were gathering along the roads festooned with the red fist, the symbol of the funeral alongside the slogan We must rise". At a ceremony dedicated to the families of martyrs, Khamenei's coffin was displayed. Continue reading...

Premier apologised over organised crime in some of Victoria's largest construction projects, in op-ed that claimed a royal commission would not solve the issue

State opposition tells court it will not take any steps to disendorse MP while legal proceedings under way

Researchers say Stelios Kouloglou's device was compromised after he joined European parliamentary committeeNSO Group's hacking software was repeatedly used against a member of the European parliament while he was conducting an investigation of spyware abuses in Europe, according to a new report.Researchers at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto said they could not attribute the attacks against Stelios Kouloglou to any particular government operator of Pegasus spyware. But their investigation found the attack against the Greek now-former MEP bore the hallmarks of a previous hacking campaign against exiled Russian and Belarusian journalists in Europe. Continue reading...