World news | The Guardian

Uncle Jack Pearson, an army captain, says heckling not in the Anzac spirit' after welcome to country booed in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth

Haris Doukas warns that with 700,000 residents and 8 million tourists, people are being pushed out of their neighbourhoodsIn the heart of ancient Athens, on narrow streets and around archaeological sites, visitor groups appear to be everywhere, snaking their way behind tour guides.Previously, officials would have welcomed such scenes. But for Haris Doukas, the socialist mayor who is determined to reclaim the capital's congested city centre for its citizens, the start of tourist season leaves the city at risk of over-saturation." Entire neighbourhoods, he believes, are in danger of losing their authenticity because of uncontrolled tourist development. Continue reading...

Former Liberal party senator, who was elected to state upper house in March, says flights worth every cent'

Relatives of London pupils and German villagers mark anniversary of English misfortune' that Nazis turned into propaganda coupOn 17 April 1936, the bells of St Laurentius church in the Black Forest rang out to guide to safety a group of London schoolboys trapped in deep snow on a mountain hike gone very wrong. Ninety years on to the day, as the bells sounded again, there was hardly a dry eye in the congregation of British relatives and German villagers remembering the night that had brought together their parents and grandparents.The people of Hofsgrund risked their lives heading out with sledges and lanterns in the deadly weather to rescue the party of 27 and their teacher after two boys, fumbling though fog and frozen to the bone, had reached a farmhouse and told its startled inhabitants there were many more of them strewn over the Schauinsland mountain.The Daily Sketch from 20 and 29 April 1936 Continue reading...

The 32-year-old jailed for life for a racially motivated sex attack on a Sikh woman had a collection of hate-filled uploadsJohn Ashby is a man who did not hide his hatred of women.In fact, the rapist, who was sentenced this week to life in prison with a minimum of 14 years for a racially motivated sex attack on a Sikh woman, vented his misogyny online for all to see. Continue reading...

After a two-year wait, video of a young male crossing above a road gives hope that critically endangered species can survive habitat fragmentationThe critically endangered Sumatran orangutan has been filmed for the first time using a canopy bridge to cross a road.In 2024, conservationists in the Pakpak Bharat district of North Sumatra in Indonesia built the bridge high over the Lagan-Pagindar road, which provides an essential route for local people but which became a barrier for animals. Continue reading...

Former US ambassador and Labour peer joins a long line of people who have gone out to meet awaiting paparazzi head-onFor a man at the centre of a storm that has rocked the political establishment, Peter Mandelson has spent the week looking remarkably relaxed. Day after day, as MPs have grilled civil servants over who knew what when about the former US ambassador's security vetting, and police continue to investigate serious allegations over his own conduct, Mandelson has stepped out of his Regent's Park mansion and pottered across the road to take his dog for a walk.Smart-casually dressed in jeans and a jumper and holding in front of him a plastic ball-thrower, he has set off for the park like a weekending solicitor on his way to an egg and spoon race. There have been occasional small smiles for the photographers at his gate, but no comment. The message appears to be: I am insouciant, normal. Not in prison. Continue reading...

Testimony emerges from Babak Alipour, who spent three years on death row before being taken to gallows in MarchWriting from his cell in the Rajai Shahr prison in the northern Iranian city of Karaj, Babak Alipour wanted to tell his friends about those who had already gone to their execution.There was Behrouz Ehsani, 69, the elder statesman of the group, who was never angry" about their predicament. Then there was Mehdi Hassani, a 48-year-old father of three who he saw a couple of times in the prison hospital and who would ask him to pass on to the children the message that he was fine". Continue reading...

In February 2025, a cheap Russian drone tore through Chornobyl's confinement shelter. Workers warn the site of the world's worst nuclear accident is not safe yetThe dosimeter clipped to your chest ticks faster the moment you step off the designated path inside the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Step back, and it slows again - an invisible line between clean ground and contamination.Above rises the new safe confinement" (NSC) - the largest, movable steel structure ever built, taller than the Statue of Liberty, wider than the Colosseum, its arch curving overhead like an aircraft hangar built for giant planes. Continue reading...

