Aoi Baxter was the party's candidate for the state seat of Adelaide in Saturday's electionFormer South Australian One Nation candidate, Aoi Baxter, has been dumped by the rightwing party, after media reports claiming there is a warrant for his arrest in the UK.Baxter, who was reportedly previously known as Trent Baxter, had allegedly failed to appear at a court hearing, according to reporting by the ABC. A UK court confirmed to the ABC a warrant had been issued for the arrest of a man named Trent Baxter. Continue reading...
Proposal fails to advance in Senate amid growing concerns about long lines to get through screening at some airportsA bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security failed to advance on Friday in the Senate amid growing concerns about long lines to get through screening at some of the country's biggest airports.Democrats declined to provide the support needed to move the funding measure toward final passage. Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said he would offer an alternative measure on Saturday to fund just the Transportation Security Administration, which screens passengers and luggage for hazardous items. That too is likely to fail as lawmakers hold a rare weekend session. Continue reading...
Mary Fong Lau crashed into bus shelter in 2024, causing deaths of two parents and two infant childrenThe 80-year-old woman that prosecutors found responsible for a car crash that killed a family of four in San Francisco has been sentenced to two years of probation and will have her driver's license suspended.Lau will receive no jail time and will not be subject to home confinement. As part of her sentence, she must complete 200 hours of community service. Continue reading...
Former boxing world champion's cause of death was hanging but his intention was unclear, inquest concludesA coroner has said she cannot be satisfied" that British former boxing world champion Ricky Hatton intended to take his own life.Hatton, 46, was found dead in his home on 14 September, with the inquest concluding that the official cause of his death was hanging.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...
One person survived and two were killed, the military said, who were turned over to Costa Rican coast guardUS Southern Command announced on Friday that US forces carried out another lethal kinetic strike" on a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific which left one survivor and two people dead.After the strike, the military said that it immediately notified US Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system" for three people who survived the strike. The coast guard said in a statement that one of its ships recovered two dead bodies and one survivor and turned them over to the Costa Rican coast guard. Continue reading...
Calls for Pennsylvania senator - Trump's favorite Democrat' - to resign after casting decisive committee voteDemocrats reacted with outrage to their party colleague John Fetterman's decision to advance the nomination of Republican US senator Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary.Fetterman, the senior US senator from Pennsylvania, has in recent months broken with the party several times to support Republican proposals, and has routinely expressed staunch support for Israel. He cast the decisive committee vote on Thursday to advance Mullin's nomination to succeed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary. Continue reading...
Judge rules that Trump's health secretary did not go through proper procedures when issuing declarationRobert F Kennedy Jr, the health secretary, overstepped his power when he declared that gender-affirming treatments are unsafe, a federal judge has ruled.In a blow to the Trump administration's attempts to limit access to gender transition procedures, Judge Mustafa Kasubhai ruled Thursday that Kennedy did not go through the proper procedures when issuing his 12-page declaration last December. Continue reading...
NTSB to investigate incident where commercial airliner and cargo plane tried to land on crossing runways in New JerseyA close call between a commercial airliner and a cargo plane attempting to land on crossing runways at New Jersey's Newark Liberty international airport is being investigated by federal aviation officials.The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Thursday said it was investigating an incident two days earlier during which an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 overflew a FedEx Boeing 777 at the busy New York City area airport. Continue reading...
Man wielding knife also tried to slash tires and taken into custody, with two transit officers and a police officer injuredSix people were brought to the hospital after a man wielding a butcher knife threatened to stab a bus driver and tried to slash tires at a Boston transit station on Friday before being taken into custody, authorities said.Among those injured were two transit officers, a Boston police officer and the suspect in the case, said Richard Sullivan, superintendent of police for the Massachusetts Bay transportation authority. Sullivan, who briefed reporters at a news conference, said he wasn't aware of the other two reported as injured by Boston's emergency medical services agency. Continue reading...
