World news | The Guardian

Strong summit support for drug decriminalisation in favour of a health approach did not result in a recommendation from co-chairs

Federal government unveils protective measures to help export-focused companies tap alternative markets

Office of Director of Public Prosecutions calls former police officer's two-year community corrections order inadequate

Israeli prime minister begins four-day trip after Hungarian counterpart says court ruling would have no effect'Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to begin a four-day official visit to Hungary on Thursday, marking the first time the Israeli prime minister has stepped foot on European soil since the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for him over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.Hours after the ICC announced the warrants in November, Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, made it clear he would defy the court to host Netanyahu, telling reporters that he would guarantee" the ICC's ruling would have no effect in Hungary". Continue reading...

Share of households who have fallen behind on their mortgages has broadly stabilised at pre-pandemic levels, Reserve Bank data shows

Social media ads show former MP talking to a man in hi-vis who online viewers say closely resembles member of Liberal Goldstein campaign

The US president has announced new taxes on imports to the US starting at a baseline of 10% - here is the front-page reaction in BritainDonald Trump's tariff day of liberation" arrived with the US president imposing markups on imports while accusing other nations, including allies, of looting, pillaging, raping and plundering" the US.The UK got off relatively lightly with the basic 10%. Here is how major British newspapers see it. Continue reading...

Resolution that would block tariffs passes 51-48 in Senate, in vote that shows Republican unease over president's plansSeveral Republican senators joined Democrats to pass a resolution that would block Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada, a rare rebuke of the president's trade policy just hours after he announced plans for sweeping import taxes on some of the country's largest trading partners.In a 51-48 vote, four Republicans - Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and both Kentucky senators, the former majority leader Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul - defied Trump's pressure campaign and supported the measure. Democrats used a procedural maneuver to force a vote on the resolution, which would terminate the national emergency on fentanyl Trump is using to justify tariffs on Canada. Continue reading...

Barricades go up in Seoul as court prepares to rule on whether to uphold Yoon's impeachment or restore his powersThe usually quiet streets outside South Korea's constitutional court in Seoul are now a political ground zero for a decision that will determine the country's future.Months after Yoon Suk Yeol imposed martial law and triggered South Korea's worst political crisis in decades, the court will on Friday decide whether to uphold the suspended president's impeachment or return him to office. Continue reading...

Automotive industry and prime minister Mark Carney note that 25% tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and automobiles will still come into effect within hoursCanada's exemption from Donald Trump's global tariffs was like dodging a bullet into the path of a tank", say business leaders as other levies are poised to hit key industries that drive the country's economy.In a theatrical unveiling of tariffs on countries with unfair" practices on Wednesday afternoon, Canada was noticeably absent, alongside trade ally Mexico. Continue reading...

There were charts and scores, as if The Price Is Right had come to Washington. The big prize? A global trade warIt was Jeopardy!, or The Price Is Right, come to Washington.On an unseasonably chilly day in the White House Rose Garden, Donald Trump stood with a giant chart listing what reciprocal tariffs he would impose on China, the European Union, the United Kingdom and other hapless contestants. Continue reading...

Chancellor says autumn budget enabled 25bn of extra investment into NHS and shorter waiting listsRachel Reeves has defended the 40bn in tax increases in autumn's budget as businesses brace for their impact, saying NHS waiting lists would now be higher if she had not taken action.Employers are set for a 25bn increase in national insurance contributions (NICs), which comes into force on 6 April, at the same time as consumers are being hit by a slew of increases in bills for everything from utilities to car tax. Continue reading...

Pacific country this week declared state of emergency over power cuts that have caused huge disruption to businesses and daily lifeSamoa is in the grip of an energy crisis" prime minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa said this week, as she declared a state of emergency over power outages that have swept the country for weeks, causing huge disruption to businesses and daily life.The government is scrambling to provide relief to affected businesses and households, with temporary power generation units due to arrive next week. Continue reading...

State senator and Democratic rising star leaned into Trump-Musk criticisms when launching bid to succeed Gary PetersMallory McMorrow, a state senator from Michigan and rising star in the Democratic party, has announced her bid for the US Senate in what is expected to be one of 2026's most competitive and high-profile contests.McMorrow, 38, launched her campaign on Wednesday to succeed Michigan's retiring Democratic senator Gary Peters with a video that showed the Trump administration's mass layoffs of federal workers, plans to cut Medicaid and Elon Musk's so-called department of government efficiency". Continue reading...

