World news | The Guardian

Taiwan says it has detected nearly 20 vessels off its coast as Beijing orders large scale sea and air exercises and calls leaders in Taipei parasites'China has launched large-scale military drills around Taiwan, accusing its leaders of being separatists" and parasites" who were pushing the democratically run island into war.The drills, accompanied by a propaganda campaign, were launched without warning on Tuesday morning. China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) said they were a stern warning" to Taiwan's democratically elected government over what Beijing claims is separatist activity. Continue reading...

Woman's lawyer tells reporters outside court incident in Baulkham Hills home was a tragic case for all concerned'

Exclusive: Charities say freeze to housing benefit will push more people into rent arrears and homelessnessOnly 2.5% of private rented homes in England were affordable for people on housing benefit last year, with charities warning that more people will be pushed into rent arrears and homelessness as a freeze on the benefit takes effect.From Tuesday, housing benefit rates will be locked at current rates until 2026, affecting 5.7m households on low income which rely on it to cover rent. Continue reading...

Attempts to seal porous borders through which guns, drugs and fuel flowed in Assad times are turning local tensions deadlyHidden trails snake through the mountains in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa valley, the furrowed earthen paths veering off before entirely disappearing into the mountainside scrub. That's Syria," said Haidar, a smuggler using a pseudonym, tracing with his finger the contours of a route that if followed for about half a mile would cross the borders of Syria and Lebanon with authorities being none the wiser.In the remote Lebanese village of Qasr, borders are just a suggestion. The town sits a stone's throw from Syria and save for three soldiers manning an army checkpoint at the entry to the village, the presence of the Lebanese state is minimal. Continue reading...

More than 2,000 people sign petition in support of jazz musician and composer of River to Sea, Kellee Green

Raymond Ervine, whose birth certificate was found on Mark Haines' body, says allegations the Gomeroi teenager had been in a stolen car were never his character'

Office of US trade representative releases report on foreign trade barriers' including Australia's biosecurity regime for imported beef, pork and poultry

Live-action animated film starring John Cena and Will Forte will hit cinemas in 2026, after it was controversially shelved in favour of a $30m tax write-downFor once, things are working out for Wile E Coyote.The film Coyote vs Acme, which stars John Cena and Will Forte acting alongside beloved Looney Tunes cartoon characters, will finally be released to the public, almost two years after the completed film was shelved by Warner Bros as part of a tax write-off. Continue reading...

US Investment Accelerator will oversee the semiconductor production boosting law signed in to law in August 2022Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday setting up a new entity to take over the Chips Act program and speed up corporate investments in the US.The United States Investment Accelerator within the commerce department will oversee implementing the Chips and Science Act, a 2022 law that made $52.7bn in subsidies available for semiconductor chips manufacturing and production. Continue reading...

Elon Musk attacks decision along with other figures from the right including Viktor Orban and Geert WildersNationalist and populist figures around the world, from Elon Musk to Viktor Orban, have united in condemnation of a Paris court verdict barring Marine Le Pen from running in the country's 2027 presidential elections.In a bombshell ruling many believe could boost support for the party, the figurehead of France's far-right National Rally (RN) was sentenced on Monday to four years' imprisonment - half suspended - and banned from running for public office for five years, for embezzlement of European parliament funds. Continue reading...

Varada Sethu joining series as Doctor's latest companion, marking first time Tardis team is wholly people of colourCriticisms that Doctor Who has become too woke" prove the series is doing the right thing by being inclusive, its new star Varada Sethu has said.Sethu plays the Doctor's latest travelling companion, Belinda Chandra, in new episodes airing next month. With Ncuti Gatwa returning as the Doctor, the pairing marks the first time a Tardis team will comprise solely people of colour. Continue reading...

Move is latest in controversial method of deporting people from Guantanamo to prison abroad without US due processThe 17 additional people the US shipped off to a prison in El Salvador on Sunday and accused of being tied to transnational gangs were sent there from immigration detention at Guantanamo Bay, a White House official confirmed to the Guardian on Monday afternoon.The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, announced the overnight military transfer, asserting that the group included murderers and rapists" from the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangs, which the Trump administration has recently labeled foreign terrorists. Continue reading...

Large-scale' emergency response launched but later scaled down, while girl's next of kin given supportA search is under way to find an 11-year-old girl after she fell into the River Thames in east London, police have said.Metropolitan police officers were called to reports that the child had entered the river close to Bargehouse Causeway, near London City airport, at about 1.15pm on Monday. Emergency services launched a large-scale response" to the incident, the force said, but the search was later scaled down. Continue reading...

Far-right leader, who was found guilty of embezzlement of European funds, says conviction is a denial of democracy'The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has railed against a Paris court's political decision" to bar her from competing for the presidency in 2027, attacking the move to ban her from running for public office as a denial of democracy".In a day of high political drama, Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement of European parliament funds on a vast scale, a conviction for which she was also handed a four-year prison sentence, with two of those years suspended and two to be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet. She was also ordered to pay a 100,000 (84,000) fine. Continue reading...

