World news | The Guardian

Despite internet blackout, a small number of Iranians are risking their lives to share messages as protests continueFor most of Iran, the internet was shut off on Thursday afternoon - the most severe blackout the country has seen in years of internet shutdowns, coming after days of escalating anti-government protests.For a very small sliver of the country, it is still possible to get photos and videos to the outside world, and even to make calls. The Telegram channel Vahid Online on Monday posted photos of dead bodies lying next to a street in Kahrizak, on the southern outskirts of Tehran; on Sunday, it shared a video of Iranians chanting death to Khamenei" at a funeral. Continue reading...

Delhi is world's second largest purchaser of Russian crude, which is now cheaper than oil from Middle EastRussia is already working to circumvent the latest US sanctions to ensure India can continue to import high levels of cheap Russian crude oil, according to industry analysts.Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, India has become the world's second largest purchaser of Russian crude oil, which has been heavily discounted due to the impact of western sanctions. Continue reading...

Sales of clothes and computers fall, but discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl enjoy bumper tradingRetailers suffered a drab Christmas", ending the year with disappointing sales in their most important month, according to new data underlining the difficulties facing Britain's high streets.Overall retail sales grew by just 1.2% in December compared with a year earlier, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said. That was below the 12-month average of 2.3%. Continue reading...

Wild success of television series drives huge demand for Game Changers novels, with Australian booksellers reporting significant customer ordersA seventh book in Rachel Reid's gay romance series that inspired the TV drama Heated Rivalry will be out later this year but Australian fans are still struggling to get their hands on a physical copy of any of the preceding six books.Unrivalled, the next instalment in the Canadian author's Game Changers series, will be released internationally on 29 September, the publisher HarperCollins announced on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Police say the boy is part of an alleged decentralised online crime network falsely claiming mass shootings are taking place

Exclusive: Chinese officials are using a highly specific' interpretation of EU rules to suggest Taiwanese figures should not be granted visas, officials sayChinese officials have been pushing legal advice" on European countries, saying their own border laws require them to ban entry to Taiwanese politicians, according to more than half a dozen diplomats and officials familiar with the matter.The officials made demarches to European embassies in Beijing, or through local embassies directly to European governments in their capital cities, warning the European countries not to trample on China's red lines", according to the European diplomats and ministries who spoke to the Guardian. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Writing for Guardian Australia, Adler says she cannot be party to silencing writers' after Adelaide festival board cancelled Randa Abdel-Fattah's invitation to appear

Self-governing island stresses it is member of Nato, which is looking at improving Arctic defences, through DenmarkGreenland's government has said it cannot under any circumstances accept" Donald Trump's desire to take control of Greenland, as Nato's secretary general, Mark Rutte, said the organisation was working on ways to bolster Arctic security.At the start of a critical week for the vast Arctic island, a largely self-governing part of Denmark, the US president restated his interest in the strategically located, mineral-rich territory, saying the US would take it one way or the other". Continue reading...

Former ambassador to US had earlier declined to give apology for keeping in touch with sex offender after his convictionPeter Mandelson has issued an apology for his association with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein - after declining to do so in an interview broadcast on Sunday.The Labour peer, who was sacked as US ambassador when details of his support for Epstein emerged in September, gave an interview to the BBC in which he suggested that as a gay man he knew nothing of the disgraced financier's sex life. Continue reading...

Ructions within festival board over Palestinian-Australian academic's inclusion began in October, email reveals

Prime minister tells parliamentary party that being in the room' for trade and defence talks will boost UK economyKeir Starmer has defended his frequent trips out of the country to Labour MPs, attempting to draw a direct link with the cost of living at home, which he warned would not be solved by isolationism.The prime minister told the meeting of the parliamentary Labour party (PLP) on Monday night that it was essential for him to be in the room" for international negotiations on trade and defence, which would then have an impact on the domestic economy. Continue reading...

Incriminating video, dismissed by officials as a hybrid attack' has forced resignations of Nikos Christodoulides's wife and chief of staffThe Cypriot president, Nikos Christodoulides, has said he has nothing to fear" over a scandal that has forced the resignations of his chief of staff and his wife from a leadership role of a major charity.As allegations of high-level corruption swirled days after the island assumed the rotating EU presidency, officials insisted the country had been the victim of hybrid warfare". The incriminating claims, implicating the president and first lady in a cash for access network, were made in a video uploaded on X. Continue reading...

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Nadhim Zahawi's ministerial experience is badly needed by Nigel Farage but it comes with his former party's tainted brandIn the death throes of Boris Johnson's government in the summer of 2022, Nadhim Zahawi was appointed chancellor by an increasingly desperate prime minister determined to cling on to power.The vacancy arose after Rishi Sunak, who had led the Treasury for more than two years, quit saying he no longer had confidence in Johnson to lead the country, setting off - with others - a string of high-profile desertions. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Dutch police question claims used by West Midlands force in evidence to inquiryDutch police have questioned the credibility of claims used by British officers to justify excluding Israeli fans from a football match in Birmingham in their testimony to an official inquiry.Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were banned from the Europa League game against Aston Villa in November by a Birmingham safety committee following intelligence from West Midlands police. Continue reading...

