World news | The Guardian

Exclusive: Minister says proposals show government's ambition, as it faces unprecedented pressure from GreensTree nurseries could be built at prisons and military ranges could be turned into heathland or peat bogs as part of an ambitious plan to make government land more nature-friendly, the environment secretary has said.Speaking ahead of elections this week in which Labour is under pressure from the Green party, Emma Reynolds said such projects showed the government's intent in restoring natural habitats. Continue reading...

Agriculture secretary claims without evidence Snap recipients included owners of luxury carsThe Trump administration's attack on the 87-year-old food aid program that supports tens of millions of low-income Americans escalated last week as the agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, claimed that 14,000 Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (Snap) recipients included owners of luxury vehicles such as Ferraris, Bentleys and Teslas.Critics charge that the broadside is part of a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining a benefit relied on by some of the most vulnerable people in the US. Continue reading...

Beef and olive oil costs increase the most as climate and energy shocks drive inflation, research suggestsFood prices are on track to be 50% higher in November than at the start of the cost of living crisis in 2021, research suggests.Climate and energy shocks have driven an almost quadrupling of the pace of food price growth, according to research from the thinktank Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), with costs rising in five years at about the same rate as they had over the previous two decades. Continue reading...

Louisiana's cultural hotspot could be surrounded by Gulf of Mexico before end of this century, authors sayThe process of relocating people from New Orleans should start immediately as the city has reached a point of no return" that will see it surrounded by the ocean within decades due to the climate crisis, a stark new study has concluded.Ongoing sea level rise and the rampant erosion of wetlands in southern Louisiana will swallow up the New Orleans area within a few generations, with the new paper estimating the city may well be surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico before the end of this century". Continue reading...

Exclusive: A Senate committee considering the illegal tobacco trade in Australia hears closed-session evidence from cigarette manufacturers

Phase Space pilot programme with NHS mental health trust used to calm anxiety around exams, ADHD and home troublesSchools have begun deploying virtual reality to help pupils cope with stress caused by impending exams, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or difficult home lives.All 15 secondary schools in the London borough of Sutton are using VR headsets made by tech firm Phase Space in a pilot in conjunction with the local NHS mental health trust. Continue reading...

The Olympic Games minister, Tim Mander, and the child safety minister, Amanda Camm say they were not in a relationship when they were sworn in

This blog is now closed.

Jimmy Wales remembers a toxic internet even before social media and says AI is not a disaster' for the free - and freely edited - online encyclopaedia

Exclusive: amid unrest, President William Ruto promised to give all Kenyans access to healthcare. But the algorithm favours the rich, an investigation has found

International Energy Agency findings show government must commit to rapid cuts in emissions of greenhouse gas, climate experts say

Police say no suspicious circumstances' while local councillor argues tragedy' shows housing crisis has gotten out of hand in regional Australia

Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi has called for discussions to revise the constitution, saying it should reflect the demands of the times'Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has called for advanced discussions" on revising the pacifist constitution, as large demonstrations were held nationwide to oppose any changes to the country's supreme law.Speaking during an official visit to Vietnam, Takaichi said the constitution, which was written by US occupation forces after the second world war, should periodically be updated to reflect the demands of the times". Continue reading...

War has combined with battered economy to leave Tehran wondering how hardline it can afford to beIran may not be choking like a stuffed pig as Donald Trump predicted, but its economy is in serious difficulty as a combination of a massive war-damages bill, inflation, currency devaluation, unemployment and a contraction in oil revenues combine to leave the political elite worrying how hardline they can afford to be with their US negotiators. One estimate circulating in Iran's media suggests the damage to the economy from the US-Israeli attacks is nine times the value of the Iranian budget last year.The UN Development Programme has estimated that 4.1 million more Iranians could fall into poverty. Continue reading...

The treasurer also says May federal budget will play helpful, not harmful, role in fight against inflation'

New government accused of performative justice' and making deals with suspects in 2013 Tadamon massacresAhmad al-Homsi is a deep sleeper, but when he was woken last month and told that Amjad Youssef, a Syrian intelligence officer who killed civilians in the 2013 Tadamon massacres, had been arrested, he bolted out of bed. He ran into the street to find other people already celebrating the news.We stayed out for almost three or four days celebrating. People from neighbouring areas sent camels, sheep, livestock for us to slaughter and distribute them to people. The tears of joy didn't stop," said al-Homsi, a 33-year-old activist with the Tadamon Coordination Committee, which documented the atrocities in the Damascus neighbourhood. Continue reading...

