World news | The Guardian

Court in Buenos Aires sentences Fernando Sabag Montiel and accomplice over 2022 incident in which gun was pointed at former president but did not go offA court in Argentina has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of attempting to kill former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.The court in Buenos Aires also sentenced the man's accomplice to eight years in prison, capping a dramatic case that has captivated the country since 2022, when the main defendant, Fernando Sabag Montiel, squeezed through a crowd outside the ex-president's home, thrust a loaded gun at her face and pulled the trigger. Continue reading...

Calls for reform to allow people across the Pacific threatened by climate crisis to more easily migrate, particularly to New ZealandClimate and migration experts are calling for urgent action to create legal pathways for people displaced by the climate crisis, as a new report highlights the scale of the problem across the Pacific.Research by Amnesty International released on Thursday found current immigration systems are inadequate for Pacific Islanders seeking safety and stability, as rising seas threaten to make their homelands uninhabitable. Continue reading...

Suman Mokhtarian was killed in Riverstone on Wednesday in the latest in a series of broad-daylight shootings

DPP alleges sentencing judge erred' when finding triple-murderer could be held in solitary confinement for years'The Victorian director of public prosecutions is appealing Erin Patterson's sentence because a judge erred in finding she was likely to spend years to come" in solitary confinement when allowing for the possibility of parole.According to the notice of appeal released by the supreme court on Thursday, the DPP is appealing Patterson's sentence of life imprisonment - due to the setting of a non-parole period of 33 years - because of findings Justice Christopher Beale made about her likely prison conditions. Continue reading...

Note from secretary of state says you need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first'The text of the note handed to Donald Trump by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, on Wednesday afternoon, captured in a photograph, suggested the president could soon announce a peace deal in Gaza on his social media platform.Very close," the note read, according to an image of the handwritten note taken by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci. We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first." Continue reading...

Times Higher Eduction ranks university as 37th in the world, with five other Australian schools in top 100

Exclusive: Wife of Jihad al-Shamie says he was intimidating, aggressive and controlling' but did not seem radicalisedThe Manchester synagogue terrorist was intimidating, aggressive and controlling" but showed no sign of extremism before carrying out his lethal antisemitic attack, one of his wives has said.The woman, who married Jihad al-Shamie in an Islamic ceremony in 2021, said the 35-year-old was glued to his phone" watching Arabic news channels but did not appear to be on the path to terror. Continue reading...

Departments told to manage their own cost pressures as finance ministry seeks to curb overuse of contingency fundCabinet ministers have been told they will not be able to use the Treasury reserve to fund public sector pay rises and cannot access it unless there are exceptional circumstances.In the run-up to the budget, James Murray, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has written to ministers setting out a decision to clamp down on departments' access to the reserve. Continue reading...

Prime minister hopes to learn from success of scheme rolled out to most of country's 1.4bn citizensKeir Starmer is to examine India's digital ID system on his visit to Mumbai as a potential model for the UK, praising the system as a massive success".Speaking on his two-day trip to Mumbai, where he met an expert on India's digital ID system, Starmer defended the introduction of a similar measure in the UK, saying he believed the rollout of a voluntary system could be expanded to school applications, mortgages and driving licences. Continue reading...

US president optimistic after US, Qatari and Turkish officials join third day of indirect Israel-Hamas talks in EgyptDonald Trump has said he may travel to the Middle East at the end of the week, adding that negotiations in Egypt to end the two-year war in Gaza were very close" to reaching a deal.The US president said that he could visit the region on Saturday or Sunday as he hailed talks that could bring peace for the Middle East". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Plans for England and Wales would help ailing hospitality sector but health experts criticise movePubs, clubs and restaurants will be able to open into the early hours as part of Labour's drive for economic growth, a move which critics say will lead to more drunken disorder.Ministers are pushing ahead with plans to allow premises that sell alcohol to extend their opening hours in order to boost the British night out" and help the hospitality sector. Continue reading...