Court hears from publisher's head of investigations about actor's libel claim over sexual misconduct allegationsThe actor Noel Clarke made calls to some of the women he thought were cooperating with the Guardian prior to the publication of its investigation into his behaviour, leaving them shaken, fearful and in tears", the high court in London has heard.The Guardian's head of investigations, Paul Lewis, was giving evidence in defence of Clarke's libel claim against the news publisher over allegations of sexual misconduct. Continue reading...

Residents took firms owned by billionaire to tribunal for operating unlicensed houses in multiple occupationTenants of two buildings in east London have been awarded a six-figure sum in rent repayments by a tribunal after challenging a billionaire described by a judge as a rogue landlord".The group of current and former residents of Olympic House and Simpson House in Hackney took companies owned by John Christodoulou to tribunal for operating unlicensed houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), which meant the buildings were not subject to the safety and quality standards required by law. Continue reading...

Friends and fans of Heklina denounce Met's investigation of unsolved death in her London flatNearly two years after the American drag artist Heklina was found dead in London, her friends and fans gathered outside Scotland Yard's headquarters to protest against the force's handling of the case.Heklina, whose real name was Steven Grygelko, was found at a flat in Soho, central London, on 3 April 2023, by a friend and fellow drag performer, Peaches Christ, real name Joshua Grannell. Continue reading...

Iranian officials accuse US president of breaching UN charter and say violence brings violence'

News Group Newspapers reports a pre-tax loss for the year to 30 June 2024 of 18m, its smallest since 2011The owner of the Sun has run up more than 1.2bn in losses since the start of its costly battle to end allegations of illegal phone hacking almost 15 years ago.News Group Newspapers (NGN), a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News UK which publishes the Sun and retains liability for the activities of the now defunct News of the World, reported a pre-tax loss of 18m in the year to 30 June 2024. Continue reading...

Choosing KKR as the preferred bidder for the UK's biggest water company may not fill Thames Water's workers with joy

UN says 15 Red Crescent and rescue workers were killed one by one'Palestinian medics killed by Israeli forces and buried in mass grave, says UNThe Israeli military said on Monday that an inquiry had found that on 23 March, troops opened fire on a group of vehicles that included ambulances and fire trucks when the vehicles approached a position without prior coordination and without headlights or emergency signals.It said several militants belonging to the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad were killed. Continue reading...

Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary, says prime minister needs to work on rekindling US trade deal'Downing Street has sent out more details of the enforced returns numbers quoted by Keir Starmer in his speech to the Organised Immigration Crime summit. (See 9.26am.)It says the more than 24,000 migrants made to leave the country since July 2024 meant the government has achieved the highest rate of returns in eight years. It says:The continued rise in removals includes a 21% increase in enforced returns and a 16% increase in foreign national offenders being removed from the UK since July 5, including the 4 biggest returns charter flights in the UK's history, with a total of more than 850 people on board.The massive surge in removals followed the government's immediate action to redeploy staff across the Home Office to work on policies that deliver results ... Continue reading...

Jordan Bardella says in petition there is a dictatorship of judges' as French far right leader barred from running for public office for five years

Donald Trump accused of damaging US ability to respond to disasters through cuts to foreign aid programmes.As aid from China, Russia, India and the UK begins to flow into Myanmar, there is a conspicuous gap in global support from the world's richest country: the US.The powerful 7.7-magnitude quake that struck central Myanmar on Friday has caused widespread destruction, flattening swathes of the country's second-largest city, Mandalay, and even a tower block in the Thai capital, Bangkok, more than 600 miles (1,000km) away. Continue reading...

The 7.7 magnitude quake on Friday wrought destruction across central areas of the country, including the capitalA devastating earthquake has wrought destruction across central Myanmar, toppling ancient sites, bringing down hospital buildings and collapsing homes.The 7.7 magnitude quake on Friday was followed by a number of aftershocks along the Sagaing fault. It also caused damage in neighbouring Thailand, where a skyscraper under construction collapsed in Bangkok. Continue reading...

Workers on a mission to help colleagues were buried in mass grave in southern Gaza, says humanitarian officeFifteen Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, including at least one United Nations employee, were killed by Israeli forces one by one" and buried in a mass grave eight days ago in southern Gaza, the UN has said.According to the UN humanitarian affairs office (Ocha), the Palestinian Red Crescent and civil defence workers were on a mission to rescue colleagues who had been shot at earlier in the day, when their clearly marked vehicles came under heavy Israeli fire in Rafah city's Tel al-Sultan. A Red Crescent official in Gaza said that there was evidence of at least one person being detained and killed, as the body of one of the dead had been found with his hands tied. Continue reading...

Tougher conditions for first home buyers - and renters, who are now often spending more than those with mortgages

Exclusive: Findings are a warning to policymakers that raising subsidies can be costly and ineffective if not carefully designed', co-author says

Voters scored both PM and Peter Dutton poorly on key leadership questions including trust, competence and being out of touch

The drama teachers behind the young actors in the Netflix smash say their lack of recognition has caused wide upset'Adolescence's stratospheric success has catapulted its young cast of unknown actors into the limelight. Reams of headlines have suggested that they have come from nowhere - yet the grassroots regional drama schools that trained them say this overlooks their hard work.

