World news | The Guardian

Eight people reported killed in attack on newly completed suspension bridge after strike splits structure in half

London mayor says more arrests will be made after young people stormed into shops as part of social media trendSadiq Khan has warned against any repeat of utterly unacceptable" scenes of disorder in Clapham earlier this week, saying culprits who assault and intimidate shop workers will face the full force of the law.The mayor of London said more arrests would be made in the coming days, and urged anyone considering more violence over the Easter weekend to think again. Continue reading...

Federal agency, which normally supports state and local public health labs, has been hobbled by staff departures

Daniel Kebede tells his members that detail in new policies just does not deliver' and schools are running on empty'The leader of the UK's biggest education union has torn into the government's record on schools, accusing Labour of letting down the nation's children and failing to deliver on its promises for education.Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), was unsparing in his criticism of the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson's policies in a speech to delegates at the NEU's annual conference in Brighton on Thursday. Continue reading...

Abdullah Baig alleged Meta ignored flaws putting billions at risk, but a US judge ruled he lacked sufficient evidenceA US court has dismissed a lawsuit from WhatsApp's former security chief, who alleged that parent company Meta ignored internal flaws he flagged about the messaging app's digital defenses.Abdullah Baig, who claims he was fired in retaliation for raising these concerns, had alleged that billions of users had been put at risk because of these vulnerabilities. Thousands of employees could view sensitive user data, including profile photos and location, Baig claimed in the lawsuit filed in September. A judge ruled he had not presented enough evidence to move forward. Continue reading...

Speaking in South Korea, the French president defended the transatlantic alliance and called for return to peace

US president's 19-minute Wednesday address at the White House was met with bewilderment from commentatorsDonald Trump's primetime nationwide address on the war with Iran caused widespread bewilderment, with commentators voicing shock at his vow to continue bombing to bring them back to the stone ages".Speculation before Wednesday's speech from the White House Blue Room suggested that the president might be about to signal a winding up of the US military effort, which began on 28 February. Continue reading...

Post your questions below to get insight from the Guardian's politics live blogger on the future of Labour and the role of the political reporterQ: Do you agree with the Tories about wanting more oil and gas drilling from the North Sea?Davey says Kemi Badenoch claims she can get an extra 2.5bn in tax revenue by allowing more exploration in the North Sea. He says she is just lying". He says everyone knows that that is not realistic. Continue reading...

Dozen people arrive under new deal but legal challenges expected with process criticised for dehumanising process'A flight carrying people being deported from the US has landed in Uganda, as Donald Trump's administration pushes on with its strategy of expelling migrants to countries they have no ties to.The deported people would stay in the east African country as a transition phase for potential onward transmission to other countries", an unnamed senior Ugandan government official told Reuters. Continue reading...

Six-day stoppage in England next week to go ahead and minister confirms offer of extra training places withdrawnThe NHS is bracing for the longest strike yet by resident doctors after last-ditch talks failed, prompting Wes Streeting to accuse the medics of suffering from delusion".Many thousands of resident - formerly junior - doctors across England will stage a six-day stoppage over pay and jobs starting at 7am on Tuesday, just after the Easter weekend. A deadline for agreement ended on Thursday. Continue reading...

Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic features interviews with cast members and will air on 5 AprilHBO has more Harry Potter magic up its sleeve - today, the company announced a standalone, behind-the-scenes special to accompany its upcoming TV adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic will offer an in-depth look at the making of the first season", including plenty of production footage and details on the lengthy, UK-wide casting process for Harry, Ron and Hermione, played by Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton. Continue reading...

Dozens of videos have gone viral on TikTok and Instagram showing harassment of Palestinians and activistsTikTok has removed an account belonging to an ultranationalist, pro-settlement Israeli influencer for breaching hate speech and bullying rules after the Guardian flagged videos showing him harassing activists in the occupied West Bank.The Guardian has reviewed dozens of videos posted by various social media figures that have gone viral on TikTok and Instagram documenting the harassment of Palestinians as well as physical attacks on Israeli and international activists. Continue reading...