Rivals lurk in the aisles at sparsely attended conference at which the party leader ignores the threat from ReformWhen Kemi Badenoch was knocking on doors in her Essex constituency in the run up to the last election, she was confronted by a former Tory voter who told her: I don't know what the blue rosette you're wearing means any more."While she went on to retain her seat, Badenoch's majority was slashed by almost 25,000 and the Conservative party as a whole suffered its worst defeat in parliamentary history. Continue reading...

Friedrich Merz's conservatives had pledged to rescind legislation, which allowed citizenship in three years instead of fiveGermany's parliament has rescinded a fast-track citizenship programme, reflecting the rapidly shifting mood on migration in Europe's labour-hungry economic powerhouse.Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives pledged in this year's election campaign to rescind the legislation, which let people deemed exceptionally well integrated" gain citizenship in three years instead of five. Continue reading...

Adrian Young, of British Transport Police, restrained 15-year-old at a train station in Camden, north LondonA British Transport Police officer who put a 15-year-old girl in a headlock during an arrest has been found guilty of assault.PC Adrian Young, 48, used unlawful force in September last year at Camden Road railway station in north London, and was convicted after a trial at Westminster magistrates court. Continue reading...

Julia Wandelt is on trial accused of targeting the McCann family with a two-and-a-half-year harassment campaignKate McCann has said it was hard to hear an alleged stalker refer to her as Mum", as she gave evidence in the trial of a woman who claimed to be her missing daughter.Speaking from behind a screen, McCann told Leicester crown court she was left frightened and distressed by the actions of Julia Wandelt, 24, who is accused of a two-and-a-half-year harassment campaign. Continue reading...

Survey finds 58% backing restricting armed forces to external threats amid Trump deployments to US cities

Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein secured guns and hundreds of ammunition rounds, Preston crown court toldTwo men accused of plotting a terrorist attack in Greater Manchester secured guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in a plan to kill as many Jewish people as they could", jurors have been told.Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, have gone on trial charged with preparing acts of terrorism between 13 December 2023 and 9 May 2024. The prosecution in the case at Preston crown court alleges that they are Islamic extremists with a visceral dislike" of Jewish people. Continue reading...

Puffin issues alert to schools and local authorities over books in popular Spy Dog series by Andrew CopeThe children's publisher Puffin is hurriedly contacting UK schools and local authorities after it discovered that a website address included in a popular children's book series had been hijacked by a pornography site.The publisher has urged school libraries to remove the books after a website address printed in the Spy Dog, Spy Pups and Spy Cat series by Andrew Cope was redirected to unrestricted adult content. Continue reading...

Justice secretary says right to challenge unfair work behaviour is core to Labour work plan after union backlashThe justice secretary, David Lammy, has ruled out reintroducing charges for employment tribunals after a backlash from unions over the proposals.The Guardian revealed last week that ministers were considering a plan to charge workers a fee to take their bosses to court as part of negotiations in this year's spending review. Trade unions responded with fury, labelling the idea a disaster". Continue reading...

The Conservative leader used her conference speech to announce plans to scrap stamp duty and launch an attack on Labour, but why was there so little mention of the biggest threat facing her party? And will her performance be enough to stave off leadership rival Robert Jenrick? Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey talk through the speech and ask where the Conservatives go from here.Plus, they speak to Luke Tryl from More in Common about whether any moments from conference season have moved the dial in British politics--

The star has already sold 3.5m units of her critically divisive album, a new record in the modern era of music salesTaylor Swift's divisive new album, The Life of a Showgirl, has beaten Adele's record-breaking 25 in first week sales numbers.According to the data tracking firm Luminate, the album has already sold 3.5m units in the US which equates to 3.2m physical copies and 300,000 attributed to streaming activity. Adele achieved 3.482m in 2015 with her opening week sales of 25 which was led by the hit Hello. Continue reading...

Interim hearing had found Dr Rahmeh Aladwan, who has said Israel was humiliated' by attacks, did not pose risk to patientsA Palestinian doctor who said the 7 October Hamas attacks represented the day Israel was humiliated" has been re-referred to a medical tribunal.Dr Rahmeh Aladwan, a trainee trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, was investigated by an interim orders tribunal in September over her social media posts. Continue reading...