Roberts-Smith, who has denied five charges of war crime murder, says he was always going to attend: I never thought about not coming'

OpenAI said the company had identified an account using abuse detection efforts, but determined at the time it didn't meet threshold for legal referralThe head of OpenAI has written a letter apologizing that his company didn't alert law enforcement about the online behavior of a person who shot and killed eight people in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia.In the letter posted Friday, Sam Altman expressed his deepest condolences to the entire community. Continue reading...

Small boat destroyed in video posted on social media as US campaign has killed at least 178 people since SeptemberThe US military announced on Friday that it killed two people in an attack on a boat in the eastern Pacific, part of a series of deadly strikes on vessels in recent months which it claims are targeting narco-trafficking" operations.The US Southern Command declared in a social media post on X that Gen Francis L Donovan directed Joint Task Force Southern Spear, the counter-narcotics unit that operates in the region, to carry out a lethal strike. The US military posted a video, which it labeled unclassified, showing a small boat being destroyed in an explosion. Continue reading...

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Internal email proposes US should reassess support for UK claim to islands because of lack of support for Iran war

Repatriation attempt comes after group was turned around when leaving camp in February. Albanese government says it's not assisting cohort

Move creates conflict between state and administration as Trump seeks federal framework over states handling issue

Carie Hallford, 48, whose ex-husband, Jon, was earlier sentenced, expressed remorse over corpse abuse scheme

Hisham Abugharbeih, 26, taken into custody after remains of Zamil Limon found, as search for Nahida Bristy continues

Martha Odom, 16, died from a gunshot wound to the chest according to the local coroner's statementA high school senior has been identified as the person killed in a mass shooting that also wounded five others when two groups exchanged gunfire inside the food court at a mall in Louisiana's capital city on Thursday afternoon, according to officials.Martha Odom, 16, died from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to a statement issued Friday by the local coroner's office. Continue reading...

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Four accused of rape and one of aiding and abetting rape in connection with incident in GravesendThree boys and two men have been charged over the rape of a teenage girl in Kent, police said.Kent police received reports on Tuesday that a girl had been raped at a private property in Gravesend between 25 March and 19 April. Continue reading...

Tom Kean, who has not voted since 5 March and whose seat is top Democratic target, due back very soon', speaker saysA vulnerable Republican congressman who has not voted in weeks is attending to a personal health matter", the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, said on Friday as he struggles to maintain his historically small majority in Congress's lower chamber.Tom Kean Jr's New Jersey district is a top pickup target for Democrats in the November midterms, but the congressman has not cast a vote in the House since 5 March. Continue reading...

Mark Young battled dehydration and killed a rattlesnake while his children and others looked for him for daysA Vietnam war veteran says he is a living miracle" after getting lost in Arizona's wilderness for four days with precious few supplies - and ultimately being rescued by his own son.I've never felt so loved," Mark Young said in an interview aired on Phoenix's KNXV news station about the moment he realized it was his son who had delivered him from his plight. My gratitude is inexpressible." Continue reading...

US judge orders release of a woman and her five children who were family of the 2025 Colorado fire attack suspectA woman and her five children, whose immigration detention of more than 10 months marked the longest family detention under Donald Trump's second administration, were released on Thursday hours after a judge's order, their lawyer said.US district judge Fred Biery of the western district of Texas ordered the family's release. Continue reading...

White House says its Middle East envoys will meet Tehran's foreign minister in Islamabad

Ernie Dosio, a 75-year-old vineyard owner, was hunting an antelope species in Africa when the incident occured

Police investigating allegations Mandelson and former prince Andrew passed sensitive info to Epstein will struggle to make charges stick without filesBritish police investigating the former prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson are preparing to start interviewing witnesses in royal and government circles.It comes as police fear that prosecutors will be reluctant" to bring charges unless the Trump administration agrees to hand over the original documents from the Epstein files. Continue reading...

Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije has fully withdrawn allegations relating to her former co-host, her lawyers sayThe TV presenter Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije has withdrawn claims against her former Channel 5 News co-host Dan Walker after reaching a mutual agreement" with the broadcaster and ITN.Vanderpuije, who co-hosted a show with Walker for a year between 2022 and 2023, had filed claims of unfair dismissal, discrimination and harassment on grounds of race and sex, and breach of contract. Continue reading...