Yvette Cooper hosted virtual summit of more than 40 countries aimed at reopening vital shipping lane

Senate-passed funding plan for DHS languishes despite agreement between Republican congressional leaders

Union has reached a tentative agreement for a three-year contract after holding a 24-hour walkout in MarchEmployees of the CBS News streaming channel CBS News 24/7, who held a 24-hour walkout last month amid an impasse in contract negotiations, have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract.About 60 CBS News employees are part of the union. In the coming days, they will vote to ratify the new agreement. More details about the agreement will be provided after the agreement is ratified, the union said. Continue reading...

Director and producer is co-creator of You Are Here, a one-day immersive theatrical event traversing 75 years of youth cultureOut of chaos come great cultural movements, according to the director and producer Danny Boyle, who will inflict a little curated chaos on London's Southbank Centre with what has been described as an epic, one-off pop culture spectacular".Boyle, whose 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony drew on the rich thread of British culture, is the co-creator and director of You Are Here, a one-day immersive theatrical event traversing 75 years of youth culture and social movement: think teddy boys, Lovers' Rock, punk, Ziggy Stardust, rave, acid house, the spoken word, Brit pop, ballroom to name a few. Continue reading...

The Hungarian prime minister said his Polish counterpart should worry about his own country and people, not Vladimir PutinBack to Trump's frustration with European allies - although it doesn't involve a Nato member this time - Austria is the latest country to risk the US president's wrath after a defence ministry spokesperson confirmed it denied all US requests for military overflights related to the Iran war.There have indeed been requests and they were refused from the outset," Col Michael Bauer told AFP, adding that every time a similar request involves a country at war, it is refused." Continue reading...

Sale of Providence House believed to be the most expensive on record in London

Fertiliser created from waste produced in block of toilets used by 700 revellers at Boomtown festival last yearScientists are aiming to grow 4,500 trees at a national park with the help of fertiliser made from festivalgoers' urine.The fertiliser was created by the Bristol-based startup NPK Recovery, which connected its unit to a block of toilets used by 700 revellers at Boomtown festival in Hampshire in July last year. Continue reading...

Brent crude rises 8% as US president vows to hit Iran extremely hard' over coming weeks

Christina Marie Plante was reported missing in May of 1994 from Star Valley when she was just 13 years old

Funeral director Robert Bush had previously admitted to dozens of counts of fraud at hearing in OctoberA funeral director has admitted preventing a lawful burial after 30 bodies and a quantity of ashes were found at a funeral home in Hull in 2024.Robert Bush, 48, had previously admitted to dozens of counts of fraud at a hearing in October, after police raided the premises of Legacy funeral home on Hessle Road over concern for care of the dead. Continue reading...

Bank of England survey in March shows chief financial officers foresee 3.7% increase over coming year

Simon Dudley fired after his comments were condemned by prime minister and families of fire victims

PM says Farage should do the decent thing', after new housing spokesperson's criticism of safety regulations

Reversal of fortune comes just one week after she was dumped in favour of Dinesh Gourisetty, who then withdrew his nomination

Battlefield outcomes are connected by the sharing of weapons and intelligence as well as the damage to the global economyThe Iran and Ukraine wars are becoming more intertwined with every passing week - to the point that some analysts argue the two conflicts are beginning to merge.Quite how each war will affect the trajectory of the other is hard to predict, but it is already clear that their interconnectedness is drawing more countries into both cauldrons, extending an arc of instability that straddles Europe and the Middle East. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Laurence Taylor says separate scheme needed to report concerns over young people's non-ideological interest in extreme violenceThe scheme meant to identify people before they become terrorists is being overwhelmed" by a large surge in referrals, Britain's head of counterterrorism has said.Assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor told the Guardian that more than 10,000 people would be referred to Prevent this year, up more than a third from two years ago. Continue reading...

Markets sink after president offers little detail on how he intends to wind down conflict over next two to three weeks

Quake with epicentre west-north-west of Ternate island shakes cities and prompts regional tsunami warningOne person has been killed after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's Ternate island, damaging buildings and triggering small tsunami waves.The quake, which had a depth of 35km, occurred on Thursday at 6.48am local time, according to the United States Geological Survey. Its epicentre was 127km (79 miles) west-north-west of Ternate, an island in Indonesia's North Maluku province. Continue reading...