The Social Market Foundation thinktank says council tax reform and a property-based tax would be more sustainable and fairerVoting in the Labour deputy leadership election opens today. Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader, is seen as the favourite and, as Jessica Elgot reports, Powell told supporters yesterday that, if she is elected, she will use the post to argue for changes in the way the government is operating. We can't sugarcoat the fact that things aren't going well," she said.Powell is no longer a government minister and, if she is elected deputy leader, she will do the job from the backbenches. In an interview on Newsnight last night, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary standing against Powell, said a Powell victory would be destabilising" for the party. She said:[Electing Powell] risks destabilising the party ... we best achieve what we need to do together when we have those fierce conversations, including disagreements, behind closed doors.Members need to understand that there's a potential challenge around all of that - that if you're not inside when the big decisions are being made, you're not at that table, you're not in those conversations. Continue reading...

Ex-DPP Ken Macdonald says prosecutors may have been over-fussy' in seeking further assurances from governmentLegal experts have questioned the explanation given by the Crown Prosecution Service for its sudden decision to drop charges against two Britons accused of spying for China amid a political row over who was responsible.The expert lawyers expressed surprise that the CPS thought it needed further assurance from the government that China was an enemy insofar as it posed a current threat to national security" before the trial of Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry could go ahead. Continue reading...

Comedian defends appearance at controversial comedy festival, saying: It felt right afterward. I vibed with them'Bill Burr has defended his appearance at the controversial Riyadh comedy festival, calling his critics sanctimonious cunts".The comedian has been under fire, alongside Kevin Hart, Louis CK, Aziz Ansari and Dave Chappelle, for being on the line-up for what was billed as the world's largest comedy festival". The Human Rights Watch called out the event as a distraction, aiming to focus on something light rather than the soaring number of executions" taking place while comedians such as Marc Maron and Shane Gillis expressed disappointment. David Cross wrote that he was disgusted" in a statement. Continue reading...

Journalist who wrote Guardian columns while jailed for murder fell into the sea in January 2024A journalist and author who wrote much-admired columns from prison drowned in a Devon marina after spending an evening in a harbourside pub, an inquest has concluded.Erwin James Monahan, who used the pen name Erwin James and wrote a regular column for the Guardian - the first of its kind in British journalism - fell into the sea at Brixham in Devon, close to where the boat he was staying in was moored, the inquest in Exeter heard. Continue reading...

Loughborough, Heriot-Watt and Glasgow corresponded with companies concerned about campus protestsUniversities in the UK reassured arms companies they would monitor students' chat groups and social media accounts after firms raised concerns about campus protests, according to internal emails.One university said it would conduct active monitoring of social media" for any evidence of plans to demonstrate against Rolls-Royce at a careers fair. Continue reading...

Gillard reveals reading fiction is her most treasured pastime and looks forward to working with a joyful panel of judges'Australia's first and, so far, only female prime minister, Julia Gillard, is set to chair the UK's Women's prize for fiction in 2026.The annual award is for the best full-length novel of the year written in English by a woman and published in the UK. The 30,000 prize, which has previously been known as the Orange prize and the Baileys prize, has run since 1996. Continue reading...

Fueled by dissent over the war in Gaza, the US public's views are changing - and support for the Palestinians is risingThey seemed to be the ties that would for ever bind.For three-quarters of a century, unshakable support for Israel - in the form of military aid and diplomatic backing, and underpinned by broad public sentiment - has been an indelible feature of the US political landscape. Continue reading...

Plan to cut tax that raised nearly 12bn last year announced in speech aimed at boosting economic credibilityThe Conservatives will scrap stamp duty on house sales if they win the next election, Kemi Badenoch has said in a policy-heavy speech designed to improve her party's economic credibility.The Tory leader told her party's conference in Manchester she would abolish the tax entirely that new buyers have to pay on house purchases over 125,000, and which raised nearly 12bn for the Treasury last year. Continue reading...

