by Jason Burke and William Christou in Beirut on (#7510X)
Iran's parliamentary speaker says strait could close again if US blockade continues, but Trump says it will remain in place until transaction' with Tehran is completeIran's foreign minister has said that the strait of Hormuz is now fully open to commercial vessels, reinforcing hopes for an eventual end to the war in the Middle East and sending oil prices tumbling despite analysts' warnings that there will be no immediate widespread resumption of passage through the vital waterway.In a barrage of social media posts, Donald Trump claimed on Friday that Iran had agreed never to close the strategic waterway again, hailing A GREAT AND BRILLIANT DAY FOR THE WORLD!" Continue reading...
US president says all major sticking points have been ironed out ahead of peace talks, but some of his assertions seem dubiousIt lacked the triumphalist symbolism of George W Bush's memorable - and subsequently ill-fated - appearance before the mission accomplished" banner aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln six weeks after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.But there was no mistaking the boastful claims asserted on Friday by Donald Trump after a military assault on neighbouring Iran that has, so far, lasted a similar period and which, by widespread agreement outside the Trump administration, has not gone to plan. Continue reading...
Reports of alleged crime led to protests in the Surrey town this week, after claims woman in her 20s attackedPolice investigating a rape incident in Epsom have said they have not found any evidence" of the offence as reported. The reports prompted protests in the Surrey town this week.Sarah Grahame, assistant chief constable at Surrey police, said the force was continuing to investigate a report that a woman in her 20s had been raped by a group of men on 11 April in Epsom after she left the Labyrinth Epsom nightclub. The alleged attack is said to have happened between 2am and 4am outside a Methodist church. Continue reading...
Chancellor aims to curb rising household bills as she consults on reforms to weaken link between gas and electricity pricesRachel Reeves is poised to raise the government's windfall tax on low-carbon electricity generators to help limit UK household energy bills, the Guardian understands.The chancellor is ready to hike the levy introduced in 2022 to target the excess profits made by the owners of older renewable energy and nuclear plants as electricity market prices soared after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...
by Neha Gohil Midlands Correspondent PA & Agencie on (#750YH)
Noah Sibanda died after he was physically restrained while being put to sleep at Fairytales Day Nursery in DudleyA nursery worker has been sentenced to more than three years in prison and the nursery has been fined 240,000 after a 14-month-old boy was restrained and died in their care.Noah Sibanda died after he was physically restrained face down with a blanket over his head while being put to sleep at the Fairytales Day Nursery in Dudley in December 2022. He was left unchecked for two hours before he was found unresponsive. He was pronounced dead an hour later in hospital. Continue reading...
Boy, 16, among those charged in connection with attempted firebombing at Volant Media offices in WembleyThree people, including a 16-year-old boy, have appeared in court charged in connection with the attempted firebombing of a Persian media company in north-west London.Oisin McGuinness, 21, Nathan Dunn, 19, and a 16-year-old boy appeared together in the dock at Westminster magistrates court on Friday charged with arson with intent to endanger life. Continue reading...
DJ spent almost three decades working for corporation, and was best known for Radio 1 show from 1985 to 2000The broadcaster Andy Kershaw, best known for the BBC Radio 1 show he hosted for 15 years, has died aged 66, his family told the corporation.His long career working for the BBC began in 1984 as host of the rock music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. He also co-presented the corporation's television coverage of Live Aid. Continue reading...
One insider estimates Australians pay A$10 in fees per ticket, with fans bearing the burden of monopolised music tour schedules and inflated artist values
Marie-Therese Ross was arrested on 1 April and held in a Louisiana facility by immigration officialsA French woman in her eighties who was arrested and placed in a US immigration detention centre has flown home.Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Marie-Therese Ross in Alabama on 1 April after she overstayed her 90-day visa, according to the US Department of Homeland Security. The 86-year-old widow was being held at a federal immigration detention facility in Louisiana. Continue reading...
by Ashifa Kassam European community affairs correspon on (#750Q3)
Departing PM Viktor Orban admits political era has ended' as EU says clock is ticking' to resolve important issuesEU officials have arrived in Budapest for high-stakes talks aimed at reshaping the bloc's strained relationship with Hungary, weeks before the new government takes office, as the country's departing prime minister, Viktor Orban, admitted a political era has ended" and suggested he would stay on as leader of his party in his first interview since the election.Speaking to the pro-government outlet Patriota, Orban described Sunday's election as an emotional rollercoaster" after the opposition Tisza party won a landslide victory, bringing an end to his 16 years in power. Continue reading...
Police say officers found discarded items in area after group claimed to have targeted embassy with dronesPolice have said they are investigating a security incident near the Israeli embassy in London after officers found a number of discarded items in the area.A statement said Counter Terrorism Policing London was aware of a video shared online overnight in which a group claimed to have targeted the embassy with drones carrying dangerous substances. Continue reading...