The party, whose parliamentary leader is Jeremy Corbyn, will back 250 candidates, focusing on urban areasYour Party is to focus its local election efforts on a number of urban areas with large Muslim populations where Labour support has weakened, throwing its support behind supporting independent candidates and community groups.Party insiders have intentionally narrowed their focus to key targets including the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham and Redbridge, where locally rooted independent campaigns are already braced to challenge Labour. Continue reading...

Former Labour mayor Jamie Driscoll aims to win central Newcastle ward after defecting to the Green partyThank you very much to all you would-be penguins huddling together for warmth," said Jamie Driscoll to the dozen supporters braving bitingly cold, blustery weather to begin knocking on doors and delivering leaflets.The former Labour North of Tyne mayor is one of the Green party's highest-profile recruits. Standing for Newcastle city council in the central Monument ward, he was giving a pep talk to a group that would probably have been even bigger, were some not in London for a demonstration against the far right. Continue reading...

Talks, convened by the UK, will examine all viable diplomatic and political measures' to get critical waterway open

Deep divisions on Israel mean the union has failed to act over Lebanon, Gaza, or settler violence in the West BankThe human costs of Israel's attacks on Lebanon were plain to see when the Irish MEP Barry Andrews visited Beirut last month. He met people who had fled Israeli airstrikes and complied with evacuation orders in southern Lebanon.At makeshift shelters - converted schools - conditions were even worse than during Israel's last incursion in 2024, he was told. There are dirty mattresses, dirty blankets, [people] are getting infections, they are getting rashes," he said recalling a picture of misery compounded by swingeing aid budget cuts. Continue reading...

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese announces GST revenue on fuel sales to be used to reduce fuel costs by a combined 32 cents a litre

Check how much petrol prices have risen since the US and Israel's war on Iran began in late February

Ukrainian president says ceasefire could show diplomacy works, while Russia dismisses statement as PR stunt'. What we know on day 1,499Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised Russia for responding to an offer of an Easter truce with airstrikes. The Ukrainian president said on Wednesday he had spoken to US negotiators about an Easter ceasefire but Russian forces had fired more than 700 drones - many of them Iranian-designed Shaheds - targeting parts of western and central Ukraine in a rare daytime attack. Zelenskyy said: Russia is responding [to the Easter ceasefire offer] with Shahed drones and continues its terrorist operations against our energy sector, against our infrastructure," adding that he had discussed ways of advancing diplomacy with US negotiators. A silence over Easter could be exactly the signal that tells everyone that diplomacy can be successful." Russia's foreign ministry rejected Zelenskyy's proposal as a PR stunt".The Ukraine president said talks with US mediators aimed at resolving the four-year conflict were positive". The talks were held remotely on Wednesday with the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and the US senator Lindsey Graham, with Nato's secretary general, Mark Rutte, also joining the call amid the alliance's continuing tensions with Washington. Zelenskyy thanked the US for its efforts to bring about peace and said the Ukrainian and US teams had agreed to strengthen a document outlining US security guarantees for any future peace deal. This is precisely what could pave the way for a reliable end to the war." In recent weeks Zelenskyy said the US had been pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to bring a quick end to the conflict after the US and Israel launched the war on Iran in late February. Talks with Russia are deadlocked over the question of land, with Ukraine refusing to cede to Moscow's demands that it relinquish the eastern region of Donbas.Russia claimed to have full control of Ukraine's Luhansk region on Wednesday, which Kyiv denied. Russia's defence ministry claimed its forces had taken control of the entire Luhansk region - part of the Donbas - but a Ukrainian military official said small areas were still held by Ukrainian forces. Russia has previously made false claims of advances. The Russian defence ministry said in a statement: Units have completed the liberation of the Luhansk people's republic." But Viktor Tregubov, a spokesperson for Ukrainian forces, said there were no changes to report in that region. Unfortunately, we only hold small patches [in Luhansk], but those positions have been held by 3rd brigade for a long time," Trehubov told the Associated Press. Russian claims of progress have in the past proved to be inaccurate. The Moscow-appointed head of Luhansk announced its full capture last June. Ukrainian officials have said that Moscow makes false claims of advances to persuade US negotiators a Russian victory in Ukraine is inevitable.Russia fired hundreds of drones at Ukraine, killing at least five people and destroying a postal terminal, Ukrainian officials have said. Ukraine's Nova Poshta mailing company published an image on Wednesday of a warehouse in the western city of Lutsk in flames, with thick smoke pouring from its roof. As well firing 339 drones at Ukraine overnight, Russia launched more than 360 drones during the day, the Ukrainian air force said. One drone killed four people in the central Cherkasy region, while an earlier drone strike on a car in Ukraine's frontline Kherson region killed a woman and badly wounded two other people, regional authorities said. Continue reading...