Government department taunts chart-topping artist who sang of scared children and Ice raids on unreleased new songZach Bryan, one of the biggest stars in US country music, has been criticised by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over a new song in which he sings about immigration raids by Ice.The DHS's assistant secretary of public affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, told Bryan to stick to Pink Skies, dude," referring to one of his previous hits, in comments reported by the Independent. The DHS also made a provocative post on X, laying another Bryan song, Revival, over footage of Ice officers arresting migrants, with the caption we're having an All Night Revival". Continue reading...

Illinois governor says Donald Trump is taking away people's rights'. Plus, the key stats highlighting Israel's destruction of GazaGood morning.Texas national guard troops arrived in the Chicago area on Tuesday, marking an escalation of Donald Trump's crackdown on the city, in a move condemned as military invasion".How are elected Illinois officials responding to Trump's incursion? The state's governor, JB Pritzker, decried the move, saying: Any kind of troops on the streets of an American city don't belong unless there is an insurrection ... I'm going to do everything I can to stop him from taking away people's rights and from using the military to invade states."How has Trump tried to weaponize the attorney general's office? The president has overtly piled pressure on Bondi to more aggressively pursue senior public officials he regards as his political enemies, including Comey.How did Bondi respond to Democratic senators' questioning? When pressed during the five-hour hearing, she personally attacked several senators or invoked the ongoing government shutdown to depict them as negligent. Continue reading...

Sebastien Lecornu continues meetings with party leaders in effort to pass budget and avoid further political instability Europe live - latest updatesFrance's caretaker prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, has said his talks with various party leaders had revealed a willingness" to pass a budget by the end of the year and that snap parliamentary elections were now looking less likely.This willingness creates a momentum and a convergence, obviously, which make the possibilities of a dissolution more remote," he said in a brief address on Wednesday from the courtyard of Matignon Palace, the prime minister's residence, in Paris. Continue reading...

PM says Labour will address suggestions of antisemitic hate as he orders review of protest policing powersKeir Starmer will order the home secretary to look at further curbs on protests including potential powers to take action against specific inflammatory chants at pro-Palestinian protests.Speaking to reporters en route to Mumbai, the prime minister said Labour was looking at going even further than the measures announced by Shabana Mahmood, which would look at the cumulative impact" of repeat protests in certain locations. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed

Police allege they identified the trio mobilising' to kill a man near a childcare centre in city's south-west

Case between police and representatives from the Palestine Action Group and Jews Against Occupation remains before the NSW court of appeal

Michael Miller also says media must unite against second big steal' by tech companies seeking changes to copyright law to access content for free

Inquest is hearing evidence about the 2023 death of Mitchell Thomas at Larapinta in Alice SpringsWarning: This article contains an image and reference to an Indigenous Australian who has died

Conservative leader aims to rebuild party's economic credibility after it was torched by her predecessors

In this weeks newsletter: Many paint reparations as impossible, unprecedented, even absurd - world experts tell a different storyGood morning. Happy Black History Month! We are now a week into a time of reflection on the richness of Black history and culture in the UK. Yet, too often one of the main aspects of that history - the debate around reparations for transatlantic enslavement - feels stuck in a loop. When the question of redress is raised, the backlash swiftly follows: too complicated, too divisive, too unfair.We saw this happen last year, when Keir Starmer became the first sitting British prime minister to visit a Pacific island nation. He hoped to leave with upbeat headlines about new Commonwealth partnerships. Instead, the trip was dominated by demands for justice for historic wrongs.Politics | Keir Starmer has criticised Robert Jenrick's comments complaining about not seeing another white face" in parts of Birmingham, saying the shadow justice secretary was hard to take seriously".France | Edouard Philippe, a former French prime minister and one-time ally of Emmanuel Macron, has said he favours early presidential elections given the gravity of the political crisis rocking the country.Music | Prosecutors will appeal against a court's decision to throw out a terrorism charge against the Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh. The 27-year-old was accused of displaying a flag in support of the proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah at a gig last November until a technical error in the way he was charged led to the chief magistrate ruling he could not try the case.Business | The EU has announced it will match Donald Trump's steel tariffs, doubling levies on imports to 50% in a move condemned as an existential threat" to the industry in the UK.Gaza | A new Gaza-bound aid flotilla has been intercepted by the Israeli army, days after the detention of activists on board vessels bound for the war-torn territory caused international outrage and widespread protests. Continue reading...

Survey shows one in four users intend to keep using system as it is phased out, despite increased virus and malware riskAbout 5 million British computer users risk becoming vulnerable to cyber-attacks and scams after Microsoft next week stops updating its decade-old Windows 10 system, consumer campaigners have warned.One in four of an estimated 21 million UK people using a device that runs the Windows 10 software intend to continue using it after updates cease and so will be at risk of online security breaches including malware and viruses, according to a survey by Which? More than a third of those who are not planning to take action and therefore risk becoming vulnerable are people aged over 55. Continue reading...

Israeli foreign ministry confirms interception and says those on board will be deportedA new Gaza-bound aid flotilla has been intercepted by the Israeli army, days after the detention of activists on board vessels bound for the war-torn territory caused international outrage and widespread protests.The Israeli military was jamming signals with at least two boats being boarded, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Instagram. Continue reading...

Freida Parton says she has been up all night praying' as singer continues to deal with unspecified health challenges'Dolly Parton's sister says she has been up all night praying" for the singer as she continues to deal with unspecified health problems.Freida Parton wrote that her 79-year-old sister hasn't been feeling her best lately", two weeks after the singer postponed a Las Vegas residency scheduled for December, citing health challenges". Continue reading...

IPPR report warns of productivity crisis' and says many firms out of step with gen Z shift away from alcoholOne in three UK workers have called in sick after drinking at a work event or after hours with colleagues, research has found.Many staff feel under pressure to drink in work-related settings against their wishes, despite a big shift among younger adults away from consuming as much alcohol as their predecessors.32% of workers had called in sick the next day after drinking at a work event or with workmates in the last year.41% of 18- to 24-year-olds had been too hungover to work, and 47% of 25- to 34-year-olds.22% of staff in education and 24% in health and social care had cried off work the next day after drinking at or after work in the past six months, and a fifth in both sectors had turned up late the next day.28% think drinking at work events excludes non-drinkers or creates cliques. Continue reading...

Frontrunner for deputy leadership addresses rally as opponent Bridget Phillipson pledges second Labour term our children deserve'The Labour deputy leadership contender Lucy Powell has told party members that she will not sugarcoat" how badly the party is doing, promising to challenge Downing Street's groupthink" as voting begins.Ballots open on Wednesday for members and affiliates in the race between Powell and the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, with polls for LabourList suggesting Powell is the clear frontrunner. Continue reading...

The rapper was accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah but case was thrown out by magistrateProsecutors have said they will appeal against the chief magistrate's decision to throw out a terrorism charge against the Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh.The 27-year-old, known as Mo Chara, had been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, last November. Continue reading...

Ministers and officials did not provide statements that China was threat despite many months' of effort to obtain themCharges against two men accused of spying for China were suddenly dropped last month because prosecutors could not obtain critical evidence from the government that Beijing represented a threat to the national security of the UK".Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, wrote to two select committee chairs to explain that despite trying over many months", the sought-after statements were not forthcoming from ministers and officials. Continue reading...

Mette Frederiksen links social media use to anxiety, depression and lack of concentrationThe Danish prime minister says the country will ban social media for under-15s, as she accused mobile phones and social networks of stealing our children's childhood".Mette Frederiksen used her speech on Tuesday at the opening of Folketing, the Danish parliament, to announce the proposal, in which she said: We have unleashed a monster." She added: Never before have so many children and young people suffered from anxiety and depression." Continue reading...

Fayaz Khan, 26, is on trial at Southwark crown court accused of threatening to shoot Reform UK leaderNigel Farage felt genuinely worried" after a man allegedly posted a TikTok video threatening to come to Britain and shoot him, a court has heard.The Reform UK leader was giving evidence at the trial of Fayaz Khan, 26, who has been charged with threatening to kill the Reform UK leader last year in a post Farage described as pretty chilling". Continue reading...