Oscar winner set to produce, and possibly star in, film of war game series with Christopher McQuarrie at the helmMichael B Jordan is following up his Oscar win with the announcement of another new project: a big-screen adaptation of the hit video game series Battlefield.According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Sinners star will produce, and possibly star in, a film based on the long-running war series which is being hyped as the year's most in-demand project to date in Hollywood Continue reading...

Green party leader attacks Keir Starmer's silly games' after prime minister accused him of playing down recent incidentsZack Polanski has called on politicians to treat antisemitism with consideration, care and nuance" as he accused Keir Starmer of trying to play political games with the issue.The Green leader's comments come after the prime minister accused him of playing down recent antisemitic incidents. Polanski's party is facing increasing scrutiny over recent comments by some candidates and members. Continue reading...

James Kempster's DNA was found on dead barn owl and kestrel rammed into door handles of volunteer storeA man has been found guilty of possessing the bodies of wild birds of prey that were dumped alongside 50 dead hares outside a village shop in Hampshire.Traces of James Kempster's DNA were found on a barn owl and kestrel that were rammed into the handles of the volunteer-led shop in Broughton. Continue reading...

Kim Leadbeater tells of plan to table identical bill that peers would be unable to stopMPs and peers who led the assisted dying bill have promised to bring it back to parliament after it ran out of time in the House of Lords.Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who tabled the private member's bill, said the plan would be to table an identical bill in the next parliamentary session, which would prevent peers blocking it again, as the Lords cannot stop the same bill twice. Continue reading...

Amjad Youssef is one of most-wanted fugitives in relation to slaughter of estimated 288 civilians under AssadA Syrian former regime official suspected of leading a notorious civilian massacre revealed by the Guardian - and who became one of the country's most-wanted fugitives after the fall of Bashar al-Assad - has been arrested by security forces, Syria's interior ministry announced.Amjad Youssef was captured in the Ghab plain area about 30 miles (50km) outside the city of Hama and had been taken into custody following a carefully executed security operation", the interior minister, Anas Khattab, said in a social media post on Friday. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereDowning Street has hit back at reports suggesting the US could reconsider its position over the UK's claim to the Falkland Islands because the UK did not do enough to assist the American bombing of Iran was leaked.The prime minister's official spokesperson said: The UK position is clear and isn't going to change ... It's a longstanding one. It's an unchanged one, and it will remain the case." Continue reading...

Former Scottish Labour leader says she understands that expressing respect for author caused worry, anger and upset'The incoming chair of the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall says she is truly sorry" after she expressed huge respect" for JK Rowling in an interview with the Guardian. Kezia Dugdale, the former leader of Scottish Labour, said she understood that her words had caused worry, anger and upset and I am truly sorry about that".In an interview for the Today in Focus podcast in Edinburgh to mark her appointment as Stonewall's chair, Dugdale was asked what she thought of the way in which Rowling has talked about transgender people. Continue reading...

Sources say German group may struggle to recoup its investment as titles shift to less profitable modelsAxel Springer did not complete due diligence on the Telegraph before sealing its 575m takeover, with sources saying the German media company could struggle to recoup its eye-watering investment as the titles shift toward less-profitable digital subscribers.To wrap up the deal quickly, Mathias Dopfner, the chief executive of Axel Springer, decided to forgo the usual extensive due diligence process to vet the value and prospects of a company, according to multiple sources. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Emails and internal memos reveal concerns immigration enforcement is interfering with police workLaw enforcement and local government officials across the US have over the last year expressed concerns that immigration operations were interfering with police work and leading to threats to officers, according to internal emails and briefings shared with the Guardian.The development comes as the US public has become afraid and distrustful of officers in their communities due to the Trump administration's aggressive and at times indiscriminate immigration crackdown. Continue reading...

Prime minister tells Jewish leaders legislation against malign state actors will go before parliament in JulyKeir Starmer has promised to proscribe Iran's Revolutionary Guards by introducing legislation in the next session of parliament in July.On a trip to Kenton united synagogue in north-west London on Thursday, the prime minister said he wanted to make Britain a country where our Jewish community feels safe". Continue reading...

