World news | The Guardian

Unnamed suspect accused of planning to bomb one of singer's Eras tour shows in ViennaAustrian prosecutors have filed terrorism-related charges against a 21-year-old who they say planned to attack one of Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna in August 2024.Three dates in Swift's record-breaking Eras tour were cancelled after authorities warned of the plot. Continue reading...

Three people stabbed in attack near Merrylands train station, with NSW police stating accused was known to them for past mental health incidents'Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

Supermarket defends pricing practices after ACCC labels discounts utterly misleading' in federal court case

Yoon Suk Yeol could face the death penalty when judges rule on the martial law crisis that many in South Korea see as a dark moment they would rather forgetSouth Korea is awaiting one of the most consequential court rulings in decades this week, with judges due to deliver their verdict on insurrection charges against the former president Yoon Suk Yeol and prosecutors demanding the death penalty.When Yoon stands in courtroom 417 of Seoul central district court on Thursday to hear his fate, which will be broadcast live, he will do so in the same room where the military dictator Chun Doo-hwan was sentenced to death three decades ago. The charge is formally the same. Last time, it took almost 17 years and a democratic transition to deliver a verdict. This time, it has taken 14 months. Chun's death sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment on appeal, and he was eventually pardoned. Continue reading...

Premiership-winning Canterbury winger hit in stomach and leg in Greenacre shooting

London police say criminal gangs are using Snapchat to offer cash rewards of up to 380 for stolen iPhonesGangs are recruiting children to go out to steal smartphones before they head to school, using Snapchat to offer rewards of up to 380 for the latest Apple iPhones, police have revealed.The Metropolitan police said they were deploying new resources including drones and Surron ebikes to chase suspects as they step up their fight against phone snatching. Continue reading...

Messages from ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to sex offender, sent after his conviction, came to light last monthSix companies linked to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, are being wound down in the wake of revelations about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.According to Companies House, an application to strike off each company was filed after new details about Ferguson's contact with Epstein came to light in the millions of documents released by US authorities as part of the Epstein files. Continue reading...

Stuart Leslie, 46, and Shaun Overy, 51, died while skiing off-piste in Val d'Isere amid red avalanche alertTwo British skiers who died in an avalanche in the French Alps have been named as Stuart Leslie and Shaun Overy.The pair were part of a group of five people, accompanied by an instructor, skiing off-piste in Val d'Isere in south-east France on Friday when they were swept away by falling snow. Continue reading...

Advisory board member says Europe already paying price for lack of preparation but adapting is not rocket science'Keeping Europe safe from extreme weather is not rocket science", a top researcher has said, as the EU's climate advisory board urges countries to prepare for a catastrophic 3C of global heating.Maarten van Aalst, a member of the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC), said the continent was already paying a price" for its lack of preparation but that adapting to a hotter future was in part common sense and low-hanging fruit". Continue reading...

From the classic To Kill a Mockingbird to blockbuster Gone in 60 Seconds, the Oscar-winning actor's films spanned a remarkable range

Abbas Araghchi is steeped in more than a decade of nuclear dealmaking with a book on the art of negotiationsIf the US and Iran are to avoid a regional war, both sides need to start to make concessions at talks in Geneva on Tuesday, and also to accommodate one another's very different bargaining styles.The Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, steeped in almost 15 years of Iranian nuclear talks, is a near lifelong diplomat who has written a book on the art of negotiations that reveals the secrets of the Iranian diplomatic trade - the feints, the patience, the poker faces. Continue reading...

Calls grow for reform of England's vaccination system including delivery of jabs in pharmacies as take-up fallsChildren are at risk of measles because the NHS is clearly failing" to ensure they get the MMR vaccine and its system needs an urgent overhaul, MPs and health experts have warned.Calls are growing for major reform of how MMR jabs are delivered as it emerged that vaccination rates in some parts of England are now on a par with those in Afghanistan and Malawi. Continue reading...

Judge says people should not lose chance of parenthood by the ticking of a clock' after 10-year deadline missedMore than a dozen fertility patients have won a high court battle to save their embryos, eggs and sperm from destruction after errors meant they did not renew consent to store them within the 10-year window required by law.Ruling that the material could be kept, the judge said they should not have the possibility of parenthood ... removed by the ticking of a clock". Continue reading...