Downing Street begins fightback against predictions of imminent challenge to Keir StarmerLabour MPs are calling for a close to the endless drama" of leadership speculation, as Downing Street begins a fightback against predictions of an imminent challenge to Keir Starmer.Some backbenchers warned that repeated briefings about how and when the prime minister could be toppled were putting off voters, who similarly had disliked the Conservatives' repeated shuffling of leaders when in power. Continue reading...

Injectable pembrolizumab can treat several types of cancer and can be administered in under two minutesThousands of patients across England each year will benefit from a new immunotherapy treatment that can be used for several types of cancer, the NHS has announced.The injectable form of pembrolizumab, which can be administered in under two minutes, kills cancer cells by blocking a protein called PD-1, which acts as a brake on immune responses, allowing the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells. Continue reading...

Bloc's leaders to hold first summit with Armenia on Tuesday at it ramps up efforts to combat Kremlin's influenceThe EU is sending a team of experts specialised in combating Russian propaganda and interference to Armenia, as it increases its support to the former Soviet republic in a tense political period.In a highly symbolic sequence of events, EU leaders will hold their first summit with Armenia on Tuesday, after a pan-European gathering of about 45 leaders at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan. Continue reading...

Ana Viladomiu has been a privileged' resident of the once derided, now revered Barcelona apartment building for almost 40 yearsImagine that you live in an enormous, beautiful apartment designed by one of the world's most admired architects in the most expensive street in Spain and for which you pay a derisory rent, with the right to live there until you die.Meet the writer Ana Viladomiu, 70, the last tenant of Antoni Gaudi's Casa Mila on the elegant Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona. Viladomiu is in fact the last tenant in any of Gaudi's buildings, unless you include the peregrine falcons that nest in the Sagrada Familia. Continue reading...

Sheina Gutnick, daughter of Reuven Morrison who was killed fighting alleged Bondi beach terrorists, is first witness at royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion

Sequel a rare example of female-skewing movie leading the North American summer offerings - and highest opening weekend yet for a Meryl Streep filmGird your loins: The Devil Wears Prada 2 has had a huge opening weekend at the box office, making $233m (171m, A$323m) worldwide from an overwhelmingly female audience.The Devil Wears Prada 2 earned $77m at the North American box office, and $156.6m internationally. In the US and Canada, the sequel bumped Michael to second place, though the musical biopic held on in its second weekend to earn $54m, falling only 44%. Continue reading...

The little-known publicly funded scheme is used by about 800 families with children who cannot access mainstream care

Budget airline left thousands stranded on Saturday after ceasing operations amid financial troubles

Spokesperson calls former New York City mayor a fighter' but does not say cause of his hospitalizationRudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, has been hospitalised and is in a critical but stable condition", his spokesperson said on Sunday evening.Ted Goodman, the spokesperson, posted on social media: Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he's fighting with that same level of strength as we speak. We do ask that you join us in prayer for America's Mayor Rudy Giuliani." Continue reading...

Big Dog Ranch Rescue made deal to buy 1,500 dogs from Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin breeding and research facilityThe first beagles removed from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research facility that was the site of recent protests seemed to know right away that they were safe.They started within an hour or so coming up to us, wanting attention. Some crawled in people's laps. Every single one of them are super sweet," Lauree Simmons, the president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, said on Sunday. I think they are loving the attention. I just know they know they're safe." Continue reading...

Dutch husband and wife and third unidentified person reported to have died, with three further people taken illA suspected outbreak of the rare hantavirus infection on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean killed three people - including an elderly married couple - and sickened at least three others, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and South Africa's health department said on Sunday.The WHO said an investigation was under way but that at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed. One of the patients was in intensive care in a South African hospital, the UN's health agency said in a statement to the Associated Press, and the WHO was working with authorities to evacuate two others with symptoms from the ship. Continue reading...

US president's post follows flurry of mixed signals including concern Tehran had not paid big enough price'Donald Trump has announced that the US will guide" ships trapped by the Iran war out of the Gulf through the strait of Hormuz on Monday morning, and claimed his representatives were having very positive" discussions with Iran.Trump wrote on his social media site that the operation, called Project Freedom", would be a humanitarian gesture on behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern Countries but, in particular, the Country of Iran". Continue reading...

German chancellor downplays US military drawbacks and president's barbs in TV interviewThe German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has said he will not give up on working with the US president, Donald Trump, despite a spat between the leaders over the war in Iran.I am not giving up on working on the transatlantic relationship," Merz told the public broadcaster ARD in an interview due to air on Sunday night. Nor am I giving up on working with Donald Trump." Continue reading...