Firms owned by media tycoon launched action against Gambling Commission in 2022 after Allwyn won franchiseThe media tycoon Richard Desmond has lost his claim for up to 1.3bn in damages from the Gambling Commission, ending a bitter dispute over the regulator's decision not to award him the 10-year licence to run the national lottery.Companies owned by the former proprietor of the UK broadcaster Channel 5 and titles including the Daily Express, Asian Babes and Readers' Wives launched action against the regulator in 2022, starting a tortuous legal process in which Desmond's costs were estimated to have reached 55m by May last year. Continue reading...
Former SAS corporal allegedly placed man on his knees and ordered fellow soldier to shoot him, according to statement of factsAustralian soldiers have told prosecutors they executed unarmed civilians at the orders of Ben Roberts-Smith or in complicity with him, according to a statement of facts tendered to the New South Wales local court.Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient and once one of Australia's most lionised soldiers, faces five charges of the war crime of murder, allegedly committed while he served in the Australian SAS in Afghanistan.Each victim was unarmed and present in a location where Roberts-Smith could reasonably have suspected insurgents to be located;Each offence was committed in a situation where there was no active engagements with enemy forces and the Australian Defence Force was in control of the environment;Evidence was planted or falsely associated with each deceased to enhance reporting that each of the killings was within the lawful rules of engagement;Each deceased was handcuffed, detained for a period, and questioned prior to their execution;None of the deceased was killed in a situation where the Australian Defence Force did not have effective control of the battlespace. Continue reading...
by Peter Beaumont Senior international correspondent on (#750M4)
Trump administration has riled head of Catholic church over use of theology to justify conflict in IranThe contrast in experience between the two men disagreeing over war and theology was striking.On the one side was Pope Leo XIV, the first North American to head the Catholic church and the first cleric from the Augustinian order, who this week visited the modern Algerian city where Saint Augustine once lived. For Leo, who wrote his doctoral thesis on Augustine's ideas, it was the culmination of a lifelong intellectual interest. Continue reading...
by Catie McLeod, Luca Ittimani and Guardian staff on (#750FC)
Prime minister says Corio refinery fire will not push Australia into stage 3 restrictions, despite reduced production of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel
Former MP Tom Hunt has been working for Pauline Hanson's party in the seat of Farrer, where One Nation hopes for a game-changing breakthroughOne Nation has recruited a former UK Tory MP who is now a member of Nigel Farage's populist right-wing party Reform to help its campaign in the upcoming Farrer byelection.Tom Hunt, the Conservative MP for the UK seat of Ipswich for five years until 2024, has been advising on the rightwing party's social media strategy for the byelection after a stint in the South Australian state election. Continue reading...
EU economy commissioner says Iran war is feeding Russia's war machine; Trump condemns massive strikes on Ukraine. What we know on day 1,513The EU expects to start releasing a new 90bn loan to Ukraine in the second quarter, the bloc's economy chief told AFP on Thursday. The EU's economy commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, was speaking on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's spring meetings, which brought finance ministers, central bankers and other leaders to Washington. Our support for Ukraine, also continued pressure and sanctions against aggressor Russia was very much part of the agenda," Dombrovskis said. He warned that Moscow was emerging as a winner from this war in Iran, because it provides windfall profits to feed Russia's war machine".Russia hammered civilian areas across Ukraine with drones and missiles on Thursday, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 100 others in the worst aerial attack in weeks, Ukrainian authorities said. Nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles were used, as Ukrainian officials said vital stocks of advanced interceptors were running low.Donald Trump on Thursday condemned a massive Russian drone and missile attack across Ukraine that ripped through apartment buildings in the capital, Kyiv. Asked by reporters at the White House for his reaction to the barrage, Trump said: I think it's terrible."It is not in the interest of the US that Russia is the winner of the Iran war, the German vice chancellor, Lars Klingbeil, said on Thursday in Washington. It's not in our interest and it cannot be in the interest of the United States," he said in a joint statement with the finance ministers of Ukraine and Norway on the sidelines of the IMF spring meetings. Klingbeil said the Russian economy was growing thanks to the Middle East conflict and the country was profitting from the energy situation. As the conflict in the Middle East dominated the gathering of finance officials at the IMF in Washington, the ministers of Norway, Germany and Ukraine spoke about not forgetting to support Ukraine in its defence against Russia. All the meetings here are about the question of what's happening with the war in Iran, and I think it's really important we show solidarity with our friends in Ukraine," Klingbeil said.The heads of the EU and Nato on Thursday discussed efforts to bolster Europe's arms production, as Donald Trump threw doubt on Washington's commitment to the transatlantic alliance. We need to invest more, to produce more and to do both faster," the European Commission's president, Ursula von der Leyen, posted online after meeting Nato's chief, Mark Rutte. European nations are scrambling to bolster their militaries in the face of Russia's war on Ukraine and pressure from Trump. Continue reading...
Campaigners organise open letter to director demanding fair day's wage' for all workers at V&A museumsA row over pay has broken out at the V&A before the opening of its newest site , with thousands of people calling for it to become a living wage employer.On Saturday, V&A East will open its doors in Stratford, east London, showcasing stunning fabrics, photos and black British music. It joins a wider group of V&A museums including its original site in South Kensington, Young V&A in Bethnal Green and V&A Dundee. The V&A describes its latest opening as one of the most significant new museum projects in the UK. Continue reading...
