World news | The Guardian

Six people in Australia were stabbed to death in Bondi Junction Westfield shopping centre before attacker was shot dead by police officer

Despite his lack of faith, the author believes something happened that was not supposed to happen' on the day he was attackedSalman Rushdie has revealed an abiding sense that his survival after a brutal knife attack two years ago was a miracle, in spite of his lack of spiritual faith. I do feel that something happened that was not supposed to happen and I have no explanation for it," Rushdie said this weekend before the publication of Knife, his account of the incident.I certainly don't feel that some hand reached down from the sky and guarded me," but it still presents a contradiction, he admits, for one who doesn't believe." Continue reading...

Observer investigation finds that private companies made 105m despite not being registered with OfstedHundreds of extremely vulnerable school-age children in England are being sent to illegal, unregulated homes every year because of a chronic shortage of places in secure local authority units.An Observer investigation has established that councils placed 706 children, the majority of them under the age of 16, in their care in homes that were not registered with Ofsted, the children's social care watchdog, in 2022-23. Continue reading...

Leading barrister warns that the kit - used to support gender-questioning children - is likely to be in breach of equality laws and could violate pupils' rightsSchools in England and Wales have been warned by one of the country's leading equality and human rights barristers that the toolkit" many of them use to support gender-questioning children is unlawful.The toolkit, introduced by Brighton and Hove council in 2021 and subsequently replicated by a number of other local authorities, says schools should respect" a child's request to change their name and pronoun as a pivotal" part of supporting their identity, as well as other changes such as switching to wearing trousers or a skirt. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereThe search for a missing Israeli teenager resumed on Saturday in the occupied West Bank, where settler attacks on Palestinian villages have left at least one dead and dozens injured, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP) citing sources on both sides.The Israeli army said it was still looking for Benjamin Achimeir, 14, who went missing early on Friday from Malachi Hashalom, an outpost near the city of Ramallah. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here

At least six people lock themselves in Grade II-listed York and Albany next to Regent's Park and post noticeSquatters have taken over a pub in London leased by Gordon Ramsay that is up for sale with a guide price of 13m.A group of at least six people locked themselves inside the Grade II-listed York and Albany hotel and gastropub, next to Regent's Park, boarding up the windows and putting up a legal warning" defending their takeover, the Sun reported. Continue reading...

Rules due to come in this month will impose new handling fees - and experts say small suppliers are already being driven awayMinisters' decision to impose Brexit import checks on 30 April will lead to shortages of some foods, flowers and herbs, industry leaders have warned.In the week after the government was accused of blindsiding the British food industry by giving 27 days' notice that every consignment of items such as camembert, steak, tulips and chives would be subject to fees of up to 145, small retailers such as delis and farm shops have been scrambling to make sure they still have products to sell. Continue reading...

Analysts suggest regime may be downplaying situation for fear conflict could spiral out of control

State news agency says MSC Aries was taken in strait of Hormuz and is being transferred to Iran's territorial waters

Technician, 51, who hung his own picture in an exhibition about art world glitches, has been sacked and given a three-year banThe first picture that greeted visitors to the first-floor exhibition space in Munich's Pinakothek der Moderne gallery on 23 February may not have immediately grabbed their attention.The 60cm by 120cm artwork was a retro-looking photograph of a family of four, with the background and parts of the faces and bodies roughly painted over in white. It was unassuming compared with the video- and photo-based artworks in the adjacent rooms, but only on closer inspection might visitors have wondered why there was no label giving the artist or the work's title. Continue reading...

Stephen Whittle talks about life for young trans people in the 1970s and now, and the influence of anti-trans' views todayWhen Stephen Whittle transitioned as a teenager in 1975, he was one of only a handful of young people in the UK to be offered hormone treatment and, later, surgery.Almost half a century later - much of it spent fighting for trans rights - he said there was masses" he agreed with in this week's review of the NHS's gender identity services by Hilary Cass. He said he also believed the report had been influenced by groups and individuals with transphobic" views, and said the potential for positive change must be backed with resources". Continue reading...

OpenDemocracy investigation names attenders, including Keir Starmer, at Edinburgh meeting to discuss party's banking policies

Troops took Layan Nasir away at gunpoint from her home in the West Bank and her parents haven't been told where she isThe Israeli troops arrived at about 4am last Saturday to take 23-year-old Layan Nasir away at gunpoint from her parents home in the West Bank town of Birzeit. There was no arrest warrant or charges, and her parents haven't been notified where she is held.The only Palestinian Christian woman currently in Israeli detention, her case has been raised by the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. I'm shocked and deeply concerned," he said in a post on X. Please pray for Layan's safety and swift release." Continue reading...

