World news | The Guardian

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...

Research appears to challenge previous studies but some experts call aspects of it misguided'People who are the least fit need to do 30-50 minutes more exercise a week than the fittest to get the same reduction in cardiovascular risk, according to research.Researchers examined data from more than 17,000 British adults taking part in the UK Biobank study. They completed a cycle test to measure their baseline cardiorespiratory fitness (estimated VO max) and wore a fitness tracker for a week to record typical exercise levels. Continue reading...

US vice-president appeared to align with attendees of Tommy Robinson's unite the kingdom' rally in LondonThe US vice-president, JD Vance, has urged anti-immigration activists in the UK to keep on going" after tens of thousands gathered for a rally in London.Vance appeared to align himself with those who attended a march on Saturday where the far-right activist Tommy Robinson told supporters to prepare for the battle of Britain". Continue reading...

Paul Singer is founder of a leading creditor in the hedge fund consortium locked in talks with the UK governmentA billionaire Donald Trump donor could make millions from a deal being struck between the government and Thames Water.The UK's largest water company, ministers and creditors are at an impasse as they try to agree a rescue deal to stave off Thames's collapse. The water company built up a 17.6bn debt pile in the decades after its privatisation. Continue reading...

Outcome of contest for seat just outside Wigan could change the course of British politics for years to comeAndy Burnham will face Reform UK's Robert Kenyon in next month's crucial Makerfield byelection in a clash that could change the course of British politics for years to come.Reform are billing Kenyon, a plumber and army reservist who contested the seat just outside Wigan in the 2024 general election, as a local champion taking on a professional politician who is using the seat for his own advantage. Continue reading...

The online publication Puck previously reported Weiss could be moved to a new role with less oversight of the network

US vice-president says Iran must agree to never have a nuclear weapon; Tehran warns US against resuming hostilities

President claims planned Tehran attack postponed to allow talks to continue - but no indication peace plan is imminentAs he seeks an exit from the Iran war, Donald Trump is increasingly outsourcing his policymaking to US allies in the Middle East, while the White House appears unable to find a simple way to end the fighting and reopen global shipping lanes held by Tehran.In Trump's telling, the dealmaker-in-chief" has maintained a consistent policy toward Iran aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, leveling threats and incentives to reach a new deal that would also open the Strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

As campaigners take to the streets for what could be the most significant byelection for decades, the Reform leader's absence remains a mysteryIt has been six days since Nigel Farage cancelled a scheduled appearance at a Reform UK rally in Sunderland, a key election target in Labour's heartlands.The reasons given - chaos in government and what appeared to be an impending Labour leadership race - seemed logical. After all, as a quotation sometimes attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte goes: never interfere with an enemy while he is in the process of destroying himself. Continue reading...

Metropolitan police says it is yet to receive criminal reports following claims made in BBC programmePolice have urged potential victims of sexual assault who appeared on Married at First Sight (MAFS) UK to contact them, after female participants made allegations of rape and sexual misconduct.A BBC Panorama episode that aired on Monday evening documented accusations from contestants about their time on the reality TV show. Two women, who are not named, alleged they were raped by their on-screen husbands, while a third woman who agreed to be identified, Shona Manderson, accused her on-screen husband of taking things too far during sex. All the men deny the claims. Continue reading...

Government announces a near tenfold increase but forces fear it will not cover anticipated cost of dedicated teamsKeir Starmer's government has announced a near tenfold increase in funding for detectives hunting grooming gangs but has been warned by police that the amount will likely fall short" of what is needed.Operation Beaconport, which was set up last year to review closed group-based sexual exploitation inquiries in England and Wales, will receive nearly 38m, a Home Office statement said - up from 4m given last year. Continue reading...

The bank's interim chief executive says this issue should never have happened', but warns it may take time to process claimsNational Savings and Investments bank will start to contact thousands of families affected by a missing savings scandal next week, as it confirmed how much they are owed.In March, the chief executive of the state-backed bank was forced out after it emerged there had been long-running problems with the tracing of accounts belonging to customers who had died. Continue reading...