Officers looking into attacks on Iran International media offices, synagogue and Jewish charity ambulancesCounter-terrorism investigators are examining three separate arson attacks in London against an Iranian dissident and Jewish targets amid fears the Iranian state may be behind them.The latest attack happened at about 8.30pm on Wednesday, outside the offices of Iran International, a Persian-language news channel that opposes the regime in Tehran. Continue reading...
Thieves believed to have escaped into sewers after holding staff and customers in Credit Agricole branch for two hoursArmed robbers held 25 people hostage at a bank in Naples for two hours on Thursday, before fleeing through a tunnel.The three thieves entered a branch of Credit Agricole in the southern Italian city at about 11.30am, taking hostage of staff and customers, who were freed by police a couple of hours later. Continue reading...
The spytech company and founder Peter Thiel should have their hands ripped off our NHS', say MPs during impassioned Westminster debateMPs have queued up to demand the government scraps its 330m NHS contract with the spytech company Palantir, calling it dreadful" and shameful" in a debate on Thursday, after which the government said it was no fan" of the US company's politics.Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs led the calls for Palantir, which also works for Donald Trump's ICE immigration crackdown and the Israeli military, to be removed as a supplier to the NHS federated data platform (FDP), with one Labour backbencher, Samantha Niblett, questioning whether it could be trusted as a custodian of the intimate health records of tens of millions of British citizens". Continue reading...
by Siraj Datoo (now) and Andrew Sparrow (earlier) on (#74ZPR)
The prime minister was not aware that the former US ambassador had failed the vetting process, according to Downing StreetSwinney says this is a manifesto for the whole of Scotland.He confirms that the SNP would argue for the Scottish power to have more control over energy policy (still largely reserved to Westminter). He says:The problem is not that we do not have the energy. The problem is that Westminster has the power. This election is our opportunity to take those powers and put them into Scotland's hands. Continue reading...
The magazine company is also shuttering some editions of Allure, Glamour and Wired deemed to be unprofitableConde Nast is planning to shutter Self, its women's health magazine, after 47 years.In a memo published on the magazine giant's website on Thursday, the CEO Roger Lynch explained the decision by saying: As audience behaviors shift, we have not seen a path for Self to continue in its current form as a digital publication." Continue reading...
by Chris Osuh Community affairs correspondent on (#7501Q)
The Rev Catherine Hutton says hate cannot drive out hate' after protesters gathered to demand information about suspectsThe minister of a church near the scene of an alleged gang-rape in Epsom has condemned the intimidating" protest involving hundreds of people gathering in the Surrey town to demand information about the suspects from police.A woman in her 20s is believed to have been assaulted outside Epsom Methodist church in Ashley Road after leaving Labyrinth nightclub on Saturday between 2am and 4am, according to Surrey police. Continue reading...
Critics say efforts to rescue the animal, nicknamed Tommy, unlikely to succeed and could lead to further harmA last-ditch effort to rescue a wayward whale that has transfixed Germans for weeks has begun in the Baltic Sea despite criticism it has little chance of success and could further harm the 12-tonne creature.The male humpback whale was first spotted last month near Timmendorfer Strand on the northern coast of Germany, giving rise to its nickname Timmy. It has repeatedly become stranded and then freed itself after human assistance but it is now stranded again, with rescuers saying it is fighting a losing battle for its life. Continue reading...
Ukrainian president says nearly 700 Russian drones and 19 ballistic missiles mostly targeted Kyiv, Odesa and DniproGerman chancellor Friedrich Merz and Irish prime minister Micheal Martin are now speaking at a press conference after their meeting in Berlin.Let's listen in. Continue reading...
Leader of leftwing Economic Freedom Fighters was convicted last year for firing rifle in the air at 2018 rallyThe South African leftwing politician Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison for firing a rifle in the air at a political rally in 2018.Lawyers for the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, South Africa's fourth largest political party, immediately appealed, and Malema will remain free while the appeal proceedings are under way. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Letter urges ministers to consult on Charity Commission measures meant to tackle extremismSeveral leading civil society organisations have urged the government to consult the sector before introducing new powers for the Charity Commission, which they caution risks suppressing legitimate advocacy" at a time when civic space is under increased pressure.Signatories, including leaders from some of the UK's largest civil society bodies, alongside faith-based and community organisations, wrote to the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, saying the proposed social cohesion measures could lead to the suppression of lawful advocacy, campaigning and community engagement". Continue reading...
by Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent on (#74ZPT)
Nadia Fall calls for bold thinking as she announces new shows including anti-Trump version of Thelma & LouiseTheatres facing financial difficulty can only prosper by programming their way out of it", according to the Young Vic artistic director, Nadia Fall, who has announces her new slate of shows, including an anti-Trump musical version of Thelma & Louise.Fall, who took the helm at the Young Vic in 2025 and oversaw staff cuts after a 500,000 deficit in the last financial year, said theatres must put on unmissable productions in order to balance the books. Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian