World news | The Guardian

Met Office says aurora borealis may be visible across north of country and possibly even further southThe northern lights are expected to be visible in Scotland this weekend, the Met Office has said, with a chance of sightings further south.Sightings of the aurora borealis, a naturally occurring light display caused when electrically charged particles from the sun collide with atoms and molecules in the Earth's atmosphere, are possible over northern Scotland and potentially over much of Scotland where skies remain clear" on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, according to the latest space weather" forecast. Continue reading...

Conservative bloc and SPD to start full coalition talks as chancellor-in-waiting plans to revive ailing economyGermany's conservative election winner, Friedrich Merz, came a step closer on Saturday to forming a government that he says will revive Europe's top economy and its armed forces with massive new spending.The bold moves are part of his plan to rebuild Berlin's standing in Europe, which Merz has said must respond to the sweeping changes driven by the US president, Donald Trump, that have rocked the transatlantic alliance. Continue reading...

Nominee for undersecretary for defense policy says Aukus deal to deliver Virginia class submarines could leave US sailors vulnerable'

Ayatollah Khamenei says US demand to reopen talks on Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at dominationIran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has criticised what he described as bullying tactics a day after Donald Trump threatened military action against Iran.Some bully governments - I really don't know of any more appropriate term for some foreign figures and leaders than the word bullying - insist on negotiations," Khamenei told officials after Trump threatened military action if Iran refused to engage in talks over its nuclear programme. Continue reading...

From Istanbul and Warsaw to Athens and Madrid, activists demand equality and the end of gender-based violenceWomen took to the streets of cities across Europe, Africa and elsewhere to mark International Women's Day with demands for ending inequality and gender-based violence.On the Asian side of Turkey's biggest city Istanbul, a rally in Kadikoy saw members of dozens of women's groups listen to speeches, dance and sing in the spring sunshine. The colorful protest was overseen by a large police presence, including officers in riot gear and a water cannon truck. Continue reading...

The territory is mired in a grey zone' of uncertainty as the peace process has stalled and neither side seems willing to compromiseFears of a return to war in Gaza are intensifying this weekend, with faltering diplomatic efforts and almost daily airstrikes by Israeli forces in the devastated territory.There has been relative calm in Gaza since a ceasefire for prisoners deal between Hamas and Israel came into effect in January, pausing 15 months of conflict. However, the first phase of that agreement expired more than a week ago and a second phase has stalled, leaving Gaza plunged into a grey zone" of uncertainty. Continue reading...

After the spying convictions of six Bulgarians, police have warned of further Russian operations against opponentsA second Kremlin spy operation has been discovered targeting Russian dissidents in Britain, it can be revealed.Roman Dobrokhotov, a journalist in the sights of the six Bulgarians convicted of spying for Russia, said he had been informed of fresh attempts to surveil his family. Continue reading...

Ubiquity of then-illegal relations at King's College, Cambridge, explains puzzling 1952 admission, says scholarFor decades, it has puzzled historians. Why, in the course of reporting a burglary to the police in 1952, did the maths genius Alan Turing volunteer that he was in an illegal homosexual relationship? The admission enabled the police to prosecute the Bletchley Park codebreaker for gross indecency", ending Turing's groundbreaking work for GCHQ on early computers and artificial intelligence and compelling him to undergo a chemical castration that rendered him impotent. Two years later, he killed himself.Now, research by a University of Cambridge academic has shed light on the reasons why Turing, a former undergraduate and lecturer at King's College, Cambridge, did not hide his homosexuality from the police. There was a whole community in King's quite different from stories one knows about from gay history, usually involving casual pickups and a lot of despair, hiding and misery," said Simon Goldhill, professor of classics at the college. Continue reading...

The two women were said to have been stargazing with three male travellers when the incident took placeTwo men have been arrested in India in connection with the alleged rape of an Israeli and a local woman.The Israeli woman and her homestay operator were said to be stargazing with three male travellers in Koppal town in southern Karnataka state on Thursday night. Continue reading...

Communities in northern NSW and south-east Queensland remain on alert for heavy rain and flooding

Center for Political Accountability, which advocates for corporate disclosure, warns of fallout from Trump's effortsA new report warns of profound risks" in American politics as cryptocurrency companies increase their political spending and Donald Trump oversees regulatory retreat while promising to create a crypto strategic reserve".The situation illustrate[s] the profound risks that unchecked corporate political spending presents, particularly within the volatile and often unpredictable cryptocurrency industry", reads the report, from the Center for Political Accountability (CPA), a non-profit that advocates for corporate political disclosure. Continue reading...