This blog is now closedThe latest drone alerts come as Ukraine and Latvia were this morning forced by Russia to repeatedly refute Moscow's claims that Kyiv was preparing attacks against Russia from Latvia.Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed that Ukraine does not use the territory of Latvia for its operations against Russia and refuted Moscow's claims.Russia is lying about Latvia allowing any country to use Latvian airspace and territory to launch attacks against Russia or any other country." Continue reading...

Jonathan Andic released on 1m bail after being questioned in connection with death of Isak Andic in 2024The son of Isak Andic, the founder of the fashion chain Mango, has been released on bail of 1m (866,000) after being arrested and questioned in connection with his father's death in Catalonia almost 18 months ago.Andic died in December 2024 after apparently falling 100 metres down a ravine while hiking in Montserrat, near Barcelona, with his son, Jonathan. His death aged 71 prompted tributes to him from politicians, journalists and the fashion world. Continue reading...

Officials from Baltic states say Moscow behind latest such incident but also tell Kyiv to be more careful with its routing

Exclusive: Science agency is planning to sack a third of the team working on the national climate model, sources say

It's heartless to cut supports we need to leave the house, work and study at a time when the cost of living has dramatically increased', advocate says

Abstract expressionist's Number 7A, 1948, becomes the fourth most expensive work ever sold at auctionA Jackson Pollock painting has sold for a record $181.2m (135.3m) at Christie's in New York.The sale on Monday made Number 7A, 1948 the fourth most expensive work ever sold at auction, according to ARTnews. Continue reading...

A thrillingly fresh' 30th-anniversary production of Jonathan Larson's musical will open at the Duke of York's theatre in London, directed by Luke SheppardThe Pulitzer prize-winning musical Rent will return to London this autumn in a 30th-anniversary production starring Stranger Things' Gaten Matarazzo in his West End debut.The rock opera, based on Puccini's La Boheme and set in New York's East Village during the Aids crisis, ran for more than 5,000 performances on Broadway and won four Tony awards. Jonathan Larson, who wrote the book, music and lyrics, died aged 35 of an aortic aneurysm shortly before it opened in 1996. The musical also ran for 18 months in London, became a 2005 film and has had several major revivals including one directed by Luke Sheppard at Manchester's Hope Mill theatre in 2020. Sheppard, who last month won an Olivier award for Paddington: The Musical, is staging the new revival, directly inspired by his Manchester production. Continue reading...

Smotrich vows to retaliate by waging war' on Palestinian Authority and orders evacuation of a West Bank village

Yvette Cooper and Jonathan Reynolds urge colleagues to support each other and remember who we're here to serve'

Scotland Yard to send files to CPS with strong evidence' of potential wrongdoing - but any trials could be years awayScotland Yard has said it hopes to bring criminal charges against 77 companies and individuals for the 2017 Grenfell tower fire, in which 72 people died.The lead investigator, Garry Moncrieff, said his team of 220 detectives had gathered strong evidence" of potential wrongdoing. Continue reading...

Grayson the Musical will explore identity, creativity and self-acceptance ... with life coaching from a six-foot teddy bear named Alan'Grayson Perry's life story is to be told in an outrageous" new stage musical co-created with the composer of Jerry Springer: The Opera.Grayson the Musical is a portrait of the artist from his childhood in Chelmsford to his international fame as a Turner prize-winning ceramicist, tapestry-maker and frock-lover. As well as fabulous dresses, the show will include a supporting role for Alan Measles, the beloved teddy bear who has featured in Perry's work. Continue reading...

Researchers found over 1,600 primates listed for sale on Facebook, TikTok and more over a six-week period in 2025A new report from leading wildlife and conservation organizations has revealed a sharp rise in the online sale of primates across major social media platforms in the US, raising concerns about wildlife trafficking, public safety and animal welfare.The report, titled Primates for Purchase: The Surge in Sales on Social Media in the US, was released Tuesday by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Continue reading...

