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I looked back to discover the untold story of how western intelligence was misread, even in Kyiv. The conclusion offers a stark warning for the futureTuesday marked the fourth anniversary of Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and at this time of year it's hard not to recall memories of the morning of 24 February 2022, when the fate of Ukraine and the history of Europe were irrevocably changed by the decision of the man in the Kremlin.Around 9pm the evening before, I had received a message from a colleague at another news outlet. It was an unequivocal warning from an intelligence source that the war would start that night. We discussed it among the Guardian's Ukraine reporting team and international editors. My colleague Emma Graham-Harrison, who was on an overnight train from Kyiv towards the frontline city of Mariupol, decided she would get off halfway, in the middle of the night, and beg a spot on the first train heading back to Kyiv. It turned out to be a wise move: Mariupol was soon under siege and the scene of much of the worst carnage of the war. Emma remained in Kyiv, part of our team covering the initial Russian attack on the capital. Continue reading...

Cars with higher real-world consumption may add to Australia's difficulties in reducing transport emissions

Jess Wilson's housing plan offers little that is truly new - but Jacinta Allan claims it draws a line through Melbourne and locks millennials out

Police says others involved' in killing of Chris Baghsarian whose body was found near a golf club in Pitt Town

Tommy Schaefer released early from 18-year sentence for 2014 murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack during luxury holidayIndonesia has freed and deported a US man after he spent 11 years in prison for the premeditated murder of his then-girlfriend's mother on the tourist island of Bali.Tommy Schaefer was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the 2014 murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack, the mother of Heather Mack, during a luxury holiday in a case that became known as the Bali suitcase murder. Continue reading...

Lilia Valutyte was attacked by Deividas Skebas, 26, in Boston in July 2022 while playing outside her mother's shopA man who murdered a nine-year-old girl by stabbing her in the heart while she played with a hula hoop in the street has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years.Lilia Valutyte was attacked by Deividas Skebas, 26, in the town centre of Boston, Lincolnshire, on 28 July 2022 while she was playing outside her mother's embroidery shop. Continue reading...

The artist, who was controversially revoked and then reinstated by his government, is planning a nurturing experience' to bring people togetherAustralia's presentation at the Venice Biennale in May will be a nurturing experience" designed to bring people together - in the aftermath one of the most turbulent and divisive periods in the country's 72-year history at the prestigious international art festival.Artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino, who were controversially dumped and then reinstated as Australia's representatives, will present not one but two major works at the Venice Biennale in May - both informed by Sabsabi's practice as a Sufi Muslim and exploring spirituality, migration, and the vastness of shared humanity". Continue reading...

End of government subsidies drives electricity costs up by 19% in the month and leaves power bills nearly a third higher than they were a year earlier

Witness claims suspect entered mosque during Ramadan evening prayers armed with axePolice in Manchester have arrested a suspect after he allegedly entered Manchester Central Mosque acting suspiciously" and carrying an offensive weaponA witness said the suspect, whom he described to be in his late 40s, entered the mosque on Tuesday evening armed with an axe. Four people quickly restrained the suspect and hit him with a fire extinguisher, he said. Continue reading...

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Zoopla says it is on target for highest number of new listings on its site in any February in a decadeSpring has come early to the UK housing market, with a surge in people listing their homes for sale as confidence returns to the sector, a report by the property website Zoopla found.The site said this month was on course to record the highest number of newly listed homes for sale in any February for a decade. Continue reading...

Rebound in the country - which has been having demographic crisis - said to be partly because of 3.6 million born between 1991 and 1995 having childrenSouth Korea recorded 254,500 births in 2025, the largest annual increase in 15 years, driven largely by a temporarily enlarged generation - known as echo boomers" - now in their early thirties, alongside marriage rates recovering from Covid-era delays.The country's fertility rate - the average number of babies a woman is expected to have in her lifetime - rose to 0.80 from 0.75 last year, returning to the 0.8 range for the first time since 2021, according to provisional figures released by South Korea's ministry of data and statistics on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Four-day Caricom summit dominated by debate about US interventions in the region as military strikes against suspected drug boats continueUS interventions dominated speeches at a summit of 15 nations from the Caribbean and the Americas on Tuesday, as the region's leaders met amid deadly military strikes against suspected drug boats and an oil blockade on Cuba.During the opening ceremony of the four-day Caricom summit in St Kitts and Nevis, leaders of the regional bloc called for a strategic collaborations to deal with the impact of recent US policies. Continue reading...

