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Threat of jihadism continues to lurk along borders with Mali and Burkina FasoThese days, when she is not organising the annual International Day of Reggae celebrations in Cote d'Ivoire, Rose Ebirim picks up litter scattered on the beach in the historic port town of Grand Bassam, 25 miles east of Abidjan. Both activities have become a form of therapy since the time she saw someone die.13 March 2016 was a Black Sunday for me," she said. Continue reading...

Move comes against backdrop of challenge by prime minister, Narendra Modi, to country's traditional elitesThe Indian government has ordered one of the country's most exclusive private clubs to vacate its premises in two weeks, underscoring the long-running push of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, against entrenched elite institutions.The ministry of housing and urban affairs directed the Delhi Gymkhana Club to hand over its sprawling site in the heart of New Delhi by 5 June, citing urgent public interest requirements, including defence and security infrastructure. Continue reading...

Starship V3 blasts off in 12th test flight of rocket that Elon Musk is developing with aim of taking people to MarsSpaceX has launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet, an upgraded version that Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon.The redesigned mega-rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX's CEO, Elon Musk, announced he was taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas on Friday, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites that were released midway through the hour-long spaceflight that stretched halfway around the world. Continue reading...

DNC's Ken Martin condemned for suppressing report for months and then admitting it won't meet your standards'

Ex-foreign secretary urges reset at higher dosage' after officials revealed to have pitched single market for goodsBritain needs a national consensus" about rejoining the European Union, David Miliband has said, in response to revelations that the UK government pitched the creation of a single market for goods with the EU to the bloc.The former foreign secretary, who is now president of the International Rescue Committee, said he thought the UK needed a reset of its relations with the EU at a much higher dosage" than the government was planning. Continue reading...

Pastoral visit took in conversations with affected residents of polluted area around Naples seeking justicePope Leo XIV has greeted families who lost loved ones to illegal toxic dumping in an area near Naples, as many paused to share photographs and other mementos of children and young people who have died or are battling cancer - illnesses tied to a multi-billion criminal racket run by the mafia.Leo's visit to the so-called Terra dei Fuochi, or Land of Fires, came on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis' big ecological encyclical Laudato Si (Praised Be), and indicates Leo's commitment to carry on his predecessor's environmental agenda. Continue reading...

Australia joins the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand in condemning illegal settlements

The premier is offering 2,000 apprenticeships at the revived State Electricity Commission as part of a pre-election push

Exclusive: Top British official presented idea in Brussels but sources say it was rebuffedThe UK government pitched the creation of a single market for goods with the EU as the cornerstone of an ambitious attempt to reintegrate British trade back into Europe, the Guardian can reveal.During recent visits to Brussels, the Cabinet Office's top official on EU relations, Michael Ellam, presented the idea to deepen the UK's economic relationship with the bloc. Continue reading...

For some transgender men and women - and the campaigners who support them - the updated guidance confirms their worst fearsStephen Whittle was visiting the Chelsea flower show as a birthday treat with his wife on Thursday afternoon. At around the same time, the updated code of practice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission was published. It confirmed, among myriad updates, that single-sex spaces such as toilets and changing rooms must be used on the basis of biological sex, and that transgender people may not access those that accord with their lived gender.Among the floral displays, 70-year-old Whittle did not stray from habit. Of course I used the male facilities, as I have done for the last 50 years. Can you imagine what the guy on security would have said if I'd gone to the ladies?" Continue reading...

The US secretary of state said the US is monitoring Russian allegations against the BalticsRubio begins with thanks to Sweden for hosting the ministerial meeting.But that's where the niceties end as says the upcoming Ankara summit will be one of the more important leaders' summit in the history of Nato," as the leaders will have to respond to Trump's disappointment" with the alliance's response to our operations in the Middle East."That will have to be addressed, that won't be solved or addressed today. That's something for the leaders level to discuss." Continue reading...