More than 40 locations across the US reported the backlash after rightwing account stokes anti-trans rhetoric about its rulesMore than 40 Planet Fitness locations across the country have received bomb threats after a conservative movement against the gym's trans-inclusive locker room policy went viral online.In the weeks since the backlash against the gym chain started in March, at least 43 locations in Connecticut, Florida, Alabama and other states have received bomb threats, according to progressive media watchdog group Media Matters. Continue reading...

Following Rishi Sunak's decision to cancel the leg, taxpayer has spent 1.4m on properties for a line that is no longer being builtThe government has paid more than 1m to buy properties along HS2's northern leg since Rishi Sunak announced he was cancelling the scheme, the Observer can reveal.The prime minister used his party conference speech in Manchester last year to announce he was axing the line that would have brought it to the city. It angered some senior Tories, while officials and industry insiders have since been scrambling to draw up plans for new capacity on Britain's railways, which had been relying on HS2's northern routes. Continue reading...

Former home secretary will rub shoulders with populist right from across the globe, including Hungarian prime minister Viktor OrbanRishi Sunak is being urged to stop his former home secretary from attending a rightwing convention featuring figures who have been under investigation for extremism, in the latest sign of his waning control of his party.Suella Braverman, who has been a central plotter against the prime minister since she left the cabinet, is set to be one of the keynote speakers at the National Conservatism (NatCon) conference in Brussels this week. Continue reading...

Actor in Disney+ series Andor will appear onscreen alongside Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson next yearVarada Sethu will join Doctor Who as one of the Doctor's two companions for Ncuti Gatwa's second series in the role, it has been confirmed.She will appear onscreen in 2025, alongside the former Coronation Street actor Millie Gibson after speculation over her character Ruby Sunday's future on the sci-fi show. Continue reading...

The superstar arrives in Europe next month - and Swifties, tourist boards and venues are already preparingTim Brown, 44, and his wife, Marcella, 34, may not consider themselves bona fide Swifties", but when it was announced last June that Taylor Swift would be visiting their corner of the globe this summer they could not resist joining the scramble for a pair of tickets.A post-pandemic appetite for live music events has fuelled huge worldwide interest in the American singer-songwriter's Eras tour, which surpassed in $1bn sales in November to become the highest-grossing series of concerts in history. Continue reading...

Filming begins on the most expensive Scots Gaelic series ever made but there is wider crisis in Gaelic broadcastingThe tranquility of a remote castle in the Outer Hebrides, with its views of long golden beaches, rocky coasts and glowering skies, is about to be shattered by the staging of a woman's murder.Detectives will fly in from Inverness. The drama will catapult the castle and this secluded Gaelic-speaking corner of Harris to a global audience, as a dysfunctional family's long-buried secrets emerge. Continue reading...

Kyiv running short of missile defence systems while US military aid dries upUkraine's air defences are being overwhelmed by concentrated waves of Russian bombing aimed at its power stations, acknowledged a senior presidential adviser after the destruction of an entire plant on Thursday.Mykhailo Podolyak said Moscow was adopting new tactics of attacking power stations with up to 10 or 12 missiles at a time", bypassing already stretched Patriot and other missile shields. Continue reading...

Short-lived PM also says she anticipated mini-budget turbulence' and compares herself to Brian CloughLiz Truss ran for Conservative leader and prime minister despite her husband's prediction that it would all end in tears", according to her book, Ten Years to Save the West, which will be published in the UK and US next week.She agreed with an ally that the mini-budget she planned to introduce once elected would prompt brutal turbulence", then resigned after just 49 days in power, seeing herself as the Brian Clough of prime ministers". The Guardian has obtained a copy of the book. Continue reading...

A man was left in despair when his beloved Alfa Romeo was wrecked on a test drive by a staff memberA Birmingham man who took his beloved Alfa Romeo to Halfords Autocentre for a routine service has described his despair after it was written off on a test drive by a staff member, leaving him more than 2,000 out of pocket.Ian Tubbs contacted Guardian Money when, rather than helping a customer whose car was completely destroyed" in its care, Halfords refused to accept liability for the collision and the financial losses he suffered as a result. Continue reading...

Wife of former PM says her time in No 10 helped shape her Cefinn clothing brand, which is opening a London storeWhile the Tories are in freefall, one former first couple are bucking the trend. Samantha Cameron, the designer and founder of the fashion brand Cefinn and wife of the former prime minister David Cameron, is about to open her first bricks-and-mortar store. The Belgravia boutique puts her back in the public eye, just as the role of foreign secretary has returned her husband to the frontline of politics.Cefinn steers a course between garden-party nostalgia and modern life. Its sleek long floral dresses are aimed at a well-to-do customer who has taken half a day off work to be at a school sports day but needs to be back at the office to lead a meeting by 2pm. Continue reading...

