World news | The Guardian

Tehran official had promised decisive and painful' reply to Israeli bombing of apartment buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs

Pontiff urges followers to dedicate themselves to our brothers and sisters, to the poor, to those who suffer'More than a million people filled the streets of Madrid to join Pope Leo in an open-air mass where the American pontiff appeared to emphasise the disconnect between Christian values and far-right politics, telling worshippers: No one can kneel before the Lord and despise their brother."Queues to access the mass began forming hours before the sun rose on Sunday as people scrambled to secure a spot for what was billed as the biggest gathering of the pope's week-long visit to Spain. Continue reading...

Pontiff to make marginalised a focus of first papal visit since 2011 including meeting with migrants in the CanariesPope Leo has urged political leaders to seek unity, rather than divide their populations for political gain, and said they must fight for peace, in the opening speech of his tour in Spain.The pope has made the marginalised a focus of his visit - his first tour of an EU country, apart from Italy - including meeting homeless people in Madrid and migrants in the Canary Islands. The pope, who has clashed with the US president, Donald Trump, over his immigration policies and war with Iran, said his visit was aimed at setting an example of respecting every human being". Continue reading...

Hanson's party is leading in the polls, but it has a long way to go before being recognised as a serious political outfit

Daniel Frost admits throwing bins at police and Matt Styler pleads not guilty to assaulting officerA man has admitted throwing bins at officers and arming himself with a makeshift knuckle duster during the disorder in Southampton after the sentencing of a man for the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak.Daniel Frost, 44, from Southampton, admitted violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon when he appeared before a district judge on Thursday. Continue reading...

Nauran government says its citizens are friendly' after MP spoke of serious threats allegedly made against former Australian detainees

The economy was slowing even before the Middle East conflict and interest rate hikes started to bite, while the boom in datacentres was a rare bright spot

Greens support needed to pass proposed changes but party concerned it will give government sweeping discretionary powers

Mackenzie Swift entered the River Don in Mexborough on Saturday evening and failed to emergeA body has been found in the search for an 11-year-old boy who went missing after entering the River Don in South Yorkshire on Saturday.Mackenzie Swift entered the river in Mexborough at around 8pm and failed to emerge, prompting a police search. Continue reading...

Lawyer and Trump admirer has risen rapidly in the polls and will face Ivan Cepeda in election runoff in three weeksThe far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won the first round of Colombia's presidential election on Sunday and will face senator Ivan Cepeda, the candidate backed by leftwing president Gustavo Petro, in the runoff.With 100% of ballots counted, the outsider and Donald Trump admirer Espriella secured 43.7% of the vote - just over 10.3m votes - compared with 40.9% (about 9.6m votes) for Cepeda, a philosopher and human rights activist who has served as a senator since 2014. Continue reading...

Interior minister says 57 officers injured as rioters set fires and vandalise shops in about 15 citiesFrench police have detained 780 people involved in violent clashes in Paris and other French cities that erupted on Saturday night after Paris Saint-Germain defeated Arsenal to win the Champions League.The interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said 57 officers were wounded, with most suffering minor injuries, as football fans set off fires and vandalised shops. One small group even tried to storm a Paris police station. Continue reading...

Israeli offensive marks deepest incursion into country in 26 years and comes shortly before talks due to be held in the US

Proposal requires Rene Haas to steer US-listed British company to exceptional growth metrics'The chief executive of Arm is in line for a pay package that would make him a billionaire if he hits targets to turn the microchip firm into the UK's first trillion-dollar company.Arm, which is listed in New York but retains its global headquarters in Cambridge, has proposed a pay scheme for Rene Haas in which he will receive generous annual share awards plus a maximum bonus of $800m if he can hit certain exceptional growth metrics". Continue reading...