Damien Egan, the Labour MP for Bristol North East, had a visit with a local academy called off in case his presence inflames the teachers'A planned visit by a Jewish Labour MP to a school in his Bristol constituency was cancelled after a campaign by a pro-Palestine group, it has emerged.Damien Egan, the Labour MP for Bristol North East, had been booked in to speak to students at Bristol Brunel Academy, but the visit was called off by the school hours before it was due to happen. Continue reading...

Liz Kendall says decision by X last week to restrict the Grok AI deepfake tool to subscribers did not go far enoughZahawi says he accepts that the Conservatives are to blame for some of the problems facinng the country.Since leaving parliament, I have been reflecting on the successes and failures of my old party's time in government, and I rue the timidity, even at times the weakness, with which we try to deal with the problems of the country.My analysis is that a huge culprit is the over-mighty bureaucratic inertia that now dominates and runs the country, that has taken control of swathes of the economy and, with barely a shrug of the shoulders, restricts the individual liberty of each and every one of us.So it is time for another glorious revolution to get us back to a fully sovereign parliament.Britain needs Reform.My own party, and by definition to some extent me personally, should share some blame for the continuation of the Blairite constitutional vandalism and our failure, to coin a phrase, to take back control from the rich powers of the unelected bureaucracy. Continue reading...

Ex-chancellor asked Badenoch's team for seat in Lords but was apparently rebuffed over sacking for tax affairs

Senator condemned president's bid to weaken central bank's independence and examined Democrats' future

Sector is overwhelmed by demand and expanding faster than administrative structures can supportWhen Craig, not his real name, started as a clinician for a private ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) clinic in the spring of 2023, he was pleased by how thorough the training was and how seriously the organisation seemed to take clinical standards.The training and clinical supervision there were the best I've ever experienced in any organisation," he said. They truly invested in developing their staff ... a consultant paediatrician would often sit in on assessments to observe and provide detailed feedback." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Total spending in England expected to double existing budgets, with funding for private providers rising threefoldThe NHS is overspending by 164m a year on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services, with an increasing amount going to unregulated private assessments, a Guardian investigation has found.Analysis shows that total spending on NHS ADHD services is expected to be more than double existing budgets. Further data shows the amount spent on private ADHD services has more than tripled over three years. Continue reading...

Masrob Ali, 54, who died in crash that also claimed lives of three teenagers, described as the kindest man'A taxi driver who was among four people killed in a head-on collision in Greater Manchester was the gentlest soul" and was not at fault for the crash, his family has said.Masrob Ali, 54, died when his taxi collided with a Seat Leon travelling on the wrong side of a residential road in Bolton shortly before 1am on Sunday. Continue reading...

Jens-Frederik Nielsen repeated the government's statement it would work on strengthening security through NatoThe European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is to travel to Paraquay on Saturday to sign the controversial Mercosur trade deal with a group of Latin American countries this Saturday.The deal with Brazil, Argentina, Uraguay and Paraguay was adopted by member states on Friday, ending 25 years of negotiation and months of wrangling with member states over the final compromises. Continue reading...

Emmy-winning actor and director allegedly touched child inappropriately on set of The Cleaning Lady TV seriesAuthorities in New Mexico issued an arrest warrant recently for the director and Emmy-winning actor Timothy Busfield to face a child sexual abuse charge.An investigator with the Albuquerque police department filed a criminal complaint in support of the charge, which says a child reported that Busfield touched him inappropriately. The acts cited in the warrant - issued on Friday - allegedly occurred on the set of The Cleaning Lady, a TV series Busfield directed and acted in. Continue reading...

Daytime gigs where parents can bring their infants without fear of judgment are proving a sellout successWhen Nick Page saw the exhaustion of the new mothers arriving at his comedy gig, he suggested turning the hour-long set into a sleepover. He had been joking - but the women enthusiastically agreed.In any other room, a comedian asking the audience to fall asleep would have been career ruining. In the world of baby-friendly comedy clubs, however, it was a masterstroke. Continue reading...

Former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro faces allegations he ran a criminal group while in government

Internet blackout hampering efforts to verify if violent crackdown has blunted movement's momentum

Sadiq Khan says public health' approach has made the capital one of the safest cities in the western worldLondon's murder rate has dropped to its lowest in more than a decade with police in the capital and the mayor saying it is now one of the safest cities in the western world.The figures come as those on the radical right criticise the city for having a crime problem, hoping to gain politically from such claims being believed. Continue reading...

Canada's PM seeks to smooth over past ructions in relationship with China as trade war takes its tollDuring the final stretch of Canada's spring election campaign, Mark Carney told a debate audience that China was the country's biggest geopolitical risk". He pointed to its attempts to meddle in elections and its recent efforts to disrupt Canada's Arctic claims.When Carney's government plane touches down in Beijing this week, it will be the first time a Canadian prime minister has been welcomed in nearly a decade. The trip, undertaken amid the rupturing of global economic and political alliances, reflects a desire by Ottawa to mend a broken relationship with a global superpower that uses its vast and lucrative market to both woo and punish countries. Continue reading...