New South Wales police say a 16-year-old has been charged over death of 18-year-old and will appear in court on Saturday

Man found unresponsive shortly after being arrested over a simple offence' in the Moonah area

Ferdinand Marcos Jr says building trilateral ties vital, after the three countries criticise China's dangerous and aggressive behaviour' in the regionA cooperation agreement by the Philippines, the United States and Japan will change the dynamic in the South China Sea and the region, the Philippine president has said, while seeking to assure China it was not a target.I think the trilateral agreement is extremely important," Ferdinand Marcos Jr told a press conference in Washington on Friday, a day after meeting President Joe Biden and the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, in the nations' first trilateral summit. Continue reading...

Prospect of party closing Tory loopholes' if elected prompts some wealthy individuals to explore a move overseasPeople are jumping on planes right now and leaving," said Nimesh Shah, the chief executive of Blick Rothenberg, an accountancy firm that specialises in advising very rich non-doms" on their tax affairs. I am not being dramatic, they are leaving right now."Shah said his clients - some of the richest people in the country - were petrified" of plans to abolish the non-domicile" regime, through which for the past 225 years wealthy people have been able to live in the UK and not pay tax on their overseas income. Continue reading...

Few of Hamas's senior leaders have been harmed but its ability to govern is reduced and thousands of fighters are deadSix months after the surprise attacks it launched into Israel, triggering the Gaza conflict, Hamas is weakened and divided but far from defeated, experts, officials and sources close to the militant Islamist organisation say.Hamas remains in de facto control of swaths of Gaza, including the parts where much of the territory's population is now concentrated, and has re-established a presence elsewhere. In recent days, Hamas operatives" armed with batons have been sighted keeping order on the streets of Khan Younis, the southern city from which Israeli forces withdrew just last week. On Wednesday, rockets targeting a kibbutz in Israel were launched by militants from Jabaliya in northern Gaza. Continue reading...

Byelection in the south Sydney seat expected to be won by Liberal candidate Simon Kennedy as AEC warns voter turnout could be low

Higher seat availability has resulted in lower airfares, group says, but cost-of-living pressures continue their impact on holiday plans

President said US are devoted to the defence of Israel' as he urged Tehran to show restraintJoe Biden has said he expects an Iranian attack on Israel sooner rather than later" and issued a last-ditch message to Tehran: Don't."We are devoted to the defence of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed," Biden told reporters on Friday. Continue reading...

ABS data shows changes in grocery consumption, prompting concerns over eating habits and the nation's health

Stories include man with bruise in shape of Prince Harry and statue of H from Steps being erected in WalesThe comedian Joe Lycett has disclosed the fake stories that he successfully planted in the British media over the past month included a man with a bruise in the shape of Prince Harry and a statue of H from Steps being erected in his home town of Cowbridge in Wales.In the first episode of his new Channel 4 show, Lycett said four stories that were covered by newspapers and television news were fabricated. Continue reading...

Announcement is latest in series of debt cancellations as president addresses key issue for young voters ahead of November electionThe Biden administration will cancel $7.4bn in student debt for 277,000 borrowers, the White House said on Friday, the latest in a series of debt cancellations.Joe Biden announced plans on Monday to ease student debt that would benefit at least 23 million Americans, addressing a key issue for young voters whose support he needs as he seeks re-election in November. Continue reading...

Manuel Rocha, 73, will also pay a $500,000 fine after pleading guilty to conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign governmentA former career US diplomat was sentenced Friday to 15 years in federal prison after admitting he worked for decades as a secret agent for Cuba, in a plea agreement that leaves many unanswered questions about a betrayal that stunned the US foreign service.Manuel Rocha, 73, will also pay a $500,000 fine and cooperate with authorities after pleading guilty to conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed more than a dozen other counts, including wire fraud and making false statements. Continue reading...

Helicopters called in to rescue people after accident outside Turkish resort city of AntalyaOne person has been killed, seven injured and nearly 200 stranded in midair when a pylon supporting cable cars collapsed outside the Turkish resort city of Antalya.Helicopters equipped with night vision were called in to rescue 184 people still stranded in the cable car system's cabins, Antalya mayor Muhittin Bocek said in a statement late on Friday. Continue reading...