PM under fire from his own MPs and opposition leaders after ditching plan to postpone elections for 30 councils

Government drops plans to delay 7 May ballots for 30 councils undergoing reorganisation, leaving 11 weeks to prepareCouncils are experiencing whiplash" and face an unnecessary race against time" to organise ballots after the government abandoned plans to delay 30 council elections in England, local authority leaders have said.Ministers had wanted to delay elections at councils undergoing major reorganisation, with many set to be merged or subsumed into others, but faced a legal challenge from Reform UK, which argued it was undemocratic. Continue reading...

Ditching plans to delay votes in 30 English councils gives Nigel Farage chance to capitalise on Labour unpopularity

Experts say the detention centres were a breeding ground for extremism and a new generation of IS membersHumanitarians warned for years that the camps in north-east Syria holding tens of thousands of family members of suspected Islamic State (IS) fighters would have to be dealt with. Calling them a ticking time bomb", relief groups said the women and children could not just be left to rot in squalid desert camps indefinitely, because eventually they would come home.Despite the warnings, most states ignored the problem, refusing to repatriate their citizens. At least 8,000 women and children from more than 40 countries have been stranded in the camps of north-east Syria since 2019. Continue reading...

Dana Eden, 52, co-creator of hit TV series Tehran, reported by Greek police to have taken her own life on SundayThe co-creator of an Israeli hit TV series has been found dead in a hotel room in Athens where the fourth season of the spy thriller is being filmed.Dana Eden, 52, was discovered by her brother late on Sunday, Greek police said, attributing her death to suicide.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

The government was warned by its lawyers that such a move could be illegal as it pledges an additional 63m to help councils with reorganisationIn his Q&A with journalists, Keir Starmer was also asked to respond to a report by the BBC's James Landale saying he is looking at plans to raise defence spending to 3% of GDP by the end of this parliament. In the past Starmer has just said that he would like to do this at some point in the next parliament.In his reply, Starmer said that at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend he was arguing that the UK, and Europe as a whole, needs to step up".We want a just and lasting peace, but that will not extinguish the Russian threat, and we need to be alert to that, because that's going to affect every single person in this room, every single person in this country, so we need to step up.That means, on defence spending, we need to go faster. Continue reading...

More than 170,000 seek compensation after UCL Covid settlement opens door to claims across university sectorDozens of universities are facing legal action from more than 170,000 students seeking compensation after their studies were moved online during Covid.Pre-action claim letters have been sent to 36 universities in England and Wales, including Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Cardiff, Leeds, Imperial College London, Liverpool and Warwick, on behalf of aggrieved students. Continue reading...

Quentin Deranque, 23, who was on sidelines of a protest, died from a brain injury after attack that has fuelled political tensionsFrench police have launched a murder inquiry after a far-right activist died in hospital having been beaten up in an attack that has fuelled political tensions in France.Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old mathematics student, died from a severe brain injury at the weekend. The Lyon prosecutor, Thierry Dran, said Deranque was assaulted by at least six masked individuals. Police were working to identify suspects and no arrests had been made, Dran said. Continue reading...

Actor shouted down and pelted with fruit during Catarina, or the Beauty of Killing FascistsAn actor at a theatre in Germany was at the weekend shouted down, pelted with fruit and subjected to an attempted stage invasion as he delivered a final monologue in character as a far-right activist.The violent scenes came on Saturday during the German premiere of the Portuguese playwright Tiago Rodrigues's work Catarina, or the Beauty of Killing Fascists in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. Continue reading...

Move could mean fewer free exhibitions and paid-for shows and more expensive ticketsThe National Gallery is to make significant cuts in the face of an 8.2m deficit in the coming year, which could mean fewer free exhibitions and ticketed shows, less international borrowing of artworks and more expensive tickets.As a result of considerably increased running costs and stagnant income, the gallery has said it will be looking to cut spending in areas such as public programmes, and activities where, for a number of reasons beyond our control, we can no longer justify their costs". Continue reading...

