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Ahead of a career retrospective, Sue Williamson tells how the US pair are dragging her country through the mud'For more than 50 years, Sue Williamson's art has been shining a light on South Africa's problems - first to campaign against the apartheid state, and then to question how far the country has progressed in reconciliation and remembrance.But as she prepares for her first retrospective exhibition, the 84-year-old artist has a new pair of targets in sight: US president Donald Trump and his billionaire, South African-born adviser, Elon Musk. Continue reading...

As the education secretary announces the first primary schools to offer free breakfasts, Labour MPs question the commitment to fighting povertyThe government is trumpeting its policy of introducing free breakfast clubs into all primary schools in England as key to its efforts to cut child poverty, as ministers appear to have ruled out meeting the estimated cost of 3bn a year to end the two-child cap on benefits.Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, announced the first 750 schools that will become early adopters" of breakfast clubs, saying that 67,000 of the 180,000 pupils set to benefit come from the most disadvantaged areas of England. Continue reading...

The prospects of peace and the return of Russian gas looks likely to serve the interests of Donald TrumpThe Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine three years ago has reverberated through the global energy industry; unravelling Europe's decades-long reliance on gas imported via pipelines from Russia, and triggering a global squeeze on gas markets that unleashed a cost of living crisis still felt today.The prospect of a peace deal has many wondering whether the energy industry could be upended once again; this time giving way to a market serving the interests of the US president hoping to broker the deal. Continue reading...

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Europe holds its breath as world's third largest economic power and most populous EU country faces crossroadsGerman voters go to the polls today but it is a different world from when the campaign began only a few weeks ago.Nearly 60 million people are choosing a government that will have to grapple with the breakdown of the transatlantic alliance under Donald Trump and new threats to European security just as the country's vaunted economic model is hitting the skids. Continue reading...

Numbers of animals once hunted as vermin are rising across the continent. But scientists worry about how we are going to get along with these predatorsEurope's carnivores have had a remarkable change in fortune. After tens of thousands of years of persecution that wiped out sabretooth tigers, hyenas and cave lions, there has been a recent rebound in the continent's surviving predators.Across mainland Europe, bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine numbers have risen dramatically as conservation measures introduced several decades ago have begun to make an impact. There are now about 20,500 brown bears in Europe, a rise of 17% since 2016, while there are 9,400 Eurasian lynx, a 12% increase. Continue reading...

Super Members Council says summit may sway US president on tariffs on Australian industry after seeing scale of investment in US

Less than half of Australians were always bulk billed when they saw a GP in 2023-24, government data says

Statement by Netanyahu's office demands assurance of release of next hostages ... without humiliating ceremonies'Israel says the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be delayed until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies" at handovers of Israeli captives in Gaza.The statement by Benjamin Netanyahu's office came early Sunday as vehicles apparently carrying prisoners left the open gates of Ofer prison in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, only to turn around and go back in. Continue reading...

Horrendous' eight-year long project has ended with final fact check, leaving a legacy nobody can argue' with, says researcher

Drivers had told Avon and Somerset officers that there was something on the road between junctions 20 and 21Police have discovered human remains on a motorway carriageway near Bristol and have shut parts of two motorways in both directions.A number of drivers called the police and reported seeing something on the road between junctions 20 and 21 of the M4 at 6.40pm on Saturday. Continue reading...

Open letter from some of the country's most distinguished artists strongly protests' at the removal of Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino

Eliya Cohen spent more than 500 days in captivity fearing Ziv Abud had died in Hamas attacks in 2023An Israeli hostage only discovered his fiancee had survived the 7 October attacks after his release on Saturday, Israeli media has reported.Eliya Cohen had spent more than 500 days in captivity fearing his bride-to-be, Ziv Abud, was dead. The last time they had seen each other, they were hiding in a shelter with relatives and friends after attending the Nova festival. Continue reading...

Hamas released Israeli hostages Hisham al-Sayed, Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu, Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer WenkertA masked militant has sat down at a table on the stage with a Red Cross representative and they appear to be signing documents.Live images from Rafah are showing masked Hamas militants taking to the makeshift stage, with one speaking into a microphone. Continue reading...

Accident happened in Siem Reap province that saw heavy fighting in 1980s between government soldiers and Khmer RougeA grenade believed to be more than 25 years old killed two toddlers when it blew up near their homes in rural Cambodia, officials said.The accident happened on Saturday in Siem Reap province's Svay Leu district, where there had been heavy fighting in the 1980s and 90s between Cambodian government soldiers and rebel guerrillas from the communist Khmer Rouge. The group had been ousted from power in 1979. Continue reading...