NSW Greens MLC Sue Higginson says the move could put public at risk of violence, harm and death'

Toby Walsh says he despairs at Australian government's lack of regulation of artificial intelligence

Lawmaker says DoJ appears to have withheld interviews with survivor who accused Trump of heinous crimes'Democrats on the House oversight and government reform committee announced on Tuesday the launch of an investigation to determine whether the US Department of Justice (DoJ) purposely withheld materials that pertain to allegations against Donald Trump in the government's release of the Epstein files.The lawmakers pledged to look into a report that Trump had been accused by a woman of sexually abusing her decades ago when she was a minor, and that material relating to the allegation in the Epstein files has not been released to the public. Continue reading...

Most believe they will struggle to get an appointment, with over a quarter choosing to manage ailment themselvesAlmost half the public delay or avoid contacting their GP surgery when they are ill, mainly because they think they will struggle to get an appointment.Overall 48% of people across the UK did not bother to ask their family doctor for help - either initially or at all - when they got sick over the past year, a survey found.Faster access to GPs and A&E are the public's top priorities for the NHS.Only 32% believe the NHS provides a good service nationally.42% think the standard of NHS care has worsened over the past year and only 12% think that it has improved.47% fear NHS care will decline further over the next year and just 15% expect it to get better Continue reading...

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Firefighters search for 39 people missing in debris after river burst and houses were swept awayThree firefighters pulled a man's body from the mud amid the rubble of houses swept away in a landslide in south-eastern Brazil, where 30 people died and 39 were still missing on Tuesday after torrential rains.A river in the state of Minas Gerais burst its banks and streets became raging currents of brown water after an overnight downpour in a region that has seen record rain this month. Continue reading...

Zohran Mamdani calls for respect' of New York police as hundreds of thousands in US still face power outagesNew York City's mayor, Zohran Mamdani, called for respect" of local police officers in the wake of Monday's blizzard after a viral video showed some getting pelted by snowballs in Washington Square Park while responding to a large snowball fight.In the video, a crowd of people boo and jeer at two officers, and some throw snowballs in their faces. At one point, the officers push at least two people to the ground in response to the snowballs. Continue reading...

Government ignores pleas for a grace period before new rules come into force on WednesdayBritish citizens with a second nationality risk being blocked from entering the UK from Wednesday, the Home Office has confirmed.The government has decided to ignore pleas from families, the3million campaign group, the Liberal Democrats and the former Conservative cabinet minister David Davis for a grace period to allow British dual nationals to adapt to the new rules they face. Continue reading...

Short, a social worker, was found dead at her home in Los Angeles on Monday in an apparent suicideKatherine Short, the 42-year-old daughter of actor and comedian Martin Short, died on Monday at her home in the Hollywood Hills.It is with profound grief that we confirm the passing of Katherine Hartley Short," a representative for the Only Murders in the Building star said in a statement. The Short family is devastated by this loss and asks for privacy at this time. Katherine was beloved by all and will be remembered for the light and joy she brought into the world." Continue reading...

Former US ambassador issues statement via lawyers saying his priority is to cooperate with police and clear his nameKeir Starmer is taking part in a coalition of the willing video call to discuss Ukraine. There is a live feed of his public contribution here.Kemi Badenoch is holding a press conference now. She is appearing with the relatives of children who she says have died as a result of social media - either because they took their own lives, or because it led to them being attacked. She says she wants to give them a platform to tell their stories. Continue reading...

Sammy Azdoufal alerted New York-based outlet the Verge after he took control of DJI Romo devices around the worldA Spanish software engineer reportedly contacted a New York-based tech outlet recently to reveal he had remotely taken control of about 7,000 vacuums worldwide, in the process shedding light on a broad vulnerability with smart products, according to a cybersecurity expert.The Verge reported that the situation came to light when Sammy Azdoufal was trying to reverse-engineer his new DJI Romo vacuum so that he could control it with his Playstation 5 gamepad. Continue reading...

The Paris-born artist reinvented the synthesizer through meditative and feedback-drenched sonic explorationsThe French composer and musique concrete pioneer Eliane Radigue has died at the age of 94.It is with immense sadness that we learn of the passing of Eliane Radigue at the age of 94," the Paris-based experimental music center INA GRM posted on Instagram. A major figure in musical creation has left us." Continue reading...