Environment minister Murray Watt decides against emergency declaration to halt construction but does not rule out longer term protections'

Barratt Redrow boss says rising interest rates, higher student debt and squeeze on wages hitting property dream

The $1,000 tax deduction, $250 working Australians tax offset', and CGT and negative gearing changes will benefit most young people, Treasury secretary says

Outdoor clothing company is suing US environmentalist drag performer for $1 plus legal fees, claiming we wish we didn't have to do this'Patagonia has launched a trademark lawsuit against an environmentalist drag queen named Pattie Gonia, who has accused the outdoor clothing company of trying to erase an activist".Wyn Wiley, who performs as Pattie Gonia, has accumulated millions of followers online for their environmental activism, raising almost $4m for non-profits so far. Last year they raised $1m while hiking 100 miles in full drag from Point Reyes national seashore to San Francisco. Continue reading...

The UN's special rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, on the war in Gaza, living under US sanctions and accusations of antisemitismFor a brief period this month, the human rights lawyer Francesca Albanese seemed to have some relief.In an extraordinary move in July last year, the Trump administration placed sanctions on the UN's special rapporteur for Palestine - placing her alongside figures such as Vladimir Putin and Bashir al-Assad - over her engagement with the international criminal court. Continue reading...

Channel quietly debuts over weekend with Only in Monroe video days after Thursday's final Late Show episodeStephen Colbert hasn't even been off the air for a week, but is already causing some hubbub with the launch of a new YouTube channel that has garnered more than 120,000 subscribers.The popular late-night host, who aired his final episode of The Late Show last Thursday, quietly debuted the channel over the weekend with a single video titled: Only In Monroe --- May 22, 2026." Continue reading...

Police officer in charge says budget could reach 19.3m and nearly 100 more investigators are neededThe police criminal inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal faces a five-year delay unless it is handed millions in extra funding and nearly 100 more staff, according to the chief officer in charge.The Metropolitan police commander Stephen Clayman said he needed to nearly double the number of investigators to 210 to meet a deadline of late next year or early 2028 for submitting files to prosecutors. Continue reading...

Analysis of party's proposed cuts also suggests it would get rid of two-thirds of psychologists who support prison staffA Reform UK plan to cut the size of the civil service would involve sacking more planning officers than exist and getting rid of at least two-thirds of the psychologists who support prison officers' welfare, it has emerged.The policy paper, led by the Reform MP Danny Kruger and published in December, promises to save more than 5bn a year by cutting civil service roles, with the full-time-equivalent (FTE) headcount falling by 13%. Continue reading...

Animal and Plant Health Agency forced to release reports showing scale and cause of deaths on some fish farmsMillions of fish deaths caused by accidental poisoning and suffocation on Scottish salmon farms have been revealed after the inspection agency was forced to share its reports.The UK government's Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) had refused to release inspection reports, claiming it would cause significant detriment" to companies, including to their reputations. Continue reading...

Outrage as leaked documents reveal mining giant's backsliding on commitments to slash emissions

One of the last stars of the bebop generation, Rollins was an genius of melodic invention and improvisation, working with Davis, Monk, Coltrane and othersSonny Rollins, one of the greatest jazz saxophonists of all time, has died aged 95.His death was announced on his website on Monday, with deep sorrow and profound love". His publicist Terri Hinte also confirmed the news. Continue reading...

Event organisers blame unforeseen technical difficulties' for the drone malfunction, with four performances cancelled

Australia now a top-three global player in batteries, and renewable energy met nearly half of the nation's power in 2025

Fifa approached Mexico after US declined to host Iran squad despite it playing group games in the United StatesMexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Monday her government agreed to allow the Iranian national football team to stay in Mexico during the World Cup, adding that the US did not want to host the team.The team will still play its group stage matches in the US but its base has been moved to Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego, California, a move that Iran's football federation announced recently and that was formally confirmed by Fifa, the sport's governing body, on Monday. Continue reading...

