Demonstration follows similar actions in Poland, France and Belgium as EU states approve accordThousands of Irish farmers are protesting against the EU's trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur, a day after EU states approved the treaty despite opposition from Ireland and France.Tractors streamed into the roads of Athlone, in central Ireland, for the demonstration, displaying signs bearing the slogan Stop EU-Mercosur" and the EU flag emblazoned with the words sell out". Continue reading...
ICE already receives less oversight for use-of-force incidents than local police departments, and hotly guards its policiesThe fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis has cast a spotlight on ICE's use-of-force policies, and whether the federal agent who shot her will face an impartial investigation or consequences for his actions.The agency already receives less oversight for use-of-force incidents than local police departments, and has long resisted efforts to disclose its use-of-force policies. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Possible revision of guidance for prosecutors in England and Wales comes amid safety concerns from courtsCircumcision is to be classed as a potential form of child abuse under new guidance for prosecutors, amid concerns from judges and coroners about deaths and serious harms caused by the procedure.A draft document by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on honour-based abuse, forced marriages, and harmful practices", classes circumcision as a potential crime alongside breast flattening, virginity testing, hymenoplasty and exorcisms. Continue reading...
Utility admits parent company paid CEO Ruth Jefferson and CFO Andy Pymer but denies bonus paymentsThe bosses of Wessex Water received 50,000 in previously undisclosed extra pay from a parent company, in the same year that the utility was banned from paying bonuses, the Guardian can reveal.Chief executive Ruth Jefferson and chief financial officer Andy Pymer were paid 24,000 and 27,000 respectively in the year to June 2025, according to a spokesperson for Wessex Water's owner, the Malaysian YTL group. Continue reading...
Four out of five councils controlled by party have proposed 5% council tax rises, the maximum permitted by lawNigel Farage's Reform UK has been accused of betraying election promises to cut council tax after several councils it controls said they planned to increase rates close to the maximum allowed.They include Kent county council - the party's flagship local authority and one viewed by it as the shop window" for what a Reform-led government would look like - which has proposed an increase of 3.99%. Continue reading...
Chris Parry, who is contending for the Hampshire and Solent mayoralty, says his post was intended ironically'Downing Street has defended its decision to single out pubs for special help with the problems created by rising business rate costs.At the No 10 lobby briefing this morning, the PM's spokesperson confirmed that a package of measures to help pubs will be unveiled in the coming days. But he did not give any further details.We recognise that pubs are at the heart of our communities. We want them to thrive. We recognise that since the pandemic they've faced tough conditions and that isn't about one issue.Most business properties will benefit from the 4.3bn of support over the next three years, increases are capped at 15%, and just 800 for smallest properties. And that is ahead of permanently lowering rates for retail, hospitality, leisure from April.There are always technical bugs during the early phases of new technology, especially AI, and those issues are typically addressed quickly. X treats these matters seriously and acts promptly. Let's be clear: this is not about technical compliance. This is a political war against @elonmusk and free speech-nothing more. Continue reading...
by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent on (#72Q50)
From talent shows to the big screen, the actor's performance in Hamnet has made her a leading awards contenderHamnet, Chloe Zhao's film adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's bestselling novel about William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes (or Anne) Hathaway, is a tender meditation on love and grief. Charting the couple's anguish over the death of their 11-year-old son - said to have inspired the play Hamlet - it has moved audiences to tears and united critics in their praise.The film's emotional force is carried by the Irish actor and singer Jessie Buckley, who portrays Hathaway (opposite Paul Mescal's Shakespeare) with a rawness and intimacy that has already earned her a Critics' Circle award for best actress, and marked her out as a leading contender for the Golden Globes, Baftas and Oscars. The Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw called her unselfconsciously beguiling", while Rolling Stone predicted audiences will be talking about Jessie Buckley's performance for years". Continue reading...
PC Matthew Pike is on trial charged with causing death of Dr Keryl Johnson by dangerous driving in 2021 incidentA police officer charged with causing death by dangerous driving reached speeds of up to 93mph (150km/h) through a city centre shortly before a fatal crash, a court has heard.Matthew Pike, 40, was following a white Volkswagen Tiguan driven by Lewis Griffin through Bristol city centre shortly before midnight on 4 November 2021. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#72Q2C)
Exclusive: party says Nigel Farage and colleagues receiving tainted money' for their posts on Elon Musk's platformThe Liberal Democrats have urged Reform UK MPs who receive payment from X for their posts to donate the money to charities working to combat sexual exploitation, after the site was flooded with AI-generated sexualised images of women and children.The party's spokesperson for science, innovation and technology, Victoria Collins, said Nigel Farage and other MPs paid by the Elon Musk-owned site were receiving tainted money". Continue reading...