National security adviser and team shared sensitive information' in group chats on app, sources tell Politico

Forecasters say potent storm system moving east could become supercharged and bring life-threatening' floodingPotentially deadly flash flooding, high-magnitude tornadoes and baseball-sized hail could hit parts of the midwest and south on Wednesday as severe thunderstorms blowing eastward become supercharged, forecasters warned.There were tornado warnings Wednesday morning near the Missouri cities of Joplin and Columbia - merely the opening acts of what forecasters expect will be a more intense period of violent weather later on Wednesday, as daytime heating combines with an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming into the nation's midsection from the Gulf. Continue reading...

Influential podcast host and prominent Trump supporter criticizes administration for removal of gay makeup artistJoe Rogan, the influential podcast host and prominent supporter of Donald Trump, has criticized the president's administration over the deportation of a professional makeup artist and hairdresser to a prison in El Salvador, calling it horrific".Andry Jose Hernandez Romero, who is gay, had sought asylum in the US, telling officials he faced persecution because of his sexual orientation and political views. But US immigration officers argued the crown tattoos on his wrists were proof he was part of Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang, despite Hernandez Romero telling them he was not. Last month, he was flown from Texas to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, a facility that his lawyer said was one of the worst places in the world". His removal comes as the administration undertakes what Trump has pledged would be a mass deportation campaign. Continue reading...

Star, 8, began to lose weight after someone got inside pen, cut gate locks and sprayed substance over two-month spanA pet reindeer beloved by many in Alaska's largest city has been euthanized, just weeks after someone tampered with his cage and possibly poisoned him, his caretaker said on Wednesday.I don't have an answer as to why he had to be put down other than it relates back to what happened," said Albert Whitehead, who cared not only for the eight-year-old reindeer named Star but also the decades-long tradition of having a reindeer in downtown Anchorage. Continue reading...

Insiders reportedly say Musk will leave when 130-day cap on government service expires but Doge' team set to continue

Actor accuses newspaper of libel in articles about his alleged sexual misconductThere was no agenda" in the Guardian's investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Noel Clarke, the high court has heard.In her second day in the witness box, Lucy Osborne, an investigative correspondent at the Guardian, defended the publication's reporting in the face of questioning from the former Doctor Who star's barrister, Philip Williams. Continue reading...

Economic impact assessment is one concession aiming to head off opposition from MPs, peers and creatives such as Paul McCartney and Tom StoppardThe UK government is trying to placate peer and Labour backbencher concerns about copyright proposals by pledging to assess the economic impact of its plans.Creative professionals including Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Tom Stoppard and Kate Bush have strongly criticised ministers' proposals to let artificial intelligence companies train their models on copyright-protected work without permission, unless the rights holder opts out. Continue reading...

It's almost as if KemiKaze herself believes Labour's mantra that the Tories are the source of all hopelessnessThere will come a moment when the Labour claim that the Tories are to blame for everything will no longer stick. People will start shaking their heads and reckon that Labour have something to answer for. But we're not quite there yet. At least not at prime minister's questions. For half an hour in the Commons every Wednesday the Conservatives remain the villains of the piece.Partly it's the size of the Labour majority. The sheer volume of half-witted Labour MPs who are happy to bounce up and down to ask Keir Starmer whether he agrees with them that the Tories left the country in a shocking mess and only the prime minister can save their constituents. The Lib Dems and the SNP are only slightly fiercer critics of the present government. They too hate the Tories more than anyone else. Continue reading...

Prime minister says Israel will build a new security corridor to isolate parts of the strip in major escalationBenjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is seizing territory" and intends to divide up" the Gaza Strip by building a new security corridor, amid a major expansion of aerial and ground operations in the besieged Palestinian territory.Tonight, we have shifted gears in the Gaza Strip. The [Israeli army] is seizing territory, hitting the terrorists and destroying the infrastructure," the prime minister said in a video statement on Wednesday evening. Continue reading...

Court hears arguments on whether state can block clinics that provide abortions from receiving Medicaid fundsIn its first abortion-related case since Donald Trump retook control of the White House, the US supreme court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in a case challenging South Carolina's attempt to effectively defund" Planned Parenthood because the reproductive health giant performs abortions.The case, Medina v Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, deals with a 2018 executive order from the South Carolina governor Henry McMaster that blocked clinics that provide abortions from receiving reimbursements via Medicaid, the US government's healthcare program for low-income people, despite the fact that those reimbursements don't actually cover abortions. Payment of taxpayer funds to abortion clinics, for any purpose, results in the subsidy of abortion and the denial of the right to life," McMaster said at the time. Continue reading...

