Tuvalu accepts security and climate pact, says Australia’s Pacific minister

Deal had been thrown into doubt during election campaign in Tuvalu over sovereignty concerns

Australia and Tuvalu will go ahead with a security and climate migration pact, after the latter’s new government agreed not to change the deal, Australia’s Pacific minister, Pat Conroy, has told parliament.

The two countries had announced the deal in November, but it was thrown into doubt during an election campaign in the remote Pacific atoll of 11,000 people that is threatened by rising sea levels.

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Six killed after suicide bomber rams convoy of Chinese engineers in Pakistan

Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver killed while en route from Islamabad to dam construction site

Six people have been killed after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a dam project in north-west Pakistan, in the third significant attack on Chinese interests in the country in a week.

The first two attacks targeted a Pakistani naval airbase and a strategic port used by China in the south-west province of Balochistan where Beijing is investing billions in infrastructure projects.

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Cyber-attacks linked to Chinese spy agencies are increasing, say analysts

Warning comes after UK and US announce sanctions against Chinese companies following mass hacking of UK data

Cyber-attacks linked to Chinese intelligence agencies are increasing in capability and frequency as they seek to test foreign government responses, analysts have warned in the wake of revelations about a mass hacking of UK data.

On Tuesday, the UK and US governments accused hacking group Advanced Persistent Threat 31 (APT 31), backed by China’s government spy agency, of conducting a years-long cyber-attack campaign, targeting politicians, national security officials, journalists and businesses. The UK said the hackers had potentially gained access to information on tens of millions of UK voters held by the Electoral Commission, as well as for cyber-espionage targeting lawmakers who have been outspoken about threats from China.

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Alan Titchmarsh’s jeans blurred by North Korean TV censors

Footage of green-fingered BBC presenter obscured from waist down to hide ‘symbol of US imperialism’

His calm demeanour and wholesome vocation have apparently endeared him to one of the most authoritarian regimes in the world. But there is something about Alan Titchmarsh that North Korea’s censors can’t quite forgive – his jeans.

The green-fingered broadcaster and author of raunchy novels has been a fixture on state television since 2022, albeit with the addition of a blurred effect from the waist down.

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Tuesday briefing: Why the US and UK are going public with warnings about Chinese hacking

In today’s newsletter: Information about 40 million UK voters was stolen by Chinese spies in a hack that also targeted elected officials. A cybersecurity experts walks us through whether these are isolated incidents, or the tip of a digital iceberg

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Good morning. You’re probably not an MP or peer on the Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), so that part of yesterday’s cyber-attack revelations needn’t concern you excessively. If you are among the 40 million UK voters included on a register held by the Electoral Commission, though, I have bad news: the Chinese government has your personal details.

Yesterday afternoon, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden laid out sanctions in response to the attacks – in the case of the Electoral Commission hack, more than three years after it happened. In co-ordinated announcements, the US announced sanctions over a years-long campaign involving 10,000 malicious emails sent to politicians, journalists and businesses, and New Zealand said it had raised concerns with Beijing over an attack on its parliament in 2021.

Israel-Gaza war | The UN security council has voted to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the first time after the US dropped a threat to veto, bringing Israel to near total isolation on the world stage. Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a planned White House visit by two ministers, while the Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, called the result a belated “vote for humanity to prevail”.

US news | A New York court has handed Donald Trump a lifeline, reducing his $454m bond to $175m over the judgment against him in a huge fraud case. Separately, the judge overseeing the hush-money case against Trump involving the adult film star Stormy Daniels refused to delay the trial, setting a date for jury selection of 15 April.

Garrick club | At least four senior judges, Sir Keith Lindblom, Sir Nicholas Cusworth, Sir Nicholas Lavender and Sir Ian Dove, have resigned from the men-only Garrick Club, the Judicial Office has said, as men in the legal profession come under increasing pressure over their close association with an organisation that has repeatedly blocked attempts to allow women to join.