Jefferson Griffin trying to remove thousands of ballots from North Carolina count in case that has drawn large protestsFour months after the 2024 election, and after recounts affirmed his loss, a North Carolina judge running for a seat on the state's high court has yet to concede. Instead, Jefferson Griffin is still trying to remove more than 65,000 voters' ballots from the count, contending they were not lawfully able to vote.Griffin's case, closely watched by both political parties for its ability to set a precedent in a swing state, is now before the state's court of appeals, on which he sits. Griffin, a Republican, lost to Democratic supreme court justice Allison Riggs by 734 votes, affirmed by two recounts. The parties filed briefs in early March, and the Republican-leaning court of appeals is expected to schedule arguments soon. Continue reading...

Reports of Fort Bliss being used for detention as well as expulsion purposes spark outrage from criticsThe huge US army base of Fort Bliss at the Texas-Mexico border is poised to become a deportation hub under plans proposed by the Trump administration - prompting an outcry from critics as it once again becomes a focal point in the immigration debate.Situated in the heart of El Paso, the base has already been used by Donald Trump since he returned to the White House to fly deportees on military aircraft to Guantanamo Bay and Central and South America amid intense publicity around his wider anti-immigration agenda. Continue reading...

WA Labor will hold a third term in office, with the early vote count showing the Liberals failing to gain traction with any significant swing Western Australia has one story about the gas industry. It won't accept dissent from over east'Labor will govern for a third term in Western Australia, with the Liberal Party failing to attract the swing required to threaten Roger Cook's majority.Polls predicted a 12-13% swing could put up to 11 seats in reach of the Liberal party. Continue reading...

Despite winning a landmark legal battle, academic Alice Jolly believes it won't benefit othersAn academic who won a landmark court battle last year against Oxford University for employing her and her colleague on sham" gig economy contracts has criticised the university for trying to brush their case under the carpet.Alice Jolly and her colleague Rebecca Abrams, both award-winning authors, taught on Oxford's prestigious creative writing course for 15 years but were employed on zero hours personal services" contracts, often earning only 23 an hour. After they publicly challenged the university on their lack of employment rights, Oxford wrote to the Society of Authors in April 2022, agreeing to offer the two academics more appropriate contracts. Continue reading...

In the UK, more than 170 women have been murdered by their sons in the past 15 years. An anonymous mother reveals what it is like to be frightened of your child while desperately wanting to support himI am staring at the faces of women on my screen, transfixed by emotions too complex to disentangle; discernible, though, are grief, rage... and fear.For the women pictured are some of the more than 170 who have been killed by their sons in the UK in the past 15 years. Their appalling tragedy - being killed by the person to whom they gave life - has a chilling resonance. Like many of those whose deaths have been highlighted in the 2,000 Women report by the Femicide Census, I am a professional with adored adult children and a close circle of friends. I am also frightened of my son. Continue reading...

Police sources raise alarm over cut as anti-Muslim hate incidents in Britain hit record highThe government is cutting all funding for the Islamophobia reporting service Tell Mama, leaving it facing closure weeks after it revealed a record number of anti-Muslim hate incidents in Britain.Since its foundation in 2012, Tell Mama has been wholly funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to run its reporting service, which received almost 11,000 reports in 2023-4, and support victims of Islamophobia. Continue reading...

Malcolm Rifkind joins diplomats and analysts urging focus on European cooperation to replace TridentBritain's ability to rely on the US to maintain the UK's nuclear arsenal is now in doubt, experts have warned, but working with European states to replace it will be costly and take time.An existing debate about the future of Trident - Britain's ageing submarine-launched nuclear missile system - has taken a dramatic new turn in recent weeks amid fears Donald Trump could pull out of Nato. Continue reading...

Alma Asinobi wants to break Guinness world record for shortest time to visit seven continentsIn 2019, Alma Asinobi, a Nigerian postgraduate architecture student, gave herself an ambitious goal after obtaining her first passport: to visit up to 16 countries every year.Then Covid-19 triggered a global lockdown, curtailing her dreams. Since restrictions were lifted, she has visited more than 30 countries and founded a travel agency, Kaijego. Continue reading...

Andrea Michelle Reyes was two when her mother took her from her father in Connecticut and fled the countryA woman who was abducted in Connecticut as a toddler has been found alive 25 years later in Mexico.Andrea Michelle Reyes was two years old when she was taken by her mother, Rosa Tenorio, in October 1999, according to a news release from the New Haven police department. Tenorio did not have legal custody of Reyes, who was in the care of her father at the time of the kidnapping, police said. Continue reading...

Fighting in Latakia is marked escalation by Bashar al-Assad loyalists against Syria's new Islamist-led governmentAbout 125 civilians have been executed by government security forces in north-west Syria during a rolling two-day battle with loyalists to the ousted Assad regime, a Syrian war monitor reported on Friday.The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), a human rights monitor considered independent and credible, documented large-scale field executions of men and young adults, without any clear distinction between civilians and combatants", in north-west Syria. Continue reading...