Videos in this batch show unidentified aerial phenomena but offer few clues to existence of alien life

Situation described as deeply worrisome' by officials as aid cuts and community distrust impede respondersThe Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo poses a very high" risk to the country, the World Health Organization said on Friday, revising its threat assessment upwards.The outbreak is spreading rapidly, WHO leaders said, with almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, up from 246 cases and 65 deaths when it was first reported a week earlier. Continue reading...

Family says host of more than 500 episodes of travel show leaves behind giant suitcase of the happiest memories'The TV presenter Judith Chalmers, who spent almost three decades persuading British people to go on holiday as the host of Wish You Were Here ... ?, has died at the age of 90 after living with Alzheimer's in her final years.Her family said she died peacefully at home on Thursday, surrounded by the family she loved so much", after becoming ill in recent weeks. They added that she would be greatly missed but left behind a giant suitcase of the happiest memories". Continue reading...

Israeli prison service denies claims of abuse during detention of 430 people trying to take aid to PalestiniansActivists released from Israeli custody after being detained on a flotilla trying to take aid to Gaza were subjected to abuse, organisers have alleged, with several hospitalised with injuries and at least 15 reporting sexual assaults, including rape.Israel's prison service denied the allegations, and Reuters was not able to verify them independently. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Move to establish board comes after criticism that Lammy's plan to slash jury trials will lead to increase in racial and class biasDavid Lammy and the most senior judge in England and Wales are drawing up plans to accelerate the recruitment of minority ethnic and working-class solicitors into the judiciary.A new judicial and legal diversity board, chaired by Lammy, who is the first black lord chancellor, and Sue Carr, the lady chief justice, has met for the first time to discuss removing barriers for diverse candidates attempting to join the judiciary. Continue reading...

Africa CDC says restrictions could increase public health risks and highlight deeper structural injustice' in global healthA US travel ban for people coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in response to the Ebola outbreak could make the situation worse, critics have said.The outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday and continues to spread, with a new case reported in the DRC's South Kivu province, an area under the control of armed rebel groups. Continue reading...

Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has triggered global outrage after sharing footage of himself taunting bound activists who had been detained as they tried to sail to Gaza with aid. The video has been widely condemned by world leaders, including the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and by Israeli politicians, among them the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian's chief Middle East correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison - watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Move comes amid condemnation of Itamar Ben-Gvir after video posted showing detained protesters being tauntedIsrael has said it has deported all the foreign activists it seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla, after a global outcry over their treatment in custody that led the UK to join other countries in summoning Israeli diplomats for a formal dressing down.More than 430 activists from countries around the world had been placed in detention in Israel after they were intercepted at sea on Monday while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory. Continue reading...

Decline to 171,000 last year will encourage ministers in what is seen as a battleground issue against Reform

Documents released by government also show late queen was very keen' for her son to have prominent role

Colombia is a global leader in climate activism. Could US influence drag country to a future of mining and fracking?Several hours after dark in a quiet Caribbean neighbourhood, a cluster of environmental activists gather on plastic chairs between a mango tree and a courtyard wall emblazoned with the words: Colombia, respira!" (breathe Colombia).So many people have turned up that some are forced to stand. That is because tonight's speaker, Susana Muhamad, is one of the most admired socio-environmental campaigners in the world and this is a moment of profound historical significance. Continue reading...

Authorities in Galicia declare two days of mourning after toddler died during exceptionally high May temperatures

The Rolling Stone will play a lighthouse keeper in Three Incestuous Sisters, joining a cast including Dakota Johnson, Jessie Buckley and Saoirse RonanRolling Stones singer Mick Jagger is playing a lighthouse keeper in the new film from Happy as Lazzaro director Alice Rohrwacher, which is currently filming on the Italian island of Stromboli.According to reports in the Italian media, Jagger was photographed on arrival in Stromboli after flying in by helicopter to take a role in Three Incestuous Sisters, Rohrwacher's adaptation of the 2005 visual novel" by The Time Traveler's Wife author Audrey Niffenegger. Continue reading...

