World news | The Guardian

Some candidates complaining of lack of ministerial visits and money have turned to Boris Johnson for help

Scottish first minister says election is chance to reinforce the case for split and warns over Labour cuts

Decision to launch excessive deficit procedure' sets up collision course with post-election governmentThe European Commission has issued a reprimand to France for breaking EU fiscal rules before an election where the frontrunners are making lavish spending promises.The EU executive's decision to launch the excessive deficit procedure" against France is a blow to Emmanuel Macron - with a deficit well above the EU threshold - and also sets up a collision course with a post-election government potentially dominated by the far-right or the left coalition. Continue reading...

Iran-backed militant group fired more than a dozen projectiles into northern Israel, says Israeli army, day after Israel warned of total war' with group

It compares with 21.7% in the private sector which WGEA report says is due to more flexible working practice and more full-time work

Undercover shopping study on 14 common items part of move to provide transparency after Coles and Woolworths accused of price gouging

Consultant tells court he walked in on nurse apparently doing nothing to help newborn she is accused of trying to murderA senior doctor has told a jury he walked in on Lucy Letby watching a newborn girl suffer a life-threatening" collapse while apparently doing nothing to help her.Letby, 34, is accused of attempting to murder the two-hour-old baby by dislodging her breathing tube shortly after the infant's designated nurse left her side. Continue reading...

Country is among seven that could face fines as it heads for high-stakes vote this monthAnd here's the centre-right European People's party leadership in the European parliament for the next term.Here's more from Reuters on what the far-right National Rally's Jordan Bardella told reporters today about his views on Ukraine: Continue reading...

Members of public try to intervene during incident and Wiltshire police arrest two peopleTwo people have been arrested after Just Stop Oil activists sprayed orange powder paint over Stonehenge.Rishi Sunak condemned the incident, saying: This is a disgraceful act of vandalism to one of the UK's and the world's oldest and most important monuments." Continue reading...

PM says donor is genuinely contrite' as phone-in caller challenges him over businessman's remarks about Diane Abbott

Labour leader says Tories calling for amnesty on rule-breakers are out of touch with people who paid high price

Russian leader's visit to Pyongyang seen as a meeting of minds, but long-term military consequences are unclear

IOPC says Surrey police should investigate incident in Staines-upon-Thames after witnesses filed complaintsThe baby cow that was filmed being run over by police had gone on a rampage, ramming a police car and charging at and threatening people, the police watchdog has said.The incident last Friday was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which on Wednesday said Surrey, the force involved, should investigate complaints received. Continue reading...

Housebuilder aims to create 4,000 private rental homes in UK capital and south-east over next decade

Mackay public were earlier told to stay indoors while police searched for man allegedly involved in incident

Singer and saxophonist known for confrontational stage persona had experienced ill health for a number of yearsJames Chance, the singer-saxophonist whose squalling blend of funk, jazz and post-punk found a cult following in mid-1970s New York onwards, has died aged 71.His brother David Siegfried stated that he died on Tuesday in New York. No cause of death was given, but the musician's health had been in decline for several years" according to Siegfried. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Defamation trial judge found on balance of probabilities Lehrmann was recklessly indifferent to whether or not there was consent'

Energy minister's comments come as Nationals leader David Littleproud refutes deputy's claims plants won't be built if communities were opposed

Australian energy sector and industry groups warn of risk of cost blowouts and destroying private sector investment

Premier Jacinta Allan acknowledges the state's education department failed to listen when children spoke out

Egypt forcibly returned 800 Sudanese detainees in first three months of this year, Amnesty International reportsThe Egyptian authorities have used EU-funded security forces in a campaign of mass arrests and forcible deportations against refugees from the Sudan war, according to a human rights group report.Amnesty International found Egypt forcibly returned an estimated 800 Sudanese detainees between January and March 2024, who were all denied the possibility to claim asylum". Continue reading...

Jury finds 33-year-old drugged and fatally shot Mutten in the Blue Mountains in January 2022

Jewish MP Josh Burns says attack that saw Zionism is fascism' graffitied on his Melbourne office was politically motivated'

Abul Rizvi accuses major parties of short-termism', saying Labor's approach to immigration is unsustainable' while Coalition's would be pure chaos'

Coalition to push ahead with potential sites across Australia, but serious questions remain about viability and cost

The contaminants have also recently been found in testes and semen amid concerns about falling male fertilityMicroplastics have been discovered in penises for the first time, raising questions about a potential role in erectile dysfunction.The revelation comes after the pollutants were recently detected in testes and semen. Male fertility has fallen in recent decades and more research on potential harm of microplastics to reproduction is imperative, say experts. Continue reading...

Food Foundation says height of five-year-olds falling, child obesity up by a third and type 2 diabetes by a fifthChildren across the UK are getting shorter, fatter and sicker amid an epidemic of poor diets, food insecurity and poverty, according to a report warning that millions are facing a timebomb" of avoidable health conditions.The average height of five-year-olds is falling, obesity levels have increased by almost a third and the number of young people being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes has risen by more than a fifth, the report by the Food Foundation said. Continue reading...

Report finds that religious, historical and cultural references have been removed in crackdown by BeijingHundreds of Uyghur villages and towns have been renamed by Chinese authorities to remove religious or cultural references, with many replaced by names reflecting Communist party ideology, a report has found.Research published on Wednesday by Human Rights Watch and the Norway-based organisation Uyghur Hjelp documents about 630 communities that have been renamed in this way by the government, mostly during the height of a crackdown on Uyghurs that several governments and human rights bodies have called a genocide. Continue reading...

The Australian mining magnate can try to prove that Meta was negligent in allowing scam ads on Facebook, judge says

John Caudwell, the Phones4U founder, says he is rather despairing' about Conservatives after 51 years of supportA Conservative party donor who donated 500,000 to Boris Johnson's compaign in 2019 has announced he will vote for Labour in next month's general election.John Caudwell, who founded the mobile phone retailer Phones4U, made the announcement on Tuesday evening, in comments first reported by the Times and the BBC. Continue reading...

Aydos Sadykoy has a large YouTube following and is a strong critic of President Tokayev of KazakhstanA Kazkah opposition figure and prominent blogger with more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube has been seriously wounded in an attempted killing in Kyiv.Aydos Sadykov, who was granted asylum in Ukraine in 2014, was shot near his home. Continue reading...

Justice department charges 24 defendants and says long investigation reveals links between Sinaloa gang and China

Player Kings to reopen on Thursday and producers say they look forward to actor returning as soon as he is ready'Ian McKellen has said he is looking forward to returning to work" after falling from the stage during a performance of Player Kings, adding that he was hugely indebted" to NHS staff who treated him.The actor, 85, was portraying the Shakespearean character John Falstaff at the Noel Coward theatre in London on Monday when he lost his footing during a fight scene involving the Prince of Wales and Henry Percy. Continue reading...

Sign off on planning for a Lebanon offensive follows release of Hezbollah drone footage of Haifa in northern IsraelThe Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, has said a decision on an all-out war with Hezbollah was coming soon, as Israel generals announced late on Tuesday that they had signed off planning for an offensive into Lebanon.The escalating rhetoric, followed the release of video footage from a Hezbollah surveillance drone's overflight of the northern city of Haifa, which included images of sensitive sites and civilian neighbourhoods. Continue reading...

Billionaire owner's address comes amid turmoil over chief executive Will Lewis' involvement in UK phone scandalWashington Post owner Jeff Bezos has sent a memo to staff saying he is committed to maintaining the quality, ethics, and standards" of the newspaper amid an internal dispute that touches on executive hires and ongoing financial losses.The Amazon multibillionaire, who purchased the paper for $250m in 2013 and initially saw it return to profitability before a post-Covid readership and revenue collapse, addressed the staff in a communication that shores up the position of the Post's publisher and chief executive Will Lewis. Lewis, who joined the Post in early January, has come under pressure over his alleged involvement in Britain's long running press telephone hacking scandal. Continue reading...

Two officials assaulted and held while inspecting avocados in Michoacan in incident unconnected to industry'An attack on two employees of the US agricultural department prompted a temporary suspension of safety inspections on avocados and mangoes in Mexico, potentially disrupting a $2.4bn industry between the two countries.Ambassador Ken Salazar said in a statement that the two officials were assaulted and temporarily held by assailants while they were inspecting avocados in the Mexican state of Michoacan. Continue reading...

Pop star was arrested in New York and held overnight for a morning arraignment, police statement saysJustin Timberlake is facing a charge of driving while intoxicated in the Hamptons in New York, local authorities confirmed to the Guardian.The pop singer and actor was arrested early Tuesday in Sag Harbor and was released on his own recognizance - meaning without needing to post bail - after a brief hearing at the village courthouse, the Suffolk county, New York, district attorney's office said. Continue reading...

Channel 4 News special to address law, order and immigration with seven political figures

Russian president makes first visit to country in 24 years as anti-west relationship deepens

Party says plan would free up thousands of England hospital beds occupied by patients whose discharge has been delayed

Netherlands PM will replace Jens Stoltenberg after making promise not to deploy Hungarian forces in UkraineMark Rutte, the outgoing Dutch prime minister, is expected to become the next head of Nato after winning over Hungary's prime minister with a promise not to deploy Budapest's forces or spend its money supporting Ukraine.Viktor Orban, the leader in Nato seen as closest to Russia, announced he had dropped his objections after discussions with Rutte, prompting the current secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, to declare that the selection process would end very soon". Continue reading...

Doreen Lawrence says CPS's refusal to charge those alleged to have botched hunt for her son's killers is a new low'The mother of Stephen Lawrence says she is bewildered, disappointed, and angry" at the refusal by prosecutors to charge senior detectives alleged to have botched the hunt for her son's racist killers.The decision means that despite 31 years of revelations of failures in the case, no officer has been prosecuted. Continue reading...

Deepfake videos have failed to disrupt election campaign as some predicted, instead existing as obviously fake memesThe video is clear: Nigel Farage, appearing on screen as a gaming livestreamer, is commentating as he plays Minecraft. The Reform UK party leader explains that he has logged on to Rishi Sunak's server, tracked down the prime minister's virtual home in the video game, and intends to blow it up.Farage's distinctive voice can be heard as he explains what he's about to do: I filled it to the brim with TNT. And for everyone's information there were absolutely no traces of Sky TV services in or around the house." Continue reading...

Investment fund supermarket has been offered 11.40 a share by trio of international investorsBritish investment fund supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown has said it will accept a proposed offer from a trio of private equity investors, meaning another of the UK's biggest companies will leave the FTSE 100 index.In a stock market filing on Tuesday, the company said that US private equity firm CVC, Denmark's Nordic Capital and a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) had made an offer worth 11.40 a share in cash. Continue reading...

Model shows party losing seats to Labour, Reform UK and Lib Dems amid dissatisfaction with government

Marco Longhi, standing for Dudley North, asked British-Pakistani voters if they could trust Labour's Sonia Kumar

Unite union also considering employment tribunal claims for unfair dismissal against WhitbreadWorkers demonstrated at Premier Inn owner Whitbread's annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday over plans to cut 1,500 jobs amid rising profits.The employees of restaurants including Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Beefeater protested outside the company's investor meeting in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, on Tuesday and union activists asked about the job cuts and pay inside the meeting. Continue reading...

Scottish Labour leader, launching Westminster manifesto, promises party will not raise income tax if it comes into power in 2026

Exclusive: Government warns Australians seeking to serve with armed forces of a foreign country to ensure their conduct does not constitute a criminal offence'

Oxfam analysis finds Woolworths, Hancock Prospecting and NAB among companies to rake in much higher profits off the back of crisis conditions