World news | The Guardian

New talent program aims to attract academics fleeing US as administration slashes higher education funding

Report accusing Northern Beaches hospital of not taking sufficient actions to stop risks comes as parents of baby who died after waiting for caesarean speak out

Mark Carney's Liberals have surged in the polls since Donald Trump's attacks on Canada, scuppering Conservative calls for change after Trudeau eraPrime Minister Mark Carney said the key question in Canada's upcoming election is who is best to deal with Donald Trump as he faced his Conservative rival in a French-language leaders' debate on Wednesday.Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said during the debate Canada needs change after a decade of Liberal party rule and Carney is just like his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Carney responded: Mr Poilievre is not Justin Trudeau. I'm not Justin Trudeau either. In this election the question is who is going to face Mr Trump." Continue reading...

UK bakery chain says it will offer free soya with coffee or tea from 21 May but will still charge for oat milkThe bakery chain Gail's is to drop its soya milk surcharge after a campaign by a leading animal rights charity argued the fee unfairly discriminated" against customers.Gail's will offer free soya from 21 May, but will continue to charge between 40p and 60p if costumers want oat in their coffee or tea. Continue reading...

Blazes in some parts of the country are up by 1,200% since last year, as charities warn about effects on wildlifeEntire ecosystems have been decimated" and endangered species put at risk after one of the worst wildfire seasons on record in the UK, charities have warned.Vast areas of habitat for animals including butterflies, beetles and falcons have been damaged, and some peat bogs may take hundreds of years" to recover following one of the driest Marches in decades combined with warmer than average temperatures in April. Continue reading...

Activist groups make request for arrest warrant to be issued for Gideon Sa'ar after unannounced trip to LondonThe UK Foreign Office has confirmed that the foreign secretary, David Lammy, met his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa'ar, while Sa'ar was on an unannounced visit to London.The Foreign Office described Sa'ar's visit as private", though it said Lammy had discussed a full range of Middle East issues with the Israeli foreign minister. News of Sa'ar's presence in the UK - at a time when Israel is intensifying its offensive in Gaza, having ended a ceasefire last month - has triggered outrage among critics of Israel, and a formal request from activists for an arrest warrant to be issued against him on charges of alleged complicity in war crimes. Continue reading...

Hashem Abedi is alleged to have attacked three prison officers with hot cooking oil in kitchen at HMP FranklandThe brother of the Manchester Arena bomber is reported to have been moved to the high security prison at Belmarsh in south London after an attack on three prison officers.Hashem Abedi, who plotted the 2017 bombing, is alleged to have attacked three prison officers with hot cooking oil at a high-security prison on Saturday at Durham's HMP Frankland. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Emily Thornberry and Liam Byrne say MPs should have input because of agreement's significanceThe Labour chairs of the foreign and trade committees have called for parliament to have a vote on any UK trade deal with the United States.Emily Thornberry, who chairs the foreign affairs committee, and Liam Byrne, who chairs the business and trade committee, said MPs should have a say on the deal ministers are hoping to strike with Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Wave of assaults declaration of war' by drug gangs after crackdown on bosses operating from jail, French media sayEmmanuel Macron has warned that those behind a wave of apparently coordinated attacks on French prisons and staff will be found, tried and punished".The president's comments came after at least a dozen assaults on French jails in the past three days. In one attack, gunmen using automatic weapons fired at the entrance to Toulon prison in the south of France. Continue reading...

Chancellor says wages are growing faster than prices but acknowledges many are still struggling with the cost of livingA government minister has reiterated the call for the Unite union to accept a deal and end the bin strike in Birmingham.Speaking on GB News this morning, Lillian Greenwood, parliamentary under-secretary of state for the future of roads, said residents were facing a completely unacceptable situation" Continue reading...

Joshua Sullivan was abducted from his church by four gunmen, but is now recovering and in excellent condition'South African police have rescued an American pastor who was abducted last week while he was conducting a sermon, as kidnappings have soared over the last decade in the country.Three unidentified suspects were killed during the high-intensity shootout" on Tuesday in which Joshua Sullivan, a missionary from Tennessee, was rescued, the Hawks, the police unit that deals with serious crime in South Africa, said in a statement. Continue reading...

Authorities say suspect had a lust' for killing and used drugs to paralyse the respiratory muscles of victimsProsecutors have charged a Berlin palliative care doctor with the murder of 15 patients, alleging he acted out of a lust" for killing.The 40-year-old suspect is accused of killing 12 women and three men between September 2021 and July 2024 using a deadly cocktail of sedatives. German press reports identified the suspect as Johannes M, but prosecutors have not released a name. Continue reading...

