Kenyan police officer killed confronting gang members in Haiti
The officer is the first casualty suffered by the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission.
Starmer announces ‘UK’s largest packet of sanctions’ against Russia since early days of war with Ukraine – UK politics live
PM says Trump has ‘changed global conversation on Ukraine’ as he pledges more military aid and sanctions
Keir Starmer called for support for Ukraine to be boosed in three ways in his virtual speech to the conference in Kyiv.
First, military support should increase, he said.
The UK is doing that, providing £4.5bn pounds in military aid this year, more than ever before. We’re doing more than ever to train Ukrainian troops helping Ukraine to mobilise even further. And we are proud to have taken on the leadership of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
So today, we’re announcing the UK’s largest packet of sanctions since the early days of the war, going after Russia’s shadow fleet and going after companies in China and elsewhere who are sending military component.
Later day, I will be discussing further steps with the G7. But I am clear that the G7 should be ready to take on more risk, including the oil price cap, sanctioning Russia’s oil giants and going off the banks that are enabling the evasion of sanctions.
President Trump has changed the global conversation over the last few weeks, and it has created an opportunity.
Now we must get the fundamentals right if we want peace to endure. Ukraine must have a seat at the table, and any settlement must be based on a sovereign Ukraine backed up with strong security guarantees.
Continue reading...An incendiary device explodes outside the Russian Consulate in the French city of Marseille – The Associated Press
Video: Israeli PM Netanyahu appears in court to resume corruption trial
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is back in court to continue testifying in his corruption trial.
First Thing: Zelenskyy hails ‘three years of resistance’ on anniversary of Russian invasion
It follows Russia’s biggest ever aerial attack on Ukraine. Plus, far-right AfD doubles support in German election
Good morning.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hailed “three years of resistance … three years of absolute heroism of Ukrainians”, as foreign leaders arrived in Kyiv to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
What’s the latest war news? Russia launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine, using 267 drones and killing at least four people.
What did Zelenskyy say about US demands? He claimed the Trump administration was asking Ukraine to pay back $2 for every $1 of military aid the US provides going forward.
What do we know about the death toll after three years of war? Zelenskyy said in December that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed, with 370,000 injured. US officials estimated last October that 600,000 Russian troops had been killed or wounded. In November, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights verified 12,162 civilians killed, including 659 children, though the total is likely much higher.
Continue reading...SAG Awards: Winners revealed on a glittering night in LA
Conclave and Shogun took the top honours in film and TV while Jane Fonda accepted a lifetime achievement award
UK delays plans to regulate AI as ministers seek to align with Trump administration
Exclusive: Government reluctant to take action that could weaken UK’s attractiveness to AI firms, says Labour source
Ministers have delayed plans to regulate artificial intelligence as the UK government seeks to align itself with Donald Trump’s administration on the technology, the Guardian has learned.
A long-awaited AI bill, which ministers had originally intended to publish before Christmas, is not expected to appear in parliament before the summer, according to three Labour sources briefed on the plans.
Ministers had intended to publish a short bill within months of entering office that would have required companies to hand over large AI models such as ChatGPT for testing by the UK’s AI Security Institute.
The bill was intended to be the government’s answer to concerns that AI models could become so advanced that they pose a risk to humanity, and were different from separate proposals to clarify how AI companies can use copyrighted material.
Trump’s election has led to a rethink, however. A senior Labour source said the bill was “properly in the background” and that there were still “no hard proposals in terms of what the legislation looks like”. “They said let’s try and get it done before Christmas – now it’s summer,” the source added.
Another Labour source briefed on the legislation said an iteration of the bill had been prepared months ago but was now up in the air because of Trump, with ministers reluctant to take action that could weaken the UK’s attractiveness to AI companies.
Trump has torpedoed plans by his predecessor Joe Biden for regulating AI and revoked an executive order on making the technology safe and trustworthy. The future of the US AI Safety Institute, founded by Biden, is uncertain after its director resigned this month. At an AI summit hosted in Paris, JD Vance, the US vice-president, railed against Europe’s planned regulation of the technology.
The UK government chose to side with the US by refusing to sign the Paris declaration endorsed by 66 other countries at the summit. Peter Mandelson, the UK’s ambassador to Washington, has reportedly drafted proposals to make the UK the main hub for US AI investment.
UK pop stars fail to reach global Top 10 albums and singles chart for first time since 2003
Global chart dominated by US acts including Benson Boone, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Sabrina Carpenter, with K-pop bands also strong
British pop stars have failed to reach the worldwide annual charts of the year’s Top 10 biggest singles and albums for the first time in more than two decades.
In 2022, UK acts such as Harry Styles and Glass Animals made up seven of the 20 entries in the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) list. This year, the leading UK act was producer and singer Artemas, for I Like the Way You Kiss Me.