US news | Federal agents have raided properties in Los Angeles, Miami and New York that local news outlets have reported are tied to rapper and mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. US media reported that the searches were part of a sex trafficking investigation, though the exact reason for the raids remained unclear.

Conservatives | Rishi Sunak is to face another tricky byelection after former Conservative backbencher Scott Benton resigned before the conclusion of a recall petition among his constituents. The Blackpool South MP was facing likely ejection from the Commons after being suspended for 35 days over his role in a lobbying scandal.

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More than 100 cattle die on export ship travelling from Australia to Indonesia

Federal government investigating deaths as a ‘matter of priority’, with efforts under way to treat remaining animals

More than 100 cattle have died on an export ship destined for Indonesia, prompting a “priority” investigation by the federal government.

The deaths occurred on the Brahman Express, which left Darwin on 14 March and arrived in Indonesia six days later.

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Former head of China football association jailed for life for taking bribes – state media

Former chairman Chen Xuyuan accepted millions in return for help with contracting, investment options and event management, state media report court as saying

The former chief of China’s national football association, Chen Xuyuan, has been sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes, state media reported on Tuesday, after one of the biggest anti-corruption probes in the sport in years.

The severe sentence for Chen, 67, concludes an inquiry into high-level football officials in China in a sport that has long grappled with corruption, which fans have blamed for the perpetual under performance of the national team.

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Labour tells China it will act on interference in UK democracy

Exclusive: Warning came at party’s first public meeting with Chinese government since Keir Starmer became Labour leader

Labour has warned China that it will respond to any interference in UK democracy after the government announced fresh sanctions against hackers linked to Beijing.

The warning came at the party’s first public meeting with the Chinese government since Keir Starmer became Labour leader.

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Indonesian military apologises after West Papuan man filmed being tortured in water-filled barrel

In rare admission, commander of Indonesian military in the province says horrific footage is a ‘violation of the law’, and confirms 13 personnel have been detained


Warning: this article contains graphic content

Graphic footage of a West Papuan man bound in a water-filled barrel and being beaten and cut with knives by Indonesian soldiers has drawn a rare apology from the commander of Indonesia’s military in the province.

Major General Izak Pangemanan confirmed 13 military personnel had been detained and more than 40 questioned as part of an investigation into the torture of the unarmed man.

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Thousands of foreign nurses a year leave UK to work abroad

Exclusive: Surge in nurses originally from outside the EU moving overseas prompts concern Britain is a ‘staging post’ in their careers

Almost 9,000 foreign nurses a year are leaving the UK to work abroad, amid a sudden surge in nurses quitting the already understaffed NHS for better-paid jobs elsewhere.

The rise in nurses originally from outside the EU moving to take up new posts abroad has prompted concerns that Britain is increasingly becoming “a staging post” in their careers.

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Sumo kind of wonderful as Takerufuji’s debut win in top division makes history

Wrestler, whose real name is Mikiya Ishioka, triumphs in Osaka to secure Emperor’s Cup despite injuring his ankle the previous day

The ancient Japanese sport of sumo is celebrating a new hero, after Takerufuji became the first wrestler for more than a century to win a top-division tournament on his debut.

There were wild celebrations at the Edion Arena Osaka on Sunday after he ended the 15-day contest with an unassailable record of 13 wins and two defeats.

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South Korea doctors’ strike widens as medical professors join protests

Some professors will submit their resignations while others will cut their hours over a government plan to boost medical school admissions

Medical professors in South Korea have said they will reduce the hours they spend in practice, while some say they plan to resign, in a widening of a doctors strike in the country.

The move will begin on Monday in support of trainee doctors who have been on strike for more than a month over a government plan to boost medical school admissions.

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Details of millions of UK voters accessed by Chinese state, ministers will say

Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden to update MPs on cyber-attacks by Beijing, some of whom may also have been targets

The personal details of millions of voters are believed to have been accessed in an attack by China on Britain’s democratic process, ministers will say.