Delegation of European parliament lawmakers raise concerns about number of worrying developments' concern country's compliances with EU valuesUS state secretary Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff will visit France in the coming days, the French government's spokesperson Sophie Primas confirmed.Politico and Le Monde earlier reported that the pair would come to Paris later this week with the intention of hosting high-level talks on Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, and trade. Continue reading...

Veronica Abad claims Daniel Noboa, her former running mate, used state power to tilt the voteEcuador's vice-president, Veronica Abad, has accused the country's president - her former running mate Daniel Noboa - of violating the democratic code" by using the state apparatus to gain an advantage over the other candidates in the country's runoff election.

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereThe definition of a woman and sex in the Equality Act relates to a biological woman and biological sex", the supreme court has ruled as it unanimously allowed an appeal from gender critical campaign group For Women Scotland.A possible outcome of the case is that the court will agree with the previous interpretation of the law as it stands, but suggest parliament considers amending the Equality Act to deal with these previously unforeseen consequences. Continue reading...

Judges say Equality Act definition excludes transgender women holding gender recognition certificates after gender critical campaigners' challengeThe UK supreme court has ruled that the terms woman" and sex" in the Equality Act refer to a biological woman and biological sex, in a victory for gender-critical campaigners.Five judges from the UK supreme court ruled unanimously that the legal definition of a woman in the Equality Act 2010 did not include transgender women who hold gender recognition certificates (GRCs). Continue reading...

Prime minister and Coalition leader face off in showdown hosted by ABC. Follow live updates

Dispensation means teachers in England not obliged to inform child protection about under-18s in every instanceTeachers will not have to inform on sexually active teenagers under a new legal duty to report child abuse after a novel Romeo and Juliet" exemption received cross-party support.A new crime and policing bill obliges professionals in England, including teachers and healthworkers, to report suspicions of child sexual abuse to the police or local authority in an attempt by the government to prevent cover-ups. Continue reading...

Martin Hibbert tells justice secretary he is absolutely disgusted' to hear of alleged assault by Hashem AbediA survivor of the Manchester Arena bombing has said that the alleged assault on prison officers by one of the brothers behind the 2017 terrorist attack signified a catastrophic failure of duty" to protect prison staff.Hashem Abedi, who helped his suicide bomber brother, Salman Abedi, to plan the attack at an Ariana Grande concert, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 55 years after being convicted of the murder of 22 people, as well as attempted murder, and conspiracy to cause an explosion likely to endanger life. Continue reading...

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Latest ABS data reveals Labor's target of building 1.2m homes in five years is already running 30,000 behind schedule

Suspect apprehended within hours of Tuesday violence, says school district, while superintendent says such shootings becoming way too familiar'A suspect in a shooting at a Dallas high school that wounded four students and drew a heavy police response to the campus has been taken into custody, school district officials have announced.Three of the students were injured by gunfire and the fourth was injured in their lower body, according to the Dallas fire-rescue department. It said units were dispatched to Wilmer-Hutchins high school just after 1pm and that the four male students were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from serious to not life-threatening. Continue reading...

Freedom of information requests reveal disproportionate use of batons and rigid handcuffs for Muslims behind barsMuslim prisoners are disproportionately subjected to force including pain-inducing techniques by jail staff, according to new data.Freedom of information requests found that in eight out of nine prisons with high Muslim populations, Muslim men were more likely than the average inmate to be confronted with batons, made to wear rigid bar handcuffs, or deliberately held in a painful position.At Belmarsh, a prison in south-east London often used to hold terrorist suspects, Muslim prisoners made up 32% of the population in 2023. Over the same period, Muslim men were subjected to 43% of incidents involving the use of rigid bar handcuffs and 61% of incidents involving the use of pain-inducing techniques.At HMP Whitemoor, in Cambridgeshire, Muslim prisoners constituted 43% of the prison population. But more than half - 55% - of the use of rigid bar handcuffs and pain-inducing techniques over the year was on Muslim prisoners.At HMP Isis in Thamesmead, south-east London, Muslim prisoners made up 45% of the inmates. But batons were used on Muslim prisoners in more than 57% of the incidents where batons were drawn, and 56% of incidents of pain-inducing techniques involved Muslim prisoners.At HMP/YOI Feltham B in west London, Muslim prisoners were 42% of the population. Figures showed they were subjected to 53% of the uses of rigid bar cuffs, 57% of the instances where batons were drawn and 64% of pain-nducing techniques.At HMP Woodhill, in Milton Keynes, Muslim prisoners constituted 37% of the population but were subjected to 49% of the uses of rigid bar handcuffs, 63% of instances of batons being drawn and 64% of incidents using pain-inducing techniques. Continue reading...