Veteran broadcaster interviewed prominent female leaders including Margaret Thatcher and Hillary ClintonJenni Murray, the broadcaster who hosted BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour for more than 30 years, has died at the age of 75.Murray joined the programme in 1987 and presented it until she departed as its longest-serving presenter in 2020. She was awarded a damehood in 2011 in recognition of her contribution to broadcasting. Continue reading...
Officials understood to be investigating use of visas by company linked to Ahmadi Religion of Peace and LightThe Home Office is investigating a company linked to a religious sect based in Cheshire over its use of immigration visas.The company under investigation is linked to the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL), a sect that blends tenets of Islam with conspiracy theories about the Illuminati and aliens controlling US presidents. Followers believe the sect's leader, Abdullah Hashem, can cure the sick and make the moon disappear. About 100 of his followers live in a former orphanage in Crewe, in the north-west of England. Continue reading...
Eid al-Fitr celebrated amid political furore over claims public Ramadan prayers an act of domination'On Friday morning, little space remained in Baitul Futuh mosque as thousands of people poured in to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.The south London mosque, one of the largest in Europe, offered a glimpse of the Eid al-Fitr festivities being celebrated by millions of Muslims across the UK. This year, however, a political furore around one of the most important holidays in the Islamic calendar has divided UK party leaders, drawn warnings of bigotry and left members of the community feeling disturbed and disappointed. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#74CR2)
Forces have been stripped back since the cold war but political stasis is dangerous in the face of growing global threatsIt will have been more than three weeks since the US and Israel first attacked Iran when the first British warship finally arrives off the coast of Cyprus, a belated defensive deployment that has highlighted the lack of military capacity available to the UK.Nominally, HMS Dragon was one of three destroyers available out of six. In reality the warship has had to be hauled out of dry dock, prepared and then, after launch, tested for several days in the Channel. Its arrival date is still unconfirmed. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent and Joanna Par on (#74CR5)
International Energy Agency recommends emergency measures, including working from home, as Iran war hits fuel supplyLowering speed limits to minimise fuel consumption is among potential contingency plans being drawn up by the UK government as the crisis in the Middle East threatens global oil supplies.Sources stressed that there is no shortage of fuel in the UK, but said that officials in the Department for Transport were working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) on an analysis of what measures could be taken to curb oil demand. Continue reading...
Lawsuit alleges university violated civil rights of Jewish and Israeli people in aftermath of war in GazaThe Trump administration renewed its assault on Harvard University on Friday, filing a lawsuit in Massachusetts alleging the Ivy League institution violated the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli people in the aftermath of the war in Gaza.The lawsuit, shared publicly by the New York Times, accuses Harvard of allowing anti-Israel protesters to operate on campus with impunity" following the 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on Gaza and Israel's massive military response. Continue reading...
Gwyn Samuels, who committed crimes as James Bubb, befriended both victims online befriended both victims onlineA Metropolitan police officer who raped a girl and a woman after systematically" grooming them both online has been jailed for 24 years.James Bubb, who now identifies as a woman named Gwyn Samuels, first sexually assaulted the girl when she was just 12 years old after befriending her online in 2018, the trial at Aylesbury crown court was told last year. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#74CGF)
Three people were suing ex-Sinn Fein leader for liability over IRA bombings in UK that left them injuredThree victims of IRA bombings who sued Gerry Adams alleging he was a member of the paramilitary group and culpable for the attacks have withdrawn their lawsuit on the last day of the civil trial.John Clark, Jonathan Ganesh and Barry Laycock, who were injured respectively in the 1973 Old Bailey bombing and the 1996 London Docklands and Manchester bombings, were seeking symbolic vindicatory" damages of 1 each. Continue reading...