Kyiv must be at the heart of negotiations' says PM as US threat to block Elon Musk's Starlink satellites fuels wave of alarmKeir Starmer has raised the stakes before a crucial meeting in Washington with the US president, Donald Trump this week, by insisting that Ukraine must be at the heart of any negotiations" on a peace deal with Russia.The prime minister made the remarks - which run directly contrary to comments by the US president last week - in a phone call on Saturdaywith Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which he also said that safeguarding Ukraine's sovereignty was essential to deter future aggression from Russia". Continue reading...

Macron says knife attack is without any doubt an act of Islamist terrorism'A 69-year-old man who intervened when a suspected terrorist attacked police officers with a knife shouting Allahu Akbar" has died in eastern France.Two police officers were also seriously injured in the suspected Islamist terrorist act, which took place in the city of Mulhouse during a demonstration in support of the Congo on Saturday afternoon. Three other police officers were lightly wounded. Continue reading...

Epicenter of latest outbreak had one of state's highest immunization exemption rates for 2023-24 school yearThe measles outbreak in Texas has grown to at least 90 cases, reaching historic levels, according to officials.Since late January, 90 cases of measles have been identified in the South Plains region, the state's department of state health services (DSHS) reported Friday. At least 16 patients have been hospitalized as a result. Continue reading...

Prosecutors in England and Wales are failing to obtain orders requiring the deletion of intimate content shared without consent, analysis revealsPerpetrators of revenge porn" offences are being allowed to keep explicit images of their victims on their devices, after a failure by prosecutors to obtain orders requiring their deletion.An Observer analysis of court records in intimate image abuse cases has found that orders for the offenders to give up their devices and delete photos and videos are rarely being made. Of 98 cases concluded in the magistrates courts in England and Wales in the past six months, just three resulted in a deprivation order. Continue reading...

As the Austrian capital honours the legacy of its dance king, the race is on to attract the most puntersThe music of Johann Strauss streams through Vienna like the stately Danube. Even the syllables of the composer's name beat out the rhythm of a waltz, as all Austrian dance teachers know. In their lessons, the words Jo-hann Strauss" are often swapped in to replace the conventional one, two, three" step count.Viennese children learn to waltz just like they learn to ride a bike, so the muscle-memory never leaves them. Just as well, because the city is still famous as the home of a 19th-century dance craze that shaped its international image. In this 200th anniversary year of the birth of the waltz king", there are rival bids jostling to become the focus of the swirling celebrations. Continue reading...

An independent standards authority says the industry must learn from recent scandals and create safer working environmentsNew guidelines will be issued this week for the UK's creative industries after a series of scandals including reports of inappropriate behaviour by Gregg Wallace and Gino d'Acampo, and bullying allegations on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.The Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) will set new standards with the aim of stamping out bullying, harassment and discrimination, and address power imbalances". The guidelines call on organisations to create reporting mechanisms and ways to learn from previous scandals, as well as safe and inclusive working environments. Continue reading...

Two men and a woman arrested in connection with 2002 disappearance of Robert Scott Clive in North ShieldsThree people have been arrested on suspicion of murder more than 20 years after a man went missing in north-east England.Robert Scott Clive, 30, originally from Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, was living in North Shields when he disappeared on 10 October 2002. Continue reading...

Joel Le Scouarnec's black books' of handwritten notes in which alleged sexual abuse was recorded are at the heart of case against himWhen two gendarmes knocked on her door in 2019, Marie had no idea that she was about to find herself at the dark heart of one of the world's biggest child abuse cases.The French mother of three, now 38, was shocked when the officers told her she had been the victim of Joel Le Scouarnec, a surgeon and an alleged serial paedophile accused of raping and sexually abusing hundreds of children. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereDonald Trump's shocking and mendacious attack this week on the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a dictator" while cozying up to the Russian president and indicating that traditional US security support for Europe is waning may have alarmed US allies abroad but has prompted a more starkly divided response among Americans at home.Reflecting the country's deeply partisan attitude to the new president and his America first" foreign policy doctrine, polling suggests that Republicans are much more likely to oppose additional help for war-torn Ukraine. A Pew Research Center survey earlier this month found that 47% of Republicans but just 14% of Democrats thought the US was providing too much support to Ukraine - views that have changed dramatically since the war began three years ago, when just 7% of all American adults (9% of Republicans and 5% of Democrats) said the US was providing too much support to Ukraine. Continue reading...

Russian and US leaders will meet face to face in move towards normalising relations, deputy foreign minister saysPreparations for a face-to-face meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are under way, Russia's deputy foreign minister has said.The event would mark a dramatic shift away from western isolation of Moscow, which has been in place since Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Greater Manchester police say girl died from her injuries after incident on Mosley Street involving tram and vanA three-year-old girl has been killed in a collision between a tram and a van in Manchester.Greater Manchester police said the girl was taken to hospital after the incident in the city centre on Saturday morning, but that she died from her injuries. Continue reading...