Rubio says relationship with Orban is vital for US national interests' ahead of Hungarian elections in AprilBack to Budapest now. Marco Rubio and the Hungarian foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, appear to be signing an agreement to facilitate cooperation on a civilian nuclear programme.We'll give you any key lines from the press conference. In the meantime, our European community affairs correspondent, Ashifa Kassam, has reported on the EU's proposed deportation law that rights groups warn could intensify already widespread racial profiling across the continent. Here is an extract from her story:More than 70 rights organisations have called on the EU to reject a proposal aimed at increasing the deportation of undocumented people, warning that it risks turning everyday spaces, public services and community interactions into tools of ICE-style immigration enforcement.Last March, the European Commission laid out its proposal to increase deportations of people with no legal right to stay in the EU, including potentially sending them to offshore centres in non-EU countries. Continue reading...

The group of 34 - families of dead or jailed extremists - were prevented from returning to Australia by poor coordination' with DamascusGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian women and children held for years without charge were forced to return to a detention camp in northeast Syria on Monday after being released by Kurdish authorities for their expected repatriation to Australia.The 34 women and children in the group are the wives, widows and children of dead or jailed Islamic State fighters and were being held at al-Roj camp, which is controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Continue reading...

Firm says person fined A$10,000 is one of over two dozen staff in Australia caught using AI in exams since July

British women in Spain and Greece face huge problems' entering UK because of differing surname rulesNew rules requiring British dual nationals to show a UK passport when entering Britain are discriminatory" against women, campaigners claim.From 25 February, British dual nationals are required to present a British passport when boarding a plane, ferry or train to the UK, or attach a new document, a certificate of entitlement", which costs nearly 600, to their second passport. Continue reading...

Workers decried John Paulson's plan after billionaire painted himself as advocate for domestic manufacturingJohn Paulson, a hedge fund billionaire and one of Donald Trump's earliest Wall Street backers, is planning to offshore an Ohio manufacturing plant to China despite heavy pushback from employees.Workers at the plant call the move a slap in our face", after Paulson vocally defended domestic manufacturing, and are fighting to keep the plan open. Continue reading...

More than 130,000 people considered missing or disappeared in Mexico as drug cartels expandIt was a bright morning in August 2022 when Angel Montenegro was taken. A 31-year-old construction worker, Montenegro had been out all night drinking with some work buddies in the city of Cuautla and was waiting for a bus back to nearby Cuernavaca where lived.At about 10am, a white van pulled up: several men jumped out and dragged Montenegro and a co-worker inside before speeding off. Montenegro's co-worker was released a few hundred meters down the street, but Montenegro was driven away. Continue reading...

Gus went missing on 27 September from Oak Park Station, where South Australia police have begun a two-day search for evidence

American politicians break rank at Munich Security Conference to hit out at destructive' president and urge Europe to stand up to TrumpDonald Trump's most unbridled critics at this weekend's Munich Security Conference have not been Europeans but Americans - and not just Democrat politicians.A few Republicans, out of earshot of the US president's favoured Fox News, have had the courage to challenge Trump's diet of tariffs and unpredictability. Continue reading...

The pop superstar will oversee the annual music and art celebration in June, marking the festival's 31st edition and the venue's 75th anniversaryHarry Styles is to curate the Meltdown festival at London's Southbank Centre, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the venue.The 32-year-old pop star follows Little Simz as curator of the 2025 event, and previous editions led by artists including Grace Jones, Nile Rodgers and Robert Smith of the Cure. Continue reading...

Board considering whether to re-engage in move that could prompt a second bidding war with Netflix

Angus Taylor says the hardline policy document designed under Sussan Ley has no validity' but hints he will toughen policy

Andrew Hastie and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price among those expected to return to frontbench as new leader pursues rightwing agenda

GPS led driver on to the Broomway in the Thames estuary, where dozens of people are known to have diedAn Amazon delivery van got stuck trying to drive along one of Britain's most dangerous coastal paths as the driver followed GPS directions on to mudflats to try to get to an island in the Thames estuary used by the military, the coastguard has said.Rescuers were called to reports the van had been driven out on to the Broomway - a 600-year-old pathway across the flats to Foulness Island that has been called the deadliest in the country. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Victorian executive fast-tracks Mornington Peninsula mayor as former deputy opposition leader's successor in byelection

Much of Messina's cultural memory was destroyed in a 1908 earthquake, but the Italian government has secured a masterpiece by the port city's greatest sonOn 28 December 1908, the city of Messina was struck by what is still considered the deadliest natural catastrophe in modern European history. In just 37 seconds, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake killed half its population and levelled much of the city.Along with homes, churches and monuments, invaluable historical sources and documents were lost, including works by Messina's greatest son, Antonello da Messina, the artist widely credited with transforming the course of Renaissance art. Continue reading...