MPs and peers are thought to be among 43 people who the government looks set to confirm have been targeted by cyber-attacks backed by the Chinese state. The UK could impose sanctions on individuals believed to be involved in these acts of state-backed interference, one of which was a separate attack on the Electoral Commission in which Beijing accessed the personal details of about 40 million voters.

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Chinese EV battery maker in talks to invest £1bn in new UK gigafactory

Plant on outskirts of Coventry could create up to 6,000 jobs and will be part of planned Centre for Electrification

A Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries is in talks to invest more than £1bn to build a giant new factory on the outskirts of Coventry.

EVE Energy, which says it employs 28,000 staff worldwide, is understood to be in talks to construct a 5.7m sq ft gigafactory, which will form one of the main parts of the planned UK Centre for Electrification, an investment zone in the West Midlands.

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Group to search for celebrated US pilot’s fighter plane in South Pacific

Richard Bong downed 40 aircraft in a Lockheed P-38 Lightning before it crashed while being flown by another pilot

A Wisconsin museum is partnering with a historical preservation group in a search for the wreckage of the second world war ace fighter pilot Richard Bong’s plane in the South Pacific.

The Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin, and the non-profit second world war historical preservation group Pacific Wrecks announced the search on Friday, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

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North Korea cancels World Cup qualifier against Japan

Last-minute decision on Tuesday’s match leaves football bodies searching for alternative venue

North Korea has abruptly cancelled its 2026 World Cup qualifying match with Japan next week, leaving organisers frantically searching for an alternative venue.

North Korea reportedly decided it would no longer host the match, which had been scheduled for next Tuesday at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, a day before the teams met in Tokyo on Thursday in the first of their two Asian qualifying Group B qualifiers.

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‘Flat and shallow’: Netflix’s 3 Body Problem divides viewers in China

Eight-episode series based on Liu Cixin novels triggers accusations of ‘Americanisation’ of a Chinese story

Netflix’s big-budget adaptation of Three-Body Problem, a series of novels by the Chinese author Liu Cixin, has divided opinion on Chinese social media.

The eight-episode series, 3 Body Problem, was released in full on Netflix on Thursday. It is based on the first book in Liu’s trilogy, an ambitious sci-fi series spanning civilisation from the 1960s to the end of humanity.

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Japan schools move to protect cheerleaders from upskirting at sporting events

Several schools have brought in shorts for cheerleaders at baseball tournament while another positioned teachers between the cheerleaders and spectators

High schools taking part in Japan’s annual spring baseball tournament are taking action to prevent spectators from taking sexualised photographs of female cheerleaders.

The invitational tournament – and a regular tournament held every summer at Koshien stadium near Osaka – are supposed to be a celebration of youthful sporting prowess and a chance for teenage boys from 32 schools around the country to make their mark and perhaps catch the eye of a professional ball club.

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Dozens of Rohingya refugees rescued from overturned boat in Indian Ocean

Soaked survivors clung to hull overnight before being taken to safety by Indonesian rescue team

Dozens of Rohingya refugees have been rescued from the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia after spending the night balanced on the hull of their overturned boat.

Seventy-five people were pulled from the stricken vessel, which was spotted on Thursday by an Indonesian search and rescue ship.

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Vietnam loses its second president in two years amid concerns for political stability

Vo Van Thuong has resigned after just over a year, as the country continues its ‘blazing furnace’ anti-corruption drive

Vietnam’s government has announced the resignation of its second president in as many years amid an anti-corruption drive, sparking concerns for the country’s political stability.

President Vo Van Thuong’s alleged “violations and flaws have negatively affected public perception, as well as the reputation of the party and the state”, state media reported on Wednesday, citing an announcement from the Central Committee of the Communist party of Vietnam. No further details of any alleged violations were released.

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