This blog is now closedSeverin Carrell is the Guardian's Scotland editor.Malcolm Offord, Reform UK's Scottish leader, has doubled down on his defence of the party's vetting by dismissing remarks by candidates backing Tommy Robinson or describing Humza Yousaf as an Islamist moron" (see 10.12am) as fruity language".It has taken a matter of hours for Reform Scotland's big launch to fall apart and their true colours to show.If Nigel Farage refuses to act and remove this candidate, Malcolm Offord must step up and show some leadership himself. This incident has confirmed once and for all how poisonous and chaotic Reform is and I have no doubt that Scots will send them packing.Again, as I say, this was done in a former life before she became a member of Reform. We've all said things in the past that may be intemperate... I am saying that we have to grow up on this and not take offence at every moment in time.I've been very clear that we have brought in a whole range of candidates, 80% of whom are not politicians. They're real people with real lives who said real things in a past life. Okay, this was said before she was a candidate. She wasn't even a member of the party at that time.And what we got in the situation is that in all our lives in the past, we've made comments that might sometimes be intemperate. But the issue with this modern world we live in is everything is now written down and remembered. I just think we have to be more, more realistic about the fact that real people say real things, and now she's a candidate, she will be held to a higher standard.Liberal Democrats urge the government to ensure the NCA or new National Police Service takes over investigations into serious waste crime. We also need an independent review of the entire waste crime system to crack down on organised gangs once and for all. New powers for the Environmental Agency simply won't cut it. Continue reading...
by Jakub Krupa (now) and Tom Ambrose (earlier) on (#74CBR)
This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our European news coverage hereMeanwhile, French president Emmanuel Macron has confirmed the seizure of the tanker, which he said belonged to the Russian shadow fleet.In a strongly worded post on X, he said:The French navy boarded this morning in the Mediterranean a new vessel from the shadow fleet, the Deyna.The war in Iran will not divert France from its support for Ukraine, where Russia's war of aggression continues. Continue reading...
by Lisa O’Carroll in Paris and Kiran Stacey in Lond on (#74CJZ)
Exclusive: Chris Bryant says policy agreements are being done in bits and pieces but a greater vision is needed by both sidesIt was all smiles and warm handshakes when the two men in charge of renegotiating the UK's relationship with the EU met in Brussels this week.Maro efovi and the UK minister for EU relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, sharing a stage on the third floor of the vast European parliament building, were at pains to show the cross-Channel relationship was in a good place after years of rancour. Continue reading...
Late-night hosts panned Trump's joke about the 1941 attack, addressed new unredacted Epstein emails and talked popular puppy namesWith The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on hiatus until at least 27 March, late-night hosts on Thursday discussed Donald Trump's snafu while meeting Japan's prime minister, his caginess over Iran, and new findings in the Epstein investigations. Continue reading...
Moon orbit program, preceding planned landing in 2028, has been delayed due to fuel leaks and clogged helium linesFor the second time this year, Nasa moved its moon rocket from the hangar out toward the launchpad on Friday in hopes of sending four astronauts on a lunar fly-around next month.If the latest repairs work and everything else goes Nasa's way, the Space Launch System could blast off as early as 1 April from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The Artemis II crew went into quarantine this week in Houston in preparation for blastoff. Continue reading...
by Lorenzo Tondo in Jerusalem and Seham Tantesh in Ga on (#74C7S)
Palestinians say the move is part of a wider Israeli strategy to leverage security tensions to tighten restrictionsFor the first time since 1967, al-Aqsa mosque - Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site - was closed at the end of Ramadan on Friday, with tensions rising among Palestinians as Israeli authorities keep the complex shut, forcing worshippers to hold Eid prayers as close as they could to the sealed site.On Friday morning, hundreds of worshippers were forced to pray outside the Old City, as Israeli police barricaded the entrances to the site. Continue reading...
by Aaron Glantz in Spokane, Washington on (#74CD5)
The right to protest is fundamentally American', says Bajun Mavalwalla who awaits trial and faces six years in prisonThis story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer CenterA US military veteran arrested on federal conspiracy charges after participating in a June 2025 protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told the Guardian he refuses to plead guilty and is ready to face justice. Continue reading...
by Adam Gabbatt in Hawthorne, New York on (#74CD6)
Fusion of cherished American eateries hopes to revive brands that have gone hungry' while rest of industry feastsNo one could say the New York union of Applebee's and Ihop happened without fanfare.A car park in Hawthorne, 30 miles north of Manhattan, had been decked out with a 30ft-high inflatable red apple. Red, white and blue bunting flew from masts. Upbeat music blasted from speakers. Continue reading...