ACCC alleges the supermarket breached the law by offering illusory' discounts on many products with Down Down' promotion

Protesters welcome high court decision but many remain in legal limbo as government prepares to lodge appealRetirees making up some of the nearly 3,000 people arrested for supporting Palestine Action since the organisation was proscribed have said they feel vindicated" by the high court's decision to overturn the ban this week.However, uncertainty remains over whether their trials under terror laws may still go ahead after the government revealed it plans to appeal against the judgment made on Friday by three of the UK's most senior judges. Continue reading...

Fresh fruit and other items now available but at high prices in territory where unemployment is estimated at 80%Every morning, Mansour Mohammad Bakr sets out from the small rented room in Gaza City he shares with his pregnant wife and two very young daughters. The 23-year-old walks past the port and the breaking waves of the Mediterranean where he once earned his living.Before the two-year war that devastated Gaza, Bakr was a fisher, sharing tackle and a boat with his father and brothers. Now his brothers are dead, his father is too old, and his equipment was destroyed during the conflict. Like hundreds of thousands of others across Gaza, Bakr needs a job. Continue reading...

What is Blue Labour? Can Andy Burnham's Manchesterism' be replicated elsewhere? And is the two-party system over in British politics?In a special episode, Pippa and Kiran take your questions. Please keep sending them to politicsweeklyuk@theguardian.comYou can listen back to Pippa and Kiran's interviews with Andy Burnham at the Labour party conference here, and with the Green party leader, Zack Polanski, here.Watch John Harris's Anywhere But Westminster in Gorton & Denton here. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed

Parents wish to take matters into our own hands' as William Blake House faces potential winding up orderA group of families have launched an audacious bid to take over their disabled children's residential care home after it emerged the charity running it faces closure after amassing huge tax debts and paying 1m in fees to one of its trustees.William Blake House faces a potential winding up order in seven weeks and is under investigation by regulators over serious financial governance concerns. The families said they no longer trust that the charity's board has their children's best interests at heart. Continue reading...

Institute of Public Affairs latest to raise free speech concerns over bill facing criticism from across the political divide

Crackdown on undocumented people could lead to home raids, surveillance and racial profiling, 75 organisations sayMore than 70 rights organisations have called on the EU to reject a proposal aimed at increasing the deportation of undocumented people, warning that it risks turning everyday spaces, public services and community interactions into tools of ICE-style immigration enforcement.Last March, the European Commission laid out its proposal to increase deportations of people with no legal right to stay in the EU, including potentially sending them to offshore centres in non-EU countries. Continue reading...

Leader vows to repay the young martyrs' who died as North Korea intensifies propaganda glorifying troops deployed to fight for RussiaNorth Korea has said it completed a new housing district in Pyongyang for families of North Korean soldiers killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, the latest effort by leader Kim Jong-un to honour the war dead.State media photos showed Kim walking through the new street - called Saeppyol Street - and visiting the homes of some of the families with his increasingly prominent daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju-ae, as he pledged to repay the young martyrs" who sacrificed all to their motherland". Continue reading...

The Guardian's community affairs correspondent, Chris Osuh, reports on the plot by two IS terrorists to massacre Jews in Manchester, and how it was thwarted by an undercover stingWalid Saadaoui had once worked as a holiday entertainer, organising dance shows and quizzes at a resort in his native Tunisia. After moving to the UK and marrying a British woman, he became a restaurateur and an avid keeper of birds.All the while, however - as the Guardian's community affairs correspondent, Chris Osuh, explains - he was hiding a secret: he had pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Continue reading...

Police decided there was no tangible benefit' to conducting disciplinary action against the officer and opted not to investigate

Year of the horse signals optimism and opportunity, with authorities keen that the extra day of holiday this year provides an economic boostChinese officials are hoping that this year's extra long lunar new year holiday will provide a boost to the country's economy, where increasing domestic spending has been identified as a key priority for the year ahead.The government expects a record 9.5 billion passenger trips to be made across China during the 40-day spring festival period, up from 9 billion trips last year. Hundreds of millions of people will be crisscrossing the country to make what is often their only trip home to see their families for the Chinese new year celebrations. Continue reading...