Chancellor says UK will respond calmly to US tariffs as Keir Starmer attempts to play down fears of trade warThere will be two urgent questions in the Commons after PMQs. At around 12.30pm a Foreign Office minister will respond to a question from Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, about the Chagos Islands. And then another Foreign Office minister (or the same one?) will reply to a UQ from the Green co-leader Carla Denyer about Gaza.After that Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, will make a statement about nursery provision.With new US tariffs coming, Welsh businesses face even more uncertainty.The UK must make a strategic decision: with 58.6% of Welsh exports going to the EU, we must provide stable access to European markets by rejoining the single market and customs union, allowing us to stand up to Trump's reckless moves. Continue reading...

Kim Leadbeater tells MPs they have a duty to change the law to spare terminally ill people dreadful consequencesIf the bill to legalise assisted dying is thrown out by MPs later this month then the conversation ends" on the subject, with dreadful consequences for many terminally ill people, the MP leading the process has warned.Speaking at a press conference organised by supporters of the bill, which has its third reading on 25 April when MPs will vote on amendments, Kim Leadbeater said her colleagues in the Commons have a duty as parliamentarians to change the law now". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Alliance Defending Freedom, which is funding case of activist Livia Tossici-Bolt, is lobbying against buffer zones around clinicsA rightwing US group backing an anti-abortion campaigner whose case has become a new source of UK tensions with the Trump administration is significantly expanding activities and spending in Britain.The UK branch of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which is funding the case of Livia Tossici-Bolt - who is being prosecuted for an alleged breach of a buffer zone" outside a Bournemouth abortion clinic - increased spending on campaigning and other activities in the UK to more than 1m last year. Continue reading...

UK financial regulator claims Jes Staley feared telling the truth could end his career and fuel potential lawsuits by victimsThe former chief executive of Barclays Jes Staley took a chance" in lying to the UK regulator about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein amid fears that being truthful could end his career and fuel potential lawsuits by victims of the jailed paedophile, a court has heard.The allegations were made by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) during closing statements for the high-profile case at the upper tribunal in London on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Offensive broadside was reportedly heard over portable radios at Manston processing siteAn investigation has been launched after a racist message was reportedly blasted out" on portable radios used by Home Office contractors at an asylum processing centre.The deeply offensive broadside, saying fuck off you [N-word]s, go back to where you came from", was reportedly heard at the Manston processing site for small boat arrivals in Kent. Continue reading...

Forensic consultant says multiple bullets were used from short range in attack that has caused global outrageA forensic doctor who examined the bodies of some of the 15 paramedics and Palestinian rescue workers shot dead by Israeli forces and buried in a mass grave in southern Gaza has said there is evidence of execution-style killing, based on the specific and intentional" location of shots at close range.The Palestinian Red Crescent Society, the Palestinian Civil Defense and UN employees were on a humanitarian mission to collect dead and wounded civilians outside the southern city of Rafah on the morning of 23 March when they were killed and then buried in the sand by a bulldozer alongside their flattened vehicles, according to the UN. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closedThe French government expects President Trump's tariffs to be in the range of between 20-25%, said government spokeswoman Sophie Primas on Wednesday.They risk being pretty powerful. People are speaking of tariffs between 20 and 25 percent," Primas told reporters. Continue reading...

Bloc's options include retaliating with tariffs on US goods and services and forming closer ties with other countries

ONS study of fertility trends suggests birthrate will continue to fall, with women turning 18 this year having babies laterYoung women in England and Wales are likely to have just one child by the time they are 35, according to groundbreaking analysis of past and projected fertility trends by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).Girls who turn 18 this year are projected to have an average of one child each by the age of 35 - unlike their mothers' generation who had an average of one child per woman by the time they reached 31. Continue reading...

Defence minister Israel Katz says large areas of the territory will be seized and added to the security zones of IsraelAirstrikes continued on Gaza on Wednesday morning after the Israeli defense minister announced that Israel intended to expand its war. In a statement, Israel Katz said the offensive was expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the state of Israel."The move has been condemned by the Hostages Families Forum, who said it appeared that Benjamin Netanyahu's government were making the return of 59 hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas a secondary task" that had been pushed to the bottom of the priority list."I wish success to the IDF soldiers who are fighting bravely and powerfully in Gaza for the return of the kidnapped and the defeat of Hamas. The goal of Operation Strength and Sword" is first and foremost to increase pressure for the release of all the hostages in the face of Hamas' refusal.Expanding the operation this morning will increase the pressure on the Hamas murderers and also on the population in Gaza and advance the achievement of the sacred and important goal for all of us. I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to remove Hamas and return all the hostages. This is the only way to end the war. Continue reading...

