World news | The Guardian

Legal claims alleging illegal behaviour have been brought by Doreen Lawrence, Elton John, David Furnish, Prince Harry, Liz Hurley, Sadie Frost and Simon HughesSeven prominent individuals have brought legal claims alleging widespread illegal behaviour by individuals working for the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday between 1993 and 2018.The Mail’s parent company strongly denies all the allegations and is seeking to stop the cases going to trial, arguing the individuals have waited too long to start legal proceedings and are relying on material provided by the Mail on a confidential basis to the Leveson inquiry into the British media industry. Continue reading...

The musician, who spent the last almost 40 years of her life living in a monastery in Jerusalem, has diedEmahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, an Ethiopian nun, composer and pianist, has died at the age of 99.According to the country’s state-run news outlet Fana Broadcasting Corporate, she died in Jerusalem. Guèbrou had been living at the Ethiopian Monastery there for almost 40 years. Continue reading...

High court also hears claims against Associated Newspapers brought by Prince Harry, Elton John and Liz Hurley among othersDoreen Lawrence has claimed the Daily Mail hired private investigators to hack her phone and obtain information on her murdered son, potentially disrupting the police investigation into the racially motivated killing.Lady Lawrence now believes she “failed her murdered son” by trusting the Daily Mail during the 1990s, claiming the news outlet only campaigned for justice on behalf of Stephen Lawrence in a cynical bid to sell more newspapers. Continue reading...

Bank further distanced itself from its former chief executive who resigned in November 2021Barclays has said allegations that its former chief executive Jes Staley was aware of sex trafficking operations run by the late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein were “serious and new”, as it further distanced itself from its ex-boss.It is the most substantial comment made by Barclays since Staley resigned in November 2021 after a UK regulatory investigation into his relationship with the convicted sex offender, who was one of Staley’s clients when he worked at JP Morgan years earlier. Continue reading...

Tory critics of PM’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda say failure could do lasting damage to partyRishi Sunak’s proposed bill – which hopes to fulfil his promise to “stop the boats” – is part of a significant gamble which aims to pull off an unexpected Conservative win at the next general election. The prime minister is claiming he can break the business model of human traffickers by sending asylum seekers to central Africa in their thousands.If all the pieces fall into place – and his supporters admit there are many pieces – the bill will pass through parliament, legal challenges against the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda will be dismissed by UK and Strasbourg courts, the Rwandan government will build homes for thousands of asylum seekers and an airline will be found to fly them. Continue reading...

Berlin says Moscow’s announcement is ‘another attempt at nuclear intimidation’

The biggest protest movement in Israeli history has achieved its goal but the country may soon face new elections

Prime minister defers controversial proposals to next parliamentary session after mass protestsLive updates: pressure piles on Netanyahu over judicial changesIsrael’s embattled prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has announced a delay to his far-right government’s proposals to overhaul the judiciary after 12 weeks of escalating political crisis.Netanyahu said on Monday he would delay his flagship judicial reform to the next parliamentary session, saying he wanted to give time to seek a compromise over the contentious package with his political opponents. Continue reading...

Terry Sanderson, 76, suing actor for more than $300,000 over 2016 collision, claiming she skied recklessly into him from behindThe man suing Gwyneth Paltrow over a 2016 collision at one of the most upscale ski resorts in North America took the witness stand on Monday as the closely watched trial goes into its second week in Utah.Terry Sanderson, 76, recounted a ski collision that he claims was caused by Paltrow, 50, causing four ribs to fracture and head trauma that he claims manifested as post-concussion syndrome. Continue reading...

Greens confirm they will back Yousaf as first minister but former health secretary faces battle to unite SNP

Court appearance in privacy claim should not come as a surprise given prince’s loathing for Associated NewspapersThe sight of Prince Harry marching up the steps of the high court on Monday came as a shock. On the agenda was a pre-trial legal hearing in his claim against the Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers. This was not promising material for a courtroom drama. But Harry’s presence suddenly changed that, as news alerts were pinged out to mark his “surprise” court visit.In hindsight it should not have come as such a surprise. The prince has repeatedly expressed his loathing for the British press and the Mail in particular. Continue reading...

Airport security staff due to hold 10 days of strikes over pay, forcing airline to axe 5% of its scheduleBritish Airways is to cancel more than 300 flights to and from Heathrow over the Easter holiday period due to strikes by airport security staff.The airline is axing about 5% of its schedule, with 16 return short-haul flights cancelled daily. It said the majority of affected customers would be booked on to alternative flights within 24 hours, or could be fully refunded. Continue reading...

Assault unit members claim in video that superiors ‘want to execute us’ after ‘huge’ losses in eastern Ukraine

Zelenskiy meets UN nuclear chief Grossi in Zaporizhzhia region; criticism mounts of Russian plan to put nuclear weapons in Belarus Continue reading...