Judges to decide if Equality Act protections include transgender women with gender recognition certificates

Human rights groups say drop is partly due to EU policies that turn blind eye to rights abuses in countries such as Libya and TunisiaIrregular crossings at Europe's borders have fallen by 30% in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period last year, in a decrease that rights groups partly attributed to EU policies that have emphasised deterrence while seemingly turning a blind eye to the risk of rights abuses.The decline was seen across all the major migratory routes into Europe, the EU's border agency Frontex said in a statement, amounting to nearly 33,600 fewer arrivals in the first three months of the year. Continue reading...

Cameron Robert Hunt, 45, has been charged with domestic violence murder and arson

Woman has pleaded not guilty to all charges as News Corp lawyer argues horse has bolted' when it comes to suppressing her identity

Men connected to right-wing group claiming responsibility for confronting prime minister at Melbourne hotel say there was nothing James Bond' about getting access

All banking in the Pacific nation used to be done in cash but that is about to change on the main island of FunafutiTuvalu, one of the world's most remote nations, has unveiled its first ever ATMs, at the headquarters of the National Bank of Tuvalu in the village of Vaiaku on Funafuti, the country's main island.Tuesday's ceremony marked a historic shift for the island nation of 12,000 people, which has never before had access to electronic banking. Attended by prime minister Feleti Teo, the governor general, traditional leaders, members of parliament and representatives from the diplomatic and business sectors, the event celebrated a long-anticipated move toward financial modernisation. Continue reading...

Sentenced with wife Nadine Heredia, Humala is third president of Peru imprisoned for corruption in past 20 yearsA Peruvian court has sentenced former president Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison for laundering funds received from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to finance Humala's 2006 and 2011 campaigns.The judges of the national superior court found that Humala and Heredia received several million dollars in illegal contributions for these campaigns from Odebrecht and the government of the then Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez. Continue reading...

Major setback for diplomatic efforts to end two years of civil war as Arab states refuse to sign joint communiqueA British-led attempt to establish a contact group to facilitate ceasefire talks in Sudan fell apart on Tuesday when Arab states refused to sign a joint communique after a conference in London.The daylong argument between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the communique represents a big diplomatic setback for efforts to end two years of civil war in Sudan. Continue reading...

Jonathan Reynold's trip suggests government will continue its rapprochement with Beijing despite security concernsThe trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will travel to Beijing to revive a key trade dialogue with China despite saying it had been naive to allow Chinese investment in sensitive sectors, the Guardian has learned.Reynolds is scheduled to travel to China later this year for high-level talks in an effort to boost bilateral trade and investment. Continue reading...

Data shows England's 200 leading independent schools devote fraction of fee income to supporting poorer pupilsEngland's wealthiest private schools devote only a small fraction of their income towards means-tested bursaries, according to research that undermines claims that adding VAT to school fees would decimate support for poorer pupils.The Private Education Policy Forum (PEPF), a thinktank campaigning for greater equality and transparency among independent schools, gathered data from more than 200 leading schools, and found they spent less than 6% of their total fee income on supporting pupils based on family income. Continue reading...

Video shows the herd forming a protective circle around youngster during powerful earthquakeAs the ground shook from a 5.2-magnitude earthquake, a herd of elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park sprang into action to protect their young.A video shot of their enclosure at the park on Monday morning shows the five African elephants standing around in the morning sun before the camera shakes and they run in different directions. Then the older elephants - Ndlula, Umngani, Khosi - scramble to encircle and shield the two seven-year-old calves, Zuli and Mkhaya, from any possible threats. Continue reading...

NEU leader says union is living rent free' in Farage's head after the politician accused him of poisoning the minds of our kids'Alison McGovern, minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, has commented on those latest job statistics, which showed that the number of payrolled workers in UK fell by 78,000.The Labour MP for Birkenhead said:We're determined to get Britain working again as part of our plan for change by overhauling job centres, creating good jobs, transforming skills, transitioning to net zero and delivering the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation.This month, local areas are also starting to roll out their plans to tackle the root causes of inactivity as we get Britain back to health and back to work - backed by a share of 125m of investment.Refusing a British Parliamentarian entry to Hong Kong for a private family visit, without reason, is an affront to UK-China diplomatic relations and will have a chilling effect on all UK politicians who speak up for freedom and democracy. That is why it is so important that we secure a statement setting out the Chinese authorities' motivations for this act.It's now clearer than ever that the Chinese authorities aren't going to play ball here. The foreign secretary needs to urgently take the exceptional step of summoning the Chinese ambassador in person to provide a clear and comprehensive account of why Wera was refused entry. Continue reading...

Former PM says she wants to protect free speech after being cut off at the knees' by the elite' while at No 10Liz Truss is preparing to launch her own social media platform championing free speech, as she warned the deep state" and mainstream media were stifling freedom of expression in Britain.The former prime minister said the platform would launch this summer. It is her latest attempt to become a leading figure on the radical right in Britain, openly declaring her support for Donald Trump and Elon Musk's mission to slash state spending in the US. Continue reading...