Emergency rescuers step in as intense rain results in landslips, power cuts and communities left isolatedKosovo has seen prolonged, intense rainfall this week leading to widespread flooding. Cities, towns and villages were inundated as rivers overflowed their banks. Communities were cut off and emergency services rescued people trapped in their homes. People lost their water supply as well as electricity in the Drenas, Malisheva and Rahovec municipalities after flood water entered electrical substations.Personal weather stations across the south-west of the country recorded more than 50mm within 24 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday, with some local stations recording about 80mm in the municipality of Malisheva. This followed previously heavy rainfall from Saturday to Monday, during which official weather stations at Junik and Gllogjan in the west of the country recorded 231.5mm and 151.6mm of rain respectively within two days. A further 130mm fell in the region of Junik on Tuesday, exacerbating the flooding with landslips. Continue reading...
Big names from Leonardo DiCaprio to Timothee Chalamet are aiming for a win at Hollywood's most important Oscars precursorHollywood's A-list will assemble this weekend for the 83rd Golden Globes ceremony, a night that will reveal where this year's Oscars race is headed.Stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet, Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Michael B Jordan and Ariana Grande are among those nominated for film awards while small screen nominees include Helen Mirren, Jenna Ortega, Jude Law and Glen Powell. Continue reading...
Helen Garner and Miles Franklin winner Michelle de Kretser among 47 people who have pulled out of annual writers' festival to protest Abdel-Fattah's axing
In today's newsletter: In just one year, this administration has lurched from one bewildering decision to another. Will things go back to normal after Trump's term, or are we seeing a broader erosion of western democratic norms?Good morning. Paramilitary-style troops deployed on the streets of major cities fatally shooting citizens; vessels seized in international waters; a foreign head of state captured; cherished cultural institutions dismantled; a judiciary installed and seemingly in thrall to the regime; and the mooted breaching of presidential term limits. It sounds like the background to a spy thriller about a rogue state.Yet some argue that the Trump administration in the US has done all of these things - and more - in the space of just a year in office. The question is whether these developments are merely episodic flashes of the chaos we have come to associate with Donald Trump, or signs of a deeper, longer-term transformation in the character of American power.UK politics | Thirty-four school contemporaries of Nigel Farage have now come forward to claim they saw him behave in a racist or antisemitic manner, raising fresh questions over the Reform leader's evolving denials.Minneapolis | The FBI has taken full control of the investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency officer in Minneapolis.Health | Scientists say they have rejuvenated" human eggs for the first time in an advance that they predict could revolutionise IVF success rates for older women.Venezuela | The US is receiving full cooperation from Venezuela's regime and will control the country and its vast oil reserves for years, Donald Trump has claimed.Greenland | Peter Mandelson has accused European leaders including Keir Starmer of a histrionic" reaction to Donald Trump's plan to take over Greenland, arguing that without hard power and hard cash" they will continue to slide into unimportance in the age of Trump". Continue reading...
by Tiago Rogero South America correspondent on (#72PFH)
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado hails move to tackle injustice' as Spain's foreign ministry confirms release of five Spanish nationalsFive days after the US seized Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela has announced it is releasing an important number" of detainees in what the congressional president characterised as a gesture to consolidate peace".Former opposition candidate Enrique Marquez was among those released from prison, according to an opposition statement. It's all over now," Marquez said in a video taken by a local journalist who accompanied him and his wife, as well as another opposition member Biagio Pilieri, who was also released. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#72PP1)
Report says officials seem unprepared for potential risks that unregulated industry poses to UK financial stabilityThe UK Treasury has a limited grasp" of concerns linked to the booming shadow banking sector and may not be prepared for risks the unregulated industry poses to financial stability, peers have said.While a lack of data makes it hard to say whether the $16tn (12tn) non-bank financial sector could bring the wider financial system to its knees, officials do not seem to be alive to the potential risks, according to a Lords financial services regulation committee report. Continue reading...
Alastair Campbell joins graduates and social mobility charities in criticism of Trinity Hall's new policyTrinity Hall graduates and leading social mobility charities have called on the University of Cambridge college to scrap its controversial efforts to actively recruit students from elite private schools, describing the new policy as damaging, offensive and a step backwards for equality.After the Guardian revealed that Trinity Hall was to target a small group of wealthy private schools - so as to not ignore or marginalise" privately educated students, according to an internal briefing - those promoting students from state schools said they were shocked and disappointed by its justifications. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal correspondent on (#72PFJ)
Charlotte Head, who is accused of taking part in a break-in at Israeli defence firm, is called a remarkable woman' by her barristerA Palestine Action activist accused of taking part in a break-in at an Israeli defence firm's UK site is a remarkable woman", her barrister has told jurors as he likened her to the suffragettes.Charlotte Head, 29, is on trial at Woolwich crown court, south-east London, accused of being involved in a meticulously organised" protest at the Elbit Systems factory in Filton, near Bristol, on 6 August 2024. Continue reading...