Party leader to propose motion that will not endorse his predecessor as he vows to show Labour has changed

Exclusive: ‘Baffling’ levelling-up plan to move company to another city may lead to staff exodus, says EquityMost chorus members at the English National Opera (ENO) would be forced to leave their jobs if the company relocates outside London, because of ties that include children at school, caring responsibilities, and partners with jobs in the capital.More than two-thirds would leave the profession altogether, according to a survey carried out by Equity, the union that represents chorus members. Continue reading...

Lawyers working for Associated Newspapers successfully argue there is no justification for naming 73 journalists and executivesThe Daily Mail’s parent company has successfully invoked the Human Rights Act to stop other media outlets naming its journalists in a phone hacking court case.Prince Harry and a group of other prominent individuals are bringing cases alleging widespread illegal behaviour by reporters at Associated Newspapers. In their claims they name 73 journalists and editorial executives who have worked at the Daily Mail and its sister titles over several decades. Continue reading...

Ammar al-Khudairy’s remarks about Swiss lender spurred investor panic that led to emergency takeoverThe chair of the Saudi National Bank has resigned for “personal reasons” less than two weeks after his comments spurred investor panic over Credit Suisse that ended in an emergency takeover by its larger Swiss rival, UBS.The Saudi National Bank (SNB), which was Credit Suisse’s largest shareholder, announced on Monday that it had “accepted” Ammar al-Khudairy’s resignation, and that he would be immediately replaced by its chief executive. Continue reading...

The Creed III actor’s ads were a key element in the army’s drive to revive struggling recruitment numbersAds for the US army featuring Jonathan Majors have been pulled after the actor’s arrest.Majors, who authorities said was arrested on Saturday in New York on charges of assault and harassment, was the narrator of two ads at the heart of a broader media campaign that kicked off at the start of the NCAA’s March Madness college basketball tournament. Army leaders were hopeful that the popularity of the star of the recently released Creed III and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania would help them reach the youth audience. Continue reading...

Council of Europe commissioner raises concerns that legislation may not meet human rights standards

Amendments could remove safeguards as Home Office minister says government is ‘in listening mode’Ministers appear set to at least partly give way to Conservative rebels over removing safeguards from the illegal migration bill after a Home Office minister said the government was “in listening mode”.Up to 60 Tory backbenchers are believed to be sympathetic to a series of amendments to the bill, which returns to the Commons on Monday, which would prevent judicial oversight that could stop refugees and asylum seekers from being deported. Continue reading...

Prime minister says people shouldn’t look for ‘distractions’ on voice to parliament’s ability to advise executive government

DeSantis has signaled he will sign the proposed bill, which would slam the door shut for many patients traveling to the state for careA six-week abortion ban proposed by Florida Republicans earlier this month threatens to reverberate across the American south.Following the supreme court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn the federal right to abortion, Florida became a strategic refuge for women seeking to access reproductive healthcare from states that banned abortion – places as varied as Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas. Continue reading...

Monday’s transport stoppages include workers at airports, railways, buses and metro linesGerman commuters face serious disruption on Monday as transport staff across the country staged a strike to push for wage rises in the face of brisk inflation.Workers at airports, ports, railways, buses and metro lines throughout much of Europe’s biggest economy heeded a call from the Verdi and EVG unions to take part in the 24-hour stoppage. Continue reading...

Former mayor of Wollondilly is the only teal candidate on track to win a seat while Pittwater vote remains neck and neck

Coalition MPs say exclusion of Australian journalists from Victorian premier’s trip will force public to rely on coverage by China’s state-run media

The party has definitively won 45 seats and with leads in Ryde and Kiama, it is likely to secure the numbers to govern outright

Teo tells hearing that slap was an attempt to wake patient and was not a ‘Will Smith-type slap’

Thousands took to the streets on Sunday after Benjamin Netanyahu sacked his defence minister for opposing the controversial changes

Author of One Hundred Years of Solitude tops list of those most translated into 10 languages this century ahead of Don Quixote creatorThe solitary denizens of Macondo appear to have proved too much for a famously insane knight errant, according to research that shows Gabriel García Márquez has overtaken Miguel de Cervantes to become the most translated Spanish-language writer of the century so far.However, the genius who gave the world Don Quixote – and with him the first modern novel and a byword for impractical idealism – can take comfort in the fact that he remains the most translated writer in Spanish over the past eight decades. Continue reading...

Upper house MP was instead suspended for nine months after a two-hour meeting over her future

Staff reportedly complained to state librarian John Vallance about the $20,000 painting by the Australian’s Johannes Leak, which can only be viewed by appointment

Peak body says medicines should be cheaper and easier to access to save money for patients and the budget

‘Why should it be possible to do something in the virtual world that is prohibited in the real world?,’ Anna Bligh says

Crews spent several weeks learning how to operate tanks expected to be used in a Ukraine counteroffensive

NAO warns cost of station in London almost double initial budget and pause on work could push it higherThe cost of HS2’s revised and postponed London Euston terminus has almost doubled to £4.8bn since 2020, according to the the public spending watchdog, with millions wasted on botched decisions.The government announced last month that work on the high-speed line’s central London station would be paused. But the National Audit Office warned on Monday that the move would “lead to additional costs and potentially higher costs overall”. Continue reading...

