World news | The Guardian

Far-right leader, who was found guilty of embezzlement of European funds, says conviction is a denial of democracy'The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has railed against a Paris court's political decision" to bar her from competing for the presidency in 2027, attacking the move to ban her from running for public office as a denial of democracy".In a day of high political drama, Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement of European parliament funds on a vast scale, a conviction for which she was also handed a four-year prison sentence, with two of those years suspended and two to be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet. She was also ordered to pay a 100,000 (84,000) fine. Continue reading...

Court hears from publisher's head of investigations about actor's libel claim over sexual misconduct allegationsThe actor Noel Clarke made calls to some of the women he thought were cooperating with the Guardian prior to the publication of its investigation into his behaviour, leaving them shaken, fearful and in tears", the high court in London has heard.The Guardian's head of investigations, Paul Lewis, was giving evidence in defence of Clarke's libel claim against the news publisher over allegations of sexual misconduct. Continue reading...

Residents took firms owned by billionaire to tribunal for operating unlicensed houses in multiple occupationTenants of two buildings in east London have been awarded a six-figure sum in rent repayments by a tribunal after challenging a billionaire described by a judge as a rogue landlord".The group of current and former residents of Olympic House and Simpson House in Hackney took companies owned by John Christodoulou to tribunal for operating unlicensed houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), which meant the buildings were not subject to the safety and quality standards required by law. Continue reading...

Friends and fans of Heklina denounce Met's investigation of unsolved death in her London flatNearly two years after the American drag artist Heklina was found dead in London, her friends and fans gathered outside Scotland Yard's headquarters to protest against the force's handling of the case.Heklina, whose real name was Steven Grygelko, was found at a flat in Soho, central London, on 3 April 2023, by a friend and fellow drag performer, Peaches Christ, real name Joshua Grannell. Continue reading...

Iranian officials accuse US president of breaching UN charter and say violence brings violence'

News Group Newspapers reports a pre-tax loss for the year to 30 June 2024 of 18m, its smallest since 2011The owner of the Sun has run up more than 1.2bn in losses since the start of its costly battle to end allegations of illegal phone hacking almost 15 years ago.News Group Newspapers (NGN), a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News UK which publishes the Sun and retains liability for the activities of the now defunct News of the World, reported a pre-tax loss of 18m in the year to 30 June 2024. Continue reading...

Choosing KKR as the preferred bidder for the UK's biggest water company may not fill Thames Water's workers with joy

UN says 15 Red Crescent and rescue workers were killed one by one'Palestinian medics killed by Israeli forces and buried in mass grave, says UNThe Israeli military said on Monday that an inquiry had found that on 23 March, troops opened fire on a group of vehicles that included ambulances and fire trucks when the vehicles approached a position without prior coordination and without headlights or emergency signals.It said several militants belonging to the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad were killed. Continue reading...

Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary, says prime minister needs to work on rekindling US trade deal'Downing Street has sent out more details of the enforced returns numbers quoted by Keir Starmer in his speech to the Organised Immigration Crime summit. (See 9.26am.)It says the more than 24,000 migrants made to leave the country since July 2024 meant the government has achieved the highest rate of returns in eight years. It says:The continued rise in removals includes a 21% increase in enforced returns and a 16% increase in foreign national offenders being removed from the UK since July 5, including the 4 biggest returns charter flights in the UK's history, with a total of more than 850 people on board.The massive surge in removals followed the government's immediate action to redeploy staff across the Home Office to work on policies that deliver results ... Continue reading...

Jordan Bardella says in petition there is a dictatorship of judges' as French far right leader barred from running for public office for five years

Donald Trump accused of damaging US ability to respond to disasters through cuts to foreign aid programmes.As aid from China, Russia, India and the UK begins to flow into Myanmar, there is a conspicuous gap in global support from the world's richest country: the US.The powerful 7.7-magnitude quake that struck central Myanmar on Friday has caused widespread destruction, flattening swathes of the country's second-largest city, Mandalay, and even a tower block in the Thai capital, Bangkok, more than 600 miles (1,000km) away. Continue reading...

The 7.7 magnitude quake on Friday wrought destruction across central areas of the country, including the capitalA devastating earthquake has wrought destruction across central Myanmar, toppling ancient sites, bringing down hospital buildings and collapsing homes.The 7.7 magnitude quake on Friday was followed by a number of aftershocks along the Sagaing fault. It also caused damage in neighbouring Thailand, where a skyscraper under construction collapsed in Bangkok. Continue reading...

Workers on a mission to help colleagues were buried in mass grave in southern Gaza, says humanitarian officeFifteen Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, including at least one United Nations employee, were killed by Israeli forces one by one" and buried in a mass grave eight days ago in southern Gaza, the UN has said.According to the UN humanitarian affairs office (Ocha), the Palestinian Red Crescent and civil defence workers were on a mission to rescue colleagues who had been shot at earlier in the day, when their clearly marked vehicles came under heavy Israeli fire in Rafah city's Tel al-Sultan. A Red Crescent official in Gaza said that there was evidence of at least one person being detained and killed, as the body of one of the dead had been found with his hands tied. Continue reading...