Cornwall Insight predicts rise in price cap of nearly 13% in Great Britain as Iran war pushes up gas costs

Figures disclosed by nursing union show big rise on reported incidents which may only be tip of the iceberg'Racist abuse of NHS nurses has jumped by 86% in the last few years, which their union's boss has blamed on the normalisation of extreme views in politics and the media.One nurse was called a monkey by a colleague, a patient threw a hot drink at a nurse and followed up with racial abuse, and in several cases others were called the N-word, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) disclosed. Continue reading...

Estimated 1bn per year is laundered through vape stores, barbers, mini-marts and sweet shops, officials sayDodgy" retail outlets such as vape stores, barbers, mini-marts and sweet shops suspected of being used to launder 1bn of criminal money will be targeted by a new specialist unit, the government has said.A 20m National Crime Agency cell will run and coordinate investigations and raids into UK businesses suspected of acting as fronts for gangsters, the Home Office said. Continue reading...

Donald Trump says plans for a US military attack on Iran have been paused because serious negotiations are now taking place'

Victim in his 20s was beaten up in north London street having stepped outside to use his phoneA Jewish man is being treated in hospital for injuries to his face and body after being attacked by a number of men in north London.Police were called in the early hours of Monday morning following reports that a Jewish man had been assaulted by a number of men outside a property on the Grove in Golders Green. Continue reading...

A court case in New York has highlighted how Iran is using technology to recruit agents who may not even be regime supportersWhen on Friday a 32-year-old Iraqi was brought before a court in New York to be charged with planning to attack Jewish community sites in the US, a curtain was suddenly lifted on a corner of a shadowy world.The detention of Mohammed Saad Baqer al-Saadi in Turkey last week revealed rare details of Iran's efforts to use terrorism to sow discord among communities in Europe, the UK and the US - but also the outlines of an uncertain and threatening future. Continue reading...

Chancellor has been under pressure to extend 5p temporary cut at an estimated cost to government of 2.4bn a year

Police will be able to question children without an adult present and hold them after being charged under draft laws introduced by the CLP

China's deep relationship with Russia remains a continuing cause for concern in the west, particularly since Moscow launched its invasion of UkraineXi Jinping and Vladimir Putin exchanged congratulatory letters" on Sunday ahead of the Russian president's visit to Beijing this week, four days since Donald Trump left China after a high-stakes summit.Xi, China's leader, said bilateral cooperation between Russia and China had continuously deepened and solidified", with this year marking the 30th anniversary of the two countries' strategic partnership, according to Chinese state media. Continue reading...

Airline's CEO says uncertainty is making travellers book later, keeping summer holiday fares down

Singer took lead vocal on UK No 1 When You're in Love With a Beautiful Woman, and had numerous other transatlantic hitsDennis Locorriere, the guitarist and singer with the chart-topping soft rock band Dr Hook, has died aged 76.A statement from his management company said he died on Saturday after a long and courageous battle with kidney disease ... Dennis faced his illness with remarkable strength, dignity, and resilience throughout, and remained deeply cherished by all who knew him". Continue reading...

Temperatures in France and England could rise by 15C, while hot air could to give way to snow in parts of USAfter a prolonged spell of cool conditions across much of Europe, a dramatic swing in temperatures is expected in the coming days as warmer air surges north into western and central parts of the continent.A large blocking high over the North Atlantic and slow-moving low pressure across southern Scandinavia dragged Arctic air southwards last week, sending temperatures 10-15C below the seasonal average for more than a week. Continue reading...

The historian won $50,000 for her nonfiction book Naku Dharuk: The Bark Petitions, which judges praised as deeply researched, highly original' and vividly alive'A highly original" nonfiction by Melbourne historian Clare Wright, charting the creation of the Yirrkala Bark Petitions - a seminal moment in Australia's history of land rights - has won book of the year at the NSW literary awards.The Petitions were landmark documents presented by Yolu elders to the Australian parliament in 1963 on painted bark frames, which sought government intervention after a portion of Arnhem Land Reserve was licensed to a French mining company. Though it didn't halt mining on the land, the petitions led to the first land rights legislation in Australia, the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. Continue reading...