The 47-year-old, who stabbed herself after the alleged attack, will appear at Parramatta local court via a hospital bedside hearing

Officials in France and Belgium hit out at American interference' amid growing transatlantic tensions

Rise from current limit of 85,000 would be first big change to protection scheme since 2008 banking crisis

World Health Organization issues flash appeal for $8m of emergency support amid frantic search for survivorsAFP has spoken to relatives anxiously waiting at the site of a collapsed building in Bangkok.Daodee Paruay said she had been at the site for two days, hoping for a miracle. Her brother was an electrician working on site, and he is believed to be under the rubble. We wait, we wait." she said. Continue reading...

Shares nosedive at Wood Group after Deloitte review finds inappropriate management pressure'

Research by Cycling UK finds female cyclists report more threatening incidents, as well as a lack of infrastructureIntimidating behaviour from drivers, poor infrastructure and fears over safety are deterring more women in the UK from cycling compared with men, research has found, while bike sales continue to fall after the Covid boom".The barriers to cycling have widened between men and women across every measure in the past seven years", according to research by Cycling UK, a charitable membership organisation. Continue reading...

KKR expected to acquire stake worth 4bn as UK's biggest water supplier tries to stave off nationalisationThames Water has picked the US investment firm KKR to take a stake in the business, as the embattled water company fights to stave off nationalisation.The UK's biggest water supplier, which is struggling under a debt pile of close to 20bn, said it had selected KKR as a preferred partner" as it seeks to secure fresh equity funding for its operations by the end of June. The New York-based private equity firm is expected to acquire a stake in Thames worth 4bn. Continue reading...

Counsel for Billboard Chris', AKA Chris Elston, says takedown notice from eSafety commissioner was regulatory overreach

Detail not yet clear about new nature watchdog plan, which comes after previous attempt drew backlash from Western Australia

Brief moment of relief as rescue workers carry a woman from the rubble of a hotel in Mandalay after a five-hour operation

Dennis Richardson argues biggest hindrance to $368bn deal is budgetary capacity and political will'

Sixth-formers discuss the hit show and what it is really like to be a young male in Britain today

Leading figures including Tom Dixon and Sebastian Conran add voices to criticism of government's AI opt-out proposalA proposed overhaul of copyright law risks running roughshod" over a British design industry that has created such memorable products as the red phone box, the London underground map and the iPhone, according to a group of leading UK designers.In a letter to the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, 35 UK-based designers have urged the government to change cours on its plans to let artificial intelligence (AI) companies train their models on copyrighted work without permission. The proposal has already prompted fierce criticism from the worlds of publishing, music, film, TV and the performing arts, with leading creative figures including Sir Paul McCartney, Richard Osman and Kate Bush voicing their opposition. Continue reading...

Prime minister to urge world leaders to work together to stop criminal gangs as small boat crossings continue to risePeople-smugglers should be treated like terrorists, Keir Starmer will say on Monday, as he hosts an international summit on organised migration crime in London.Starmer will urge representatives from more than 40 countries to cooperate across national borders to stop smugglers just as they did to stop terrorists when he was director of public prosecutions more than a decade ago. Continue reading...

Opposition leader confirms he would move into Kirribilli House if elected PM - a statement Anthony Albanese says shows a fair bit of hubris'

Federal court hears Nick McKenzie allegedly told a witness that Roberts-Smith's ex-wife and her friend were actively briefing us on his legal strategy'

Newly sworn in Jens-Frederik Nielsen says Trump says that the United States is getting Greenland. Let me be clear: the United States won't get that'The US will not get Greenland, its new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has said in response to Donald Trump's latest statements that he wants to take control of the vast Arctic country.President Trump says that the United States is getting Greenland. Let me be clear: the United States won't get that. We do not belong to anyone else. We determine our own future," Nielsen said. Continue reading...

Two girls, boy in stable condition and 46-year-old woman under guard in hospital after alleged attack in Baulkham Hills

More than 300,000 without power as storm, expected to continue overnight, pummels Ottawa, Quebec and OntarioMore than 300,000 Canadians faced power outages in parts of Ontario on Sunday as an ice storm pummeled the region over the weekend, according to electricity provider Hydro One.Environment Canada issued winter storm warnings for freezing rain in Ottawa, parts of Quebec and Ontario, with the risk of snow mixed with or transitioning to ice pellets expected to continue until Monday morning in some regions. Continue reading...

Alexander Sloley was a 16-year-old college student when he went missing from IslingtonPolice seeking information about a 33-year-old man who disappeared 17 years ago have offered a 10,000 reward.Alexander Sloley was 16 and studying accountancy at college when he disappeared from Islington, north London, in August 2008. His family and friends have not heard from him since, despite issuing an efit of what he might look like in his late 20s when the police investigation was reopened in 2019. Continue reading...