German carmaker will review plans for site which had been forecast to secure 4,000 jobs in EV productionBMW Group has paused a 600m investment into a Mini car assembly plant on the outskirts of Oxford, amid a declining demand for electric vehicles.In 2023, the German carmaker, which has owned Mini since 2000, announced the investment to upgrade its Cowley plant for electric production of the Mini. It was supported by government-backed investment, and was forecast to secure 4,000 jobs in electric vehicle production. Continue reading...

Home Office moved to cancel Menatalla Elwan's leave to remain over posts on Hamas's 7 October attackAn Egyptian NHS doctor who glorified terrorist violence" by mocking Israeli civilians fleeing the Hamas attacks in October 2023 has won a legal challenge against deportation.In one of three social media posts hours after the attacks began, Dr Menatalla Elwan, 34, who worked at an NHS trust in Liverpool, reposted footage of music festivalgoers running from Hamas terrorists and wrote if it was your home, you would stay and fight", accompanied by a smiling face emoji. Continue reading...

Ukraine's lithium deposits are among biggest in Europe and the US is looking for payback' for previous military assistanceDrawing in the snow with his finger, Mykola Hrechukha sketched out how Ukraine's new lithium mine might look. It would have a deep central shaft, with a series of side tunnels, he said. The lithium is good everywhere. The biggest concentration is at a depth of 200-500 metres," he said. We should be able to extract 4,300 tonnes a day. The potential is terrific."For now, though, there is little sign of activity. The deposit is buried under a large sloping field, used in communist times to grow beetroot and wheat. The mine's proposed entrance is in an abandoned former-Soviet village, Liodiane, today a scruffy grove of acacia and maple trees. The only inhabitant is a security guard, who lives on the 150-hectare site in an ancient Gaz-53 truck. Wild boar and even a wolf sometimes wander past. Continue reading...

Body of man, 23, was discovered on Monday near the Avoriaz ski resortA British skier has been found dead at the bottom of a cliff near the Avoriaz ski resort in the French Alps, local officials have confirmed.The body of the 23-year-old man, who has not yet been formally identified, was found on Monday at the bottom of a cliff near the town of Morzine, in the Portes du Soleil region. Continue reading...

Five-year-old platform intended to make drivers' lives easier will only be supported until the end of March

Public concern about NHS is worrying and frightening, says leading emergency doctor after poll revealedThree in four people in the UK fear getting stuck on a trolley in a hospital corridor or an ambulance not arriving after dialling 999, prompting claims that the NHS is facing a crisis of public trust".Huge numbers also worry about their local A&E not having enough beds (77%) and not being able to get care at their GP surgery (70%), research also found. Continue reading...

Report from New Zealand navy personnel comes a day after similar drill forced multiple airlines to change flight paths between Australia and New Zealand

Extreme fire danger and total bans declared for large parts of the east coast with sweltering temperature accompanied by hot and dry winds

French family behind project visited Kremlin in 2014 to discuss building Tsarland' in annexed CrimeaWith its spectacular shows featuring Viking longboats, Roman charioteers and sword-wielding knights who perform death-defying stunts, Puy du Fou in France is consistently ranked among the world's best theme parks. Each performance of its centrepiece Cinescenie show, which depicts 700 years of French history, features more than 1,000 actors, hundreds of horses and about 800 fireworks.Now the company has set its sights on bringing its brand of immersive history to the UK via a 600m investment to build its mock medieval castles, hotels and restaurants on farmland just off the M40 in Oxfordshire. It has asked the upmarket property firm Savills to help with its planning applications and is expected to look for British co-investors for a project that it says will create thousands of jobs. Continue reading...

Exclusive: sketches for Introduction and Allegro for Strings had been removed from sketchbook by composer in 1930The British Library has acquired previously unknown sketches and drafts by Sir Edward Elgar for one of his best-known masterpieces, Introduction and Allegro for Strings.Spanning 15 pages, they shed light on the creative process of Britain's most revered composer. One bears the beginnings of an unknown organ piece on which he had started work. Continue reading...

Under-30s risk a huge hike in huge car insurance premiums later in life if handed the IN10 endorsementYoung people using private electric scooters on roads and pavements risk facing huge insurance premiums when they want to drive a car, says the comparison website MoneySuperMarket.It emerged this week that almost 800 children aged 13 to 16 had been issued an IN10 endorsement - the code used by the police for using a vehicle uninsured against third-party risks" since the start of 2020. It stays on a person's driving record for four years from the date of the offence. Continue reading...

In speech at Arc conference, podcaster argues identity politics and multiculturalism ... are two failed experiments'Konstantin Kisin has until this week been best known as a libertarian, pro-free speech independent podcaster, and for a viral appearance at the Oxford Union arguing that woke culture has gone too far".His profile has suddenly risen, however, after hosting the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, on his podcast, and arguing in an episode with Fraser Nelson, the former editor of the Spectator, that Rishi Sunak was not English owing to his brown Hindu" background - triggering criticism on social media. Continue reading...