Civilians left increasingly exposed as a dangerous new front opens up in the country's decades-old conflictAs night fell over southern Colombia, and a group of children began their weekly Tuesday football match, a drone appeared overhead.The children looked up, and the drone dropped a grenade, its blast killing a 10-year-old boy and injuring 12 more civilians. The child's death, in southern Cauca in 2024, marked the first known time a person in the country had been killed in a weaponised drone attack. Continue reading...

Look, if I was in a French supermarket, I probably would have got a two for one deal on that one,' woman in WA told national TV

While RAF Lakenheath holds its secrets, neighbours contend with plane spotters, protesters and sonic boomsThe local people know there is something going on when the internet and phone signal drops dead, they say. If the heavy bombers are flying low, the teachers will pause their school assembly until the thunderous din has passed. The parish council has been briefed on the intricacies of sonic booms. Car insurance is more expensive here as the Americans can't drive" and sometimes find themselves on the wrong side of the road. The base became less open to its neighbours after 9/11. But everyone knows there are secrets held beyond the barbed wire, not least that this is where the nukes are stored.RAF Lakenheath is the largest US air force (USAF) base in Europe, part of what is known as the tri-base area" of Suffolk, a stretch of 20 sq miles (52 sq km) of land leased to the US government around which a peculiar ecosystem has developed over the eight decades of the American presence. Continue reading...

Union to urge ministers to bring in mandatory minimum staffing, as ageing population increases demand for careAlmost two-thirds of nurses believe there are too few of them working in the NHS to keep patients safe and give them proper care, a survey has revealed.Understaffing and the increasingly complex medical needs posed by an ageing population are creating a deadly mix" for patients, the Royal College of Nursing warned on Monday.64% expected to cut services this year.83% feared financial constraints will impact planned patient care and 78% worry it will affect emergency care.57% expected to cut their clinical staffing this year to save money. Continue reading...

MPs will decide whether Corin Robertson will face questions over decision to award security clearance against adviceThe UK's next ambassador to Japan could be called to give evidence over the decision to award Peter Mandelson security clearance against the advice of vetting officials.Corin Robertson was the Foreign Office's (FCDO) chief operating officer when she was involved in the decision in late January 2025 to grant Mandelson clearance, according to evidence given to MPs. Continue reading...

The US supreme court demolished the 1965 Voting Rights Act when it ruled in Louisiana v Callais in April that states can't consider race in redistricting. Southern states from Tennessee to Alabama have rushed to erase majority Black districts, sparking chaos for the midterm elections. Kai Wright talks with Stacey Abrams, voting rights activist and former Georgia house minority leader, about the fallout from the decision and why she thinks the way forward is still through engaging more voters to participate in democracy: They have fractured communities and said we're going to scatter these seeds. Our job is to grow.' Continue reading...

Reform, which won more than 50% of the local election vote, is likely to focus heavily on immigration and BrexitAndy Burnham faces a perilous race to win the Makerfield seat, his allies have said, as he gears up to fight a byelection that could decide the long-term future of Labour and the country.The Greater Manchester mayor is likely to be confirmed as Labour's candidate for the north-west constituency later this week, but those close to him say he faces an uphill battle to beat Reform UK. Nigel Farage's party won more than 50% of the vote at the local elections and polling suggests Burnham is only marginally ahead. Continue reading...

Exhibition explores how artists mainly known for their paintings helped revive a skill that had fallen out of fashionThey may be best known for their vibrant oil paintings but an exhibition opening in the English West Country is focusing instead on the subtle printmaking skills of artists such as Edouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.More than 50 prints created mainly by impressionists, post-impressionists and cubists are going on display at the Holburne Museum in Bath. Continue reading...

Humpback stranded on sandbank was unlikely to survive, experts had said, recommending it be left to die in peaceThe German authorities have defended their decision to allow a risky rescue attempt of a stranded whale to go ahead, despite experts warning it was inadvisable" because the animal was hurt and unlikely to survive.The saga of the whale, known as Timmy, had gripped Germany since the beached humpback was spotted stranded on Timmendorfer beach, a sandbank in shallow waters near the coast, nearly two months ago. Continue reading...