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Surprise rise in jobless rate will give Reserve Bank more reason to delay another interest rate hike at June meeting

British Trust for Ornithology says 2025 breeding season was especially disastrous for warbler species

Flea treatment chemicals fipronil and imidacloprid also implicated in lower cognitive scores in children with autismToxic chemicals found in pet flea treatment are devastating wildlife in rivers, parks and special conservation areas and the government should take urgent action to limit their use, according to a study.Chemicals that are banned for use as pesticides but still used in flea treatments are causing potentially irreversible harm to aquatic life as well as decimating birds and pollinators, according to the study published on Thursday. Continue reading...

Jack Clark describes vertiginous sense of progress' and profound changes' to society alongside risks of technologyAn AI system will work with humans to make a Nobel prize-winning discovery within 12 months and tradespeople will be helped by bipedal robots in two years, according to the co-founder of Anthropic.Jack Clark described a vertiginous sense of progress" in the technology and made a series of predictions, including that companies run solely by AIs would be generating millions of dollars in revenue within 18 months, and that by the end of 2028, AI systems would be able to design their own successors. Continue reading...

Cuba's government has also accused US of hypocrisy after acting US attorney general announced indictment of former Cuban president over downed planes

City made outsized contribution to falling levels of deprivation between 2010 and 2025, thinktank findsManchester has recorded the biggest fall in inner-city deprivation in Britain, according to a report, as Andy Burnham stakes a claim that he could replicate the city's revival nationwide.As the frontrunner to replace Keir Starmer, the Greater Manchester mayor has placed the city's economic performance at the heart of his campaign, describing Manchesterism" as a political philosophy for a more interventionist approach to the economy. Continue reading...

Ian Cheshire says media regulator must address perception it has been complacent and slow on online safetyOfcom's incoming chair has vowed to take on the tech bros", as he conceded there was now a perception the regulator had been complacent and slow over concerns about online safety.Ian Cheshire, the former Channel 4 chair who has secured the job overseeing the technology and media regulator, also told MPs he had personal concerns about the impact of social media on under-16s. Continue reading...

Police allege man took camera equipment from 61 year-old shooting victim then pawned it

Clashes between demonstrators and police in La Paz have entered second week, shaking centre-right presidentProtests blocking roads across Bolivia and turning the centre of the capital, La Paz, into a battleground between demonstrators and police have entered a second week.It is the most turbulent moment of the centre-right president Rodrigo Paz Pereira's mere six months in office since he ended nearly two decades of rule by the leftwing Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas). Continue reading...

International student Rodiyat Alabede, 22, died due to a perfect storm' of lax safety protocols, advocates sayPatient advocates in Canada have called for a new investigation into the death of a young woman who was donating blood plasma, describing a perfect storm" of lax safety protocols and poorly trained staff and warning of systemic issues" at plasma donation sites across the country.Rodiyat Alabede, an international student at the University of Winnipeg, died of cardiac arrest shortly after a plasma donation in October 2025 at a facility operated by the Spanish healthcare company Grifols. An initial investigation by Health Canada found no links between the plasma donation and her death. Continue reading...

Starmer has a reasonable list of achievements in power but has undermined himself with a lack of political storytellingNet migration down by three-quarters, the biggest fall in NHS waiting lists for 17 years, knife crime cut by 10%, the economy growing the fastest in the G7, rising wages, energy bills and petrol prices held down, the biggest sustained rise in defence spending since the cold war, a massive expansion of free childcare ...If Keir Starmer did tub-thumping lists of Labour's achievements in the style of Gordon Brown, he would not actually have a shortage of things to talk about. Continue reading...