Outage piles pressure on regime as Iranian security forces reported to have killed at least 45 since protests startedIran was plunged into a complete internet blackout on Thursday night as protests over economic conditions spread nationwide, increasing pressure on the country's leadership.While it was unclear what caused the internet cut, first reported by the internet freedom monitor NetBlocks, Iranian authorities have shut down the internet in response to protests in the past. Continue reading...
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejects bill passed by congress as he marks anniversary of 2023 Brasilia riotsBrazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has vetoed a bill that would dramatically reduce the prison sentence of the country's far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted last year of plotting a coup.Lula vetoed the bill, which was passed by congress in December, on the third anniversary of riots by Bolsonaro supporters in the capital, Brasilia, over his defeat by Lula in the 2022 general election. Continue reading...
People told to leave three areas as fears grow of wider conflict between government and Kurdish authoritiesThe Syrian army ordered civilians to evacuate neighbourhoods of Aleppo on Thursday after fighting with Kurdish forces entered its third day, deepening the rift between the Syrian government and the US-backed Kurdish authorities in Syria.The Syrian government urged people to leave the three contested neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh and Bani Zeid by early afternoon, opening humanitarian corridors and displacement shelters to facilitate their exit. The Syrian army said it would begin military operations against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after the deadline, and issued maps showing specific areas that needed to be evacuated. Continue reading...
At 14 metres tall and with intricate maze of pipes, valves and keys, the Bristol Britton organ produces colossal' soundAfter falling silent eight years ago, one of the UK's largest - and loudest - concert hall instruments is bursting back into life.Standing 14 metres high and encompassing more than 5,000 pipes, Bristol's revered Britton organ is making its comeback this weekend, revived and revitalised after a painstaking restoration. Continue reading...
Chen founded multinational conglomerate Prince Group that US says is front for multibillion-dollar fraud operationChinese television has shown footage of the US-indicted tycoon Chen Zhi being escorted by armed police after his extradition to China from Cambodia, where authorities on Thursday ordered the liquidation of a bank he founded linked to a massive scam centre" network.Chen, who chairs a conglomerate the US says is a front for a multibillion-dollar online fraud operation, was shown in handcuffs and hooded as he was led off a plane at a Beijing airport by black-clad Swat officers, with the state broadcaster CCTV describing him as the leader of a major transnational gambling and fraud crime syndicate". Continue reading...
by Bethan McKernan Wales correspondent on (#72NZC)
Up to 30cm of snow expected in Wales and Midlands with winds of up to 100mph across exposed hills and coastal areasRed and amber weather warnings have been issued across the UK as Storm Goretti evolves into a weather bomb" expected to bring up to 30cm of snowfall in Wales and the Midlands as well as winds of up to 100mph (160km/h) across exposed hills and coastal areas.The Met Office on Thursday described Goretti, the first named storm of 2026, as a multi-hazard event" with heavy rain, strong winds and snow, set to be more powerful than Storm Ciaran in 2023 and the Great Storm of 1987. Continue reading...
Bakery chain also adds 10p to a latte, bringing it to 2.25, as CEO warns of a tough, challenging market'Greggs has added 5p to the price of a sausage roll and 10p to a latte coffee as it leans on some of its bestsellers to soak up rising wage, energy and packaging costs.The UK's largest bakery chain said it had no plans for further price increases at present and it expected inflation to ease this year as it admitted it had sold fewer items in the run-up to Christmas amid a very tough, challenging market". Continue reading...
Coote, 43, had previously pleaded guilty to making an indecent moving image of a childThe former Premier League referee David Coote has been given a suspended sentence after he was found to have a sexual video of a 15-year-old boy in school uniform on his laptop.Judge Shant said Coote, 43, had a spectacular fall from grace" after police charged him with making a category A video, the most serious kind, of a 15-year-old schoolboy. The charge refers to activities such as downloading, sharing or saving photos or videos containing abuse. Continue reading...