Tougher conditions for first home buyers - and renters, who are now often spending more than those with mortgages

Exclusive: Findings are a warning to policymakers that raising subsidies can be costly and ineffective if not carefully designed', co-author says

Voters scored both PM and Peter Dutton poorly on key leadership questions including trust, competence and being out of touch

The drama teachers behind the young actors in the Netflix smash say their lack of recognition has caused wide upset'Adolescence's stratospheric success has catapulted its young cast of unknown actors into the limelight. Reams of headlines have suggested that they have come from nowhere - yet the grassroots regional drama schools that trained them say this overlooks their hard work.

The 47-year-old, who stabbed herself after the alleged attack, will appear at Parramatta local court via a hospital bedside hearing

Officials in France and Belgium hit out at American interference' amid growing transatlantic tensions

Rise from current limit of 85,000 would be first big change to protection scheme since 2008 banking crisis

World Health Organization issues flash appeal for $8m of emergency support amid frantic search for survivorsAFP has spoken to relatives anxiously waiting at the site of a collapsed building in Bangkok.Daodee Paruay said she had been at the site for two days, hoping for a miracle. Her brother was an electrician working on site, and he is believed to be under the rubble. We wait, we wait." she said. Continue reading...

Shares nosedive at Wood Group after Deloitte review finds inappropriate management pressure'

Research by Cycling UK finds female cyclists report more threatening incidents, as well as a lack of infrastructureIntimidating behaviour from drivers, poor infrastructure and fears over safety are deterring more women in the UK from cycling compared with men, research has found, while bike sales continue to fall after the Covid boom".The barriers to cycling have widened between men and women across every measure in the past seven years", according to research by Cycling UK, a charitable membership organisation. Continue reading...

KKR expected to acquire stake worth 4bn as UK's biggest water supplier tries to stave off nationalisationThames Water has picked the US investment firm KKR to take a stake in the business, as the embattled water company fights to stave off nationalisation.The UK's biggest water supplier, which is struggling under a debt pile of close to 20bn, said it had selected KKR as a preferred partner" as it seeks to secure fresh equity funding for its operations by the end of June. The New York-based private equity firm is expected to acquire a stake in Thames worth 4bn. Continue reading...

Counsel for Billboard Chris', AKA Chris Elston, says takedown notice from eSafety commissioner was regulatory overreach

Detail not yet clear about new nature watchdog plan, which comes after previous attempt drew backlash from Western Australia

Brief moment of relief as rescue workers carry a woman from the rubble of a hotel in Mandalay after a five-hour operation

Dennis Richardson argues biggest hindrance to $368bn deal is budgetary capacity and political will'

Sixth-formers discuss the hit show and what it is really like to be a young male in Britain today

Leading figures including Tom Dixon and Sebastian Conran add voices to criticism of government's AI opt-out proposalA proposed overhaul of copyright law risks running roughshod" over a British design industry that has created such memorable products as the red phone box, the London underground map and the iPhone, according to a group of leading UK designers.In a letter to the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, 35 UK-based designers have urged the government to change cours on its plans to let artificial intelligence (AI) companies train their models on copyrighted work without permission. The proposal has already prompted fierce criticism from the worlds of publishing, music, film, TV and the performing arts, with leading creative figures including Sir Paul McCartney, Richard Osman and Kate Bush voicing their opposition. Continue reading...

Prime minister to urge world leaders to work together to stop criminal gangs as small boat crossings continue to risePeople-smugglers should be treated like terrorists, Keir Starmer will say on Monday, as he hosts an international summit on organised migration crime in London.Starmer will urge representatives from more than 40 countries to cooperate across national borders to stop smugglers just as they did to stop terrorists when he was director of public prosecutions more than a decade ago. Continue reading...

Opposition leader confirms he would move into Kirribilli House if elected PM - a statement Anthony Albanese says shows a fair bit of hubris'

Federal court hears Nick McKenzie allegedly told a witness that Roberts-Smith's ex-wife and her friend were actively briefing us on his legal strategy'

Newly sworn in Jens-Frederik Nielsen says Trump says that the United States is getting Greenland. Let me be clear: the United States won't get that'The US will not get Greenland, its new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has said in response to Donald Trump's latest statements that he wants to take control of the vast Arctic country.President Trump says that the United States is getting Greenland. Let me be clear: the United States won't get that. We do not belong to anyone else. We determine our own future," Nielsen said. Continue reading...