Hezbollah and Israel launch attacks amid increasingly imperilled ceasefire and stalling talks between US and Iran

Mercury in Spain also climbs to well above normal with weather event set to continue for several more daysMore than 350 French towns have recorded their highest-ever temperatures for May as France and the UK set national heat records amid an extreme early-summer heat event that could see the mercury rise to 40C in parts of Spain by the end of the week.The UK's Met Office said the country's all-time record for May was broken when a temperature of 34.8C was recorded at London's Kew Gardens. Continue reading...

Head of Early Years Alliance says additional charges paid by parents represent cross-subsidy'Parents of nursery children in England are being charged extra fees to cover for government underfunding of free childcare hours, with some paying thousands of pounds a year for consumables such as food, wipes and nappies, campaigners have said.The comments came as the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, asked the competition watchdog to investigate hidden extra charges that parents have encountered when trying to access government-funded childcare. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Former health secretary's intervention comes as government closes consultation on age limits for platformsSocial media companies should be treated like the tobacco industry, Wes Streeting has argued, as he called for a ban on under-16s accessing certain platforms.Speaking publicly about the prospect of a ban for the first time since he left government, the former health secretary said one was needed because large technology companies were trying to dodge regulations. Continue reading...

Senior lawyers call on prime minister to request Indian prosecutors drop charges that would breach double jeopardy ruleFour senior lawyers, including the former attorney general Dominic Grieve, have written to Keir Starmer urging him to request that Indian prosecutors drop charges against the British national Jagtar Singh Johal on the basis that continued prosecution would be in manifest breach of the double jeopardy rule which prevents someone being tried twice for the same offence.Johal has been held in an Indian jail for eight years, and in March last year was acquitted of the terrorist charges laid against him in a court in Punjab. The court found the prosecutors had miserably failed" to present any reliable evidence, despite having had seven years to do so. Continue reading...

Tom Kopke from Germany out-tumbles local hero Chris Anderson on a meltingly hot day in GloucestershireIt was billed as the great cheese-off: a helter-skelter, bone-jarring downhill race between the all-time champ and a young upstart.After the hype and hyperbole, youth won out as the 24-year-old German YouTuber Tom Kopke beat the 38-year-old local hero Chris Anderson at the annual cheese-rolling event in the English West Country. Continue reading...

Police launch murder investigation after incident in early hours of bank holiday Monday outside One Four One barA 30-year-old woman has died after being shot outside a bar in a busy area in Sheffield city centre.South Yorkshire police have launched a murder investigation after the incident in the early hours of this morning outside the One Four One bar on West Street. Continue reading...

Region adapting to diminished US power after Washington fails to land knockout blow on Tehran or safeguard allies

Changes to political funding and the need for crossbenchers to remain relevant are driving discussions but some independents are opposed

Two other small British children who stayed at same hotel fell critically ill from same condition months earlierThe travel company Tui is under scrutiny over its safety protocols after a British baby girl died from a gastric illness following a stay at an Egyptian hotel - the same resort where two other children were left critically ill from the same condition months earlier.Ariella Mann, one, died in January from a kidney condition linked to E coli after falling ill at the fivestar Jaz Makadi Aquaviva hotel in Hurghada on an allinclusive twoweek package holiday booked through Tui. Continue reading...

Restore Britain, set up by the former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, appears to be taking some support from Nigel FarageAndy Burnham is unlikely to be Elon Musk's first pick to be prime minister of the UK. But an intervention by the US tech billionaire on behalf of a far-right offshoot of Reform UK is one of several signs that a divided right wing could deliver the Makerfield seat to the Manchester mayor.On 18 June, Burnham will fight a byelection in Greater Manchester, and polls have him only slightly ahead of Reform's candidate, Robert Kenyon, a plumber. But a far-right party set up by the former Reform MP Rupert Lowe looks as if it is taking some support from Reform. Continue reading...

Group have been stuck in flooded cave in central Laos for five days after heavy rain caused landslidesDivers who helped in the dramatic rescue of a young Thai football team in 2018 have joined efforts to free seven people who have been trapped for five days inside a remote, flooded cave in central Laos.The group entered the cave in Xaysomboun province on Wednesday to hunt for wildlife and search for gold, reports suggest. Heavy rain led to landslides, which blocked the cave entrance. Continue reading...