Group broke through locked door in Manhattan, damaging property and injuring a staff member, church saysA group of youths forced their way into a Scientology church in New York on Saturday in the latest in a string of nationwide speed running" incidents that have gone viral on social media in recent weeks.The group broke through a locked door to gain entry to the Church of Scientology on West 36th Street in Manhattan, throwing objects, damaging the property and injuring a staff member as worshippers and visitors attended a seminar, the church said in a statement to the Guardian. Continue reading...

Sabine Mairey, who was arrested on Thursday over social media posts, pictured with party activists in ClaphamA Green council candidate arrested this week over alleged antisemitic social media posts has been seen canvassing subsequently alongside other party members, prompting Labour to say it showed the issue was not being taken seriously by Zack Polanski's party.Sabine Mairey was one of two Green candidates in Lambeth, south London, arrested by the Metropolitan police on Thursday morning. Continue reading...

About 200 firefighters responded to devastating blaze at University of South Florida's lab on SaturdayOfficials are investigating whether a huge fire that destroyed a top marine science laboratory at the University of South Florida may have been caused by a lightning strike.Despite a massive response from local fire crews the Marine Science Laboratory building was completely destroyed after the blaze began on Saturday. Continue reading...

Avon and Somerset police declare major incident and say cause is being treated as suspiciousTwo people have died and three people, including a child, have been injured after an explosion at a house in Bristol that police have said is suspicious".Avon and Somerset police were called to the house in Sterncourt Road at about 6.17am on Sunday for a domestic-related incident", Supt Matt Ebbs said. Continue reading...

Kaela Berg is running in a crowded field with a pro-union message and a vow to protect the state's immigrantsWhen the Minnesota state legislature is not in session, Kaela Berg is working in the skies.Berg has spent the last six years doubling as a state legislator and a flight attendant, taking shifts when the legislature is on break. Continue reading...

While interest rate rises can't affect the surging price of oil caused by Middle East turmoil, they are still the Reserve Bank's best - and only - tool to fight inflation

PM's attendance at European Political Community meeting in Yerevan signals effort to build new ties after US ruptureCanada is to become the first non-European country to attend a meeting of the European Political Community when the prime minister, Mark Carney, joins Monday's summit of the 48-plus nation grouping in Yerevan, Armenia.Carney has said he is determined to build a new network of trade and diplomatic alliances after the loss of US markets under Donald Trump. His presence will also represent a show of western support for Armenia in its efforts to distance itself from Russia at a time when the US's approach to Moscow's opponents, such as Ukraine, is at best ambiguous. Canadian diplomats have rejected suggestions Ottawa might seek EU membership. Continue reading...

Billionaire's role as honorary chair and main source of funding has led to boycotts and criticism event has lost its cachetThe Met Gala in New York is the grandest and ritziest event in the fashion calendar, and an indicator of the growing ties between designers, celebrity and power. But with tech billionaires now joining the cohort, this year's party may be its most controversial yet.All eyes are on the guest list - and their outfits - to launch the fashion exhibition Costume Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. Beyonce, Venus Williams and Nicole Kidman are chairing the event with Vogue's Anna Wintour, and tickets cost about $100,000 (73,500). But in a plot twist worthy of the new Devil Wears Prada film, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos, the Met Gala's new honorary chairs, will be joining the 450 guests on the museum steps on Monday. Continue reading...

Israeli court extends detention of two men who were among 175 people intercepted near Crete on ThursdaySpain's foreign ministry has demanded the immediate release of a Spanish national it said was being held illegally" by Israel after the interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla, hours after an Israeli court moved to extend his detention by two days.Saif Abu Keshek, who lives in Barcelona, and Thiago Avila, from Brazil, appeared in court in Ashkelon on Sunday, days after Israeli forces intercepted at least 22 boats from a flotilla that was attempting to break Israel's maritime blockade of the devastated Palestinian territory to deliver aid. Continue reading...

Airport seeks deal with BA owner, Virgin and billionaire local landowner, who has own expansion plan, over cost and service issuesHeathrow's new chair has opened talks with airlines and the billionaire local landowner Surinder Arora to defuse a row that threatens to further delay the 49bn plan to build a third runway at Europe's busiest airport.Philip Jansen, who was appointed at the start of the year, is understood to have held meetings with the airport's carriers and with Arora, who has been promoting his own 25bn expansion scheme, in the hope of finding the middle ground in a row over cost and service issues. Continue reading...