Foreign minister issues warning after Israeli attack on South Pars gasfield that prompted retaliatory strike on Qatar. Plus, what happened to the Oscars red carpet after the ceremony?
by Rachel Savage in Johannesburg and agencies on (#74CBQ)
Michael Randrianirina, who sacked PM and cabinet without explanation, claims measure is to root out corruptionMadagascar's military president has said new ministers will have to pass lie detector tests to root out corrupt candidates, after he dismissed the prime minister and cabinet without explanation earlier this month.Michael Randrianirina came to power in a coup in October after weeks of youth-led protests under the banner Gen Z Madagascar". However, young people were quickly disenchanted by his choice of government officials, which they saw as being part of the old, corrupt elite. Continue reading...
by Shaun Walker and Flora Garamvolgyi in Budapest on (#74CBT)
Kyiv sources say they think injection contained relaxant meant to make people more talkative in interrogationsHungarian security operatives administered a forced injection" to one of the Ukrainians detained earlier this month during a dramatic raid on bank vehicles carrying gold bars and tens of millions of dollars and euros in cash, sources have told the Guardian.Hungary's TEK anti-terrorism police detained seven Ukrainians from the state savings bank, Oschadbank, on 5 March. They were accompanying a convoy of two armoured cars from Vienna to Ukraine, as it transited Hungary in what Kyiv claims was a regular transfer of state funds. Hungarian officials have claimed it was money for the Ukrainian war mafia", without giving details. Continue reading...
Jesus Javier Gomez Islas, 23, says in filing against LAPD he has permanently lost vision in one eye due to unjustified munition fired at his faceA 23-year-old Los Angeles man who attended a recent immigration protest outside a federal building says he was blinded in one eye by a law enforcement projectile.Jesus Javier Gomez Islas filed a claim against the LA police department (LAPD) on Thursday stemming from permanent injuries he says he suffered at a 31 January demonstration outside the Metropolitan Detention Center. The federal facility has been the site of frequent protests against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and was the site of ICE Out" rallies that week. Continue reading...
Group, which also owns Dove and Hellmann's, will focus more on personal care products if deal agreedUnilever, the owner of Marmite, Dove and Hellmann's mayonnaise, is in talks to combine its food business with the US-based spice and seasoning maker McCormick.The Anglo-Dutch food company - which last year spun off its ice-cream division, the home to Ben & Jerry's, Magnum and Wall's - has entered discussions over the future of the highly attractive" business. Continue reading...
Interim president announces changes after firing defence minister, who was close to Maduro, the leader ousted by USVenezuela's interim president has said she has replaced all her senior military commanders, the latest in a flurry of changes since the US ousted Nicolas Maduro.Delcy Rodriguez announced the changes in a social media post a day after firing the long-serving defence minister, who had been close to Maduro, and replacing him with a former intelligence chief. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#74C8D)
Exclusive: Richard Hermer, who is Jewish, says Tory leader and shadow minister seem to only have an issue with Muslim events'Richard Hermer, the attorney general, has challenged Kemi Badenoch to say whether she would object to Jewish prayer in public, after the Conservative leader backed one of her shadow ministers who said an Islamic prayer event was intimidating and un-British.Hermer, one of the UK's most prominent Jewish politicians, said Badenoch's decision to support the views of Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, put her on a par with Reform UK and Tommy Robinson, the far-right activist. Continue reading...