Charing, Challock and Molash worst affected, as South East Water says technical failure at pumping station' to blameHundreds of homes in Kent and Sussex have been left without water by a company that MPs recently accused of incompetence.South East Water said the hot weather and extra demand for water meant it was having to pump more drinking water than usual to higher ground. Continue reading...

The now 88-year-old is urging Australian governments to throw their support behind a new national plan for Stolen Generations survivors as they enter their final years

Alan Milburn, who is leading review commissioned by government, says current strategy going in wrong direction'Labour has failed to tackle soaring youth unemployment and must launch a system reset" involving a fresh attempt to overhaul health and disability benefits, a report commissioned by the government is to warn.Alan Milburn, who is leading a review into why almost a million young people are not in education or work, said ministers had so far responded with a series of disjointed jobs programmes. Continue reading...

Dominic Grieve says people are perfectly entitled' to ask Richard Hermer for review of teenagers' sentencesAppeal judges would be unlikely to criticise the attorney general, Richard Hermer, if he asked them to review unusual" non-custodial sentences handed to three teenage boys convicted of raping two girls, one of his predecessors has suggested.Dominic Grieve, who also served as home secretary, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the goal of rehabilitating offenders - particularly younger ones - needed to be balanced with providing deterrence. Continue reading...

Research shows cost of crime for each affected business was on average 83,000 in past yearNine in 10 retailers based in rural locations have been victims of crime in the past 12 months, according to research, underlining the widespread impact of the rise in shoplifting and theft even in more remote parts of the UK.Rural retailers include farm shops as well as stores selling machinery and other equipment. The financial cost of crime for each affected retailer was on average 83,000 during the past year, according to a survey carried out by the commercial insurer NFU Mutual. Meanwhile, one in 20 victims said crime had cost them more than half a million pounds. Continue reading...

Danny Kruger says matter is private', after party leader claimed hack was behind Guardian story about 5m giftA senior Reform UK figure has refused to call on the party's leader, Nigel Farage, to hand evidence to the UK's security services to support his claim he was hacked by Russian agents.Farage has come under mounting pressure to substantiate the claim that a state-sponsored Russian hack was behind the disclosure published by the Guardian last month of a 5m gift he had received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Labour and the Conservatives have both stressed the threat to national security posed by the Russian state. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Cache of internal documents leaked to the Guardian and the ABC's Four Corners show multinational has war-gamed ways to massively delay decarbonisation

Exclusive: Mining giant says technology is not yet advanced enough to run a fully electrified fleet but experts say it is hooked on federal fuel tax credits

Exclusive: Jimblebar processing facility would have produced higher quality iron ore sought by steelmakers around the world - themselves under pressure to curb pollution

Mexican-themed Australian fast food chain accused of terminating staff without adequate pay or notice as it pulls out of the USAmerican workers at Guzman y Gomez's shuttered US stores have launched a class action lawsuit against the Mexican-themed Australian fast food chain over allegations staff were terminated without adequate pay or notice.The legal claim, filed in a US federal trial court in Illinois, was sparked by GyG's decision last week to immediately close its string of Chicago stores after giving up on its highly vaunted plans to expand in the US. Continue reading...

Most people have joyful memories of playing outside as children - and now wildlife charities are urging people to rewild their inner child'Climbing trees, squelching in mud, paddling in ponds or making dens in the woods - people's memories of playing outside as children are often vivid and, a new poll has found, overwhelmingly positive, even those who remember falling in cowpats.Almost 90% of UK adults had rosy memories of the excitement and the feeling of freedom that outdoor play had brought them, the survey found. However, almost half of adults now spend less than three hours a week in natural settings such as gardens, parks, fields or woods, according to the survey. For one in 10 it is less than one hour. Continue reading...