US announced withdrawal of 5,000 soldiers last week after German chancellor said US was being humiliated' by IranDonald Trump has threatened to withdraw more US troops from Germany after stunning European leaders and some senior members of his own party by last week announcing the withdrawal of 5,000 soldiers from Germany.The move left 30,000 US troops still in the country, according to CNN. But Trump threatened on Saturday that more cuts were coming. We are going to cut way down, and we're cutting a lot further than 5,000," he told reporters on Saturday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Varun Chandra's talks with Google, Meta, Apple and others raise fears of lobbying behind closed doors'An influential government adviser close to Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves held 16 undisclosed meetings with top US tech executives, the Guardian can reveal.The No 10 business aide Varun Chandra discussed regulatory changes, AI and Donald Trump's second administration with tech corporations during confidential meetings between October 2024 and October 2025. In one meeting he offered to help a top executive meet the prime minister directly. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Scale model found in Christo's studio leads to London realisation of internally lit Air Package on a CeilingChristo once wrapped up the Reichstag, suspended a curtain across a Colorado valley and covered up the Pont Neuf in Paris. Now, six years after the artist's death, a London gallery is to create a monumental installation he designed in 1968, using a detailed scale model and drawings that had been presumed lost until their chance discovery.Christo had imagined a vast, internally illuminated suspended form, like a cloud, but technical constraints meant the plan was never brought to fruition. Continue reading...

Two were found dead in the early hours of Sunday in boat carrying about 82 people, several of whom were injuredTwo female Sudanese asylum seekers have died trying to cross the Channel in the early hours of Sunday morning, off the coast of Boulogne.According to some reports, one was a teenager aged 16 and the other a woman in her 20s. They were found dead in the boat, which had run aground on the beach of Neufchatel-Hardelot, according to Christophe Marx, the secretary general of the Pas-de-Calais Prefecture. Continue reading...

Search and rescue operation launched after service members reported missing near south-western city of Tan TanTwo US service members are missing in south-western Morocco after taking part in annual multinational military exercises in the North African country, the United States Africa Command (Africom) said Sunday.The US, Morocco and other countries participating in the African Lion exercise have launched a search and rescue operation, Africom said. Continue reading...

House panel divided on whether Trump should pardon Maxwell so she can cooperate with Epstein investigationThe possibility of clemency for Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, however unlikely, has long outraged survivors and their advocates who view the former British socialite's lengthy jail sentence as giving them some justice in the long-running saga.Recent reporting that a pardon for Maxwell is now being discussed supportively in some circles, however, has highlighted how Epstein and Maxwell remain a political minefield for Republicans and Donald Trump - while presenting yet another blow to survivors' fight for transparency. Continue reading...

Green leader has apologised for retweeting post suggesting police used excessive force when arresting Golders Green suspectLabour's deputy leader has warned there will be no magic bullet" to solve Labour's problems - or major challenges facing the country - as its MPs grapple with how to navigate the fallout out from the local elections.Lucy Powell told the Guardian she understood there was huge anger and despondency" from Labour MPs in the aftermath of the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal, but said the prime minister would not make a similar mistake again. Continue reading...

Green party leader says specifically outlawing controversial phrase would restrict freedom of speechZack Polanski has said he would discourage pro-Palestine protesters from using the chant globalise the intifada", but the Green party leader warned against specifically outlawing the phrase or banning a protest planned in London later this month.Speaking earlier in the weekend, Keir Starmer called for tougher action" against marchers using the chant after last week's attack on Jewish people in Golders Green, saying pro-Gaza marches risked having a cumulative effect of being intimidating. Continue reading...

Deputy leader plays down leadership talk and says party must focus on long-term challenges rather than personnelLabour's deputy leader has warned there will be no magic bullet" to solve Labour's problems - or major challenges facing the country - as its MPs grapple with how to navigate the fallout out from the local elections.Lucy Powell told the Guardian she understood there was huge anger and despondency" from Labour MPs in the aftermath of the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal, but said the prime minister would not make a similar mistake again. Continue reading...

Councillors in Leicestershire support move in efforts to reduce flooding as Reform faces divisions on nature policyA Reform UK council has backed the release of wild beavers into the countryside, despite the party's opposition to rewilding.The Reform-led Leicestershire county council has backed the release of the rodents as part of efforts to reduce flooding. Continue reading...

Database could be used to regulate opponents, from shutting off bank accounts' to healthcare, official warnsDonald Trump is attempting to select his own citizenry and control who can vote by gathering the personal details of all Americans, Arizona's top election official has warned.Adrian Fontes, Arizona's Democratic secretary of state, fears that the Trump administration's active efforts to forcibly extract voter files from 30 states including Fontes's own are part of a bigger plan to gather vital information on all US citizens into a centralised database. Trump is trying to amass a master list that will allow him to declare someone an enemy of the state," he said. Continue reading...