Officials say driver planned the attack deliberately in retaliation for having been denied a commercial driver's licenseOne person was killed and 13 others were injured when a stolen semitrailer crashed into a Texas department of public safety (DPS) office in a rural town west of Houston on Friday, authorities said.The driver suspected of the crash has been identified as 42-year-old Clenard Parker. He was arrested on the scene, though investigators have not immediately said which charges he might face.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

Doctor who helmed abdominal transplant program reportedly manipulated records to make patients ineligible to receive liversA prominent hospital in Houston has halted its liver and kidney transplant programs after officials said one of its doctors secretly manipulated records to make some of his patients ineligible to receive new livers.Memorial Hermann-Texas medical center said it discovered a pattern of irregularities" with donor acceptance criteria after an investigation found problems with information entered into a database used to match patients awaiting a liver transplant.Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

West African state turned to Russia to help in fight against insurgents throwing into doubt future of operations with USRussian military trainers have arrived to reinforce Niger's air defenses as the west African country pulls away from close cooperation with the US in counterterrorism efforts, turning instead to Moscow for help as it fights Islamist insurgents.State television in the country broadcast footage of Russian military trainers arriving in the country aboard a plane equipped with military supplies late on Thursday. Two Russian trainers were filmed in front of the plane wearing military uniforms, caps and face coverings. Continue reading...

David Blunkett and Alan Johnson join Iain Duncan Smith in dismay at DWP's treatment of benefit recipients' minor mistakes

Nicholas Panayiotou and Eleanar Attard among gang who planned to smuggle 58kg of the drug into the UKMembers of a gang, including two former winners of a Channel 4 cooking programme, have been convicted after their plan to import large amounts of cannabis was uncovered.Nicholas Panayiotou, Eleanar Attard, Constantinos Zavros, Luke Wileman and Koby Haik planned to smuggle 58kg of cannabis into the UK from the US, but were foiled after a theft at a London airport, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...

Inquest delivers findings 48 years after 10 Protestant workers were shot dead when their minibus was ambushed in County ArmaghThe shooting dead of 10 Protestant workers at Kingsmill in Northern Ireland in 1976 was an overtly sectarian attack by the IRA", a coroner has ruled.Nearly eight years after the inquest opened, Brian Sherrard delivered his findings in Belfast on Friday into the Troubles killings in County Armagh. Continue reading...

Exclusive: MP for Enfield Southgate also has whip restored as internal process does not uphold complaint about his conductA former shadow minister has been readmitted to the Labour party after a 10-month-long investigation into a complaint about his conduct.Bambos Charalambous, the MP for Enfield Southgate who lost the Labour whip last June, said he was delighted" his suspension had been lifted. Continue reading...

Leaders of two nations vow to muster international support for two-state solution to Gaza crisisIreland and Spain have reiterated their intention to forge an alliance of countries that will soon recognise Palestine as a nation state.The Irish taoiseach, Simon Harris, and Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, vowed on Friday to muster international support for a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine. Continue reading...

Shadow health secretary calls for more thoughtful approach but says he understand scepticism among trans peopleWes Streeting has said he wants the Cass review to be a watershed moment in the provision of health services for young people questioning their gender identity but understands why some trans people may feel frightened".The shadow health secretary said children and young people, but trans people more generally, had been utterly failed" by the state of healthcare available, adding: We've got to get this right" for them. Continue reading...

Deputy Labour leader has faced questions over sale of former council house before she became MPAngela Rayner has pledged to step down as deputy leader of the Labour party if a police investigation finds she has committed a crime, amid allegations of breaching electoral law and avoiding capital gains tax.Greater Manchester police (GMP) said on Friday that they were investigating the sale of her council house in March 2015, after she was accused of giving false information about where she was living for the first five years of her marriage before she was elected as an MP in May 2015. Continue reading...

Prime minister testified at public inquiry into foreign interference that Beijing's interference was never relayed to himCanada's spy agency is under pressure after Justin Trudeau and his closest advisers say they were never made aware of a report that Beijing clandestinely and deceptively" interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.Canada is in the midst of a contentious public inquiry examining and assessing" foreign interference by China, Russia, and other foreign states and non-state actors, and this week the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, testified under oath about the steps his government took to respond to the threat of meddling. In his appearance, which lasted nearly four hours, Trudeau insisted that despite the efforts from hostile states, previous federal elections held in their integrity". Continue reading...

Residents tell of shock and no longer feeling safe on day Kulsuma Akter's husband appeared before courtBradford is still in shock" almost a week after the killing of Kulsuma Akter, who was stabbed to death while pushing her seven-month-old son in a pram in the city centre.The 27-year-old, who her cousin said was always smiling and liked to make people laugh", was attacked outside a shop in the Westgate area last Saturday. Continue reading...

Gibraltar's chief minister says progress made in talks about free movement across border with SpainThe UK and the EU are within kissing distance" of a post-Brexit deal to guarantee free movement over the border between Gibraltar and Spain, Gibraltar's chief minister has said.After a meeting between the UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, Spain's foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, and the European Commission vice-president Maro efovi, agreement was reached on issues that have dogged negotiations for the past five years. Continue reading...