National Education Union calls Reform UK far-right and racist' as it pledges funds to opposite Reform in electionsThe UK's largest teaching union has called Reform UK far-right and racist", and its leader has dismissed Nigel Farage as a poundshop Donald Trump," as the union pledged funds to oppose the party's candidates in elections.Delegates to the National Education Union's annual conference backed a motion stating that far-right and racist organisations, including Reform, seek to build on the despair, poverty and alienation in our society by scapegoating refugees, asylum seekers, Muslims, Jews and others who do not fit their beliefs". Continue reading...

US president issues scathing view of Chinese counterpart's motivations amid escalating trade war with BeijingXi Jinping's tour of south-east Asia this week is probably intended to screw" the United States, Donald Trump has suggested, as Xi embarks on a five-day tour of some of the nations hardest hit by Trump's tariffs.China's president visited Hanoi on Monday, where he met Vietnam's top politician, To Lam, called for stronger trade ties and signed dozens of cooperation agreements, including on enhancing supply chains, before heading to Malaysia. Continue reading...

Italy's PM has demonstrated an affinity with the US president, but also needs to maintain allegiance to her EU partners

Lola Hassid Angel can vividly recall the hunger, disease and death at Nazi camp liberated exactly 80 years agoFor a long time, Lola Hassid Angel did not want to talk about the horrors of her childhood. Her experiences of the second world war had not been light: by the age of eight, the Holocaust survivor had reached adulthood", seen things she should never have seen, heard sounds she should never have heard, and been confronted by terrors she could neither forgive nor forget.Which is why the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen by British forces on 15 April 1945 is as much a cause for joy as for the horror to come flooding back. Continue reading...

European Commission could reportedly let energy companies declare force majeure and avoid paying MoscowThe European Commission is considering plans that would allow European companies to break long-term Russian gas contracts without paying penalties to Moscow, it has been reported.Citing three officials with knowledge of the plan, the Financial Times reported that the commission was studying the possibility of allowing companies to declare force majeure, which would absolve importers of their obligations to pay penalty fees for ending contracts. Continue reading...

Sources close to police inquiry say an employee collapsed after nitrogen leak and second woman is in intensive carePolice in Paris have launched an investigation after a woman suffocated while undergoing a cryotherapy session at a city gym and a second is in intensive care.The dead woman, a 29-year-old employee of the gym, collapsed after a nitrogen leak from a cold chamber that had been repaired earlier in the day, sources close to the inquiry said. The colourless and odourless gas is used to create an atmosphere of extreme subzero temperatures. Continue reading...

Wendy Jones, 68, died after part of a ceiling collapsed on guests at Brean Sands holiday park in 2019The owner of Pontins holiday parks has been charged with corporate manslaughter after part of a ceiling collapsed six years ago on to guests at a bar, one of whom died months later in hospital.Eighteen people were injured at the Brean Sands site in Somerset in February 2019 after a 40-metre section of structural ducting and ceiling fell inside an entertainment area and exposed live electrics. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Labor urges state Liberal leader Brad Battin to get a spine' and rule out a repeal of Victoria's nuclear ban

Australian defence minister Richard Marles says he has spoken to Indonesian counterpart about report Moscow filed official request over military aircraftIndonesia's defence minister has said reports Russia is seeking to base military aircraft in the country are simply not true", according to the Australian government, after Canberra made urgent calls to Jakarta.The report from defence and security news website Janes said Moscow had filed an official request with Jakarta for permission for Russian aerospace forces (VKS) aircraft, including several long-range aircraft, to be based at a facility in Biak. Continue reading...

On 23 March, contact was lost with a team of Palestinian rescue workers and medics in southern Gaza. A week later, their bodies were recovered from a mass graveAt 4.20am, a Red Crescent ambulance on its way to collect people injured by an airstrike in Rafah comes under Israeli fire in Hashashin. Two paramedics are killed. Continue reading...

Both major parties spruik housing policies, with Anthony Albanese saying critics may not have read all the detail of Labor's plan

Education minister Ben Carroll says VCAA overhaul will aim to give families, students and schools full confidence in exams

The 74-year-old woman is in hospital after being rescued by a man working nearby at Greenwich in Sydney's north

The country's three special units at high-security prisons are in spotlight after Hashem Abedi's assault against staffWith its high, ugly, grey concrete perimeter walls HMP Frankland looks as grim from the outside as you would expect for a place nicknamed Monster Mansion".Since it was opened in 1983 on the leafy outskirts of Durham - near a 13th-century priory used for centuries as a holiday retreat for Benedictine monks - its inmates have included Peter Sutcliffe, Harold Shipman and Charles Bronson. Continue reading...