Unseasonably warm and even dangerous temperatures this week were up to 30F above average for the time of yearThe record-breaking heatwave scorching the US west this week would have been virtually impossible" if not for the climate crisis, a team of scientists has determined.Millions of Americans from the Pacific coast to the Rockies baked under unseasonably warm and even dangerous temperatures this week, with temperatures up to 30F (17C) above average for the time of year. Continue reading...
Sharon Graham tells party to wake up and smell the coffee' after shameful' handling of Birmingham bin strikeLabour will be decimated" in the upcoming local elections and should hang their heads in shame" over the handling of the Birmingham bin strike, Unite's general secretary has said.In a speech to refuse workers near a waste depot in Tyseley on Thursday, Sharon Graham said working people were moving away from Labour in droves and called on the party to wake up and smell the coffee". Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: Bereaved families say the latest findings confirm long-standing concerns about capacity, care and political choicesGood morning. Yesterday lunchtime the UK Covid-19 inquiry published its latest findings - this time on how the NHS, its staff and patients were affected during the pandemic. It delivered a stark verdict: the health service teetered on the brink of collapse" and only avoided it through the almost superhuman efforts" of staff.Heather Hallett, the inquiry chair, said healthcare systems coped, but only just" - and rejected the claim made by Conservative ministers at the time that the NHS had not been overwhelmed. For bereaved families, that language matters.Middle East | Iran said it would show zero restraint" if its energy infrastructure was targeted again as Qatar revealed that almost a fifth of its liquefied natural gas export capacity had been knocked out in an Iranian strike.Health | Meningitis vaccination has been expanded in Kent after cases linked to a Canterbury nightclub rose to 27. Two people have died, and officials say the outbreak is being contained.Politics | Muslim leaders have condemned Nigel Farage's call to ban public prayer by Muslims in the UK as bigoted and warned of a growing tide of hate" after Kemi Badenoch questioned whether the events fitted within the norms of British culture".EU | EU leaders have pledged to stand behind Cyprus as it seeks an open and frank discussion" on the future of the British bases on the island, which have become a target after the outbreak of the latest Middle East crisis.Immigration | A 16-year-old schoolgirl is stranded in Denmark after she was not allowed to board a flight to the UK due to new border rules on dual nationals. Continue reading...
IEA makes 10 recommendations to help households and businesses prepare for a drawn-out disruption to energy marketsThe world's energy watchdog has advised governments to reduce highway speeds and encouraged workers to carpool or, ideally, work from home to combat soaring oil prices and impending fuel shortages caused by the Middle East conflict.It has also recommended countries consider limiting car access to designated zones in large cities, by giving vehicles with odd-numbered plates access on different weekdays to those with even-numbered plates.Work from home where possible to save petrol.Reduce highway speed limits by at least 10km/h to reduce fuel usage.Encourage public transport to reduce oil demand.Limit car access to roads in large cities through a number-plate rotation scheme.Increase car sharing.Encourage efficient driving for commercial vehicles through load optimisation and vehicle maintenance.Divert LPG use from transport to preserve it for essential needs like cooking.Avoid air travel where possible.Encourage electric cooking and other options to reduce reliance on LPG.Help industrial facilities switch between different petrochemical feedstocks to free up LPG. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Lack of enforcement is allowing people to drop rubbish with complete impunity, says Clean Up BritainScores of councils across the UK have in effect ended enforcement of fines for littering, while others are letting litterers off lightly and many more are neglecting to enforce fines for fly-tipping.At least 71 councils failed to issue a single fine for littering last year, while a further 67 issued fewer than 10, according to data from the Clean Up Britain campaign. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Testing in Bentham, home to UK's highest recorded Pfas levels, finds one in four have blood levels in greatest risk categoryAlarming levels of toxic forever chemicals have been found in the blood of people living in a town previously revealed to be contaminated with the UK's highest recorded level of Pfas.Pfas, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and commonly known as forever chemicals because of their persistence in the environment, have been linked to a wide range of serious illnesses, including some cancers. They are used in a variety of consumer products but one of their most prolific uses is in firefighting foam. Continue reading...
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