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
Enhypen – Romance: Untold
SZA – SOS
Seventeen – Spill the Feels
Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time
Seventeen – 17 Is Right Here
Noah Kahan – Stick Season
Stray Kids – ATE
Benson Boone – Beautiful Things
Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso
Teddy Swims – Lose Control
Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather
Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)
Hozier – Too Sweet
Post Malone – I Had Some Help ft Morgan Wallen
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
Taylor Swift – Cruel Summer
Noah Kahan – Stick Season
Continue reading...Israeli tanks enter occupied West Bank for first time in decades – Al Jazeera English
- Israeli tanks enter occupied West Bank for first time in decades Al Jazeera English
- Israel sends tanks to the West Bank for the first time in 20 years. Here’s why that’s significant CNN
- Why Tensions Are Rising Over Israel’s Operations in the West Bank The New York Times
- Israel expels residents of three West Bank refugee camps BBC.com
- As Israeli tanks roll into Jenin, Palestinians prepare for lengthy invasion Al Jazeera English
Israeli tanks enter occupied West Bank for first time in decades
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from their homes in the West Bank over the past month.
Gaza Cease-Fire Could End in Days, With No Extension Agreed. What Happens Next? – The New York Times
- Gaza Cease-Fire Could End in Days, With No Extension Agreed. What Happens Next? The New York Times
- Israel, U.S. Aim to Extend Cease-Fire While Delaying Start of Talks to End War The Wall Street Journal
- The fragile ceasefire in Gaza faces a key deadline. Will it last? The Associated Press
- U.S. Backs Gaza Cease-fire Extension as Netanyahu Looks for More Fronts to Set Ablaze Haaretz
- Trump’s Middle East envoy Witkoff looks to extend Gaza cease-fire deal — as truce hangs by a thread New York Post
Neo-Nazi group plots rebuild as Trump’s FBI chief takes helm, audio reveals
Exclusive: Terrorist group the Base appears defiant as new administration aims to deprioritize threat from far right
An international neo-Nazi terrorist group with origins in the US appears to be quickly rebuilding its global and stateside ranks, according to information obtained by the Guardian from its digital accounts.
Founded in 2018, the Base has been the intense focus of a years-long FBI counter-terrorism investigation that has resulted in more than a dozen of its members arrested. It has plotted an assassination, mass shootings and other actions in Europe, which made it a proscribed terrorist organization in several countries.
Continue reading...Future of AI in focus at Web Summit Qatar 2025
More than 1,520 start-ups and 600 investors gather in Doha for an expanded edition of the annual Web Summit.
Cassius Turvey seen holding his bloody head after chase in bushland, court told
A witness describes how she saw three men arm themselves before seeing a 15-year-old boy covered in blood
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An Indigenous teenager was spotted holding his bloody head after being chased into bushland by two men with metal poles, a murder trial has been told.
Cassius Turvey, a 15-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy, died in hospital 10 days after prosecutors say he was chased, knocked to the ground and “deliberately struck to the head” in Perth’s eastern suburbs on 13 October 2022.
Continue reading...World reacts to Merz’ German election win amid warnings on far-right surge
Global leaders congratulate conservative leader Friedrich Merz, but others focus on the success of the AfD.
Foreign Ministry seeks dialogue with three ‘right-wing’ European parties – The Jerusalem Post
- Foreign Ministry seeks dialogue with three 'right-wing' European parties The Jerusalem Post
- ‘Gaza must never again be a terror haven,’ EU foreign policy chief says The Times of Israel
- EU, Israel restart dialogue as calls to review trade deal are muted Euronews
- EU: No ‘Business as Usual’ at Association Council with Israel Human Rights Watch
- EU and Israel resume dialogue with focus on Gaza's future Reuters
Flood warnings issued in parts of UK after weekend of rain and wind
Environment Agency warns of risk of river and surface flooding, as climate crisis brings warmer and wetter winters
Flood warnings are in place across the UK after a weekend of heavy rain and high winds.
As sunshine and scattered showers moved in on Monday, flood warnings were issued across much of Wales, the south and south-west of England and a few in central Scotland.
Continue reading...Portrait of a Nation: How Ordinary Russians’ Lives Have Changed in 3 Years of War – The Moscow Times
- Portrait of a Nation: How Ordinary Russians’ Lives Have Changed in 3 Years of War The Moscow Times
- Three years in, Ukrainian fathers fear passing the war on to their sons The Washington Post
- Kidnapped, tortured and jailed: one woman’s quest to bring her son home from Russia The Guardian
- Three Years In: How Moscow's War In Ukraine Has Reshaped Life In Russia Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
- The occupied Ukrainian town still yearning for liberation three years on The Telegraph
Incendiary device explodes outside Russian consulate in Marseille
No injuries reported after incident on Monday, which marks third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
An incendiary device exploded outside the Russian consulate in Marseille early on Monday, authorities said, on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. No injuries were reported.
A second device was thrown but did not explode, and a bomb disposal expert was called to the scene.
Continue reading...Video: Netanyahu heckled while showing photos of Bibas family
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu was heckled during a speech as he held up a picture of the Bibas family members.