Former chancellor boasted of his political career in hope of securing £10,000-a-day second jobKwasi Kwarteng told representatives of a fake South Korean firm that he could introduce them to Boris Johnson – the “best campaigner you will ever see” – in the hope of securing a £10,000-a-day second job.Kwarteng also indicated that Conservative whips would allow him to skip his parliamentary duties in order to further the interests of the fake firm, after apparently being duped by the campaign group Led By Donkeys. Continue reading...

Gender-critical activist was booed and heckled in Auckland and cancelled event in WellingtonThe anti-trans activist known as Posie Parker cancelled a planned event in Wellington and left New Zealand, after chaotic and at times violent protests curtailed an appearance in Auckland before she was able to speak in public.Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull had been due to speak in Auckland on Saturday morning. The British activist was met by crowds of pro-trans rights counter-protesters estimated to be in the thousands, substantially outnumbering the speaker’s supporters. She left the event after being booed, heckled and doused with tomato juice. Continue reading...

Although Alexander Lukashenko has agreed to host nuclear bases little construction work seems to have startedLike a lot of what Vladimir Putin says about nuclear weapons, his suggestion that Russia would start storing its bombs in Belarus may add up to less than it appears.In February last year, Putin said he was putting Russia’s nuclear arsenal on high alert, but there was no perceptible change in the country’s nuclear posture, or any unusual movements of its weapons. Continue reading...

Prime minister told to expect ‘biggest rebellion of this parliament’ as migration bill returns to CommonsLabour will seek to put Rishi Sunak’s inability to secure an EU migrant returns deal under fresh scrutiny with a vote on the government’s migration bill.The bill will return to the Commons on Monday for its committee stage, where MPs will examine it line by line over two days. The prime minister has been told to expect the biggest rebellion of this parliament, with at least 60 Conservative MPs likely to vote against the bill amid concerns that it is not tough enough. Continue reading...

Senior US administration official says there are no signs Moscow intends to use its nuclear weapons

Sergey Cherkasov studied in US under false identity and is accused of working for Russian intelligenceUS authorities have released new details about an alleged Russian spy who attempted to penetrate the international criminal court in The Hague, using a false identity developed over a decade.An indictment made public on Saturday accuses Sergey Cherkasov, who US intelligence believes is an elite “illegal” operative of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency. Cherkasov posed as Brazilian citizen Victor Muller Ferreira over many years. Continue reading...

Concerns raised about links between ads, increased betting and risky behaviour, as well as prevalence of chances to gamble

Exposure to chemo-signals from body odour enhances response to mindfulness therapy, trial suggestsPeople with social anxiety may benefit from mindfulness therapy combined with exposure to odours from others’ sweat, according to a study.The approach could be used in treatment for the mental health condition, where people worry excessively about participating in social situations, it was suggested. Continue reading...

James Hall believes painting’s ‘pyrotechnical music of the stars, sky and clouds’ recalls Paris monument’s spectacular openingArt experts have long struggled to explain the inspiration behind Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, in which towering cypress trees are depicted against a swirling night sky over a hillside village. Created during his incarceration in an asylum near Saint-Rémy in the south of France, it is one of a series of paintings of cypress trees interpreted as an exploration of abstraction or a mystical evocation of nature.Now the art historian Prof James Hall, a former Guardian art critic, has a new theory to explain Van Gogh’s fascination with these colossal evergreens: the Eiffel Tower. Continue reading...

Creed III actor charged with strangulation, assault and harassment after woman sustained head and neck injuriesThe actor Jonathan Majors has been arrested in New York on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment.New York City police said Majors, the star of Creed III and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, was involved in a domestic dispute on Saturday with a 30-year-old woman. Police responded at about 11am to a 911 call inside an apartment in the Chelsea neighbourhood in Manhattan. Continue reading...

Committed football supporters disavow ‘idiots’ threatening to disrupt the competitionEngland football fans have vowed to travel to Germany in large numbers for Euro 2024 and show that “idiots” wanting to provoke trouble in the host country are a minority.There were fears that some of England’s travelling fans would try to cause trouble next year after some fans sang the theme tune to the 1955 British war film The Dam Busters during last week’s match in Italy. During the match some fans also chanted about the death of Diego Maradona – in an arena known for its devotion to the former Napoli player who gave the stadium its name. Continue reading...

Corporation denies breach of impartiality rules by ‘rigging’ show in favour of Oxford and CambridgeThe BBC has rejected charges of elitism aimed at its University Challenge quiz show and defended allowing separate Oxford and Cambridge colleges to enter the contest while limiting other universities to one entry each.The long-running show, which will broadcast a quarter-final match on Monday in its 52nd series, typically includes at least 10 entries from Oxbridge colleges, with the remaining 18 places going to other universities. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Analysis of global search engine traffic reveals growing interest in Ukrainian pornography since Russian invasion

Widely touted frontrunner to replace Dominic Perrottet says he wants to spend more time with family after NSW election loss