Susan Crawford defeats Brad Schimel in most expensive US judicial election ever, a major win for the Democrats. Plus, Israel announces plan to seize large areas' of Gaza

China's military continues drills in the Taiwan Strait, practising hitting key ports and energy infrastructureThe US has accused China of putting the region's security at risk after it launched a second day of military drills targeting Taiwan with a rehearsal blockade and attack.China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) began the joint drills without notice on Tuesday morning, sending 76 aircraft and more than 20 navy and coastguard ships, including the Shandong carrier group, to positions around Taiwan's main island. Continue reading...

Plan to quit Aim after review of benefits and drawbacks' is another blow to capital's junior marketThe leisure group that owns the 126-year-old Brighton Palace Pier is planning to delist from the London stock market and return to life as a private company, in the latest blow to the capital's junior market.Brighton Pier Group, which also owns several bars and mini-golf sites around the country, told investors it intends to cancel its listing on the capital's Alternative Investment Market (Aim) after more than 11 years, blaming bad weather, falling consumer spending, rising wage costs and higher interest rates. Continue reading...

Former officer with South Yorkshire force arrested on suspicion of raping teenage girl in 2004A third former South Yorkshire police officer has been arrested as part of an investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.The ex-constable, aged in his 50s, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of raping a teenage girl in the town in 2004. Continue reading...

Known for his roles in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Tombstone, the prolific actor's cause of death was pneumonia

Icelandic brothers' ready meal firm Bakkavor to be taken over by sandwich maker Greencore

Bridget Phillipson warns of difficult period' ahead for trade, but government working through every eventuality'

Indigenous teenager re-admitted to hospital after suffering seizures and in a bad way', doctor tells court

Louise Haigh calls for end to two-tiered system over complaints of sexual misconduct or harassmentBosses should be banned from the improper" use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for low-paid workers in the service, retail or hospitality sectors, a former cabinet minister has warned, as she called for an end of the two-tier system that exists for victims.Louise Haigh, the former UK transport secretary, has urged MPs to look beyond high-profile cases linked to the #MeToo movement and advocate for workers in insecure employment who may not have the means and the confidence to pursue their employers through the courts" who can challenge the NDAs. Continue reading...

Emergency workers mobilise amid fears wild weather and swollen rivers could inundate parts of mid north coast, northern rivers and northern tablelands

Independent senator says axing the majority of Canberra's public servants would throw ACT into recession. Follow today's news live

Rail union wants network temporarily shut down and an investigation into one of the worst safety incidents we've seen'

From Guy Burgess's briefcase to microdots secreted in talc, an exhibition reveals remarkable items from the agency's archives - and the extraordinary stories behind themThe agency that would become MI5, originally known as the Secret Service Bureau, employed just 17 staff in 1914; by the end of the first world war, the number working for Britain's domestic counter-intelligence agency had swelled to 850, including a number of female administrators.While valuable for managing the card index records, noted Edith Lomax, the controller of women staff in 1918, only women under the age of 30 should be recruited on account of the very considerable strain that was thrown on [their] brains". Continue reading...

State government warns industrial action could halt elective surgeries, as doctors seek pay rise of up to 30%

Report finds police mistook girl for missing woman in blunder that has appalled political leadersAn 11-year-old girl was restrained, injected with anti-psychotic drugs and placed on a mental health ward after New Zealand police mistook her for a missing woman, a report found on Wednesday.Health officials and police have scrambled to explain the mix-up, which has appalled political leaders and stoked outrage across the country. Continue reading...

Anti-Houthi air campaign, details of which were revealed in Signal scandal, has brought further destruction to countryA ramped-up US bombing campaign on Yemen has killed civilians and brought further destruction and uncertainty to the poorest country in the Middle East, compounding an already dire situation after Donald Trump cut aid, according to local people, humanitarian workers and rights groups.Now the rampant bombing has started, you never know which way things will go," said Siddiq Khan, who works as a country director in Yemen for the aid charity Islamic Relief. Continue reading...