Ex-children's commissioner welcomes crackdown on use of children for crimes such as running county linesLong-overdue laws to protect children forced into selling drugs across county lines will save lives and block a brutal and lucrative criminal business", the former children's commissioner has said.In a series of new measures aimed at cracking down on exploitative gangs and antisocial behaviour, criminals using children to run county lines or commit other crimes will face up to a decade in prison. Continue reading...

UK students faced excessive disciplinary measures as a result of heavy-handed strategy, reports claimUniversity leaders reassured campus security officials amid pro-Palestine protests in the UK that they would back them if things got tough" after their US counterparts were disciplined for their approach, according to internal emails.Reports subsequently emerged of students on British campuses facing disciplinary measures and tough bail conditions after police were called on largely non-violent demonstrations, raising claims of a heavy-handed strategy. Continue reading...

Gaza ceasefire deal still on track amid uproar over fate of two Israeli boys and initial false return of their mother's bodyThe body of the Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas has been identified, Israel's army radio reported early on Saturday, adding that Bibas was likely killed in captivity with her children.The confirmation came as Israelis and Palestinians braced for another tense exchange of hostages, prisoners and detainees on Saturday after uproar in Israel over allegations that two child hostages were brutally murdered" by Hamas, and the group's initial failure to deliver the body of their mother, instead returning the corpse of an unidentified woman. Continue reading...

Surgeons who worked in Gaza fear disease, malnutrition and eradication of healthcare will reverberate for decadesBritish doctors who worked in Gaza during the war have issued dire predictions over the long-term health of Palestinian civillians, warning that large numbers will continue to die.The prevalence of infectious disease and multiple health problems linked to malnutrition, alongside the destruction of hospitals and killing of medical experts, meant mortality rates among Palestinians in Gaza would remain high after the cessation of Israeli shelling. Continue reading...

The boys are accused of breaking into a home in Cairns and threatening a couple with a knife early on Friday morning, before taking a woman into a separate roomThree teenagers accused of a horrific" break-and-enter and sexual assault are in custody after police pulled off a dramatic arrest on a busy street.The teenagers are accused of breaking into a home in Cairns and threatening a couple with a knife early on Friday morning, before taking a woman into a separate room. Continue reading...

Rapper is a vocal supporter of Palestine but has received criticism over restaurant's links to Israeli militaryStormzy has denied that he compromised beliefs for commercial gain", after his advertising partnership with McDonald's was criticised over the company's ties to Israel.In a new campaign, the rapper appears in filmed adverts and on billboards promoting the Stormzy meal" featuring a selection of his favourite menu items. Continue reading...

Deputy PM Richard Marles says explanation for the drills, which were conducted in international waters and according to international law, are unsatisfactory'

Decades-long search to find any trace of three young children, who disappeared from an Adelaide beach in 1966, restarts

One person was dead at the scene and two others died at the hospital; no reported arrests nor information on the shooterThree people were shot and killed at a motor vehicle office in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday, police said.Maj Donald Boeckman of Louisville metro police department told reporters that officers found one person dead at the scene and another two wounded. The two wounded were taken to hospitals and died there. He said there was no ongoing threat to public. Continue reading...

Starry-eyed supporters gather at hearing for Luigi Mangione, who faces state and federal charges in shootingWhen Luigi Mangione entered Manhattan state court on Friday afternoon, a coterie of starry-eyed supporters greeted the alleged assassin with reverent silence.Mangione, who faces state and federal charges for allegedly fatally shooting the United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, on 4 December, was handcuffed and shackled as he walked down the aisle toward the defense table. The 26 year old sported a cable-knit sweater over a white oxford shirt with khaki pants and tan driving loafers - as well as a ballistic vest. Continue reading...

Caleb Vitello reassigned as administration reportedly unhappy at slow rate of arrests and deportationsDonald Trump's presidential administration has reassigned its top official at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) after the agency's arrests and deportations have been slower than expected, Reuters reported, citing a senior administration official and two other sources familiar with the matter.The official, Caleb Vitello, was in the role in an acting capacity and had been grappling with pressure to step up enforcement after other top Ice officials were reassigned days earlier. Continue reading...

The move would end agency's 250-year independence, possibly jeopardizing operations and ending its impartialityDonald Trump is reportedly considering disbanding the leadership of the US Postal Service (USPS) and folding it into his administration in a move that would end the 250-year-old agency's independence and potentially threaten the mail delivery system's impartiality.The Washington Post reported that an executive order was being prepared to fire the service's governing board and place it under the authority of the new commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick. Continue reading...