Rise of 0.7% in March was spurred by motorists filling their tanks, and the sun helping clothing and footwear

Olly Robbins gave MPs a classic civil servant's performance - and there are lessons from history about how ministers should respondThe Whitehall satire Yes Minister was said to be Margaret Thatcher's favourite TV show due to its proximity to reality, as the programme's loquacious top civil servant, Sir Humphrey, might have put it.Yes Minister had a familiar groove: there would be a problem in response to which the mandarin would artfully deploy the most astonishing sophistry to avoid blame or get his own way. Jim Hacker, the largely clueless yet ambitious politician played by the late Paul Eddington, rarely won the day. Continue reading...

Israeli prime minister says early-stage malignant tumour was discovered during a routine check-up

Sarah Breeden predicts adjustment' due to elevated risk including private credit and highly valued AI stocks

Members will plan how to come to each other's aid in the event of an attack as Nato faces worst crisis in its historyBrussels officials will draw up a plan on how to use the EU's little-known mutual assistance pact in the event of a foreign attack, as Donald Trump's criticism of Nato intensifies.EU leaders have agreed that the European Commission will prepare a blueprint" on how the bloc will respond if the mutual assistance clause is triggered, according to Nikos Christodoulides, the president of Cyprus, who is hosting the talks. Continue reading...

Meta to lay off 10% of its staff and Microsoft to offer retirement to 7% of US workforce. Plus, Iron Maiden at 50Good morning.Meta and Microsoft are cutting thousands of employees as they bet big on AI and executives claim that the technology is meeting productivity needs.What have they said about AI? Mark Zuckerberg said in January that AI was making some hiring unnecessary. Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft's AI chief, said in February that he believed AI would be able to replace most white-collar work within the next 12 to 18 months.How many tech layoffs have there been in 2026? In four months, more than 92,000 employees in the industry have lost their jobs, according to the tracker Layoffs.fyi. But some experts believe companies may be AI washing" - using it as cover for a slowing labor market and demand or rising costs. Continue reading...

Philip Rycroft says promises on issues from economics to immigration have not lived up to expectationsBritain should start talking about rejoining the EU, according to a former senior civil servant who ran the Brexit department.Philip Rycroft, who was permanent secretary of the Department for Exiting the EU, said the argument was there to be won" about going back into Europe, adding that a clear-headed appraisal of what is in the country's best interests" was needed. However, he said rejoining the bloc could be a long and windy" road. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Prominent figures risk arrest with message of support for proscribed group before next week's appeal hearing

Coalition of the willing' gathers in Colombia to try to bypass petrostate blockages of Cop summits and chart fresh pathThe world's first Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels conference, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, takes place in Santa Marta, Colombia, from 24 to 29 April. A coalition of the willing" - including 54 countries and various subnational governments, civil society groups and academics - will try to chart a new path to powering the world with low-carbon energy. Continue reading...

Sabrina Crawford among those refused because of rule change, which now also affects children of immigrants born in ItalyIn 2025, after a long and arduous journey in her attempts to gain Italian citizenship, including a pivotal genealogical research trip to a village in Calabria, US-born Sabrina Crawford was hoping to fulfil her lifelong dream of building a life in Italy as she edged towards the final hurdle of the bureaucratic process.But her plans were scuppered when Giorgia Meloni's far-right government enacted a law stopping access to Italian citizenship via distant ancestry. Since May last year, only those with a parent or grandparent who was an Italian citizen at birth, and who did not take on dual nationality, are eligible to apply. Continue reading...

The gambling crisis demands a public health response' and should be regulated like alcohol or tobacco, expert saysGambling addiction is spiraling out of control" in the US, a leading campaigner for stricter guardrails has warned, as experts from around the world are set to gather in Boston to push for more regulation of the industry.The rapid expansion of online gambling, prediction markets and sports betting platforms, demands a public health response", according to Harry Levant, director of gambling policy at the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), urging policymakers to intervene. Continue reading...

Diplomats poke fun at Donald Trump, while elsewhere Madonna loses her corset off the back of a golf buggyThe one upside to a rolling international crisis is that it can give backroom people a rare chance to shine. Witness, this week, the breakout stars of the Iranian diplomatic corps, who from two different diplomatic missions managed to poke fun at Donald Trump while maintaining the base-level decorum that so eludes the American president. Continue reading...