Lawyers for Abu Zubaydah accused British intelligence services of providing questions to his CIA interrogatorsThe UK has settled out of court by paying a substantial sum" to a Guantanamo Bay detainee who was suing the government for its alleged complicity in his rendition and torture, according to the inmate's legal team.Lawyers for Abu Zubaydah have accused the British intelligence services of providing questions to his CIA interrogators to put to him while they were torturing him at a string of CIA black sites" around the world where he was held between 2002 and 2006. Continue reading...

Retailer to allow one-click purchases' through assistants such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, beginning in US

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Backed by actor Sally Phillips and MPs across parties, group raises concerns about overhaul of provision in EnglandKeir Starmer is being urged not to diminish the legal rights of children with special educational needs by a new national campaign backed by the actor Sally Phillips and a cross-party group of Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs.The group Save Our Children's Rights claims the prime minister is considering taking our legal rights away" as part of the government's overhaul of special educational needs and disabilities (Send) provision in the forthcoming schools white paper for England. Continue reading...

Appeal, now in its final few days, raising funds for organisations trying to stop rise of hatred across UK

Senior politicians have tabled bill that would force UK banks to make affordable finance more accessibleSenior Labour backbenchers are urging the government to introduce legislation forcing UK banks to expand affordable lending to small businesses and low-income neighbourhoods.The former minister Gareth Thomas has tabled a 10-minute rule bill - a type of private member's bill - echoing the US Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Continue reading...

Complaint against Cecile Desprairies over Nazi collusion novel alleges that resentment permeates the entire work'The Polish poet Czesaw Miosz is famously credited with the line: When a writer is born into a family, the family is finished." In contemporary European literature, a book these days is often the beginning of a familial feud. With thinly disguised autobiographical accounts of family strife undergoing a sustained boom across the continent, it can increasingly lead to family reunions in courtrooms.Such was the case with the French historian Cecile Desprairies, who on Wednesday was sued for defamation by her brother and a cousin over the depiction of her late mother and her great-uncle in her 2024 novel La Propagandiste. Continue reading...

MPs to return next week to debate new racial vilification offence, hate preachers' crackdown and gun buyback

In the face of Nigel Farage, flag-waving and a longstanding housing crisis, some Glaswegians are taking on anti-immigration rhetoricSelina Hales has a thing about pineapples. She is talking in a quiet office, set aside from the bustle of Refuweegee, the charity she founded 10 years ago, and the walls are festooned with tissue paper cutouts of the fruit, which is an international symbol of hospitality.Refuweegee - its name a combination of the words refugee" and Weegee", local slang for Glaswegian - has expanded exponentially over the decade into an operation that supports hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees in the city every day. Back then, she had a simple idea about making welcome packs, each one including a handwritten letter from a Glasgow resident. One of our very favourite early letters said: Welcome to Glasgow. I like pineapples. What do you like?" Continue reading...

Police allege a 47-year-old imam was assaulted after he and his wife were forced off the road by three people in Melbourne's south-east

Federal government issues recall notice for Volvo EX30 and urges owners to keep charge below 70%

Victorian premier Jacinta Allan announces appeal to support those affected, as authorities warn fire risk could spike again later in month

Reforms come in wake of Bondi terror attack and will allow councils to cut off utilities if groups operate in breach of shutdown order

An outstanding critical voice, his deep knowledge and love of music was evident in everything he wroteThe Guardian's long-serving and much admired classical music critic Andrew Clements died on Sunday aged 75 after a period of illness.Clements joined the Guardian arts team in August 1993, succeeding Edward Greenfield as the paper's chief music critic. His appointment was clinched by a personal recommendation to the editor from the late Alfred Brendel, who argued for Clements to get the job on account of his deep understanding of contemporary music. For the next 32 years, Clements ranged across all fields of classical music in his writing for the Guardian, and often beyond. Continue reading...

Rubina Aminian, 23, struck by bullet from behind after joining Tehran protest from college, says human rights group

Tech giant says ongoing compliance will be a multi-layered process' as UK Labour faces pressure to bring in similar ban for teenagers

Resignations follow withdrawal of more than 70 participants in writers' week after Palestinian Australian author disinvited

Demonstrators recount experiences on the frontlines as protest movement rapidly moves beyond government's control

Observers say if US gets response wrong to Tehran's repression it could end up entrenching regime's position

Crash on Wigan Road in the early hours of Sunday kills drivers of both vehicles as well as two passengersThree teenagers and a man in his 50s have died in a collision between a car and a taxi in Bolton, Greater Manchester, police said.Five injured passengers were also taken to hospital for treatment after the crash on Wigan Road, which took place at about 12.45am on Sunday. Continue reading...

Tehran issues warning after Donald Trump says US stands ready to help amid crackdown on demonstrations