Criminals dressed as utilities repair teams dug up roads to access cables to power industrial-scale drug productionA group of eight criminals who dug up roads and diverted electricity to cannabis farms run by organised crime gangs have been jailed by a judge in Liverpool.The criminals used a legitimate company as cover and pretended to be workmen who were digging up the roads to repair utilities in a sophisticated operation", according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Continue reading...

Discovery in Jalisco is demonstration of country's crisis of forced disappearance related to organised crimeTwo hundred pairs of shoes have been found at a clandestine crematorium on a ranch in the Mexican state of Jalisco, in a disturbing demonstration of the country's crisis of forced disappearance related to organised crime.Warrior Searchers of Jalisco, a collective of relatives of the disappeared, found the crematorium following an anonymous tip-off, and the authorities have since confirmed the presence of burnt remains and empty bullet casings. Continue reading...

US president says Russian counterpart doing what anybody else would do' as Ukraine faces escalating aerial attacksDonald Trump has said he finds it easier" to work with Russia than Ukraine and that Vladimir Putin wants to end the war", days after his administration cut off military assistance and intelligence to Kyiv.I'm finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine. And they don't have the cards," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. In terms of getting a final settlement, it may be easier dealing with Russia." Continue reading...

Exclusive: union umbrella body calls for new cooperation agreement ahead of Keir Starmer's reset talks with BrusselsThe UK should forge much closer ties with Europe amid an increasingly volatile and unpredictable" global economy, Britain's biggest trade unions will argue as they push for new workers' rights across the continent.In its first major intervention on Europe in five years, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) will call for a much-needed" closer relationship with the EU, in a joint statement with European counterparts. Continue reading...

Party chair and Lowe's fellow MP Lee Anderson issue statement alleging complaints by female employeesReform UK has erupted into open civil war after the party said its MP Rupert Lowe had received complaints about bullying and had made threats against the party chair, a day after Lowe criticised Nigel Farage for being messianic".Lowe responded with anger, saying there was no evidence to back up the bullying claims, and that it was entirely untrue" that he had made threats. He again criticised Farage, saying Reform was our party as much as it is Nigel's". Continue reading...

Almost 100,000 homes in Queensland and NSW were without power on Friday evening as cyclone crawled towards the coast

Ministers say unsustainable' rise in spending must be tackled but many backbenchers fear changes will not workDozens of backbench Labour MPs are unhappy with plans to cut billions from the rising welfare bill, with ministers holding meetings to convince them that the changes to disability benefits are necessary.Labour MPs told the Guardian there were deep concerns within the parliamentary party that the changes would take money from the poorest, which was not what they had entered government to do. Continue reading...

Officer who investigated Rhianan Rudd, who killed herself, tells inquest wider conversation' needed on such casesMI5 officers investigating a schoolgirl who went on to kill herself after being charged with far-right terror offences had complained of a lack of guidance on handling the growing number of such cases, according to internal emails heard at an inquest.A special evidence session in London heard that intelligence agents working on the case of Rhianan Rudd, who died at the age of 16, lamented the lack of national strategy in dealing with a proliferation of vulnerable young people holding violent far-right views. Continue reading...

First step by president to open discussions comes as Iranian government locked in dispute over negotiating with USDonald Trump has said he wants to negotiate a new deal with Iran to prevent its development of nuclear weapons and sent a letter to its leaders saying he hoped they would open talks.It is the first practical step taken by the US president to see if new negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme are possible. Continue reading...

IOPC to look again at Valdo Calocane's history after representations from victims' familiesThe police watchdog has reopened its investigation into previous assaults by the Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane, after representations from the families of the murdered victims.The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) previously prepared a report that concluded Leicestershire police officers had failed to properly investigate an assault on warehouse workers by Calocane which could have stopped his murder spree a month later. Three officers were due to face a misconduct meeting but the force postponed this. Continue reading...

Unexploded device found near Gare du Nord, France's busiest train terminal, halting Eurostar and other servicesA second world war bomb found on rail tracks north of Paris was successively defused on Friday after a day of transport chaos in which the Gare du Nord station, used by Eurostar trains from London as well as other high-speed and local services, was shut, roads were closed and dozens of residents were evacuated in the suburb of St-Denis.The unexploded bomb weighing 500kg was found in the middle of a set of tracks during overnight maintenance work in the early hours of Friday morning in the Parisian suburb, about 1.5 miles (2.5km) from the Gare du Nord. Continue reading...