City targeted by Trump has seen swarm of immigration agents on the streets - and residents say the tension is palpableEdwin Torres DeSantiago received a text message on Wednesday morning as he was tracking immigration enforcement across Minneapolis - a person was shot by ICE at 34th Street and Portland Avenue.He jumped into his car to head to the scene. Torres DeSantiago manages the Immigrant Defense Network, a group that monitors ICE activity and responds to community needs after someone is taken. He's responded to dozens of scenes in the past few months, and even more in the last few days since the federal government surged its presence in the midwestern city. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England editor on (#72P1B)
Charity worker describes incident at Manchester hotel as disgusting and complete discrimination on appearance'Two homeless men were turned away from a Holiday Inn in sub-zero temperatures despite their booking already being paid for, a charity has said.The hotel in Manchester city centre refused to accommodate the men and staff members apparently told them: I know that you're from the street and the hotel doesn't allow it." Continue reading...
Michelle Ananda-Rajah wholeheartedly' calls for national inquiry as expectations grow prime minister will relent on previous positionAnthony Albanese faces growing pressure inside his own ranks to confirm a royal commission after the Bondi terror attack, with Labor senator Michelle Ananda-Rajah the latest government MP to break ranks and back a powerful inquiry into antisemitism.Ananda-Rajah, a senator from Victoria, said a royal commission was needed to flush out the failings" which have allowed antisemitism to fester in Australia. It comes amid growing expectations the Albanese government will relent on its previous position and convene a royal commission - potentially a joint inquiry with the New South Wales state government - as early as Thursday or Friday. Continue reading...
Outcome of aggression will determine whether rare earths and other resources drive energy transition - or strengthen US military power and oil interestsThe US's first overt attack on an Amazon nation last weekend is a new phase in its extractivist rivalry with China. The outcome will decide whether the vast mineral wealth of South America is directed towards a 21st-century energy transition or a buildup of military power to defend 20th-century fossil fuel interests.Although this onslaught was ostensibly aimed at one corrupt dictatorship in a miserably dysfunctional country, the ramifications are far wider. Continue reading...
Prime minister to look closely' at legal claims against FTSE 100 telecoms groupThe prime minister has promised to review laws governing franchising agreements, in response to the case of a former Vodafone store manager whose family alleges took his own life following pressure from the FTSE 100 telecoms group.Keir Starmer said in the Commons on Wednesday that he would look closely" at the outcome of a high-profile legal claim against Vodafone. Continue reading...
Board unwilling to accept hostile takeover despite $40bn guarantee from billionaire Larry EllisonWarner Bros Discovery (WBD) has again told its shareholders to reject an inadequate" $108.4bn (80bn) hostile takeover bid by Paramount Skydance amid an extraordinary corporate battle to control the media conglomerate.Paramount, controlled by the billionaire Ellison family, had sought to combat WBD's criticism of its offer and claims it had consistently misled" investors by saying it had a full backstop" - a safety net to ensure it has sufficient funds - from the Ellisons. Continue reading...
by Alexandra Topping Political correspondent on (#72N8E)
Reform UK leader says accusations about his behaviour at Dulwich college were politically motivatedNigel Farage has called allegations of racist and antisemitic bullying during his time at Dulwich college completely made up fantasy", saying his accusers are people with very obvious political motivation".More than 30 people have spoken to the Guardian as part of an investigation based on multiple accounts of racism, including Peter Ettedgui, 61, an Emmy- and Bafta-winning director, who recalled Farage growling repeatedly Hitler was right" or Gas them" at him when they were at school. Continue reading...
Detainees under scheme to return people entering UK on small boats told their plane tickets had been cancelledThe first flight of 2026 to return asylum seekers who came to the UK on small boats to France has been cancelled, the Guardian understands.Detainees earmarked for the UK government's one in, one out" scheme who had tickets for a flight on Wednesday morning to Paris were told their tickets had been cancelled. Continue reading...
Saudi airstrikes hit Aidarous al-Zubaidi's military camps after he defies a demand to travel to Riyadh for talksThe leader of Yemen's routed southern separatist movement, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, has decided to make a defiant last stand in Aden, his supporters say, rejecting a Saudi ultimatum to travel to Riyadh for talks and - for now - a plan to flee the southern capital.Al-Zubaidi, the president of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), has been gathering his remaining troops in Aden as rival Saudi-backed forces seek to take control of Aden. His supporters say his mood is to fight it out although he knows it is likely there will be an attempt to kill him. Continue reading...
Maga media used to hate US foreign intervention - now some are cheering it onI'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars," Donald Trump said after declaring victory on 6 November 2024. It wasn't his first pledge to disengage the US from foreign conflicts, and Trump's top allies in conservative media and the Make America Great Again" (Maga) movement have all rallied to his pledge to put America first".Now that the US president seems to have broken his pledge by launching an invasion of Venezuela, not to mention threatening future actions against Cuba and Colombia and potentially Greenland, some have reasonably wondered whether Trump's supporters in Maga media would hammer him for that inconsistency. Continue reading...
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