Two girls, boy in stable condition and 46-year-old woman under guard in hospital after alleged attack in Baulkham Hills

More than 300,000 without power as storm, expected to continue overnight, pummels Ottawa, Quebec and OntarioMore than 300,000 Canadians faced power outages in parts of Ontario on Sunday as an ice storm pummeled the region over the weekend, according to electricity provider Hydro One.Environment Canada issued winter storm warnings for freezing rain in Ottawa, parts of Quebec and Ontario, with the risk of snow mixed with or transitioning to ice pellets expected to continue until Monday morning in some regions. Continue reading...

Alexander Sloley was a 16-year-old college student when he went missing from IslingtonPolice seeking information about a 33-year-old man who disappeared 17 years ago have offered a 10,000 reward.Alexander Sloley was 16 and studying accountancy at college when he disappeared from Islington, north London, in August 2008. His family and friends have not heard from him since, despite issuing an efit of what he might look like in his late 20s when the police investigation was reopened in 2019. Continue reading...

Red Cross says devastation is of a level not seen in Asia for over a century as more than 1,700 people killedRescue volunteers, many of them poorly equipped local people, raced to find survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings across central Myanmar, two days after a huge earthquake killed more than 1,700 people in the country and at least 18 in neighbouring Thailand.Red Cross officials said Myanmar was facing a level of devastation that hasn't been seen over a century in Asia", after a 7.7-magnitude quake struck near the centre of the country on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock. Continue reading...

Police say man, 54, will not be charged after four-year-old girl, young man and woman killed by blaze in RushtonA man arrested on suspicion of murder after a fire at a historic former stationmaster's house has been released and will face no further action, police have said.The fire at a property in Beswick Close in Rushton, near Kettering, killed three people, including a four-year-old girl, on Friday evening. Continue reading...

Deficits of 5.2bn have been put aside for seven years in accounting fix that ends on 31 March 2026

Exclusive: Councils say multibillion-pound debts caused by years of overspends on special educational needs support

Group claims as many as 200 people have expressed interest in joining its action as arrests drive awarenessThe activist group targeted in an unprecedented police raid on a Quaker meeting house said it had resulted in large numbers of people signing up to take part in a series of new protests starting this week.Six women attending a gathering of the protest group Youth Demand were arrested after more than 20 uniformed police, some equipped with Tasers, forced their way into the Westminster meeting house on Thursday. The raid was condemned by the Quakers as an aggressive violation". Continue reading...

The actor died on Saturday night in Waimnalo, Hawaii of complications after a stroke, his publicist says

Prime minister says military pressure is working, as he rejects claims that Israel is not serious about negotiationsRejecting claims from Hamas and Israeli protesters that his government is not engaged in serious negotiations aimed at securing the release of those held captive in Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he was committed to reaching an agreement to free the hostages and military pressure had been effective.We are willing," Israel's prime minister told a cabinet meeting. We are negotiating under fire" and can see cracks beginning to appear" in what Hamas has demanded in its negotiations, he said. Continue reading...

Sophie Chandauka claims there is significant correlation' with drop in funders and prince's move to the USDonors abandoned the charity Prince Harry founded in memory of his late mother when he left the UK, the chair of Sentebale has said amid a bitter media row in which she accused the prince of trying to eject" her through bullying" and harassment".Sophie Chandauka told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme that there was a significant correlation" between a drop in funders and the Duke of Sussex's departure to the US after the controversy caused by his rift with the royal family. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Most only take a week's leave, and paternity pay for back-office staff in Met is nearly three times higherPolice officers have described being ostracised for taking paternity leave, as it is revealed that back-office staff in the Metropolitan police are entitled to proportionately nearly three times as much paternity pay as frontline fathers.A freedom of information request has revealed that most serving police officers in England and Wales only take one week of paternity leave, with some describing being on blue lights" duty and carrying Tasers a week after the birth of their babies. Continue reading...

At least 1,700 people killed as Red Cross officials warn Myanmar faces humanitarian crisis; death toll in Bangkok increases to 18Red Cross officials have warned that Myanmar faces a humanitarian crisis after the deadly 7.7-magnitude earthquake.What we're seeing here in Myanmar is a level of devastation that hasn't been seen over a century in Asia," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) wrote in a post on X. Continue reading...

In 1988, 17-year-old Mark Haines was found dead on the railway tracks outside Tamworth. Decades on, a reopened investigation may offer answers - and Don Craigie is determined to bear witness

Landmark report makes 34 recommendations to overhaul the superannuation sector, citing delays, poor customer service and ineffective procedures

Ministry of Justice drafts instruction for judges in England and Wales to ignore guidelines on age, sex and ethnicityMinisters are planning to introduce a last-minute rule change this week to overturn sentencing guidelines that could have led to criminals getting different sentences depending on their age, sex and ethnicity.Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, is planning to bring a bill to the Commons this week to overrule the guidelines, which are due to come into force in England and Wales on Tuesday. Continue reading...