Attacks come as Ukrainian delegation prepares to meet with US counterparts in Saudi Arabia for ceasefire talks

Amen Teklay, a refugee from Eritrea, pronounced dead at scene on Wednesday night after suspected stabbingPolice in Glasgow have launched a murder inquiry after a 15-year-old Eritrean refugee was found dying after a suspected stabbing.Amen Teklay was discovered seriously injured on Clarendon Street in the St George's Cross area of the city late on Wednesday night and pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services. Continue reading...

The US and Ukraine will meet in Jeddah next week, but the Saudi crown prince's closeness to Putin is a concern

Sale of Walgreens Boots Alliance to Sycamore Partners will mean further uncertainty for staff of pharmacy chain

The strikes followed European leaders committing to a huge boost in defense spending. Plus, another of Elon Musk's Starship rockets explodes within minutes of take-offGood morning.Russia has carried out a vast wave of strikes across Ukraine, one day after the US stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv, including of advance warnings of attacks.Is European support for Ukraine unanimous? No - Hungary refused to endorse an EU statement that pushed back on Trump's Russia-friendly negotiating position.How has China retaliated? It has imposed tariffs of 10-15% on a range of US agricultural products. Continue reading...

Zou found guilty of raping 10 women in the UK and China, but police fear he may have attacked more than 50 womenNorthern Ireland's police chief has appealed to students who may have had concerns about the serial rapist Zhenhao Zou, who studied at Queen's University Belfast for two years.Jon Boutcher, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said they had been unable to speak at the trial before Zou's conviction this week amid fears he may have drugged and attacked more than 50 women while in London. Continue reading...

The National Weather Service has lost about 10% of its staff, hitting offices prone to severe weather hardestAs deadly severe storms swept the US this week, recent Donald Trump administration staffing cuts have left key parts of weather monitoring and disaster preparedness systems severely understaffed, the Guardian has learned.March typically signals the start of a four-month tornado season across the eastern two-thirds of the US. Last year's tornado season was one of the most prolific on record, and this year's tornado season is getting off to an early active start. Continue reading...

Sixteen activists argued sentences had not adequately taken into account their conscientious motivationSix protesters jailed for their roles in various climate demonstrations have had their sentences reduced on appeal.The Just Stop Oil co-founder Roger Hallam was originally jailed for five years for agreeing to disrupt traffic by having protesters climb on to gantries over the M25 for four successive days. His sentence was reduced to four years. Continue reading...

Average property price dips to 298,602 in February despite analysts expecting rush before stamp duty risesUK house prices unexpectedly fell last month as concerns over the sluggish economy outweighed an anticipated rush of people trying to complete purchases before stamp duty increases in April.The average property price dipped by 0.1% in February to 298,602, having hit a record high in January, according to Halifax. Continue reading...

Exclusive: What appears to be a vast burial site found at former Rapid Support Forces base in Sudan, while rescued detainees speak of torture, starvation and deaths of fellow inmates

Delay means election will almost certainly be held on 3 May, 10 May or 17 May - the latest date for the 2025 poll

People in capital breathing much cleaner air, with significant improvements in capital's most deprived areasPeople in London have been breathing significantly cleaner air since the expansion of the ultra low emission zone (Ulez), a study has found.Levels of deadly pollutants that are linked to a wide range of health problems - from cancer to impaired lung development, heart attacks to premature births - have dropped, with some of the biggest improvements coming in the capital's most deprived areas. Continue reading...

Health minister convenes meeting after reports second-largest private hospital operator risks voluntary administration

Exclusive: Nursing union says it continues to receive complaints about low pay, unfit housing and illegal feesMinisters are dragging their heels on an investigation into the mistreatment of migrant carers, the country's largest nursing union has said, as it continues to receive complaints about low pay, substandard accommodation and illegal fees.Nicola Ranger, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, has written to Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, to urge her to speed up her promised investigation into the abuse of foreign care workers. Continue reading...

The producer of the world's most advanced chip technology is investing on US soil but some fear that could reduce the leverage Taiwan holds to ensure its future securityTSMC's chief executive, CC Wei, smiled broadly as he stood next to Donald Trump in the White House on Monday, announcing what he said was the biggest foreign direct investment on US soil in history. His company - the producer of most of the world's most advanced semiconductors - would boost its existing $65bn US presence by a whopping $100bn.For TSMC the deal meant they would avoid massive tariffs Trump had flagged for the global chip industry. For the US it mean tens of thousands of construction jobs, and the eventual development of crucial technology on US soil, far away from the threat of China taking control of it if it one day annexed Taiwan. Continue reading...

Report urges changes to Australia's consumer law to stamp out extreme dynamic pricing and improve transparency of fees and charges

Former radio host, who denies all previous allegations, charged with additional count of assault with act of indecency

Amid growing concern exemption will not be secured, some in Coalition have said it would be failure of prime minister