National security committee warns until tougher safeguards are in place, UK elections dangerously exposed to covert foreign moneyPolitical donations in cryptocurrency should be subject to an urgent temporary ban to stop foreign interference in British elections, the chair of the national security committee has said.Matt Western, who leads the committee of MPs and peers, said a moratorium was needed until the risks of donations in cryptocurrency have been dealt with - including adequate checks on the source of the money. Continue reading...

Richard Tice echoes Donald Trump with pledge of great repeal act' and tight quotas and significant tariffs'Unions and renters' groups have criticised Reform UK after the party's business spokesperson, Richard Tice, pledged to introduce a great repeal act" that would abolish Labour legislation on workers' rights and protection for tenants.In his first speech since being appointed by Nigel Farage to a portfolio covering business, trade and energy, Tice promised a bonfire of regulations, including an end to net zero targets and a new push for home-produced shale gas using fracking. Continue reading...

Chiquinho and Domingos Brazao accused of ordering shooting of Rio councillor and her driver in 2018Brazil's supreme court has opened the trial of politicians accused of ordering the 2018 murder of Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco, a case that exposed deep ties between politics and organised crime in the city.Franco, an activist who grew up in a favela and became an outspoken critic of Rio's powerful militia groups, was 38 when she was shot dead in the city centre alongside her driver, Anderson Gomes. Continue reading...

Environment secretary says payments will be limited to 100,000 per farm so more farmers can benefit'Some farmers will lose money by opting into environment schemes under new plans to cap payments available for sustainable farming.Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, said the new system is fairer", adding: Too much of our most productive land was removed from conventional farming." Farmers will be disincentivised from taking large amounts of their land out of food production and rewilding it for nature, under her plans. Continue reading...

Laurence des Cars steps down days after parliamentary inquiry called Paris museum a state within a state'The president of the Louvre in Paris has resigned, four months after a gang of thieves broke into the museum's Apollo gallery and made off with 88m (76m) of Napoleonic jewellery in France's most dramatic heist in decades.Laurence des Cars, who had offered to step down in the immediate aftermath of the burglary, tendered her resignation to Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday in what the French president called an act of responsibility", the Elysee Palace said. Continue reading...

Charles Kushner, father of president's son-in-law Jared, failed to show up to meeting to explain US comments relating to death of far-right activistDonald Trump's envoy to Paris has called France's foreign minister and pledged not to interfere in the country's domestic affairs, a day after he was barred from talking to government officials for failing to attend a formal meeting at the ministry.The foreign ministry said on Monday that Charles Kushner would not be permitted to carry out his diplomatic duties until he had explained his refusal to comply with the summons over US comments about the killing of a far-right activist in France. Continue reading...

Leicester and Nottingham officers accept they missed opportunities to act on earlier warrantTwo police forces have apologised to bereaved families and survivors of the Nottingham attacks for failing to act on an arrest warrant for Valdo Calocane that was issued 10 months before he killed three people, a public inquiry has heard.NHS England and the NHS trust that cared for Calocane, who has paranoid schizophrenia, also apologised to the families over missed opportunities. The NHS and the system as a whole failed you with devastating consequences," the lawyer representing NHS England said. Continue reading...

Former US ambassador Peter Mandelson has been released on bail after his arrest over claims he committed misconduct in public office during his friendship with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Police have been investigating allegations that he leaked Downing Street emails and market-sensitive information to the disgraced US financier during his time as business secretary. Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian's head of national news, Archie Bland - watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Thirteen books make this year's longlist for translated fiction, which awards a first prize of 50,000Olga Ravn, Daniel Kehlmann, Ia Genberg, Mathias Enard and Gabriela Cabezon Camara are among those longlisted for the 10th International Booker prize, which recognises the best translated fiction published in the past year.A Booker dozen" of 13 books were longlisted for this year's prize. One author-translator pair will win 50,000, to be split equally. Continue reading...

Leader says Vladimir Putin has not achieved his goals and visit by Trump might make clear who the aggressor is'

Meloni government had claimed case showed why officers using weapons in self-defence needed more protectionThe arrest of an Italian police officer on suspicion of murder over the fatal shooting of a Moroccan man has prompted a row after the opposition accused Giorgia Meloni's far-right government of exploiting the case for political ends.Abderrahim Mansouri, 28, was shot in the head by Carmelo Cinturrino, assistant chief of Mecenate police station, during a police drugs patrol in the Rogoredo area of Milan in late January. Cinturrino originally said he had acted in self-defence after Mansouri pulled a gun on him. Continue reading...

Increase of 6.4% comes as drugmaker reports strong profit growth, despite cancelling UK investment projects

Daly River region is home to threatened species such as the ghost bat, Gouldian finch, pig-nosed turtle and red goshawk

Film-maker Jonte Richardson cites harm inflicted on both the black and disabled communities', while New Black Film Collective and MP Dawn Butler criticise BBC's failure to edit slur before broadcast

The US president will deliver his State of the Union address this evening - here's what you need to knowDonald Trump will deliver the State of the Union in Washington on Tuesday, his second major address to Congress this term and the last before the 2026 midterms. It's also the first time Trump will be confronted with the supreme court justices since they ruled his tariffs illegal.Historically, the State of the Union is an opportunity for the president to lay out their agenda and talk about key policy objectives. While it's not officially a campaign event, it's likely Trump will use the speech as an opportunity to tout his accomplishments. Continue reading...

The rock band's Amy Taylor claimed copyright infringement over sales of prints but now faces counter action in Los Angeles courtRock band Amyl and the Sniffers have become embroiled in a legal battle over photoshoot rights between their lead singer and a photographer who has applied for the case to be thrown out.Amy Taylor, the band's frontwoman, had taken the photographer, Jamie Nelson, to court for selling fine art prints based on photos of Taylor. Continue reading...

Comedian denies one count of rape and one count of sexual assault related to two womenRussell Brand has pleaded not guilty to two further sexual offences, including rape.The 50-year-old comedian was charged in December with one count of rape and one count of sexual assault in relation to two women. The two alleged offences took place in 2009. Continue reading...

Speech comes as midterms loom and opinion polls show more voters disapprove than approve of his performanceThe last time Donald Trump delivered a State of the Union address, it produced the memorable optics of Nancy Pelosi ripping up his speech after he finished talking.Pelosi's theatrical gesture at the end of the February 2020 address (his 2025 speech was technically a joint session of Congress, not a State of the Union) eloquently expressed the Democrats' contempt for Trump's rosy description of the union he presided over, when he boasted of a booming economy and restoring US strength in characteristic Maga (make America great again) rhetoric. Continue reading...

Daughter was heartbroken' after Michelle Hundley Smith requested her location not be disclosed to family she had walked away fromA North Carolina woman says she was simultaneously ecstatic ... pissed ... [and] heartbroken" to learn authorities recently found her mother living safely and well - while also wanting her location kept secret - more than 24 years after she suddenly vanished from her family.I am all over the map!" Amanda Smith, the daughter of Michelle Hundley Smith, wrote in a lengthy statement on a social media page dedicated to searching for her mother. Will I have a relationship once more with my mom? Honestly, I can't answer that [because] I don't even know. Continue reading...

Traders appear to be hedging against worst-case scenario of a conflict between the two nations, analyst says

Prime minister discusses range of issues in hour-long YouTube interview with Karl Stefanovic

In today's newsletter: how the war looks from inside the country four years on - and what the west's audience and leaders still misunderstandGood morning. Today marks four years since Russian tanks first rolled towards Kyiv as Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine - a war he insisted on calling a special military operation". The initial assault was repelled, almost certainly to his surprise, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government remained intact to marshal the nation's defences.What followed has been widely perceived as a grinding war of attrition. While Russia has made incremental advances across territory it had already destabilised through Moscow-backed separatist republics, Ukraine has been subjected to a relentless aerial assault on its infrastructure - one that western support, from sanctions to air-defence systems and fighter jets, has not been able to halt. Peace initiatives - with varying degrees of sincerity - have come and gone.Peter Mandelson| Peter Mandelson has been arrested and released on bail by detectives investigating claims he committed misconduct in public office during his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.Education | Hundreds of thousands fewer children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) will be given education, health and care plans (EHCPs) as a result of long-awaited changes announced by the education secretary.UK politics | Reform UK's plan to create an ICE-style deportation agency has been condemned as sadistic", after the party's home affairs spokesperson vowed to face down progressive outrage".Media | The BBC has issued a new apology for its handling of an incident at the Bafta film awards which saw the N-word broadcast during BBC One coverage of the ceremony and remain overnight on BBC iPlayer.Iran | Donald Trump's decision to order airstrikes against Iran will hinge in part on the judgment of Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Continue reading...

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Four-year-old's parents say even the smallest detail could give us the answers we so desperately need'