Agreement comes after Wellington halted millions in aid to its former colony after Cook Islands formed strategic partnership with BeijingNew Zealand and the Cook Islands have signed a defence and security declaration, ending a year-long diplomatic row that erupted after the Cook Islands struck strategic agreements with China.The Cook Islands was a dependent New Zealand colony from 1901-65 but has since operated as a self-governing nation in free association" with New Zealand. Its roughly 17,000 citizens hold New Zealand citizenship. There are obligations between the two nations to regularly consult on matters of defence and security. Continue reading...

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Actor and comedian known for voicing Gene Belcher, as well as roles in Flight of the Conchords and Archer, has suffered serious injuriesBob's Burgers voice actor and comedian Eugene Mirman has suffered serious injuries after crashing his car into a toll plaza in New Hampshire, before he was pulled from the fiery wreckage by a state trooper assigned to protect the state's governor.The crash happened just before noon Tuesday when a northbound electric vehicle struck the Bedford toll plaza and caught fire, New Hampshire state police said. Republican governor Kelly Ayotte and her security detail came upon the crash soon after, and a trooper and two others pulled Mirman from the burning car through a window, said New Hampshire state police colonel, Mark Hall. Continue reading...

This liveblog is closed, please follow our new liveblog hereHouthi forces in Yemen have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on southern Israel this morning, saying it was a joint operation with Iran and Hezbollah.In a statement, the Houthi movement said it carried out its third missile attack in the conflict in conjunction with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon". Continue reading...

Defence lawyer, former federal attorney general Christian Porter, says accused Jayson Joseph Michaels was pretender full of big talk'

Mass of spectators cheers dazzling Florida launch as astronauts head to moon for first time in almost 54 years

Follow latest updates as four astronauts begin 685,000-mile trip with millions watching

Prime minister urges Australians to consider using public transport and conserve fuel for critical industry' and others

US understood not to be invited directly to talks that will explore ways of reopening critical waterway

Measure that would fund homeland security but exclude money for ICE could conclude lengthy funding lapseAn end to the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may be in sight, after Congress's Republican leaders on Wednesday agreed to advance legislation that would fund most of the agency's operations, with the exception of those involved in immigration enforcement.The pact may conclude the longest such funding lapse in US history, which last month caused security lines to stretch for hours at some airports as employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a subagency of DHS, quit their jobs or called out of work after going weeks without pay. Continue reading...

Four states have now signed such legislation as Trump's Save Act languishes in Senate with little chance of passageThe governors of Florida and Mississippi signed legislation on Wednesday to require documented proof of citizenship to register to vote and to begin a process that will eventually unenroll voters who have not provided citizenship documentation.Four states have now passed proof-of-citizenship laws for voting this year, after South Dakota and Utah's governors each signed proof of citizenship bills into law in March. Continue reading...

Most Americans support the rule that anyone born in the US is a US citizen, and a majority of supreme court justices are skeptical of Trump's efforts to restrict itIt was a surreal morning at the US supreme court.For more than two hours, the nation's highest court considered arguments over whether Donald Trump - via an executive order - could tear down an idea that has been fundamental to the story and trajectory of the United States: that almost anyone born on US soil is an US citizen. Continue reading...

Nearly 2,000 internal files were briefly leaked after human error', raising fresh security questions at the AI companyAnthropic accidentally released part of the internal source code for its AI-powered coding assistant, Claude Code, due to human error", the company said on Tuesday.An internal-use file mistakenly included in a software update pointed to an archive containing nearly 2,000 files and 500,000 lines of code, which were quickly copied to developer platform GitHub. A post on X sharing a link to the leaked code had more than 29m views early on Wednesday, and a rewritten version of the source code quickly became GitHub's fastest-ever downloaded repository. Anthropic issued copyright takedown requests to try to contain the code's spread. Within the code, users spotted blueprints for a Tamagotchi-esque coding assistant and an always-on AI agent, per the Verge. Continue reading...