World news | The Guardian

No 10 sources say PM is horrified' by crisis and hopes to convince US to help end unspeakable suffering'Keir Starmer will personally press Donald Trump to revive ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas when they meet on Monday amid growing international alarm over the starvation crisis in Gaza.The prime minister is expected to ask the US president, who is on a four-day break in Scotland, to push for a resumption of peace talks after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiation teams from Qatar. Continue reading...

Thongxay Nilakout, who shot Birte Pfleger's parents in 1994, is among eight convicted criminals who were deportedThe daughter of a woman murdered by a man from Laos who is among those controversially deported from the US to South Sudan has spoken out about her family's pain but also to decry the lack of rights afforded to those who were expelled to countries other than their own.Birte Pfleger lives in Los Angeles and was a history student at Cal State University in Long Beach when her parents came to visit her from their native Germany in 1994 and ended up shot by Thongxay Nilakout during a robbery while on a sightseeing trip. Pfleger's mother, Gisela, was killed and her father, Klaus, wounded. Continue reading...

Ecotricity founder was part of new-age convoy heading to Stonehenge in 1985 when more than 500 people were arrestedThe entrepreneur Dale Vince has called for the recently announced inquiry into violent police clashes at the Orgreave miners' strike to be extended to cover a similar aggressive clash with new age travellers heading for Stonehenge the following year.Vince, who was involved in the Wiltshire clash, known as the Battle of the Beanfield, said the truth of both incidents had been covered up by police. He said he believed both episodes were part of a plan by the then prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, to smash" the miners and travellers, who she considered to be enemies of the state". Continue reading...

Intelligence team could track social media and flag early signs of civil unrest in response to renewed demonstrationsA national police unit will monitor social media for signs of anti-migrant disorder amid fears of a repeat of last summer's riots across England.Detectives from across the country will flag up the early signs of civil unrest under a beefed-up National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) in Westminster. Continue reading...

One of Britain's oldest and most prestigious universities is reviewing whether to launch divestment drive and drop antisemitism definitionThe University of Edinburgh is considering whether to unadopt an internationally recognised definition of antisemitism that critics say inhibits freedom of speech on the subject of Israel and Palestine.Edinburgh, one of Britain's oldest and most prestigious universities, is also considering whether to divest from companies accused of enabling alleged human rights violations by Israel. Continue reading...

Google to host major event featuring popular YouTubers inside Parliament House as PM downplays tech giant's legal threat

While Palestinians starve and global opinion hardens, judgment from international court may not come until 2027 - or laterWhile Palestinians in Gaza die in ever-increasing numbers from starvation each day and a growing number of legal scholars, aid officials and politicians have begun describing Israel's actions as genocide, a definitive ruling on the question by the world's top court will be a long time coming.Experts on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said a judgment on whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza is unlikely before the end of 2027 at the earliest, amid warnings that the international community should not use the court's glacial proceedings as an excuse to put off action to stop the killing. Continue reading...

Big Motoring World founder Peter Waddell says Freshstream made him forfeit sum as it saw him as a nuisanceA private equity company accused of ousting a multimillionaire used car salesman from his own business has offered to pay 1.1m (950,000) to settle a separate case with him.Peter Waddell filed his first high court claim against Freshstream last year, alleging that the investment firm used an independent investigation into contested sexist, racist and abusive comments as a means of securing [his] exclusion" from his used car empire, Big Motoring World. Freshstream had acquired a one-third share in Big during 2022. Continue reading...

Latest wave of displaced citizens curse imperial ambition' that has led to an estimated one million Russian casualtiesIt was last year when Valentyn Velykyi noticed Russia's war with Ukraine was getting closer. In early summer, it arrived on his doorstep. You could hear explosions day and night. Recently missiles started flying over my house. There's a rumbling sound. You can see a trail in the sky," the 72-year-old pensioner recalled.Velykyi's home is at No 18 Petrenko Street, in the small agricultural village of Maliyivka. It is located on the administrative border between Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk provinces in central-eastern Ukraine. Once Russian troops were far away. Latterly, they have crept nearer, besieging the city of Pokrovsk and capturing one grassy meadow after another. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Investigation finds one of Britain's oldest and most prestigious universities benefited from transatlantic slavery and was haven for white supremacist theoriesThe University of Edinburgh, one of the UK's oldest and most prestigious educational institutions, played an outsized" role in the creation of racist scientific theories and greatly profited from transatlantic slavery, a landmark inquiry into its history has found.The university raised the equivalent of at least 30m from former students and donors who had links to the enslavement of African peoples, the plantation economy and exploitative wealth-gathering throughout the British empire, according to the findings of an official investigation seen by the Guardian.The university had explicitly sought donations from graduates linked to transatlantic slavery to help build two of its most famous buildings, Old College on South Bridge in the 1790s and the old medical school near Bristo Square in the 1870s.The donations were equivalent to approximately 30m in today's prices, or the higher figure of 202m based on the growth of wages since they were received, and as much as 845m based on economic growth since then.The university had at least 15 endowments derived from African enslavement and 12 linked to British colonialism in India, Singapore and South Africa, and 10 of those were still active and had a minimum value today of 9.4m.The university holds nearly 300 skulls gathered in the 1800s from enslaved and dispossessed people by phrenologists in Edinburgh who wrongly believed skull shape determined a person's character and morals.Fewer than 1% of its staff and just over 2% of its students were Black, well below the 4% of the UK population, and despite Edinburgh's status as a global institution. Continue reading...

Sunday's England v Spain match set to be most-watched women's football match in UK history, benefiting food, drink and hospitality industriesThe climax of the exhilarating women's Euros, as the Lionesses attempt to atone for their loss to Spain at the World Cup, is poised to be the most-watched women's football match in UK history with the tournament providing a more than 800m boost to supermarkets, pubs and retailers.With Sunday's showdown aired on both ITV and the BBC, and their respective streaming services, TV industry executives expect that, with the help of a family-friendly 5pm kick-off time, viewing will eclipse the 14.8 million peak audience when England lost 1-0 to Spain in Sydney two years ago, if the match is close. Continue reading...

Director heartbroken' after 2013 film about doomed romance between Hindu man and Muslim woman altered without his knowledgeAn Indian film company is rereleasing a 2013 romantic drama with an alternate artificial intelligence ending without the involvement of its director, in what could be the first instance of its kind in global cinema.Raanjhanaa, a Hindi-language film about the doomed romance between a Hindu man and a Muslim woman, will return to cinemas on 1 August under its Tamil-language title Ambikapathy. The film's original tragic ending will be replaced by a happy" one. Continue reading...

Authorities warn of further heavy rain and the risk of disasters including landslides and floodingHeavy rain around Beijing and across northern China killed two people and forced thousands to relocate as authorities warned of further widespread rain and the risk of disasters including landslides and flooding.Two people were dead and two missing in Hebei province, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday morning. Overnight rain dumped a record 145mm per hour on Fuping county in the industrial city of Baoding. Continue reading...

Journalist Tania Safi and human rights activist Robert Martin on board Freedom Flotilla Coalition vessel the Handala, group saysA boat carrying two Australians has been intercepted by Israeli troops, Israel's foreign ministry has confirmed, as a pro-Palestinian activist group claims its crew have been subjected to unlawful" detention while attempting to transport aid to Gaza.The Handala, registry name Navaren, led by the activist group the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was roughly 50km from the Egyptian coast and 100km west of Gaza when intercepted, an online tracking tool set up to plot the ship's course showed. Continue reading...

Quite clearly it is a breach of international law to stop food being delivered,' PM tells ABC's Insiders

Event becomes biggest of its kind as more than 100,000 turn out to support its existence and resistance' themeMore than 100,000 people took to the streets for London Trans+ Pride 2025 on Saturday, making it the biggest such event in the world, organisers said.The route wound through the centre of the capital's most famous sites, taking in Regent's Street, Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square. It concluded at Parliament Square with speakers including Heartstopper and Doctor Who actor Yasmin Finney. Continue reading...

Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation,' said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe LazzariniAt least 25 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes and gunshots overnight, according to health officials and the ambulance service on Saturday, as ceasefire talks appear to have stalled and Palestinians in Gaza face famine.The majority of victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel, said staff at Shifa hospital, where the bodies were brought. Continue reading...

New government measures will also require developers to soundproof flats and apartments near existing venuesMusic venues that are subject to noise complaints by nearby residential developments will be offered greater protection" under new government plans.The measures, which are set to be introduced under the national licensing policy framework, would mean developers taking responsibility for soundproofing flats and apartments near existing pubs or music venues. Continue reading...

Ransomware attack puts focus on privacy risks for political parties, which are exempt from many data protection obligations

Labor is fundamentally opposed to changing the tax on consumption on the basis it hurts poorer Australians. And the worry about fairness is real

People in Kryoneri, north-east of the Greek capital, receive SMS messages telling them to get to safe areasA wildfire burned through a northern suburb of the Greek capital of Athens on Saturday and some residents were ordered to evacuate, the country's fire service reported.Residents of the town of Kryoneri, 12.5 miles (20km) north-east of Athens, received three SMS messages to evacuate to safe areas, fire service spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakoyannis told reporters. Continue reading...

Jonathan Baker complained over noise in my house', telling stunned singers night is over'The City Academy Voices choir had just finished belting out The Supremes hit, I'm Gonna Make You Love Me, when the lights went out and they were joined by an unexpected guest.As they were about to perform their last song, a man appeared on stage wearing a blue dressing gown with no shoes. He took the mic, described their singing as a terrible racket" and told them to get out, leaving the 360-odd people in the room shocked and dumfounded. Continue reading...

Animosity between former friends and political patriarchs Hun Sen and Thaksin Shinawatra is exacerbating clashesThe dispute over Thailand and Cambodia's contested border, which dates back more than a century to disagreements over colonial-era maps, has broken into conflict before. But the most recent clashes, which erupted on Thursday, have been fuelled by another factor: a bitter feud between two powerful political patriarchs.Hun Sen, 72, and Thaksin Shinawatra, 76, former leaders of Cambodia and Thailand, were once such close friends they reportedly called one another brothers. Hun Sen has, over the years, supported Thaksin's family during their long-running power struggle with Thailand's military. Thaksin and his sister Yingluck stayed at Hun Sen's home after they were ousted from power, while Hun Sen appointed Thaksin an economic adviser to the Cambodian government. Thaksin frequently visited Cambodia, and Hun Sen was the first foreign guest to see the former Thai leader after he returned home after more than 15 years in self-imposed exile. Continue reading...

Israeli PM looking at alternative options' to the discussions in Doha after removing his negotiatorsAt least 57 people were killed in Gaza over the past 24 hours, many killed while seeking aid as well as by Israeli airstrikes, with ceasefire talks appearing to have hit a dead end amid a worsening starvation crisis.Many were shot dead as they were waiting for trucks carrying aid close to the Zikim crossing into Israel . It has become common for hungry crowds to gather and wait for aid trucks to enter Gaza as mass starvation spreads, which humanitarians widely blame on Israel's blockade on the territory. Continue reading...

Target of the explosion, Konstantinos Varsamis, is unharmed after cowardly attack' in ThessalonikiTwo people have been wounded in a bomb attack in a suburb of Greece's second city Thessaloniki, damaging a block of flats and six cars.The explosion in the early hours on Saturday morning targeted the home of the president of the Greek association of prison guards in the suburb of Sykies. Continue reading...

Voters reject all the recall motions in a DPP-backed bid to unseat opposition MPs and gain a legislative majorityAn unprecedented attempt in Taiwan to unseat 24 pro-China" opposition politicians and give a parliamentary majority to the ruling party has failed, with voters in every seat rejecting the notion.Polls opened on Saturday morning for the first 24 of 31 targeted electorates, with voters asked to agree or disagree with a proposal to recall the local legislator and hold a byelection. Continue reading...

Leaders of UK, France and Germany call for lifting of aid restrictions and immediate ceasefire after holding talks

Total remuneration at companies in England and Wales - many of them under scrutiny for sewage discharge - was 15m in 2024-25The pay of water company chief executives in England and Wales rose by 5% in the last financial year to an average of 1.1m, despite a ban on bonuses for several companies and widespread outrage over the sector's poor performance.Total pay reported by water companies reached 15m in 2024-25, up 5% on 13.8m the previous year, according to Guardian analysis of 14 companies' annual reports. Continue reading...

Authorities accuse activists linked to pro-democracy group Hong Kong Parliament of subversionHong Kong's national security police have issued arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas, accusing them of subversion under a stringent national security law, marking the largest such tally yet.They are accused of organising or participating in the Hong Kong Parliament, a pro-democracy group that authorities in the Asian financial hub say intended to subvert state power, under the law Beijing imposed in 2020 after months of pro-democracy protests in 2019. Continue reading...

Police data indicates overlaps between public violent disorder and domestic violence and abuseTwo out of every five people arrested after participating in last summer's riots had been previously reported to the police for domestic abuse, the Guardian can disclose.Police data released under freedom of information (FoI) laws shows that 41% of 899 people arrested for taking part in the violent disorder last July and August had been reported for crimes associated with intimate partner violence. Continue reading...

Jihadist separatist group Jaish al-Adl claims responsibility for mortar, shooting and grenade attack in Sistan-BaluchestanAn attack by the jihadist separatist group Jaish al-Adl on a courthouse in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan killed at least nine people, including a mother and child, and wounded 22, Iranian media reported on Saturday.Attackers stormed the building, shooting a number of people inside. They then launched a second attack with mortars and grenade launchers on the courthouse, where a clash that lasted three hours began with security forces, according to the Baluch human rights group Haalvsh. Continue reading...

More than 2.6m people voted in radio poll to find the most loved homegrown hits of all timeNever Tear Us Apart by INXS has been named the best Australian song of all time in Triple J's poll of the country's favourite homegrown hits.The 1987 song topped the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs, a spin-off of Triple J's annual poll of the year's most popular tracks. The poll, which aired on Saturday, was open to Australian releases from any time in history. Continue reading...

Analysis shows phone theft claims in UK have risen by 425% since 2021 with 42% of thefts occurring in LondonNearly two in every five phones stolen in Europe are taken in the UK, according to data collated an insurance firm.An analysis of claims made to the American insurance company SquareTrade showed that 39% of all phone thefts across the company's 12 European markets were in Britain. This was despite the UK only making up 10% of the company's European customers. Continue reading...

Lioness has gone from prospect to superstar at Euro 2025 - and she's got more than just football in her lockerFour years ago, Michelle Agyemang was a ballgirl at Wembley stadium, witnessing the Lionesses' rule the pitch in a 4-0 victory against Northern Ireland. Now, at just 19 years old, she no longer finds herself retrieving balls that have veered out of play, but is an integral part of the team she once admired from the sidelines.The forward, who football fans hope will be showing off her on-pitch magic on Sunday as the Lionesses' face off against Spain in the Euros 2025 final, began her journey to the top of the sport in her Essex home town of South Ockendon. Continue reading...

Nash Keen, born at exactly 21 weeks, 133 days ahead of his mother's due date, has been recognized by Guinness World RecordsAn Iowa toddler who was born when his mother was less than five months pregnant isn't only the most premature baby recognized by Guinness World Records after recently turning one.As his mother, Mollie Keen, put it, Nash Keen is also very determined, curious ... and he's just all smiles all the time" after surviving against what Guinness described as phenomenal odds". Continue reading...

Pro-democracy campaigners suggest pre-buttal' is more powerful than factchecking in fighting falsehoodsTruth, the progressive California politician Hiram Johnson once said, is the first casualty of war. His oft-cited remark was supposedly made in 1918 in reference to the first world war, which had by then caused millions of human casualties.More than a century later, truth is again caught in the crossfire, this time as a casualty of 21st-century culture wars. Continue reading...

The 31-year-old was charged with attempted murder after alleged attack that left co-worker with upper body wounds

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon may appear to be a one-man band, but behind him is a colourful inner circle helping to pull the strings of the far rightThe Tommy Robinson outriders were early to Epping. Wendell Daniel, a former Labour councillor who is now a film-maker for Robinson's Urban Scoop video platform, turned his microphone to a young woman on the edge of the protests in the Essex town.Look into that," he said pointing to the camera. Talk to Tommy, tell him you want to see him coming down here." Continue reading...

Detention of Dr Marwan al-Hams by Israeli undercover unit on Monday takes number of doctors being held to 28, says Healthcare Workers WatchTwenty-eight doctors from Gaza are being held inside Israeli prisons, eight of whom are senior consultants in surgery, orthopaedics, intensive care, cardiology and paediatrics, according to data from Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), a Palestinian medical organisation.Twenty-one of those detained have been held for more than 400 days. HWW said none had been charged with any crimes by the Israeli authorities. Three healthcare workers have been detained since the start of July. Continue reading...

Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days Continue reading...

Christopher Street Day event organisers urge vigilance amid increase in abuse from rightwing extremistsThe organisers of the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin have urged participants to be vigilant amid a rise in attacks on LGBTQ+ events across Germany.Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of the German capital this weekend for a loud and colourful celebration held in memory of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York, Christopher Street being the location of the Stonewall Inn. But behind the party atmosphere there is a more sombre mood than usual as LGBTQ+ organisations warn that attacks have become more frequent. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Dr Eric Descheemaeker files court application against university after 2023 email to Melbourne law school dean leaked last month

Prime minister risks either provoking mutiny in his cabinet and party over Gaza or alienating White HouseFrance's decision to recognise Palestine at the next UN general assembly is an attempt to build momentum for change and make a break from the major western powers' impassivity in the face of Israel's mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza.Emmanuel Macron's declaration, announced in typically dramatic fashion on social media late on Thursday night, draws a line between the paths followed by the US and France over the Gaza war, and significantly raises the pressure on the UK, Germany and other G7 powers to pick a side. Continue reading...

Ward, 27, is accused of offences against one woman in January 2023, say Metropolitan policeMicheal Ward, the Bafta-winning actor who has appeared in Blue Story and Top Boy, has been charged with rape and sexual assault.Ward, 27, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, has been charged with two counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault, the Metropolitan police said. The offences relate to one woman and are alleged to have taken place in January 2023. Continue reading...

Government concerned about risk of unrest spreading ahead of new protests at the Bell hotel in EssexAsylum seekers who refuse to move out of hotels to new accommodation will have their support withdrawn, the Home Office has said, before more protests at a site in Essex this weekend.Angela Eagle, a Home Office minister, said the government was working to close hotels, restore order, and put fairness and value for money at the heart of our asylum system". Continue reading...

Thai PM says cross-border clashes could develop into war' as fighting spreads to 12 locationsThailand has evacuated more than 130,000 people along its border with Cambodia, as the worst fighting between the two neighbours in more than a decade spread to new areas with both sides firing artillery.Clashes had taken place in 12 locations along the disputed border, according to a Thai military official - an expansion of the conflict that erupted a day earlier. Continue reading...

Prominent Democrats and progressive activists spoke out ahead of first public hearing on proposed redistricting plan

As White House continues its immigration crackdown, church steps up to assist members too afraid to leave homeThe archdiocese of Los Angeles is launching a new initiative to provide essentials such as hot meals, groceries, and prescription medications to people and families too afraid to leave their homes due to immigration raids.The move to support immigrant parishioners experiencing heightened fear amid a nationwide crackdown by the Trump administration that has seen tens of thousands of arrests and outraged civil liberties groups. Continue reading...

More than 2,100 people contacted the tenants' union in 2024 for advice about access, despite no basis' for the charge