The Amazon founder has denied any personal involvement in the film, which failed to recoup its budget on releaseJeff Bezos has defended Amazon's controversial Melania documentary as a good business decision" while denying any personal involvement.The Amazon founder and executive chairman was asked about the film during an interview on CNBC this week. The film, which followed the first lady in the period before Donald Trump's second inauguration, was purchased by the company for $40m with Melania herself making a reported $28m. Amazon also spent around $35m on marketing. Continue reading...

Bodies of Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walter, 32, and Rebecca Walter, 31, from London, were recovered from sea last WednesdayThree women whose bodies were recovered from the sea off Brighton beach last week have been identified as sisters from London.Emergency services were called after concerns were raised for a person's welfare at about 5.45am on 13 May, before three bodies were pulled from the water near Madeira Drive. Continue reading...

White Australia group says it does not want to doxx' members as it challenges designation as banned hate group

Choreography of back-to-back visits appeared deliberately mirrored but China made sure the differences were noticedDays after Donald Trump was greeted in Beijing with a military band, an honour guard and dozens of youths waving American and Chinese flags, Vladimir Putin arrived in China to an almost identical spectacle.The choreography of the two welcomes appeared deliberately mirrored, designed to showcase Beijing's ability to host leaders from Washington and Moscow with equal grandeur. Continue reading...

Vilnius residents urged to take shelter during alert, after Nato and EU warn that Russia is diverting Ukraine's drones

Short-term' measures on import of jet fuel and diesel, and shipping of LNG, aimed to help tackle soaring prices

Wife of former PM, who encountered Worboys in 2007, says parole refusal last week was huge relief'Carrie Johnson, the wife of the former prime minister Boris Johnson, has said there could be up to 1,000, if not more", victims of the black-cab rapist, John Worboys.Johnson, who helped bring the serial sex attacker to justice, said she had been contacted by more women who believed they had been assaulted by him. Continue reading...

China has already eaten much of German industry's lunch and is preparing to start on dinner,' thinktank says

Tom Phillips on life in the country four months after the US abduction of the former president Nicolas MaduroThe last time I flew out of Venezuela was right at the start of August 2024, just after the disputed presidential election," the Guardian's Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, tells Annie Kelly.It was a moment of real turmoil. There was a huge wave of repression that was unfolding as Nicolas Maduro tried to silence any kind of dissent to his bogus claim to have won that election. Thousands were thrown in prison, many were going underground, and journalists were racing to get out of the country." Continue reading...

Move brings an end to a 60 day visa-free stay that was agreed with 93 countries, including the UK, US and much of EuropeThailand is drastically cutting the length of visa-free stays for tourists from more than 90 countries in an effort to curb crime involving foreign nationals, officials said on Tuesday.Tourism is vital to the south-east Asian nation's economy, but foreign arrivals are yet to return to their pre-Covid levels. Continue reading...

Russian president is welcomed to Beijing with an honour guard after saying relations with China have reached an unprecedented level'Vladimir Putin has arrived in Beijing for a state visit, four days after Donald Trump left China.Putin was greeted by China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, when he landed on Tuesday evening, with an honour guard alongside Chinese youths waving China and Russia's national flags in a welcome ceremony on the tarmac. Continue reading...

Retail sources rebuff government proposal as unjustified' and likely to push costs up across boardUK supermarkets have been asked by the government to consider freezing the prices of some essential foodstuffs to protect the public from inflation fuelled by the Middle East conflict.Retailers rejected the plan, criticising its potential cost amid rising taxes, fuel and energy costs and arguing it could push up prices for shoppers overall. Continue reading...

Landmark report calls for widespread air conditioning and says UK temperatures forecast to exceed 40C by 2050British homes will need air conditioning to survive predicted levels of global heating, the government's climate advisers have warned in a report, as measures such as drawing curtains, opening windows and growing trees for shade are not likely to be enough.Air conditioning should be installed in all care homes and hospitals within the next 10 years, and in all schools within 25 years, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which published a major report on adapting to the impacts of global heating on Wednesday. Continue reading...